Debby Forehand has served our civic league for nine years — seven years as president and a year each as second vice president and second vice trustee. Among her accomplishments was leading the charge for the installation of speed cushions on Sellger Drive, an initiative that has finally come to fruition after seven years of lobbying the City of Norfolk. This project appears to have slowed down the rampant speeding significantly. 

She presently serves on the City of Norfolk’s Eastside Taskforce which is charged with facilitating progress for this area of the city. In that capacity she is keeping a close eye on the city’s plans for the eastside including Military Circle redevelopment. She regularly communicates important or fast-breaking news with residents to keep them abreast of significant news such as the Norfolk School Board’s plans for the Easton Preschool Building. 

Debby and her husband Howard live in North Easton Place. She has called this neighborhood home for 48 years. Prior to her retirement, Debby spent 27 years working in the legal arena, specializing in legal administration and benefits administration. 

In her free time, Debby enjoys travel, watching sports, especially UVA basketball and football.  The Women With Weapons gun club is near to her heart as a co-founder. 

Debby has enjoyed serving the community, getting to know members of the neighborhoods and getting involved in city government. She believes a city works best when it works in partnership with the people it serves. She encourages you to drop her a line at [email protected] if you have ideas for the betterment of our three neighborhoods. 

Kathy O’Hara is the first vice president for the River Forrest Shores/Wayside Manor/Easton Place Civic league.  In that capacity she schedules the speakers for our general membership meetings and also writes for our newsletter, The Eastside Express. So if you have ideas for upcoming speakers and/or news stories, be sure to contact her. She has served on the board for nine years, having held the position of recording secretary previously. 

Kathy has lived in River Forrest Shores since 1993. She retired in 2016 from Virginia Beach City Public Schools where she served as the school system’s chief media and communications officer.  She is a graduate of Old Dominion University and holds an Accredited in Public Relations (APR) designation from the Public Relations Society of America.

In her free time Kathy enjoys volunteering for her church (Aldersgate United Methodist) and participating in outdoor activities through her membership in the Tidewater Appalachian Trail Club. She has one adult son, A.J. He and his wife Bailey live in Virginia Beach with their son Glover (born in December 2022). Wednesdays have become very special for Kathy because she babysits Glover on those days. Of course, that also means she is very tired on Thursdays! 

Liz Albert is the second vice president for the River Forrest Shores/Wayside Manor/Easton Place Civic league.  Her main responsibility in the position is to organize the yearly membership drive, but she has also taken the lead for our annual community picnic. She has served on the board for five years. 

For 22 years total, Liz has lived in the Appleton Drive house her husband Mark grew up in.  She holds a degree in Biomedical Science from Western Michigan University and has done graduate work in Toxicology at UNC-Chapel Hill. 

After homeschooling all 3 of her daughters from 2nd grade through high school graduation, Liz has enjoyed volunteering with the Westminster-Canterbury Hospice program. She was recently appointed by the City Council to serve on the Board of Commissioners for Lake Taylor Hospital. In her free time you will find Liz spending time with her family, camping, reading, or out in her garden.

Hello. My name is Lisa Gragg. My family is fairly new (5 years) to the community. However, it didn’t take long for me to realize joining the civic league was the best way to stay connected to my neighbors and our city, as a whole. I was mentored by a neighbor, Harry Jones, to do the Newsletter delivery. He knew EVERYONE. He passed the torch to me when he felt it was necessary to step down. And it is a position I thoroughly enjoy. 

My husband was in the Navy on the West Coast. And a change in orders is what brought us to the East Coast. We would have moved back to West Coast except our daughter decided to live and work here. And she had our only grandson. So, we stayed. 

I am a graduate of Saint Leo University. I have worked with NEXCOM, the State of Virginia, Virginia Beach Public Schools, Virginia Beach Parks & Recreation and the non profit River City Community Development Corporation. 

I am an active member of Christ Gospel Church in Virginia Beach. I am a puzzle junky and Boggle game maniac. And my weekends are reserved for breakfast at Rooster’s Cafe & Grill and going to yard sales.

KK German grew up as the daughter of an Army officer and at age 19, she herself joined the Army to become a bandsperson. She arrived in 1974 at the School of Music at the Little Creek Amphibious Base. She married her music teacher and after a 3 year tour of duty in Italy, they returned to Norfolk and she has remained here since. After a childhood of moving almost every year, she values belonging and staying in one place.

In addition to raising a family, KK attended and graduated from Old Dominion University. She did post graduation business studies and took the CPA exam in 1989. She worked for various companies as a head bookkeeper and later controller until in 2005, with all her children grown, she decided to become a real estate agent as a second career, in which capacity she still serves today.

KK moved to Wayside Manor in 2015 and was impressed to receive a paper newsletter from the Civic League. In Feb 2016 she mailed in her dues to join and offered her services in whatever capacity the league could use her. Shortly after that she found herself knocking on doors for the annual membership drive in April 2016 and the year after that she joined the board as 2^nd Vice Trustee. In 2018, she was asked to become Treasurer, in which position she serves to this day. KK wears many hats in addition to being Treasurer. She maintains the membership roster, maintains the board’s communication platform, and helps coordinate the trash pickup events. She enjoys the camaraderie of her fellow board members and loves making a positive contribution to the community.

KK has 3 grown children and 5 grandchildren. In her spare time, KK takes dance classes (social and tap dance), plays piano, studies German, and enjoys going to music concerts.