JUNE 2021
Chamber News THE VOICE OF BUSINESS & INDUSTRY
Kindness
in the Top of Virginia INSIDE: 04 | New Members 06 | The Book Nook 08 | Creative Fundraising Focused on Fun 10 | Making the Impact
TABLE OF CONTENTS
EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE
FEATURES 07 | Community Leadership Program 08 | Creative Fundraising Focused on Fun 10 | Making the Impact
Chair-Elect Scott Harvard First Bank Vice Chair Charles Daniels Integrus Holdings, Inc.
13 | A Return In-Person Astrid Sheil Ph.D, Dean of Shenandoah University’s School of Business speaks to the 2021 Community Leadership Program graduates
Chair John Fox GreenSen, LLC
Tajmarie Rowe of Lord Fairfax Community College speaks as the Community Leadership Program’s Class of 2021 Representative
DEPARTMENTS
Treasurer Adrian Taylor YHB Immediate Past Chair Tracy Vosika George Mason Mortgage, LLC
04 | Letter from CEO 04 | New Members
At Large Member Patti Solenberger Solenberger’s True Value Hardware
05 | TVRC News and Events 06 | The Book Nook
BOARD OF DIRECTORS Emily Burner Shenandoah University
Top of Virginia Regional Chamber Sponsors Chamber Elite
Jenny Grooms WMC Foundation Jim Guisewhite Sperry Van Ness James Imoh Edward Jones Investments
Chairman’s Club
Kevin McKannan GlenLoch Legal P.L.C. President’s Club
Katrina Meade City National Bank Cary Nelson H.N. Funkhouser Nadine Pottinga United Way NSV
Media Sponsors
Kristy Powers Navy Federal Credit Union James Stewart Grafton Integrated Health
Letter From the CEO Top of Virginia Regional Chamber
CHAMBER STAFF
We have amazing leaders amongst our membership and this issue of The Voice of Business and Industry proves it. Our next wave of leaders have just graduated from our Community Leadership Program, some that have already been accepted to Boards of local non-profits. The Top of Virginia Regional Chamber looks forward to the applications that come in for our next sessions beginning in September. Be sure apply by June 30th. We applaud an organization that has been making a difference in our community since 1946, the United Way of the Northern Shenandoah Valley, as well as up-and-coming Cheers! To Charity and the immediate impact they have been making through innovative fundraising efforts to support Blue Ridge Area Food Bank this year. Many of our programs have started to return to in-person sessions. The energy in the air or the room has been electric with members reconnecting over incredible eats and in-person networking returns. Connect with our members at Business After Hours at Wayside Inn/ Larrick’s Tavern on June 24 or Valley Business Women at Rock Harbor on June 23. Stay tuned for our Marijuana Forum coming up on June 28 that will discuss how legislation changes may affect your business. Cynthia Schneider | CEO Top of Virginia Regional Chamber
UPCOMING EVENTS View the full TVRC calendar at regionalchamber.biz
Valley Business Women
Wednesday, June 23 5:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. Rock Harbor
Welcome
New Members
Business After Hours
Thursday, June 24 5:30 p.m. to 7:00 p.m. Wayside Inn Larrick’s Tavern
Monday, June 28 12:00 p.m. - 1:00 p.m. Virtual
Thanks to our new members who joined the Chamber between May 1 and May 31. To learn more about membership benefits, call 540-662-4118.
Trumble Agency
AAMCO of Winchester
VanCleve Plumbing
Aikens Group Hotels
Buffalo Wild Wings
Hampton Inn/Conference Center
Jackson West Consulting, LLP
Shenandoah County Chamber of Commerce
Boden Pho Bistro
Public Policy Marijuana Forum
Weichert Commercial Advisors Weichert Realtors J Curfman Law, PLLC Shenandoah Community Capital Fund, Inc
Cynthia Schneider, CEO
cschneider@regionalchamber.biz
Billy Whirley Director, Membership Development
bwhirley@regionalchamber.biz
Dan Hitchcock Membership Development Specialist
dhitchcock@regionalchamber.biz
Kory Campbell Director, Marketing & Communications
kcampbell@regionalchamber.biz
Danita Roble Director, Event Management droble@regionalchamber.biz
407 S. Loudoun Street Winchester, VA 22601 540-662-4118 regionalchamber.biz OUR PURPOSE Connect business and community resources for mutual success. OUR VISION Be the voice of business for Frederick & Clarke Counties and the City of Winchester, Virginia. OUR MISSION Provide programs and services to enhance the business and professional needs of our members.
