The Valley Today

What does the economy have in store for your business in 2027, and who better to ask than the people actually running businesses right here at home? Janet Michael sits down with Scott Harvard, CEO of First Bank; Cynthia Schneider, CEO of the Top of Virginia Regional Chamber; and Taylor Coumes, the Chamber's Director of Event Management, to preview the fifth annual Economic Summit, coming to Shenan...

Blue Ridge Hospice opened its doors on Valentine's Day 1981, and 45 years later, hospice is only part of the story. Janet Michael talks with Ben Weber, Vice President of Business Development for Blue Ridge Care, about how the organization grew from volunteer nurses making home visits into a community care provider, and why it changed its name to Blue Ridge Care. Ben walks through everything Blue R...

A lung cancer screening takes just seconds on a CT table, and it could save your life. With Lung Cancer Awareness Month kicking off in November, Janet Michael sits down with Dr. Percival Buenaventura, a board-certified cardiothoracic surgeon with Valley Health at Winchester Medical Center, to talk about who should get screened, the risk factors people overlook, and how far lung cancer treatment ha...

Fifty years after the first vines went into the ground, Shenandoah Vineyards is back in the hands of the family that started it all. For Shenandoah County's Tourism Tuesday, Janet Michael and Kary Haun pull up a sofa in the winery's historic tasting room with Olivia Brandt, the tasting room manager, to talk about the 50th anniversary, the return to the founding family, and why a good tasting shoul...

About one in three households in our region didn't always have enough food this year, and one of the most powerful things you can do about it takes less than 10 minutes. Janet Michael is back on the Zooms with Les Sinclair, Communications & PR Manager for the Blue Ridge Area Food Bank, for a peek behind the curtain at the work that happens long before anyone hands out a box of food. Les shares ear...

Janet and Brady Cloven, Executive Director of Friends of Old Town enjoy a coffee-flavored cocktail with no caffeine, topped with a candy cigarette as they settle into the downstairs space at Taylor House, the new restaurant breathing fresh life into the historic Taylor Hotel building (and the former Macado's) on the Old Town Walking Mall, with co-owner Ethan Lieberman. Ethan shares why he took on...

When WATTS opens its overnight shelter on Halloween night, a lot of the people getting off the bus will be former students, coworkers, and neighbors, people this community already knows. Janet Michael checks back in with Robyn Miller, Executive Director of WATTS (Winchester Area Temporary Transitional Shelter), as the shelter gets ready for another winter season with more people in need than ever....

If you've ever felt like you were the only one dealing with a loved one's mental illness, this conversation is for you. Janet Michael talks with Alan Umstead, Executive Director of the You're Not Alone Ministry, and Katherine Schroeder, Population Health Manager for the Lord Fairfax Health District, about the free Community Mental Health Conference coming to Shenandoah University on Friday, Novemb...

Two Mount Jackson businesses, one new idea, and up to $1,000 to get it off the ground: that's the pitch behind the town's new Better Together program. Janet Michael heads south to Mount Jackson to catch up with Town Manager Olivia Hilton and Assistant Town Manager Greg Beam about the new grant, which rewards local businesses for teaming up to create a new product, service, or event. Greg shares ho...

Five Page County winemakers, brewers, distillers, and mead makers have teamed up, and their new passport is giving visitors a reason to stay in Page County a little longer. Gina is out this Luray-Page Day, so Janet Michael heads to the Zooms with Cassandra Wallace of Wisteria Farm & Vineyard and Danielle Dinges of Coal Ridge Brewery to talk about the Page Valley Craft Beverage Association: how it...

There's no such thing as a "teacup pig," and that mini pig you're eyeing could still top 100 pounds. On this Extension Office Friday, Janet Michael is joined by Virginia Cooperative Extension agents Elizabeth Baldwin (Page County) and Cynthia Fairbanks (Warren County) for a down-to-earth conversation about mini pigs, mini cattle, backyard chickens, goats, and what the average homeowner should know...

