The Valley Today

Our conversation for Municipal Monday featured Frederick County Administrator, Mike Bollhoefer . Mike took over as Administrator in November 2021 after serving for many years as the City Manager in Winter Garden, FL. We talked about the differences between the two localities and the adjustments he's made since relocating. He also gave us a quick rundown of several road projects and talked about th...

Olivia Hilton, Director of Strategic Initiatives for the Town of Strasburg & I strolled to Alforno's Italian Cuisine for a conversation with the new owner, Brandon. He told us how he came to be the owner of Alforno's and gave us a quick rundown of items on his menu. We talked about dough-making, marinara simmering, and the high priority he places on the customer experience. View his menu and/or or...

Our conversation today with Guy Curtis , Director of Marketing for Laurel Ridge Community College featured Jelise Ballon from Laurel Ridge Community College Workforce Solutions . Jelise gave us the details for their upcoming webinar, Looking Ahead Together: 2022 and Beyond. The webinar will release data collected post-COVID about what issues small businesses now face. She gave us some insight into...

Our conversation for The Valley Business Today - Luray/Page County edition - featured Edison Emmons from Luray/Page County Chamber of Commerce and his guest, Danielle Painter from LD&B Insurance. Danielle gave us really helpful information about Medicare plans and things to consider when making your choice. We talked about all the different factors that go into that decision as well as when you're...

Our conversation for Tourism Tuesday - Old Town Winchester edition - with Alex Flanigan, Main Street Program Manager for Old Town Winchester gave us all the details for the Fiddles & Fifths Festival happening on August 26 & 27, 2022. Fiddles & Fifths Festival is a tribute to the great Appalachian tradition of bluegrass music and the homegrown taste of Virginia bourbon! This FREE street festival ev...

Our conversation today with Sari Carp & Hannah Bement from Sustainability Matters gave us an update on their Making Trash Bloom pilot project. We also learned details about Mowing for Monarchs as well as how the community can be more involved in the organization from volunteering and/or becoming a member to joining their board or their staff. Hannah clarified the recent news about monarchs being e...

My fun squad was back on the show today! Tony Baker, Director of Marketing for Frederick County Parks & Recreation joined me for a chat along with Allie Bodenschatz, a summer marketing intern. Tony gave us details for basicREC. The basicREC program is available to all Frederick County Elementary School aged children and provides participants with recreational opportunities before and after school!...

We were live in the studio for our Traffic Safety Thursday conversation with Lt. Warren Gosnell from the Frederick County Sheriff's Office . Our topic today was Back to School safety. We discussed school bus safety including when you should stop (almost always) and being alert when children are present. Lt. Gosnell explained the laws regarding school bus stops on roads & highways that do and do no...

Our conversation for The Valley Business Today - Front Royal/Warren County edition - with Niki Foster from Front Royal/Warren County Chamber of Commerce took place at Kell's Belles on Main Street in downtown Front Royal. Joining us for the chat was Kelly Wahl, owner of Kell's Belles. She told us how this business (and her dream) came to fruition and gave us details on the types of clothing, shoes...

Kary Haun from Shenandoah County Tourism joined me for a conversation today at Woodstock Garden Cafe. She gave me a quick overview of the Route 11 Yard Crawl and talked about how to be a vendor as well as the Traipse app component that's been added this year. You can find more information about the event on their website and on Facebook . Kary also talked about the "Five Things Friday" posts that...

Our conversation for today's show took place on Saturday at the Strasburg Farmer's Market. Joining me to talk about their growing business was Rachel Butler & Janel Louk, owners of Nana's Blue Greenhouse. The pair explained how they came to be business partners and talked about their love of flowers and how it all started with a blue greenhouse. Learn more about Nana's Blue Greenhouse on their web...

We did a bit of traveling for today's conversation. We started at the Strasburg Visitor's Center to chat with Olivia Hilton, Director of Strategic Iniatives for the town of Strasburg and Strasburg Police Chief, Wayne Sager. The pair gave me all the details (between giggles) for Strasburg's National Night Out event happening on Tuesday, August 2, 2022 from 6pm -9pm at Strasburg Town Park. Chief Sag...