TVRC NEWS & EVENTS Public Policy Series Forum: Marijuana Industry in the State of Virginia June 28th 12:00 p.m. to 1:00 p.m. (Virtual)
Save the Date:
Facilitator: Ashley Shickle, TVRC Public Policy Committee Scribe
Enjoy a beautiful evening at Rock Harbor with other Valley Business Women. This evenings gathering will include a group mini golf lesson with a Golf Pro (offered but not required) and a social to include a lovely buffet and beverage. We will be outside to enjoy the warm weather, fresh air and scenic views. Bring your business cards and a door prize if you’d like to showcase your business. Registration is required. Tickets are Register at regionalchamber.biz
Panelist: Marijuana Industry 101 Defining terms, Where is the industry now?, Where can it go? Dr. Dan Downey, Professor, James Madison University JMU Hemp Industry Research Team Legislation Overview – Agustin E. Rodriguez, Partner Troutman Pepper Questions that may be addressed:
Valley Business Women | Rock Harbor Golf Course June 23rd 5:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m.
Save the Date: Business After Hours | Wayside Inn & Larrick’s Tavern June 24th 5:30 p.m. to 7:00 p.m.
Overview of the 2021 Cannabis Control Act - How might it effect your business - What do I need to know about the July 1, 2021 changes to legislation? - How can I influence future legislation locally and at the state level?
Please join us for an in-person Business After Hours Event as one of our monthly mixers that will allow face to face conversations and mixing business with pleasure. Come see the newly renovated Wayside Inn & Larrick’s Tavern located on Mainstreet of the historic Middletown, VA. We will get to tour the facility and see the different meeting rooms and guest rooms in the historic Wayside Inn, sample some of Chef Travis Ross’s newest creations, a cash bar will be available and they will have both indoor and outdoor gathering for socializing and networking. Registration is preferred.
Register at: regionalchamber.biz
Ribbon Cutting to take place outside at 5:00 PM.
Do you know the difference between Hemp, Marijuana, Cannibas? How about THC and CBD?
Community Partner:
Happy 40th Birthday Blue Ridge Hospice! Blue Ridge Hospice has been serving Winchester, Virginia and the surrounding areas since 1981, providing high-quality end of life care to an average of 210 patients each day. Patients and families can receive physical, emotional, and spiritual suport in their services as focuses change from cure to comfort. Blue Ridge Hospice is always looking for volunteers for their Thrift Shops, where proceeds help offer enhanced services that Medicare does not cover, such as grief support or music therapy. E-recycling services are also offered at each location. Join Blue Ridge Hospice at their “One More Song” event, at the Barns of Rose Hill in Berryville, Virginia, July 11, 2021 from 5:00 p.m. to 10:00 p.m. 100% of ticket sales and proceeds will benefit the Music Therapy Department of Blue Ridge Hospice. Virtual viewing options are also available. Get more information and tickets at: brhospice.org
by Matt Swain, PR Manager Handley Regional Library System
The Book Nook is a monthly column courtesy of Handley Regional Library System that shares reading recommendations on business topics, career advice, leadership, and more to help drive your business – and career – forward. The three titles selected here are available as an eBook or audiobook on Hoopla, a free streaming platform for the community, with your library card. Learn more and start reading and listening at www.handleyregional.org/hoopla.
Start Now
Reynold Levy Levy will help you think about your future creatively and prepare for it resourcefully. How to network naturally, interview effectively, perform well in your current job and more. He will offer you a recipe for moving up in an appealing organization, or moving out gracefully to a better position elsewhere. Reynold shares his experience as CEO at the 92nd Street Y, the AT&T Foundation, the International Rescue Committee, and Lincoln Center, and as a professor, trustee, consultant, public speaker, and author of five books.
