The Valley Today

Our conversation for Tourism Tuesday - Luray/Page County edition - with Edison Emmons from Luray/Page County Chamber of Commerce featured Kris Garrett & Abigail Bullock from Page County Equine Connection.  They told us about their organization and gave details for the Spring Fun Horse Show happening on April 29, 2023, at River's Bend Ranch. We talked about the benefits of having a local arena to h...

Our conversation today with Dianne Klopp, founder & President of Honor Flight Top of Virginia included one of her board members (and a dear friend of mine), Bill North. The pair gave a history of the organization and explained how the Top of Virginia "hub" was formed. Bill told us about his experience on one of the missions where his son accompanied him. Dianne walked us through how the trips work...

For our first ever "weekend edition" of The Valley Today, I met up with Andy Gail, Executive Director for Literacy Volunteers Winchester Area at Four Color Fantasies to get all the details about their fundraiser: Four Color Fantasies Covers Literacy. Joining us was Four Color Fantasies founder, Mike Kwolek and his manager, Erik C. Jones to tell us how the fundraiser started five years ago and give...

Today's Strolling Strasburg conversation with Olivia Hilton, Director of Strategic Initiatives for the Town of Strasburg took us down King Street to chat with two brand new businesses: Sammy Lou's Bake Shop & Cherry On Top Boutique. We started at Nancy's Coffee Bar for fuel/caffeine and headed to Sammy Lou's Bake Shop to talk with Sam Tierpack. Sam gave us some history about her love of baking and...

Our conversation today with Guy Curtis from Laurel Ridge Community College included Kristina Simpson , Director of Health Professions to talk with us about their nursing programs. Kristina gave us an overview of the types of jobs available (and salaries) in the field of nursing that not only include clinical settings but academic settings as well. We talked about the various programs, how they wor...

Our conversation for The Valley Business Today - Luray/Page County edition - with Edison Emmons from Luray/Page County Chamber of Commerce also included Clancey Arnold, Membership Development & Investment Administrator to talk about all the benefits that come with chamber membership. We talked about networking opportunities, marketing opportunities, as well as educational opportunities. Clancey wa...

Our conversation for Tourism Tuesday - Old Town Winchester edition - with Alex Flanigan, Main Street Program for the City of Winchester gave details for several upcoming events that are happening in the next several weeks. Alex explained some of the preparation already underway for the Shenandoah Apple Blossom Festival and told listeners that the city has created a document that answers nearly eve...

Our conversation today with Christine Patrick from Winchester Book Gallery gave all the details for Independent Bookstore Day happening across the country on Saturday, April 29, 2023. Now in its tenth year, Independent Bookstore Day (IBD) is a one-day national party that takes place at indie bookstores across the country on the last Saturday in April.  Every store is unique and independent, and ev...

Our conversation today with Kaycee Childress, CEO of United Way Northern Shenandoah Valley featured Anita Lunsford from The Collins Center. Anita gave a brief history and origin story of Collins Center and explained how long they have served Page County and surrounding counties and the value in now having a physical presence there. She told us of the four areas of service Collins Center provides a...

We were live in the studio for Traffic Safety Thursday with Lt. Warren Gosnell from the Frederick County Sheriff's Office . Today's topic: crashes. Lt. Gosnell explained why they are called crashes and not accidents and talked about all the reasons for that differentiation. He explained the role of law enforcement and insurance companies. We also talked about why there are citations issued for tho...

Our conversation today for The Valley Business Today - Front Royal/Warren County edition - with Niki Foster from Front Royal/Warren County Chamber of Commerce featured Melissa Garcia from Garcia & Gavino Bakery located at 40 E. 8th Street in Front Royal. Niki & I met up with Melissa at the bakery to learn more about how her business got started and how much it's grown in just two short years. Meli...

Our conversation for Tourism Tuesday - Shenandoah County edition - with Kary Haun from Shenandoah County Tourism took us to New Market to chat with Jon Henry, owner of Jon Henry General Store. Jon gave us a bit of history for the building and how the old fashioned general store came to existence. We talked about the resources that he accessed during the pandemic that helped him to grow the busines...

Our conversation today with Cori Pence, Communications Specialist with Northwestern Community Services Board Prevention & Wellness Services is part of a year-long partnership with Northwestern Community Services Board highlighting eight different dimensions of wellness. Their "Rooted in" campaign is in its third year with 2023's message: Rooted in Wellness. Each month they will encourage and chall...

