Longtime Falls Church resident Walter Mess, 98, will be honored this weekend when a plaza on W&OD Trail will be dedicated to him.
In the Northern Virginia Regional Park Authority’s early years, Mess, a land economist and mortgage banker, hiked each property the new agency considered acquiring. NVRPA now preserves more than 10,000 acres and operates 19 regional parks.
Mess worked with fellow Northern Virginians in the 1950s to form the regional agency to plan, develop and operate a system of regional parks. Arlington and Fairfax counties and the City of Falls Church were the founding jurisdictions.
The Northern Virginia Regional Park Authority Board named Mess, longtime chairman, chairman emeritus in recognition of his founding role and 46 years of accomplishment and service with NVRPA.
The community is invited to attend the dedication of the Walter Mess Plaza at 400 N.Oak St., next to American Legion Post in the City of Falls Church, on Saturday, Oct. 29, at 1 p.m.
