Barbara Reese

Owning her own business was not Barbara Reese‘s original dream. However, in 1996 she decided to strike out on her own and become the boss. Although the direction of the business was not clearly defined in the beginning, her love of history, service and working with children have always been at the heart of the programs offered by BR Associates.

Hands On History programs, developed and conducted by Barbara, offer programs related to Colonial/Pioneer and Native American eras. The programs, designed for small groups or classrooms, offer a short history lesson on the topics: hands-on activities or crafts for the students that make history come alive. The most popular Colonial/Pioneer programs are: "Chores" where students milk a sawhorse cow and make butter; "Toys" where students play with the colonial toys and make two of their own; and "Apple Harvest Time" where students make applesauce and taste apple butter, dried apples and apple cider. in the most popular Native American program, Barbara shares all the native American artifacts she has collected from across the United States.

In addition to the Hands On History programs, BR Associates also offers children’s activities for fairs and festivals. She designed the activities and provides staffing for the Kid’s Kaboose at the Manassas Railway Festival each year. Previously she was a volunteer director of the Children’s Activity Barn at the Prince William County Fair from its inception until 1999.

BR Associates also offers services in educational consulting and program management. Early in the business, Barbara was a sub-contractor for the Virginia Department of Environmental Quality and served as an Environmental Education Fellow, traveling around the state instructing teachers on methods to teach environmental education. She also served as the Program Manager for the Prince William Committee of 100 for several years.

Barbara has always been involved with her community as a volunteer. Currently, she serves as a 4-H Volunteer Leader, teaching leadership education in a variety of settings to teens across the state.

To schedule a presentation or find out more about the services offered by BR Associates, contact Barbara at (703) 791-5862 or email her at bjreese@erols.com.

(July 2002)