Jack W. McMurchy
Area III Vice President
A westerner from Montana, Jack graduated from the University of Montana (Western) and Montana State University. He was a Vietnam War era veteran and a counterintelligence agent. Jack started his federal career working summers as a range aid for the Bureau of Land Management and as a forestry & range aid and research technician for the U.S. Forest Service. After teaching senior high school for 3 years, he entered federal civil service at the U.S. Army Logistics Management College, Ft. Lee, VA. For 16 years, he developed, administered and inspected intern programs. The last 10 years he was a Supervisory Instructional Systems Specialist in charge of Ft. Lee civilian training, college instructor training, the Logistics Library, and the Registrar’s Office. He was also active as the Chairman and Vice- Chairman of the Ft. Lee Civilian Welfare Fund Council and publicizing scholarship programs for the Federal Employee Education and Assistance (FEEA) Program. He married Sandy Bell in 1967. They have two grown children and two grandsons. They spend as much time as possible at a vacation home near Tyro, VA in Nelson County.
In NARFE he was the Petersburg chapter National Legislation Chair (1 year) , Vice-President for 2 years, President for 3 years, State Legislative Chair for 4 years, Newsletter Editor for 4 years (one at the Area level), on the VFC Nominating Committee for 2 years, and is currently on the Constitution and Bylaws Committee.
Area III is compact in size and includes the Richmond metropolitan area, Henrico County, Chesterfield County, and the area to the tri-cities and beyond. Most of the land area is in the Petersburg chapter and includes the cities of Petersburg, Hopewell, Franklin, Emporia (and spillover from Colonial Heights, and Chesterfield County), and the counties of Prince George, Dinwiddie, Surry, Sussex, Southampton, and Brunswick counties. Some members must drive 50 or more miles to attend meetings, but most members of other chapters have to travel short distances to attend their meetings. The area is fortunate in having agencies employing large numbers of federal workers including Fort Lee, the Bureau of Prisons, the McGuire VA Hospital, Defense Supply Center, and many different Federal agencies in Richmond and the surrounding areas.
The area is rich in history with some of the earliest settlements, plantations, and mining. Some battles were fought at the end of the Revolutionary War, but the biggest battles occurred during the Civil War. Richmond was the capital of the Confederacy, and many battles were fought in the area including the year- long siege around Petersburg. Hopewell (City Point) was a huge supply depot for the Union forces and later became the chemical capital of the state during and after World War I. Fort Lee was a major Army training post during both world wars and has become a major logistics training facility for all military services. The former Defense Supply Center also was important to the growth of the area. Richmond, the state capital continues to prosper as large businesses and industry contribute to the overall growth of the area.
