As the Lake Anna community grows, so too does the diversity of its members. We have so many new folks that have each brought a story, a talent and a history with them. Our continuing Special People of LKA™ series has featured legacy farmers, developers, volunteers and many more LKAers that have been woven into the tapestry of this 51-year-old community.
One of the lake community’s top advocates is the subject of our Special People of LKA feature this issue.
Harry G. Looney, Jr., 69, resides in a mid-lake, Contrary Creek haven he had built in 2016. He and his wife, Marci have resided full time at Mystic Point since 2018.
As with all who come to the community Looney has his own “how I found Lake Anna story” and we asked him to share it with us.
“I was nearing retirement as an officer in the U.S. Army when we were transferred in 1995 from the 4th Infantry Division in Colorado Springs, Colorado to a job with the U.S. Army Space and Missile Defense Command in Arlington, Virginia. We originally planned to move back to Colorado after I retired but we became very comfortable with life in the DC area, and I had transitioned into a corporate career after my retirement from the Army, so we decided to stay in Northern Virginia.
“We sold land we had planned to build on north of Colorado Springs and started looking for lake properties in late 2003. We worked with a realtor to review waterfront lots on paper during the week and we would drive down to the lake on weekends to walk the lots we were most interested in. We finally found the lot in Mystic Point and immediately put a contract on it and settled in April of 2004.
“I founded a defense technical services company in 2002 and we were busy growing the company and building customer relationships in both the defense and intelligence communities so we were not ready to move to the lake permanently but we wanted to enjoy the lake as our son grew up so we made lot improvements each year starting with land clearing and construction of a dock in 2005.
“We built a garage with a small two-bedroom apartment on the upper level so we could stay for extended periods and that suited us well until I sold the company in 2016 and started to wind down my corporate career.
“We broke ground in October 2016 for our house and completed construction in early 2018. I was still doing some consulting work in the Northern Virginia area, but we decided to move to the lake in 2018 and have been residents here since the move from Northern Virginia. I retired from my second, corporate career in 2022.”
Retirement has not been a time of leisure for Looney, as he quickly immersed himself where he thought his talents might best serve the lake and others here.
“I have served as the Lake Anna Civic Association (LACA) Water Quality Committee chair since 2020. We joined LACA before moving to the lake permanently and after moving here from Northern Virginia I wanted to start giving back through volunteer opportunities. I found the people at LACA to be very dedicated to the Lake and the community and I wanted to be a part of that. I volunteered as a member of a water quality team in 2019 and was asked to take over as the Committee Chair after that first year.
“I had grown very interested in what was happening in the upper part of the lake with the HAB advisories and as I researched the problem, I found myself digging deeper and deeper through the available research. I started making contacts with academics and professionals in the environmental and biology fields and learning about the problem from their perspectives. The prospect of finding a workable solution to the HAB problem was appealing to me because I see the problem as a complex systems engineering problem.
“I started serving as one of the Louisa County Citizen Representatives to the Lake Anna Advisory Committee (LAAC) in February of 2024. I was appointed by Supervisor Christopher C. McCotter and serve as the Chair of LAAC’s Environmental and Water Quality subcommittee. My five years of experience working with LACA’s water quality committee provides me a foundation for serving in this capacity and I have great support and lake knowledge from the other LAAC members and the members of the Environmental and Water Quality subcommittee including Bill Deeds and Steve McCormick.
Looney also serves as a member of the West Point Department of Admissions Field Force. He graduated from West Point in 1977 and as a member of the Long Gray Line wanted to do his part to assist local educators and cadet candidates in the process of gaining admission to the academy. He works with several other very dedicated graduates that serve Virginia’s 5th Congressional District and the local chapters of the Association of Graduates.
“I look at this time in my life as an opportunity to give back for all the things provided to me in my Army and corporate careers. I was extremely fortunate to receive a free undergraduate education and the Army also sent me to graduate school full time to study space operations. My experience at West Point, my 20-year Army career, and the education and operational experience I gained from my graduate studies afforded me and my family a life that I never dreamed possible as a child growing up in the suburbs of Detroit, Michigan,” Looney told Lake Anna Life & Times.
Many of our Special People of LKA have strong mentors/parents and we always ask for our subjects if they would like to note that relationship and the affect it had on them.
