HOA Board of Directors (BoD)
John Thyen, President
​John has served on the HOA Board since 2008 and as the HOA Board President since 2010. He spent most of his career as a high school principal in New York. He has been married to his soulmate, Janet, for over 50 years. They have 3 wonderful children and 4 equally wonderful grandchildren.
John grew up in Germany during WW II. His dad worked as a chief steward on an American Ocean
Liner. When war broke out the family was separated, with his dad in New York while he, his mom and sister were in Germany. When the Russians invaded their town, they were driven out and became displaced persons living in the woods and surviving with what little they were able to take with them. It took them about a year, but thanks to the extraordinary bravery and determination of his mom, they were finally able to escape several Russian refugee camps and hop a series freight trains that eventually led them to the border of the British zone where they raced across the border with Russian soldiers in hot pursuit. His paternal grandmother lived in the British controlled part of Germany and through her they were able to contact John’s dad who quickly arranged for them to come to the United States.
This experience has greatly shaped John’s life in that it caused him to appreciate all the freedoms and opportunities that he enjoys in America that so many Americans take for granted. He takes great pride in having been able to serve his country as an Air Force officer serving 3 years on active duty and 7 years in the reserves.
Moving to Summers Landing in 2001 was the fulfillment of a lifelong dream. John jokes with his children that the only way they will ever get him out of Summers Landing is in a straight jacket or a body bag - whichever comes first. Janet and John are grateful for the many wonderful friends they have made in Summers Landing.
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Jeffrey Pugmire, Vice-President
Jeff has served on the HOA Board since January 2014 and he currently serves as the HOA Board Vice-President. He works as a USMC Foreign Materiel Program Officer for the Marine Corps Intelligence Activity (MCIA) at the Marine Corps Base Quantico. He is the father of 8 beautiful children - 6 girls and 2 boys - and has been married for 25 years to his amazing wife, Jennie.
Jeff served on active duty for 8 years and then medically retired in July 2003 due to injuries received from an improvised explosive device (IED) explosion during combat operations in Kandahar, Afghanistan. He spent four years as an Infantryman with 1st Battalion, 327th Infantry Regiment at Fort Campbell, KY and then changed jobs (much to his delight) to become an Explosive Ordnance Disposal (EOD) Bomb Technician. During his early life and military service, he has pretty much been all over the world – Afghanistan, Argentina, Bosnia, Brazil, Canada, Croatia, Egypt, England, Germany, Israel, Mexico, The Netherlands, Pakistan, Paraguay, Peru, Portugal, Syria, Uruguay, Uzbekistan...just to name a few.
After being medically retired from the Army, Jeff moved back to Oregon and finished his online Bachelor’s Degree from the University of Maryland University College, after which he was offered a job with SYColeman (a wholly owned subsidiary of L3) as a government contractor to the Joint IED Defeat Organization and moved to Fredericksburg, VA. After 3 years with SYColemen (and completing his first Master’s Degree from American Military University), he had the opportunity to again work within the Department of Defense this time as a Civilian Marine at MCIA where he has been since April 2008. One of his achievements at MCIA was his opportunity to attend the Naval War College, where he received both a Master’s Degree as well as a Naval College of Command and Staff Diploma.
Jeff and his family moved to Spotsylvania County and into Summers Landing in February 2013 and are so grateful to be surrounded by amazing family and neighbors and absolutely love our wooded community and the friendly residents.
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Dave Solano, Treasurer
Dave and his wife Bonnie were delighted to become Summers Landing residents in 2019, shortly after they both retired. He has BS & MS degrees in Engineering and worked as an engineer at General Electric and IBM. After completing his MBA, he had a 30-year career in marketing, sales, and management. Prior to moving to Virginia, the family lived in California, Michigan, and New Jersey. Dave and Bonnie have a daughter, Dana, and a son, Steve. Dana is a software executive for
Ernst and Young in Arlington, VA. Steve lives with Dave & Bonnie in Summers Landing and works in IT support for healthcare companies.
Bob Bayer, Director
Bob's biographical information and photo are currently not available.
Beth Diggles, Director
Beth, her husband Raymond Pett and a pair of dogs moved from Northern Virginia's Loudoun County to Summers Landing in 2016 with a-once-in-a-lifetime home construction adventure. She proudly considers herself an army brat with a love of travel, an ex-soccer mom to two wonderful daughters, and an army mom to a daughter who recently moved her family to Spotsylvania. She recently retired from the Federal Reserve Board where she managed technology programs supporting bank
supervision.
Before joining the Fed, Beth was an IT entrepreneur with corporate clients headquartered in Richmond. She was one of the early female students admitted to and graduating from UVA and earned an MBA from VCU when she and Raymond lived in Richmond.
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Beth enjoys the Ni Reservoir, traveling with Raymond and living every day as if it’s Saturday. She joined the Summers Landing HOA Board in 2024 after participating on the ACC (where nearly all proposed projects were approved within a few days). She intends to contribute to keeping the neighborhood attractive with strong community activities.
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Will Robinson, Director
Will and his family moved into the Summers Landing community in 2019, and is a long time resident of the Fredericksburg area. He works as a Systems Engineer for a large defense contractor, commutes to Northern Virginia daily and knows every bump in the road. He attended graduate school at the the University of Mary Washington and is a member of the Graduating Class of 2012. He is an active member of his community, enjoys volunteer work, and making new friends. He proudly served in the
United States Army Reserve for twenty years retiring as a Chief Warrant Officer.
As a member of the Summers Landing HOA Board of Directors, Will is interested helping to keep our community an attractive and enjoyable place to live. His goals and objectives are to maintain the wonderful community our Summers Landing residents and wildlife collectively call home.
Will is interests include playing music (Bass Guitar), boating back yard barbecues, gardening, volunteer work, and spending time with family and his four grandchildren. He and his family are looking forward to getting to know the residents of our community.
Vern Vanderpool, Director
Vern Vanderpool joined the Board of Directors in November 2024. He and his wife, Beth, moved to Summers Landing in November 2019 from northern California with their two children and their fur babies. Both he and Beth are retired from the US Air Force, where he served 24 years. He was born and raised in northern Pennsylvanian where he played baseball, football, and basketball.
After graduating high school in 1985, Vern enlisted in the US Air Force in February 1987. He left for basic training in November 1987 at Lackland Air Force Base in Texas. Upon graduating basic training in January 1988, he was assigned to the technical training wing at Sheppard Air Force Base in Wichita Falls, Texas. Upon successfully completing technical training, he was an electrical power production (generation technician) specialist.
Vern would have 11 assignments in his 24-year career, with 9 of those years being stationed overseas. His 24=year career also included 7 deployments supporting operations throughout the world. He would meet his wife Beth while being stationed at Lajes Field in the Azores in 2003.
Vern is currently employed as a project manager by a family-owned masonry company in Fredericksburg. He enjoys working out, family time, four wheeling, and taking care of the veterans in the local community. “A simple wave is free and may makes some’s day!”
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​vvanderpool@hotmail.com