After eight hours in the air, a plane carrying the JMU Duke band landed in Paris.  It was Angela Kern’s first flight…and what a flight it was.  After arriving at the gate, the pilot told the passengers that it was the most turbulent flight in the past 25 years of his career. 

The 400 member JMU Duke band was on a 10-day European tour which included France, Italy, and a changing of the guard at Monaco on New Year’s Day.  Angela also played in the JMU pep band. 

Growing up on the Eastern Shore of Virginia, Angela followed in her father’s footsteps to JMU and playing the trombone.  She knew she wanted to be in business and an accounting professor suggested that as a career route.   She followed his advice and today she is a partner with Wall, Einhorn & Chernitzer.  She leads the company’s real estate services team and specializes of low income tax credits  She enjoys mentoring people with the firm.

When Angela decided to join a service club, her first thought was of Rotary.  Angela’s mother provided the foodservice for the local Rotary Club and one of her neighbors was a member of the club.  Angela connected with the mission of Rotary.  She enjoys reading to the children and RI’s Polio Plus initiative.  She enjoys our club as we don’t do the same thing every week.  Although the club is over 100 years old, Angela says it doesn’t “feel old.”  Angela joined our club in 2010 and is a Paul Harris Fellow. 

Angela has done significant work with Samaritan House, a domestic violence and family homeless shelter in Virginia Beach. She was recently named one of the region’s 40 under 40 award winners.

While at Virginia Tech, she fell in love with another trombone player, Brian Kerns.  Brian is an emergency room physician.  They have two children, Anna and Alex.  Their first “child” is Bailey, an eleven year old golden retriever.

Balancing the demands of a career, two small children, and a husband whose hours can be challenging doesn’t allow much time for other activities.  She is a huge Oriole and Redskin fan.   The family has season tickets to the Redskins and she enjoys traveling to see the Orioles play.  There are also frequent trips to the Eastern Shore to visit with family which includes both a brother and a sister.  Angela also enjoys trips to Las Vegas.