Our conversation today gave some insight into the City of Winchester 's recycling program featuring guests: Sari Carp, Executive Director for Sustainability Matters , Hannah Bement, Scientific Programs Catalyst for Sustainability Matters, and Michael Neese, Recycling Manager for the City of Winchester. We discussed the partnership between Sustainability Matters and the City of Winchester, as well...

Our conversation today with Rusty Holland, Executive Director of Concern Hotline was FULL of great information. He told us about the success of his recent Ping Pong Tournament and gave details for their 55th Anniversary Celebration . The event will take place on April 20, 2023, from 5:30pm - 9pm at Fox Meadow Barn . It will feature heavy hors d'oeuvres from local area restaurants & chefs such as B...

Our conversation for the Valley Business Today featured Shayla Rickard, Business Retention Manager for Frederick County Economic Development Authority , and Carolyn Perry, Human Resources Manager for ZM Sheet Metal. Shayla gave details for the upcoming Widget Cup and talked about why partnerships with businesses such as ZM Sheet Metal are an important part of growing the workforce in Frederick Cou...

For today's conversation, Justin Kerns ( Winchester/Frederick County Convention & Visitors Bureau ) and I traveled out to Willow Moon Farm to chat with Sara Church, owner, maker, & farmer. Sara told us about her farm and her products. She explained her journey to becoming a farmer which started with the birth of her first child and talked about the all-natural approach she takes when formulating h...

Our conversation today with Tyler Hinkle, Shenandoah County's Planner is part of an ongoing series following the work on Shenandoah 2045 - Shenandoah County's comprehensive plan. The planning process will unfold over the course of four years with the majority of the community collaboration occurring from 2020-2022, with more input in 2023-2024. Tyler gave us an update on the planning process and t...

Our conversation today with Kaycee Childress, CEO of United Way Northern Shenandoah Valley also included Sara Schoonover-Martin, Executive Director of Healthy Families Northern Shenandoah Valley .  Sara gave us a bit of history for her agency which is celebrating 25 years of service this year. She explained the various FREE programs & services that they offer: Home visitation services Special even...

Our conversation today with Olivia Hilton, Director of Strategic Initiatives for the Town of Strasburg gave us all the details for Vintage in the Valley happening April 1, 2023. The 4th Annual Vintage in the Valley Festival will showcase nearly 100 vendors of vintage goods, antiques, and handmade crafts. Joining us for the chat were two vendors who are participating in the event as well as small b...

Our conversation for The Valley Business Today featured Kory Campbell, Director of Marketing & Communications for the Top of Virginia Regional Chamber. Kory gave all the details for the chamber's upcoming Greater Good Awards. The event is sold out, however, it will be live-streamed from the chamber's website: https://www.regionalchamber.biz/   We talked about the nominees for the various categorie...

Our conversation for Tourism Tuesday - Luray/Page County edition - with Edison Emmons from Luray/Page County Chamber of Commerce included Ryanne Hodson from Broad Porch Coffee. We've talked to Ryanne a few times over the years. You can hear the conversation from March 2021 by clicking here , and our conversation from December 2021 by clicking here . Ryanne told us about her relationship with the o...

Our conversation today with Tony Baker from Frederick County Parks & Recreation gave us all the details for several events and programs that are happening in the next few months. We also talked about the wide range of jobs that are currently available with Parks & Rec. You can find those by clicking here . Tony told us about: Trails for Miles, now in its fourth year is a mixed surface four-mile ra...

Our "Extension Office Friday" conversation today featured Stacy Swain. Stacy is a Warren County Extension Agent and manages the Warren County 4H Program. She gave us all the details for their overnight camp that will take place July 16 - 20, 2023 at the Northern Virginia 4H Center in Front Royal. We talked about the types of activities that will be available to the campers (age 9-13) as well as th...

As part of our community health partnership with Valley Health , our conversation this month focused on colon cancer awareness. March is Colorectal Cancer Awareness month . Joining me for the conversation was Dr. Maureen Hill , a fellowship-trained surgical oncologist and board-certified surgeon with Valley Health Surgical Oncology .  We talked about the incidence of colon cancer, who is at risk,...