MEET THE TEAM
The Board of Directors
Renee Parker – President
Renee Parker has been a resident of King George County since 1994. She has served as President of the King George Historical Society since 2022 and is committed to the Society’s mission to collect, preserve, and share the history of King George County.
Renee is a U.S. Navy Veteran with a career in the defense industry that spans 29 years - and counting. She and her Husband, Charlie, spend their time loving and maintaining their historic home, gardening, and making memories with their Children and Grandchildren.
Mark A. McColman – Vice President-2024
Mark was born and raised in South Carolina where he served as a law enforcement for 31 years. In 2000, Mark met his wife Karen and has been married since 2001.
In 2009 Mark began working on his family’s genealogy and in 2016, Mark and Karen moved to King George after Karen’s job brought her to D. C. Mark is currently a contractor for a couple of law enforcement agencies in the area.
Mark loves history and working on his family’s genealogy. He and his father researched their Scottish heritage. Marks father’s use to tell him, “To know where we are going, we need to know where we came from,.” During Mark’s genealogy journey he found that he is related to numerous original families of this area.
Lynn Pardee – Treasurer
Lynn was born in Northumberland County but raised in King George. She received two education degrees at Virginia Tech and has taught public school in Northumberland County, King George County, and Johnston County, North Carolina. While living in Raleigh she enrolled in North Carolina Central University and earned her Juris Doctorate.
She has practiced juvenile and domestic relations law privately for 15 years and is currently employed as an Assistant Commonwealth Attorney in Westmoreland County. Lynn has been a member of the King George Historic Society since 2004.
Karen Tebrich – Secretary
Karen and her husband, Chuck, moved from Columbia South Carolina to King George in August of 2022. It was the allure of grandchildren that brought them north. Proximity to Annapolis and the Naval Academy was a bonus. Go Navy!
Karen became a Master Gardener in 2021 and spends many hours not only in her own garden but sharing knowledge with the King George Community through plant clinics, Green Talks presentations, and maintenance of the Cedell Brooks native garden.
Making King George home meant learning the fascinating history of the area. Being a member of the King George Historical Society provides so many opportunities to learn as well as opportunities to share that knowledge with the community.
Volunteers
Colleen Davis – Newsletter Editor
I am originally from Fort Lauderdale Florida but have lived in VA since 1998.
I moved to King George in 2013 due to Military Orders. I am currently enrolled in school to finish my degree in Psychology- with every elective course geared towards History!
I have always loved history. Living In Colonial Heights as a teenager, I lived directly between Petersburg and City Point. (Grants headquarters and Lee's.) My love for history took off a few years ago when I realized I live in a county ( King George) surrounded by Historical people that I grew up learning about. History is my passion, and I secretly want to be a tour guide when I grow up.
I have a strong passion to preserve the History of King George and surrounding communities. I am stoked to be apart of KG Historical Society. Some fun facts about me. I was the only girl out of 6 kids. I played flag football on a women's league for a few years. I also played co ed softball. I love Native American artifacts and I do not look at rocks the same as most people. You can call me the "Rock Lady". I also thrive off studying Ancestry and old maps of the Northern Neck.
Looking forward to being apart of KG history!
Ryan Portner - Museum Archivist & Librarian
Sam Buckley - Museum Volunteer
My name is Samuel Buckley, I was born in 2002. I have lived in King George County, my entire life. I joined the King George Historical Society back in January of 2023.
I have always held a fascination with history of any kind. When I first joined the Historical Society, I was surprised at the depth of history in King George.
Though I am not good at speaking with others, I have always enjoyed talking about history, especially about areas that I know about and learning new information.
Earl Leach – Membership & Communications Lead
Retired professional civil engineer. Career included track and station design for Amtrak, CSX Freight, Norfolk Southern Freight, Washington Metro, Maryland Area Rail Commuter (MARC), Virginia Rail Express (VRE), South Eastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority (SEPTA).
Raised on a dairy farm in the Finger Lakes region of New York State.Very involved with genealogy of my family and my wife's family. One relative was mortally wounded at Fredericksburg and is buried near Richmond. I have always been interested in history and the King George County area is chocked full of history. The King George Historical Society is like an adopted family and the speakers at our meetings are outstanding.