Go Eve! I've always admired the work you do around, and for, Lake Anne Plaza. Bring your energy and focus to the RA board would benefit all of Reston.

Go!! When and where do I vote for you!!

Eve has proved she is an exceptionally able, creative community activist. This was recognized in her being named as one of the Best of Reston awardees. Please vote and vote for Eve for member of the RA Board.
Bob Simon

I am deeply concerned about this person becoming any more invovled with leadership in Reston. She denied my small business access to be involved with the Lake Anne market although we are located less than a mile away. It is my understanding that she made a deal with another comporable business located outside of Reston, to maintain her websites for free, as long as they were the only merchant of their field allowed to participate in the market. Thus, locking out all other vendors for services! When questioned about the fairness of her policy, she told me that it was not a democracy and that there was no way to appeal her decision. Members of my business and I have tried to reason with her for a number of years, and she laughed at us! She really is a horrible leader and in no way fit to represent local businesses.

The market is certainly not advertised as a business, and very little information about it's "ownership" and management is available on the website. In fact, the website says it is a "not for profit community development organization." I would argue this is a VERY different proposition from having a business.

In any case, I would have reservations about patronizing a market that guaranteed monopoly status for a particular vendor. I like to comparison shop, and it seems your market is not interested in such things. I am new to the area so I can't speak from experience, and I'd like to know - If I patronize your market will I find more than one vendor selling the same type of merchandise, or does every category of merchant have such monopoly status?

I can't question Ms. Thompson's dedication, especially as a newcomer. But a true non-profit typically posts information about its filing status, board of directors, etc. A nonprofit may not be a democracy, but it is more than a personal fiefdom. The comments above give the impression that this is not the case with the crafts market.

How is it that more than one vendor can sell fruits and vegetables but not offer a service such as massage. And if all the fruit and vegetable vendors were asked permission to allow there competition to sell or not what would they say. Something about allowing the massage company exclusivity
does not seem fair. The plaza us more than big
enough for two massage therapists. It dies sound as if Eve was playing favorites. There is already to much quid pro quo in politics do we need more?

Hi All,
Here are a few facts. The market is run as a not for profit organization, not a non-profit 501(c ) 3. It is run as an activity designed to improve the vitality and energy of the Lake Anne Village Center. We do review vendor products and we do limit vendor types. For example we limit the number of jewelers, we don’t allow the sale of counterfeit products, we aren’t a flea-market and generally don’t allow the re-sale. The point of the market is community interest. As stated before all income generated by the market has been put back into the public spaces of the Plaza in the form of umbrellas, casual seating, additional planting, music and festivals.

The point that all of you seem to be missing is that Radiant Sun agreed to participate in the market according to a set of terms. They were free to present their services with the exception of on-site massage and they had to abide by the rules that all vendors must follow. They were unable to arrive on time, and did on site massage. They signed a vendor agreement stating that they understood the rules. They consistently arrived after 9:00 am attempting to bring tents in through the crowded Plaza entry. That’s why they were released. They were not treated differently than any other vendor. We load 40+ vendors into the Plaza every Saturday. It is done with significant effort and requires a great deal of cooperation. The structure of the market did not seem to be a good fit for Lisa or for Radiant Sun Therapy.

As the person who helped Lisa facilitate this agreement with Lake Anne Market, I can verify Lisa's statement. After hearing the terms from Ms. Thompson, I was wary of Radiant Sun Therapies' participation. In my eyes, Lisa was paying the same price as everyone else in the market, but was not allowed to represent her business fully due to the restrictive terms. However, as member of the Lake Anne community, she naturally wanted to participate in the Lake Anne activities and wanted her business to have a presence. (I did not know Ms. Thompson consulted with Reflections prior to RST's signing of the agreement, and if I had, I would have discouraged Lisa even more from participating.)

I personally wrote a check for the full price each week RST participated and set up during the designated set-up time prior to the market opening as per the agreement we signed. Additionally, when Ms. Thompson revoked the business's rights to participate in the market, I asked several times if there was a way to make things right in her eyes, and she refused to even speak with me about it.

Lisa's particular technique of massage is completely different from the other business, and similar to finding the right doctor, the right masseuse is a personal fit. I doubt the other business would have suffered financially or otherwise from a competitor.

The market doesn't seem to be much of a business if it's refusing income, but Ms. Thompson is right about one thing. It's certainly not a democracy.

Amanda,
I’m really surprised at your portrayal of the situation since I was the one who strongly suggested that I didn’t think it was a good idea to have a second massage business in the market and you were the one who suggested that Radiant Sun could focus on the Yoga side of the business. All this is immaterial in that you and Lisa agreed to the terms. Lisa routinely showed up after 9:00 am. Even without the massage issue that would have ended her participation in the market. Every market across the region works the same way. There’s an arrival time and a set up time. Its like a job, if you don’t show up you get terminated.