Early Novels and Stories James Baldwin
James Baldwin was an American novelist, essayist, playwright, poet, and social critic. He offered a vital literary voice during the era of civil rights activism in the 1950s and ‘60s. He was the eldest of nine children; his stepfather was a minister. At age 14, Baldwin became a preacher at the small Fireside Pentecostal Church in Harlem. In the early 1940s, he transferred his faith from religion to literature.
Need more inspiration? We help small businesses, entrepreneurs, and individuals take care of business at your local library. Visit www.handleyregional.org/ business
Community Leadership Program Written by: Top of Virginia Regional Chamber
The 2020-2021 graduates were honored on Friday, June 4, 2021 at West Oaks Farm Market. This may have been one of the most difficult years for the students to access all that the programs offers to upcoming leaders. Indoor spaces alone proved tough to navigate under the restrictions that were in place at the time as was connecting with leaders, professional facilitators, and specialists that were under state mandates themselves. “That really says something about your tenacity, your integrity, and your fidelity, not just to the program, but to each other,” said Astrid Sheil Ph.D, Dean Shenandoah University School of Buisness, to the graduates. The Community Leadership Program encompasses nine sessions that cover leadership & teamwork, non-profits, community culture & agriculture, government & economic development,
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Students from the 2021 Community Leadership Program gather for a picture at West Oaks Farm Market
education, health care, public safety, and community problem solving. These topics are designed to encourage CLP participants to develop skills and access the resources needed to enhance the understanding of complex issues facing our region. Educational sessions broaden insights into the structures of the landscape of entities that collaborate to study community concerns. Exposure to these community roles and the people that fill those positions gives exposure to students as they look to the future of tackling these barriers that present. Now the next level of leadership has a chance to apply for the Community Leadership Program to foster that leadership potential to ensure continued growth and development in our region. Apply at: regionalchamber.biz
Creative Fundraising Focused on Fun Written by: Kory Campbell, Top of Virginia Regional Chamber
Amazing things can happen when people join together to have a little fun while putting their mind to a mission. That is why amazing things are happening at Cheers! to Charity, a Winchester-based 501(c)(3) non-profit organization. The community can join together, have a drink (however you choose to enjoy the event), and share a smile to bring extra fundraising power to other local charities.
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The Cheers! group formed officially in January of 2021, but have a storied history together raising funds in the area that were averaging about $50,000 annually. Realizing that community needs were not stationary problems, and that families face different types of crises depending on such things as the economy around them, Cheers! to Charity saw the need to support a deserving non-profit yearly, but
rotate the support to other organizations as the community needed extra support in those areas. “We like to be able to support low-staff groups to raise awareness and generate donations as they are usually stretched so thin,” said Jeanne Mezzatesta, an officer in the group of twelve. Blue Ridge Area Food Bank is the recipient of 2021 efforts as they saw a 20% increase in food insecurity in the area while partnering with more than 200 shelters or ^ Cheers! to Charity assists customers as they donate food pantries. “About 16% of all visits to to local charities while purchasing daylilies at Digging Daylilies on Marple Road in Winchester pantries were made by people who had not accessed the food assistance network before,” according to Mezzatesta. Top Right: Volunteers join owners Sage and Derek The 10in10 campaign set a goal to raise $10,000 over the course of the ten weeks spanning from March 1, 2021 to May 15. They were able to hit $8,200. Blue Ridge Area Food Bank is able to convert $1.00
Olah at Digging Daylilies. Center: Shawn Armstrong helps a daylily customer. Bottom Left: Jeanne Mezzatesta, Caroline Pardue, Shawn Armstrong, and Georgia Dearing work to clean local roads. Bottom Right: Kim Rhodes, Kami Tenney and Shawn Armstron prepare meals for CCAP in Winchester Photography courtesy of Cheers! to Charity
into approximately four meals. That means 32,800 meals went out to those in need, many of them children. Roughly 1 in 8 Virginia children are at risk of hunger, according to a 2019 study by Feeding America. That equaled 247,470 youth lives that are affected by food insecurity in the state. Virginia ranked fifth in the U.S. overall with 13.2% of the population under 18 compared to the national average of 17%. North Dakota led all states at just 9.8% or 16,900 children. I remember the feeling of helplessness early on when my twins were born. We were having difficulties getting them to eat and a persistent staff member would not let us jump to a formula aide. The girls were screaming, and I mean screaming, because they were hungry. This drifted well into the early morning hours. My wife and I started to feel crumbled. Finally, a nurse walked in, hearing these screaming children cry throughout her shift and offered us something to feed them. I vowed in that moment, that we would never be that helpless again when it came to feeding our family. That powerful moment was just that. A moment. Albeit a crushing moment, it lasted less than 24 hours and the root cause had an immediate solution. I simply can not fathom having to experience that on a consistent basis as so many families around us are, without any clear sight for hope in the immediate future.