We traveled to Laurel Ridge Community College for a conversation with Melissa Stange , Professor of Computer Science to get details for Drone Day happening on the Middletown campus on Tuesday, August 2, 2022 from 4pm - 7pm. Melissa gave all the details for the event which will include live demonstrations from agencies such as Virginia Department of Aviation, Virginia Space Grant Consortium, Skydio...

Our conversation for The Valley Business Today with Cynthia Schneider, CEO at Top of Virginia Regional Chamber featured Samantha Barber, Founder & President of Reaching Out Now. Sam gave us all the details for their upcoming YES Conference (Youth Empowered for Success) happening on Monday, August 1, 2022 from 8:30am - 4pm. Reaching Out Now is partnering with Shenandoah University to provide studen...

We recorded today's conversation at The Monument on the Old Town Walking Mall in downtown Winchester with Justin Kerns from Winchester/Frederick County Convention & Visitors Bureau . Joining us was Justin Tenpenny (Director of Operations) and Chryssi Elfstrom (Events Manager) from The Monument. We learned the history of how the event venue came to be located at 186 N. Loudoun Street and the plans...

Our conversation 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 input in 2023-2024. Joining us to talk about the role of the Shenandoah River was Da...

Our conversation for United Way Day featured CEO of United Way Northern Shenandoah Valley , Kaycee Childress and her guest, Dr. Tom Gromling from Dental Clinic of Northern Shenandoah Valley . Dr. Gromling gave us some history of the organzation and talked about the population they serve. Their mission is to provide basic dental care for patients of all ages who normally don't have access to dentis...

Our conversation today was gave us great information about detecting, responding and treating strokes and aneurysms. It is part of our community health partnership with Valley Health where we talk each month with administrators, physicians, and other Valley Health staff about health topics, events, and the community. Joining me today was Dr. Habibullah Ziayee , a fellowship-trained interventional...

Our conversation for The Valley Business Today welcomed back Shenandoah Community Capital Fund to talk about their newest cohort and how they're making changes to their organization to serve more entrepreneurs/small business in more ways. Joining me for the conversation was Ryan Hall & Katie Overfield-Zook, entrepreneur ecosystem builders with Shenandoah Community Capital Fund. Ryan gave us a quic...

Our conversation for Tourism Tuesday - Luray/Page County edition - with Edison Emmons from Luray/Page County Chamber of Commerce featured guest Kristina Abbatiello, Hospitality Manager at Brookside Cabins. Kristina gave us some history of Brookside Cabins and talked about the types of guests they typically see. She gave us a description of the nine different cabins they offer and we talked about a...

Our conversation today with Renee Bayliss, Creative Design & Visitor Services Manager for the Winchester/Frederick County Convention & Visitors Bureau was all about the guided walking tours of Old Town Winchester . Joining us for the chat was Mike Robinson, local author, historian and tour guide. Renee gave us a quick history of how long the tours have been happening and told us of a few others ho...

Our conversation for Extension Office Friday welcomed back Extension Agents Mark Sutphin & Joanne Royaltey from the Frederick County Extension Office. Mark & Joanne work out of the VCE-Frederick County office but also serve Clarke, Page, Shenandoah, and Warren Counties. Today we got an update on the Spotted Lanternfly invasion and talked about the expanded quarantine area. Mark & Joanne explained...

Our conversation today with Guy Curtis , Director of Marketing for Laurel Ridge Community College featured engineering professors Liz Palffy and Alex Peebles. Alex & Liz gave details for their upcoming "Exploring Engineering with 3D Design & Robotics" camp that will happen at each campus. In Middletown, it will take place on Friday, July 22, 2022 from 9am - 5pm. In Fauquier, it will take place on...

Our conversation today is part of an ongoing partnership with the US Small Business Administration highlighting small businesses as well as offering advice and resources to small businesses. Our topic today was economic development in rural communities. We talked with John Fleming , Mid-Atlantic Regional Administrator for the US Small Business Administration and Alfreda Jarrett Reynolds, Director...

Our conversation for Tourism Tuesday - Old Town Winchester edition - with Alex Flanigan, Main Street Program Manager for the City of Winchester was all about events and experiences in Old Town Winchester. We talked about what goes into putting together city-sponsored events and why it's important to cater to both residents and tourists alike. We talked about First Fridays, Old Town Spirit, and the...