Melissa McKenna

gives back

to the community she loves

by Eric Johnson

Because an apple never falls far from the tree, as the old saying goes, it’s easy to see why so many of Chantilly’s biggest boosters spent their formative years here, got involved in the community, and put down roots.

A prime example of a longtime neighbor and community booster who’s always stayed close to her figurative apple tree is Melissa McKenna. She grew up in the Pleasant Valley subdivision, raised two children locally, and now serves the community in many ways, most prominently as the President and CEO of the Dulles Regional Chamber of Commerce.

Melissa’s enthusiasm for Chantilly’s apple-pie charm and fair-minded businesspeople is solidly rooted in her personal experience. She fondly remembers arriving here in 1983, the year her parents T.R. and Donna Hadley settled down in the house where they still live today. She also remembers the long-gone horse farm next door, the old Chantilly Cash & Carry general store, driving past fields of grazing Angus cattle, and a lot less traffic.

“I’ve had a unique seat for seeing Chantilly go through tremendous change,” she said. “I watched Route 28 grow from two lanes as development boomed… and consequently I’ve learned the importance of transportation planning. My awareness of growth and how Chantilly has changed started at a really young age.”

Melissa is particularly thankful for the fact that “if we hadn’t moved to Chantilly in the first place, all the good

things that have happened in my life wouldn’t have happened. Now I am able to give back to the community through my work and service.”

High on the list of good things is husband Bill McKenna, who first laid eyes on Melissa while she was campaigning door-to-door for a local elected office. He voted for her, they crossed paths while serving the community, and eventually they tied the knot.

Like Melissa, Bill comes from a family with civic mindedness in his DNA. As a young man in New Jersey, for example, he served on a Borough council at age 24 as the state’s youngest elected official.

Melissa and Bill take their community involvement seriously. Both have contributed by serving on the Herndon Town Council. Meanwhile, Melissa serves as Chairman of the Fairfax County Redevelopment and Housing Authority —a post she’s held since 2013. Her work with the Chamber runs the gamut of business support activities yet also brings neighbors together for fun through a whopping 16 weeks of Friday Night Live! shows from May through August and the annual WinterMarkt in December.

“We definitely found a great synergy in our interests,” Melissa said. “We’re really lucky we’re both out there—and very, very busy. We are deeply committed to how our community is run.”

Adult son Spencer Jonas, who lives nearby in Merrifield’s Mosaic District, and daughter Claire Jonas, a student at the University of Lynchburg, are equally the apple of Melissa’s eye. Her sister Allison Hadley is just up the road in Sterling, and brother Travis Hadley lives in Charlottesville. This close proximity allows for family dinners where chatting and enjoying homemade food like Melissa’s sourdough bread take center stage.

“When you’re as busy as we are, we like to spend time with family and our dearest friends,” she explained.

Melissa attended Floris Elementary School and got a diploma as one of about 400 students in the very first graduating class of Thomas Jefferson High School for Science & Technology. She initially headed toward a science career but eventually studied English and got a teaching accreditation from William & Mary. She capped her education by earning a masters in higher education administration, a degree program at William & Mary that today focuses on public policy.

Bill earned a bachelor’s degree in political science with a minor in philosophy from West Virginia Wesleyan College. He’s now working toward a masters degree in homeland security at George Washington University.

photo by Barry Harley

Melissa and Bill on their wedding day in 2020 (photo courtesy Melissa McKenna)

Looking back on how education has influenced her life, Melissa said “you just never know where that path will take you.”

At times, that busy path demands a rest stop, which is why Melissa makes sure to set aside whatever she’s working on in order to do nothing more than relax at home. When that happens, the most important task on the agenda might be cooking Italian food, arranging flowers, or playing with the couple’s two cavapoos—a breed that is a mix of Cavalier King Charles Spaniel and Miniature Poodle—named Maisie (a female) and Murphy (a male).

“That’s the way I take it easy,” she said. “I love being at home.”

“When you put so much energy out” on the job and for the community “you have to find a balance, to find the time to recharge,” she explained. “Home is my haven.”

When longer recharge periods are needed, Melissa and Bill vacation in places where they can enjoy a full fledged community experience, complete with interesting people and local businesses.

“That appreciation for ‘place’ is really important for us,” Melissa said. “So when we travel, we like to support locally owned businesses.”

In summer 2021, for example, the couple traveled to quiet corner of New Hampshire for a stay at a lakeside cottage. Last summer, they vacationed at a boutique hotel in Maine, ate at local restaurants and shopped at cozy bookstores.

“When you walk around and talk to people… you really take away something,” she said. “It is my hope that as the world finds its way, people take the time to be kind to one another and patronize businesses that really struggled during the pandemic.”

If they weren’t already here, Chantilly would be the kind of community Melissa and Bill visit on vacation—warm, friendly, a buzzing home to various types of restaurants, businesses and hidden gems, and a place with interesting people to meet and talk to. That sense of ‘place’ is right in their own back yard. And for Melissa, it’s been that way since 1983.

“Chantilly has grown,” she said. “It’s become larger, and it’s finding new ways to create a sense of place.”

Compared to 40 years ago, Melissa admits that “the neighborhoods have changed, and Chantilly is an increasingly fabulous place to do business and find special things.” And it’s a place to find special people who do their community proud like Melissa, Bill and the rest of their family. CL