Carrie Lubecke, owner Scarpa Alta, celebrated the boutique’s 16th anniversary on June 12, with the help of Cheers! to Charity. Visitors and shoppers enjoyed food, drinks, and shopping discounts with all donations matched by Scarpa Alta. Donors can donate to Cheers! to Charity knowing that 100% of funds will go directly to the supported non-profit. Sponsors cover the low overhead costs involved to run the organization to allow donations to fully reach the hands of those who need the support.
In 2021, Cheers! to Charity is taking on the battle against food insecurity seriously. In addition to the successful 10in10 campaign, the group features a Daylily Dig; coming up on July 10th at Digging Daylilies of 545 Marple Road in Winchester, and a music festival is being planned in the fall at Chamber member Winchester Ciderworks. You can also host a house party now that restrictions have loosened to entertain friends and guests while supporting a great cause. A return to normalcy works very well for an organization built on being social interaction. “Our goal is to put the FUN in Fundraising,” added Jeanne proudly. Cheers! events are very well-attended with this attitude and therefore provide a great networking experience. Events do feature alcoholic beverages (distributed in accordance with Virginia state guidelines). Donors or sponsors who wish to take part in other ways can still make a direct impact at their website at cheerstocharityva.org where every dollar makes a difference. You can make a difference in your community. Donate or Volunteer Today!
Making the Impact Written by: Top of Virginia Regional Chamber
^ On May 24, 2021, the United Way of the Northern Shenandoah Valley (NSV) announced an investment of $505,047 to 36 regional non-profits as they reaffirmed their commitment to lift families and individuals to financial stability to create a healthier community in the 2021-2022 Community Inpact Grant Program. The board of directors for the Greater Good Award winner Non-profit of the Year for their work in 2020, approved recommendations from more than 60 community volunteers to provide a 10% increase in funding over what was distributed last year. Grants will be received by programs throughout the Northern Shenandoah Valley (City of Winchester, Clarke County, Frederick County, Shenandoah County, and Page County) to begin distribution on July 1, 2021.
Photo courtesy of United Way NSV Pictured left to right: Jennifer Hall, United Way NSV; Joe Czachowski, Trex Company; Nadine Bullock-Pottinga, United Way NSV; Jessica Neff, First Bank; Dr. Yolanda Barbier Gibson, Shenandoah University, and Elise Stine-Dolinar, United Way NSV
the community reported from the United Way Needs Assessment and Virgina ALICE® Report that showed exigency in areas of education, financial stability, and health. Funding priorities in education focused on basic needs, early learning, and youth support programming. Grants aimed at improving economic support covered basic needs, housing, and employment. Areas identified to build healthier communities shined a light on access to care, trauma informed care, and behavioral health.
The Top of Virginia Regional Chamber is proud to offer reThe United Way NSV will also be able to distribute an addi- duced rates to area non-profits for membership. Twenty-five ortional $173,132 in donor designated funds to various agenganizations in the region accounted for $346,422 of the Comcies, acheiving over 92% of the $735,772 in requests that they munity Impact Grant with fourteen Chamber members totaling had received. The funds are being distributed to high needs in nearly 82% of those funds received in our coverage zone.
