Nicholas P. Picerno, Vice Chairman

Nicholas is Vice Chairman and Chairman-Emeritus of the Shenandoah Valley Battlefields Foundation and the Foundation’s longest serving board member. He also serves as Vice-President of the Lincoln Society of Virginia, and he serves on the Advisory Board of Kennesaw State University’s Center for the Study of the Civil War Era. He is a former member of both the board of trustees of the Museum of the Confederacy in Richmond, Virginia, and the Board of Directors of the Lee-Jackson Education Foundation of Charlottesville. He has published articles in both “Civil War Times” and “America’s Civil War” magazines and has contributed to scores of books on American Civil War history.

Cdr. Craig A. Morin, Secretary

Craig is a retired Naval Officer and environmental consultant who lives in Houston, Texas. He received a B.S. degree in biology with a minor in history from the University of Central Oklahoma. In 1975 he received a Master of Public Health degree in Environmental Science from the University of Oklahoma. He enlisted in the U.S. Navy in 1966 and served on active and active reserve duty until 1991 when he retired as a Commander, Medical Service Corps. As a consultant primarily to the Energy and Petrochemical industries, he has managed global projects in Asia, West Africa, Europe, the Middle East, the Caribbean and North America. More than 70 years ago, Craig was introduced to the Civil War by his great grandmother, whose father and his two brothers served with the Army of Northern Virginia. Two of his Alabama ancestors served in the 1864 Valley Campaign. Craig has written and printed one book about a fellow Navy Corpsman who was killed in Vietnam: More Than a Name on a Wall. Craig is an avid fan of the Houston Astros, the University of Oklahoma Sooners and the athletic teams his grandchildren play for.

Dr. William “Reyn” Archer, III

Reyn grew up in Texas and graduated from the University of Texas in 1976 with a degree in Botany/Plant Biology and later from the University of Texas Medical Branch with an M.D. in 1980. He was appointed as the Commissioner of the Texas Department of Health in 1997 by George W. Bush, a position he held until 2000. In 2005, he became the Chief Medical Officer for Burson-Martseller. Reyn became Chief of Staff for Congressman Jeff Fortenberry in 2016 and held the position until Congressman Fortenberry’s resignation in 2022.

Alphonso P. Boxley, III

Al was born in Beckley, West Virginia and grew up in Mount Lebanon, Pennsylvania, a suburb of Pittsburgh. He attended Virginia Tech, earning a degree in business management. After graduating, Al began working for American Safety Razor, a division of Phillip Morris. While working there, he attended James Madison University and earned an MBA. In 1969, he joined the Army Reserves as a drill sergeant. He opened his first McDonald’s restaurant in Luray in 1977, and later moved to western Maryland where he opened 12 restaurants. In 1997 he sold those restaurants to return to the Shenandoah Valley, where he owned 11 restaurants until his retirement in 2020.

Al has served on several boards including Frostburg State University Foundation, the Ronald McDonald House, Boy Scouts of America, American Trust Bank (M&T Bank), WVPT Public TV, Blue Ridge Community College, and the Augusta County Economic Authority.

Childs F. Burden

Childs is a founding member of The Mosby Heritage Area Association which was formed in 1995. He currently serves as Chairman Emeritus after having served as Chair and President for many years and as Chairman of the Lant Trust of Virginia. He has also served on the board of Access National Corporation and Access National Bank and previously with Middleburg Financial Corporation before the merger with that company. Childs is a graduate of The University of Virginia and is a Chartered Financial Analyst. He has served on the boards of Oatlands as Trustee and Chair, on The American Battlefield Trust, The Virginia Outdoors Foundation, The Loudoun County Historical Society as President and The Loudoun County Heritage Commission.

Senator Christopher T. Head, Ex officio Governor of Virginia

Senator Head is a father of three wonderful children, Victoria (Tori), Abigail (Abby), and Michael. Chris and his wife, Betsy, live in Botetourt and own Home Instead Senior Care in Roanoke and Lynchburg, a company that provides services to seniors so they don’t have to leave their homes. They were awarded Small Business of the Year in 2009. He served in the Virginia House of Delegates from 2012 to 2023 before being elected to serve as Senator for the 3rd District in the Virginia Senate in 2024. Chris grew up in Commerce, Georgia and graduated with a Bachelor of Music degree from the University of Georgia in 1985.

William B. Holtzman

Bill is the Founder and President of Holtzman Oil Corp. and Co-owner of Liberty Gas.  He graduated from Massanutten Military Academy and attended Virginia Tech (when it was still a cadet school) where he earned his undergraduate degree.  Bill went on to attend Cornell University where he received his master’s degree before going to work for the Byrd Orchards in Mt. Jackson.  In 1972, he purchased a small oil distributorship in Mt. Jackson, growing it into the corporation that it is today.     

Patrick M. Kenney, Ex officio Director of the National Park Service

Patrick is the superintendent of Shenandoah National Park and Cedar Creek and Belle Grove National Historical Park. Kenney has served as the deputy superintendent of Yellowstone National Park since January 2017. He managed the operations of 2.2 million acres, a staff of approximately 800 and an annual base budget of $35 million. Prior to Yellowstone, he was named superintendent of Cape Lookout National Seashore in 2011. There he improved access to the park through the awarding of a ferry service contract, establishing two gateways and the opening of the Beaufort Visitor Information Center.

Prior to managing Cape Lookout, Kenney served as the Planning Branch Chief at the NPS Denver Service Center. He began his NPS career in 1990 at Big Cypress National Preserve as a natural resource manager. He was effective at obtaining funding and successfully completing numerous natural resource restoration projects, as well as being involved in an array of planning issues within the preserve.

Kenney has a Bachelor of Science in Zoology from the University of Wisconsin-Madison. He is a graduate of the Federal Executive Institute – Leadership for Democratic Society and is a Project Management Institute certified Project Manager.

Allen L. Louderback

Allen is a past board member of the Foundation and served as Chairman from 2014-2016. He currently serves on the Foundation’s Government Relations Committee and on the Page County Board of Supervisors. Allen has been President of Louderback Enterprises since 1976. He has also worked as a Management Analyst in the U.S. Government Accountability Office. A graduate of Virginia Tech, he served in the Virginia House of Delegates from 2000-2006 and was on the Page County Board of Supervisors from 1992-2000 and again from 2020 to present.

Linda C. Wheeler

W. Denman Zirkle

Denman graduated from Virginia Tech in 1960 and then the University of Pennsylvania in 1962 with a Masters of Business Administation. He went on to work for various companies with positions as Program Manager for Business Machines Corporation, Assistant Vice President for Conrail, Marketing Director for Morgan Stanley, Senior Vice President of Lynch and Mayer, Inc, Executive Vice President of Templeton Worldwide, and CEO of Carret and Company. In 2009, Denman became Chief Executive Officer for the Shenandoah Valley Battlefields Foundation and held the position until 2014. Currently, he is a managing partner of Weingut Richard Bocking, a winery in Mosul, Germany.