Eve, you are correct that I asked if Lisa could focus on Yoga as a possibility when I was doing initial research about the marketplace. As Lisa was my client, I was tasked to find out for her how RST could participate in the Lake Anne Market, and I did. When I found out the limitations, I went to Lisa and recommended that she focus on other festivals and markets. If presented with the opportunity again, I would do the same thing (try to figure out the terms of RST's participation and suggest they go elsewhere).

Additionally, if there was something the business was repeatedly doing wrong, someone should have communicated that (preferably in writing). After all, you were communicating with the competitor about RST's participation, shouldn't you communicate with RST about its participation?

Overall, I feel the entire situation was particularly unfair to the business, and I am sorry that you disagree.

There seems to be a lot of talk here about my tardiness. As I recall, one of the therapists returned from the market one day saying she had been late and was told by Eve not to set up. I also recall my husband an I arriving rather early on many occasions to set up and again to take down after the market was over. Making up lies about being tardy does not exuse one from the truth of the situation, but only serves to dig a deeper hole of reasons why this person may not be a good leader for Reston. I did not authorize the therapist to perform massage, but she explained to me that as she was doing reiki on a patron when she was asked to do massage and felt that she should. We apologized and even let the person go, however it seems that she was determined to keep us from the market in order to please the person she made a deal with to maintain her website, rather than upholding the claim to promote local businesses.

Also, rejuvenations massage resides in Herndon, not Reston.

As a person who has lived here all my life, I have many fond memories of going to feed ducks with my grandfather at the lake, and playing on the statues with my brother. I chose to move to Lake Anne because of those fond memories. It is sad to me that I cannot participate in the market because of the deal she made with a business in another town.

Amanda/Lisa: As an outside observer, it looks like you all are losing this one. All you've done so far is confirm the violations that Eve has stated and offered excuses rather than substantiated rejections.

Note: I'm not on anyone's side here, just offering my observation.

I believe Ms. Thompson is pressing the tardiness issue because difficult to prove and it's a part of the contract. The contract stated that RST had to be set-up by 9AM, and I took care of that myself, as I stated earlier. I have people who helped me set up (as the tent is definitely a two person job) who can verify that I was ontime as per the contract. And most days I would sit with the booth and discuss Lisa's services with passers-by until she arrived to do Yoga as she taught a class before that.

As far as any discussions, I do not remember Eve speaking with me in person about anything other than where were allowed to pitch the tent, and she certainly never called. If she had discussions with other people, I would not know.

Eve, thanks for clarifying what the Reston Market is. Not being officially 501(c)3 gives you certain rights to do things as you see fit. And certainly I didn't question your intentions or your dedication.
It's just that you seem to be walking a fine, and dangerous, line between private business and public good. Because the profits are redirected to the community, you don't exactly 'own' this as you would if it were a profit-making enterprise. It doesn't have to be a democracy, because it's your sweat equity. However, the public good doesn't seem to have been served here.
A not-for-profit organization with the stated goal of building community should be supporting that community's own businesses above others. If there's demand for a service not available locally, by all means, bring it in. But when a local merchant WANTS to be a part of the community and support what you are doing - I think you made a mistake in giving them second-class status in your market.
If they agreed to the terms and violated them, fine. Send them out. I maintain that your terms were not true to the intent of your market in the first place. I have rarely ventured past the farmers' market into the crafts area before, and I am even less likely to do so now. I don't trust your judgment in supporting local merchants above others, based on this case.

@Kate - agreed on the effort involved. I have also been involved in large-scale planning and know how much you need everyone to follow their end of the agreement.
The issue here is the extent to which Ms. Thompson seems to view the market as her personal fiefdom. There are others who also care about Lake Anne and they appear to have been shunted aside. I have not heard a justification for why local neighborhood merchants should be excluded or restricted, or why incumbents should have veto rights over newcomers. I have not heard mention of a formalized charter or covenant governing all merchants equally, or a formal discipline process - she seems to making up (and enforcing) terms as she goes along.
The best community enterprises are built from the ground-up, and it seems like a great opportunity to enlist a local supporter was missed here in the interest of maintaining personal control.
Ms. Thompson is a thoughtful and dedicated volunteer. If she wins the election I wish her the best. I also hope she will open up and realize that while Lake Anne may not be a democracy, greater Reston is. As a board member I would hope she would not view her sweat-equity as validation for imposing her own rules and choosing her own favorites, and would espouse a much more open view of the many merchants and residents who make Reston great.

OK, I am going to shut this thread down for a bit. I think we have rehashed the situation several times now, all parties have had their say and can communicate offline if they choose.