Pulaski County Board of Supervisors
The Board of Supervisors is the chief policy making body for Pulaski County. The five board members are elected by the citizens of Pulaski County in their respective magisterial districts to serve four year terms. In addition to setting policy for the county, the Board of Supervisors also appoints members to County boards, authorities, commissions and committees, appoints the County Administrator to carry out daily operations and approves all local tax rates and County budget.
Meet the Board Of Supervisors
Laura W. Walters
Ingles District, Chair
lwalters@pulaskicounty.org
Laura W. Walters
Chair
Ingles District
Laura is from Southwest Virginia, living in Pulaski County part-time all her life and full-time since 2000. Laura holds a BS in Business and Psychology and MS in Psychology from Radford University with additional post-graduate work at Virginia Tech.
Laura’s professional background included working for Mount Rogers Mental Health Services Board and teaching and counseling at National Business College, Wytheville and New River Community Colleges. She founded and managed Career Directions, a business consulting and outplacement firm in 1989, working there until retiring in 2011. Since that time, Laura has continued her career with volunteer work, serving on various boards and organizations. Laura has worked with the Pulaski County Humane Society as a member and Past President, Pulaski’s representative on the Mount Rogers Community Services Board and the Pulaski County Library Board (Past Chair). She served on the Sea Scouts Advisory Board and is a Boating Safety Instructor for the Virginia Department of Game and Inland Fisheries.
Laura’s most recent work includes serving as a Friends of Claytor Lake member and Past President, current Chair for New River Conservancy, Pulaski County Clean Community Council, Friends of Peak Creek Board, Financial Officer of the United States Coast Guard Auxiliary Flotilla 83, Virginia Safe Boating Council and Claytor Lake Technical Advisory Committee.
Laura is married to Jeff Arnold and lives on Claytor Lake with her rescue dogs. She has three children, daughter Brett, who attended Gardner Webb University in Shelby, North Carolina and works in home health care in Shelby; son Evan, who attended Radford University and University of Taiwan and is Commissioner of the World Axe Throwing League, living in Roanoke, and Ethan, who attended New River Community College and works as an Instrumentation/Electronics Technician at Radford University and lives in Dublin.
Laura’s hobbies and interests include, Siberian husky rescue, travel, outdoors, wildlife rehabilitation, reading, biking, and all water sports.
Dirksen "Dirk" I. Compton, Vice Chair
Draper District
dcompton@pulaskicounty.org
Dirk I. Compton
Vice Chair
Draper District
Dirksen "Dirk" Ivon Compton began serving on the Board of Supervisors on January 1, 2020. He retired from the Virginia State Police in 2015 after a 29-year career. During his career, he was assigned to the Pentagon after the terrorist attacks on September 11, 2001. He was a first responder to the Virginia Tech mass shooting at Norris Hall and West Ambler Johnston dorm on April 16, 2007. He was assigned to a violent crimes taskforce in Richmond, Virginia, before being promoted and assigned to the Appomattox Division Headquarters. He worked his last 15 years in Pulaski County where he and his wife, Katrina decided to declare home. Dirk and Katrina have two sons, Conner, the youngest, attends Pulaski High School and their oldest, Cade, attends Virginia Military Institute. The family lives on a family farm in Draper where they raise beef cattle.
Dirk is a 1987 graduate of Radford University. He holds a Bachelor's of Science degree in Business Management. Dirk currently serves as a substitute teacher and part-time/substitute bus driver for Pulaski County Public Schools.
Joseph W. Guthrie
Cloyd District
jwguthrie@pulaskicounty.org
Joseph W. Guthrie
Cloyd District
Joseph W. "Joe" Guthrie was elected as the Cloyd District member on the Pulaski County Board of Supervisors in 2015. Prior to that, he had served as an elected member of the School Board for 4 years. Joe is a life-long resident of Pulaski County where he is the 6th generation to own and operate the family farm near Dublin. He is also on the faculty of the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences at Virginia Tech where he is Senior Instructor in Agricultural Technology. Joe has been an active leader in several local, state and national organizations including Pulaski County Farm Bureau, the CALS Faculty Association, Virginia Cattlemen’s Association and the National Cattlemen’s Beef Board. He currently serves on several county and regional boards including Friends of Claytor Lake, The Fine Arts Center for the New River Valley, Pulaski County Sewage Authority, Onward NRV and the New River Valley Metropolitan Planning Organization. Joe graduated with honors from Virginia Tech in Agricultural Economics and earned a Master’s in Agricultural Economics and International Trade from Massey University in New Zealand where he was a Fulbright Scholar. He and his wife Carol have three children and live on the farm near Dublin.
John V. Travis
Massie District
jtravis@pulaskicounty.org
John V. Travis
Massie District
John Travis was elected to the Board of Supervisors in 2019, and has been blessed to call Pulaski his home for the last 31 years. What brought him here was work; even then, Pulaski was ripe for manufacturing employers. He worked at Pulaski Furniture for more than 19 years and was the plant manager for the last 5 years until the plant closed in 2007. In 2000, he got his Virginia Contractor Class A license and started his own contracting company. After many years of building custom homes, he switched to the real estate side of the business. In 2014, he got his Virginia Realtor’s license and went into business with his wife Donna, working with Long and Foster Real Estate as The Travis Team. John enjoys volunteering in the community, participating in events and activities of all types through his church as well as civic organizations. He has two grown children who attended Pulaski County Public Schools, and two grandchildren that he adores. His hobbies include spending time with his family, as well as enjoying the activities and outdoors around Pulaski.
County Attorney
Mr. Timothy E. Kirtner, Esq.
Gilmer Sadler Ingram Sutherland & Hutton, LLP
County Attorney
Board of Supervisors Mission Statement
It is our mission as a Board to take PRIDE in serving the citizens of Pulaski County;
To provide EXCELLENCE in employee performance, agency and commission support, intergovernmental relations and public service delivery; and
To have a VISION for the growth and development of our community.