At the Annual Meeting of the Washington County Historical Society that took place on March 19, 2026 four were elected to the Historical Society Board of Directors. Two were repeat board members and the other two are new to the board.
Karlene McComb and Rick Hodsdon were re-elected to the board of directors. Eric Linner, of Stillwater, and Valerie Richards, of Lakeland, were elected for the first time as board members. Retiring from the board were June Eagleton and Holly Fitzenberger.
Linner, a retired architect that mostly worked on public buildings, although he was the project manager on a few buildings on the National Historic Register. He is a fifth generation of Linners, Seymours and Canfields from Stillwater. He is an assistant Scoutmaster with Scout Troop 89 in Mahtomedi, member of the Historic Courthouse Advisory Committee and a member of St. Andrew’s Lutheran Church of Mahtomedi. He holds a Bachelor of Architecture from the University of Minnesota, formerly LEED AP, BD+C certified from US Green Building Council. He has been an active volunteer with the Historical Society, doing several presentations and helping out with several events.
Richards is “at least” a fifth generation in the Stillwater area and graduated from Stillwater High School in 1982. She is a member of the First Presbyterian Church in Stillwater as well as a member of the St. Croix Valley Grief Coalition. Other organizations that she has been involved with include the Stillwater Area Act on Alzheimer’s, MN Council of Churches, Alzheimer’s Association and the Valley Athletic Association. She holds an MBA from the University of Wisconsin-River Falls and a BA in Psychology from the University of Minnesota.
For more information about the Washington County Historical Society please call 651-439-2298 or email at information@wchsmn.org or visit www.wchsmn.org.

Founded in 1934, the Washington County Historical Society is a donor-supported, nonprofit organization with more than 750 individual, family, and business members. WCHS is supported by individual gifts, memberships and earned income, and foundation grants.