“My parents gave me the foundation that allowed me to be successful after high school graduation. My mother and father were hard workers that understood the value of a great education as the pathway to success. My father was a WWII Navy veteran who was injured in the line of duty. He moved on from his Navy career to become a factory worker where he was severely injured in a work accident when I was very young. He battled through pain and got up and went to work every day. He coached my Little League baseball teams and never let me or my siblings know that he was in constant pain from the injuries he sustained. My mother was also a hard worker that did everything she could to ensure we learned how to be good citizens and members of the community. She was very active at our church and was respected throughout our community.”
Looney also noted he had many mentors from my Army career.
“I can never repay what I learned from my first non-commissioned officer, Sergeant First Class Samuel Hunt. As a brand-new second lieutenant going to the Mojave Desert on the day I reported for my first duty assignment, Sergeant Hunt took me under his wing and taught me how to be an officer in the U.S. Army. He was with me for three consecutive years in my first assignment to include being my First Sergeant as I assumed command of an artillery battery during that first assignment. He taught me that out of all the resources the Army had to accomplish our mission, soldiers were most important.
“I was fortunate that my direct supervisors in the Army were all great leaders and outstanding human beings. Each of them taught me something that I carried forward in my life and made use of as I took on leadership and managerial roles. I also had several business mentors that gave me opportunities to learn how to manage and grow a successful business,” Looney shared.
So exactly how did your his careers prepare him for what he is are doing today?
“I found the opportunity to serve in the capacity of an officer in the United States Army to be a privilege and an honor. The best times I had in my professional life were when I was dealing with soldiers, employees, peers, and senior leadership. My Army experience taught me humility, leadership fundamentals, planning skills, and how to execute a plan to achieve a mission or objective. I utilized what I learned in the Army in my corporate career and gained continued experience in problem solving and executing tasks according to established standards under varying conditions.”
And what does Marci think of all Looney’s volunteer efforts?
“She is very supportive of what I do. She knows I am not the sit around the house watching TV type and that I need to be mentally and physically challenged. I think she would like me to complete more of her wood projects on her “to-do” list, but she has always been supportive of what I do.”
For someone as influential as Looney we wondered who has been influential on him, here at the lake?
“All the volunteers that give freely of their time to make life at the lake a better place to be. Their selfless approach to giving their time, energy, and resources drives me to do the same and be a part of something bigger than what a single person can accomplish. I see this all the time with LACA’s water quality volunteers but there are multiple examples of similar things happening around the lake. What the Gallagher’s and their team are doing in support of Louisa’s Emergency Services needs inspires all of us. Jody Korman’s Louisa Clean effort is another example of how people can make a difference. Mo Daniels and Jean McCormick have worked tirelessly for many years to improve safety practices at the lake. There are too many to mention – I am thankful I am part of such a great community.”
Of all things to be interested in after retiring we wondered why Looney is so dedicated to water quality?
“I am an engineer by academic training, so the data driven nature of what we do to monitor water quality is probably what interests me most. The lake and environment speak to us through the data that we gather. Our job is to figure out ways to interpret what the data are telling us so we can do things that allow the lake and environment to achieve the ecosystem balance that nature intended.”
Looney’s perfect day on the lake?
“Our perfect day on the lake starts with our son and daughter-in-law visiting. We spend time making breakfast and catching up on our lives and then take the dogs for a walk. We follow that up with an afternoon of relaxation on our dock and going out on the lake for a boat ride. We love to finish the day on our dock watching the eagles and ospreys and being thankful for family, friends and everything that we have.”
In his spare time Looney enjoys woodworking projects, walking his dogs, caring for his bees, and spending time with friends and colleagues.house and her paintings were on the wall in the room they were having the meeting in.
“One of the team members saw that I could do portraits and he asked me to complete a portrait of his two children. I accepted the challenge and completed it in a timely fashion, and he paid me a very gracious sum for it. Since I don’t charge a fee for my work, I gave it as a donation to Mineral Christian School at Mineral Baptist Church. I have not received other payments for portraits that were done. My first painting of Lake Anna was also a request and there are two large paintings I was asked to do are now at Mineral Baptist Church.”
Peters says she’s willing to do more of her signature style portraits by request for donations. Future plans include a four-season painting of the lake.
Motivation for continuing with her painting include a special moment at the lake house in 2019.
“A very dear friend changed her career and residence. I did her portrait as a parting gift and was really pleased with it. I decided to surprise her. She came to my house, saw the painting on my wall and was shocked to see it. That was when I decided to continue developing my talent.”
Besides her artwork Peters really enjoys cooking; making decorative cakes from scratch for special occasions and potluck dinners. She also loves decorating and has volunteered many times for Vacation Bible School, weddings and parties.