APPLY TODAY!
regionalchamber.biz
A Return In-Person Written by: Top of Virginia Regional Chamber
The first Business After Hours kicked off the season in style with Region’s 117 of the Shenandoah Lodge in Lake Frederick in May. The in-person event featured gorgeous views, live music, smokeless firepits, delectable appetizers, and perhaps the most important thing – human connection. With guidelines for mask mandates lifting just hours before, Chamber members were greeted by smiles upon smiles of those that were excited to finally laugh again amongst others. There was a buzz to the air that refreshed the soul after a year of disconnection. Roughly 100 Chamber members gathered to welcome the return of the after-hours event. “Honestly, I had been looking forward to going for weeks and it really was one of the best busi-
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Felicia Pallett, Meaghan Fox, and Amy VanMeter enjoy Business After Hours at Region’s 117 with other Chamber members
ness after hours event I’ve attended. It was exactly what was needed (for everyone, I’m sure) to continue moving forward,” stated Meaghan Fox, Director of Sales for SpringHill Suites of Winchester. Several new members had a chance to introduce themselves to the crowd. Aikens Group, Lisa Fisher Art, Trumble Insurance, Netmaker Communications, Sierra Learnership Collaborative, The Farinholt Team - ERA Oakcrest Realty all took the opportunity to introduce themselves. The Top of Virginia Regional Chamber has plenty more opportunities coming to network in-person for current and new members. Find out more: regionalchamber.biz
Fun with Membership
Connection in Photos
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1. Joanne Royaltey (Virginia Cooperative Extension) gets to know more about Lori Eversole (City National Bank) in a game designed to enhance networking at the Valley Business Women’s Bloomin’ Tea Social at the George Washington Hotel. 2. Jill Edlich (The Wine Club for Women and The Ravenwood Foundation) gets matched to sit with Darcus Breneman (First Bank) based on the cards they had chosen when entering the Valley Business Women’s Bloomin’ Tea Social. 3. Erika de Azagra (Erika de Azagra - ERA Oakcrest Realty) shares a laugh with her entire table as they learn more about each other’s businesses just before the door prizes were awarded. 4. Top of Virginia Regional Chamber CEO, Cynthia Schneider shares a laugh as she greets Chamber members and a few guests at Region’s 117 for Business After Hours. 5. Kevin Callanan (Callanan Executive Services, LLC) connects with Cindy Greenya and Eric Iliffe at Business After Hours in May. 6. Rebecca Taylor (Aikens Group Hotels) introduces herself and the Aikens Hotel Group as some of the newest members to join the Top of Virginia Region Chamber. 7. Graduates of the 2021 Community Leadership Program at West Oaks Farm Market (from left to right: Summer Jeirles, Jimmy Roberts, Tajmarie Rowe, Amy Feathers, Todd Braithwaite, Michele Brune, Stacy Leach, Sierra Collins, William Gordon, Erika de Azagra, Matthew Martz, Carrie Johnson, Shayla Rickard, Sarah Frey, Daniel Valentine, Elenor Williams Tahmaseb, and Tristan Baker).
Fun with Membership
I-81 Roundtable
TVRC MEMBER TESTIMONIAL: On the Valley Today with Janet Michaels When speaking about the Community Leadership Program: “It just makes sense why the Chamber is the house for this program because that is exactly how it works. Everybody that is either participating from the stu dent level is networking, mingling, and getting to know each other. The presenters are either former CLP graduates or other leaders in the industry and they all came prepared with information, panphlets, or business cards and said reach out to us. We’re always looking for more input or getting involved. It is pretty remarkable.”
The Top of Virginia Regional Chamber was on-site for discussion of the upcoming expansion of the Interstate-81 Corridor to include an extra lane for northbound and southbound traffic between Exit 313 and Exit 317. The construction is expected to begin in 2028 and complete by 2031. The improvement project will implement Changeable Message Boards at six locations both on I-81 and surrounding interchanges throughout Frederick County, Virginia.
Matt Martz The Management Group Listen for the Top of Virginia Regional Chamber on The Valley Today podcast with Janet Michaels.
Hear previous podcasts at regionalchamber.biz
