Lois Haverstrom is General Counsel to Southern Development and has been with the company for over 9 years.

Favorite part of living in Charlottesville?
My husband and I have lived all over the Country, so we have measuring sticks from other places (NY, NJ, PA, TX, MO). We have been here for about 16 years and this an awesome place to raise a family. There is so much to do and it is so peaceful at the same time. Not too big, not too small. The best part of Charlottesville is the people. Charlottesville became “home” because of the people and relationships that we have here.  We are fortunate to have lots of family living in the area. We are blessed to have all four grandparents here to share in our lives. Then there are Aunts, Uncles, and a ton of cousins who all call the C-ville area home. We have made so many dear friends. The type of friends that I know we can really count on as we all do our best to raise our kids.  Then there are the people I have the privilege to work with every day.  A great group who I genuinely enjoy. Everyone works hard, cares honestly and knows when to laugh heartily. For me, C-ville is home because of the people.

What do you enjoy doing in your time off?
We love sports, camping, bike riding, and skiing. Loft Mountain Campground is our weekend getaway on the Skyline Drive. We have two active boys and it seems like their sports take over most of our time off, but that’s good because our friends are doing the same thing and we frequently get to hang out at the fields with the people we enjoy. With winter approaching we are all getting ready to head back to Wintergreen. The Wintergreen Adaptive Sports program made it possible for the four of us to get back on the slopes together!  Days like that are the best on so many levels.

Favorite place to eat out?
This is tough. Pre-kids, I would have picked Palladio at the Barboursville Vineyard for a very special night out. With two boys (ages 14 and 10) our eating-out habits have changed a little bit. My kids are pretty adventuresome eaters, but finding a place where everyone likes something can be a challenge. They love Bonefish Grill for a special night out. My 10 year old loves mussels and the 14 year old will eat pretty much anything that comes out of the sea. Pizza at Fabio’s off High Street is our go-to place (best NY Style Pizza). The boys are into volume eating these days so we are loving the dine-around coupons.