EDA in Focus
Meet EDA Board members Jeff Browne and Greg Harold – into the firestorm
In this July 18 video interview, Royal Examiner introduces two of the three newest Economic Development Authority Board of Directors members. Jeff Browne and Greg Harold were appointed by a unanimous vote of the Warren County Board of Supervisors on June 18. They were selected from an interview pool of 19, according to County staff.
They replaced two of the board’s longest-serving members, Greg Drescher and Ron Llewellyn, who jointly announced their resignations at the March 22 EDA board meeting, effective the following day.
Browne and Harold will join the EDA board’s newest member, Marjorie Martin, in their second, Martin’s first, EDA board meeting the morning of July 26.
Martin, whom Royal Examiner hopes to soon interview, was appointed Tuesday, July 16, following the unexpected resignation of EDA Board Vice-Chairman Bruce Drummond last week.
Drummond’s resignation continues turnover within the EDA board and staff as the investigation into financial fraud in EDA operations and consequent civil litigation and related criminal charges have proceeded.
Related or coincidental, that turnover includes the retirement or resignation of the entire three-person EDA staff: Marketing Director Marla Jones (retired) late 2017; Executive Director Jennifer McDonald and Administrative Assistant Michelle “Missy” Henry, resigned in December and March respectively; as well as three-decade Board Treasurer William “Billy” Biggs and long-time EDA bookkeeper Josie Rickard who both retired last October; as well as the above-mentioned Drescher, Llewellyn and now Drummond board resignations.
McDonald and Henry are the only two people thus far charged in criminal indictments related to the EDA fraud investigation. Both are currently jailed out of county, McDonald without bond on 12 felony embezzlement or fraud charges, Henry on two embezzlement counts. Henry is scheduled for a once-delayed (June 25) bond hearing tomorrow, Friday, July 19.
Why jump into the EDA firestorm now, we asked Browne and Harold to open our interview:
Ever Wonder How Front Royal Runs? Citizens Academy Opens Applications for New Class
Mary Ann “Molly” Harrison (1939 – 2026)
Master Gardeners Invite Public to November 14 Symposium on Birds, Native Plants, and Healthy Gardens
Why Some Small Towns Become Destinations (and Others Don’t)
Israel: Through World War I
Virginia Report Reveals Major Gaps in Access to Career and Technical Education Courses, Credentials
You May Be Paying Too Much for Prescriptions: One Question at the Pharmacy Could Save You Money
Fay G. Ingles (1937 – 2026)
John McLane “Johnny” Cole (1943 – 2026)
Joyce Ellen Meadows Powell (1947 – 2026)
Oops All Berries Takes Spotlight in Virginia Breeders Fund “Day of Champions” Card at Shenandoah Downs
Lung Cancer Often Has No Early Warning Signs: UVA Health Expert Urges Virginians to Get Screened
Virginia Governor Pledges Overhaul of Outdated K-12 School Funding Formula
Explosive Spending, Ugly Ads and Courtroom Battles Set Stage for Tense Midterm Elections
Girl Scout Cookie Season Is Going to the Dogs in 2027
Rules for Me, But Not for Thee?
‘Medically Frail’ Medicaid Enrollees Won’t Have to Prove Their Inability to Work to Keep Coverage
Ask Stewart: Why Is Front Royal a Tree City USA?
A Fallen Tree in Washington, D.C., Becomes an Unlikely Memorial
Costumes, Candy and Community Spirit Fill Downtown Front Royal for Hometown Halloween
Leslie Fox Keyser Elementary School Students Celebrate Heroes Day at the End of Red Ribbon Week
One More Parking Space. At What Cost?
VDOT: Warren County Traffic Alert for Nov. 2 – 6, 2026
Reforming Virginia’s School Funding Formula an Idea Whose Time Has Come