Lew Jenkins

RIX MILLS (62).  From 2007 – 2009, Rix worked for Civilian Police International as an International Advisor Counter Narcotics Advisory Team member in Kandahar and Mazar-e-Sharif, Afghanistan.  The organization's efforts were to eliminate poppy growth and educate the populace on alternatives to illicit drug cultivation and production.  He developed community outreach programs to all sectors of the society, including drug treament facility support and prison clinics to treat addicted inmates.

While in Afghanistan, Rix organized an effort to provide school supplies, clothing, cooking utensils, blankets, sporting equipment and much more to needy families who had little or no resources to cope with basic daily living.  With the help of many people from the Surrattsville community, he was able to distribute a large volume of notebooks, pencils, rulers and the like to school children who had none of these vital supplies.  He also supported a US-funded orphanage with food, clothing, computers and musical instruments to help the children cope with the harsh realities of life without parents.   

Prior to his work in Afghanistan, Rix served for 18 years in the Defense Intelligence Agency as a Senior Subject Expert and Senior Supervisor. His work at the DIA primarily focused on counter-narcotics, counter-terrorism, current intelligence and liasion duties with two national-level counter-narcotics organizations. 

After graduating from Surrattsville in 1962, Rix attended the University of Maryland (BA Honors) and was commissioned a 2nd Lieutenant out of the Air Force ROTC program.  At Maryland, Rix was a Distinguished Air Science Student and the Commandant of Cadets.  He also attended graduate school at Creighton University (MA), the Joint Military Intelligence College (MS), and the Inter-American Defense College (Certificate in Hemispheric Studies).  Rix's 20-year career in the Air Force ended with his retirement in 1986 as a Lieutenant Colonel.

Currently, Rix is the owner of a private English language institute in Puerto Montt, Chile that provides both private and public English courses ranging from basic to advanced, specifically focused on the fishery and tourism industries of Southern Chile.

Ann Weaver Pelle

ANN WEAVER PELLE (71).  Ann is an extraordinary community "activist," in the strictest sense of the word.  In her adopted town of The Villages, Florida, Ann has rallied her neighbors to refuse to participate in the phenomenon called "aging," and to remain active and involved in their community by participating in The Villages Twirlers (thevillagestwirlers.com).  The Twirlers, ages 56 to 82, are baton twirlers many of whom had given up their sport decades previously.  They perform at events both locally and around the world, on land and at sea.

Ann founded The Twirlers in 2003 with a core group of eight twirlers who formed a class at The Villages Lifelong Learning College.  The Twirlers now have 96 members, including twirlers, drummers and a flag corps.  The Twirlers only rule is that they will accept anyone into their ranks, even those who have never twirled, drummed or flagged before.

Ann not only serves as director of The Twirlers' Show Team, Parade Team, Banner Team, Flag Corps, Drum Corps and Ribbon Girls, but also handles all of the public relations, choreography, bookings and costuming.

Some of The Twirlers' most memorable events have been Twirlmania at Disneyland, the USTA 50th Anniversary held in Daytona Beach, Fl, the Pro Bowl in Hawaii, and the "Rockin the Caribbean Cruise."

Ann is especially proud that The Twirlers work regularly with younger twirlers in the area, and of the fact that The Twirlers have served as the inspiration for other more mature twirlers to start teams and get back into the sport of twirling.