<bt>Jeff Rupp, a Springfield resident, established a growing and very popular rugby program at the Springfield Youth Club. Because of his contributions to the club and the community, he was recently nominated for this week's People Profile.
Number of Years in the Springfield area Community: Six-plus years
Family: single/divorced; daughter Julia, age 6
Education: Bachelor of arts in history from St. Olaf College; master of arts in American studies from the University of Maryland
Current job/primary occupation? Electronic publishing manager at the Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development, an K-12 educators' membership organization in Alexandria.
Activities/interests/hobbies? Coaching rugby, skiing, reading, playing soccer with Julia
What are your community concerns? What are some ideas you have on ways to improve your community? Apart from the usual suspects traffic and crime, I think finding enough space for athletic fields in Fairfax County is a big issue with lots of demand and comparatively few good fields. Hopefully, the Laurel Hills athletic complex at the old Lorton prison site will help. I'm on the board at Springfield Youth Club, and we're involved with this and other opportunities to improve the situation.
What community "hidden treasure" do you think more people should know about? Springfield Youth Club deserves credit for providing a variety of athletic opportunities for kids. I run a rugby program there each summer that introduces kids as young as 6 to the game through a two-hand touch version. We may add tackle rugby, too, this upcoming season.
Favorite local restaurant or place in Springfield? Burrito Joynt on Franconia Road
Personal goals? Raise my daughter to be a fine young woman. Continue to build youth rugby in the area. Find more time for skiing each winter.
Know of someone who should be spotlighted for their contributions to the community? Send nominations to Nina M. Dry at springfield@connectionnewspapers.com or call 703-917-6422.