County Manager Barbara Donnellan started off 2015 with the establishment of an Arlington History Task Force. Co-chairs of the Task Force are Jack Belcher, director, Department of Technology Services, and Diane Kresh, director, Department of Libraries. Preservation Arlington and the Arlington Historical Society both accepted requests to be members of the Task Force.

This group will make recommendations on how Arlington can capture, digitally preserve, and provide online access to our community’s rich history. Other members include County staff and an impressive cross-section of citizens representing a wide range of Arlington’s story. The group has already met twice this year and is expected to provide a report to the County Manager and County Board by the close of the year.

Arlington has a great story to tell and each generation will continue to add to this story. How can we be sure that future generations will have ready access to the thousands of documents and photographs that tell Arlington’s story — yesterday, today, and tomorrow? Our history includes our American-Indian history, Colonial history, a Civil War, two World Wars, desegregation, and modernization with the arrival of Metro and our rebirth as a model of smart growth.