No family history of breast cancer? You still need that mammogram. For Breast Cancer Awareness Month, Janet Michael sits down with Dr. Anita Minghini, breast surgeon and Medical Director of Breast Care Services at Valley Health, to bust some of the most common myths about breast cancer, from who is really at risk to what genetic testing can (and can't) tell you. Dr. Minghini explains why every wom...

A 10-year-old who pulled a drowning child from a lake. An off-duty officer who saved his own wife with CPR. These are the kinds of stories that fill the room at the Top of Virginia Regional Chamber's Valor Awards, and Janet Michael gets a preview with Taylor Coumes, Director of Event Management at the Chamber, and Brandon Lorey, President & CEO of Bank of Clarke, the event's presenting sponsor. No...

Janet recorded this one from the pilot's seat of a real helicopter, perched on the roof of the Shenandoah Valley Discovery Museum and hanging about 10 feet out over Cork Street. A few weeks after watching a crane lift it into place, she climbs aboard with Executive Director Dawn Devine and Taylor Wilmoth to talk about how the "impossible" project came together, and why it matters so much for kids...

If a fire started in your home tonight, you might have less than two minutes to get out, and Deb Fleming wants to make sure you spend those minutes getting out instead of grabbing your laptop. Janet Michael sat down with Deb, Executive Director of the Greater Shenandoah Valley Chapter of the American Red Cross, in the Secret Garden at the Espresso Bar on the Old Town Walking Mall to talk about hom...

Frederick County voters will see a school sales tax question on their ballot this November, and here's what it actually does. Janet Michael sits down with Frederick County Administrator Mike Bollhoefer and Frederick County Public Schools Superintendent Dr. George Hummer to walk through the up-to-1% sales tax referendum on the November 3 general election ballot (early voting is already underway). M...

Think you have to go away to a four-year university to get the "real" college experience? Think again. On this Laurel Ridge Community College episode, Janet Michael and Director of Marketing Guy Curtis are joined by John Owens, coordinator of Student Life & Engagement, and student ambassadors Adam Gagnon and Alyssah Rodgers to bust one of the biggest myths about community college. Adam shares how...

What if the tasks keeping you up at night could just… take care of themselves? On this Valley Business Today, recorded in the lobby of the Front Royal Warren County Chamber of Commerce, Janet Michael and Chamber President Niki Foster sit down with Joe Peters, owner of Buzzy Work Pro, a Front Royal company built to handle the "anything admin" work small business owners never seem to get to. Joe exp...

Small business is economic development, and Frederick County's new economic development director is ready to plant her flag on that hill. For Tourism Tuesday, Winchester-Frederick County edition, Janet Michael and Justin Kerns sit out back at the Visitor Center with Amanda Killen, the new Director of the Frederick County Economic Development Authority, just four weeks into the job. Amanda shares h...

Imagine a preschooler racing to the mailbox every month, shouting, "It's my book day!" Janet Michael sits down with Beth Williams, Executive Director of the Clarke County Education Foundation, to talk about the foundation's push to bring Dolly Parton's Imagination Library back to every child from birth to age five in Clarke County. Beth shares how a September "Dolly Day" kickoff and two generous g...

A rooftop tennis complex on top of a free parking garage at Jim Barnett Park? It's a real proposal, and Winchester Parks Director Chris Konyar is here to walk through the facts. Janet Michael sits down with Chris at Jim Barnett Park for their regular check-in on everything happening at Winchester's parks this fall and holiday season. Chris shares what's ahead on the calendar: Spooky Fun on October...

That new e-bike in the driveway can hit 20 miles an hour, and Captain Warren Gosnell wants parents to think hard about what that means on a road shared with 6,000-pound SUVs. It's Public Safety Thursday, and Janet Michael is live in the studio with Captain Gosnell of the Frederick County Sheriff's Office for his monthly visit, starting with stories from his 15th-anniversary trip to Las Vegas and a...

A hula lesson, a string of honor beads, and a moment where you realize you are not alone — the Out of the Darkness Community Walk packs all of that into a single Saturday morning at Sherando Park. Janet Michael sits down at the Espresso Bar on the Old Town Walking Mall with returning guests Patricia Brewer and Mandy Foxley, co-chairs of the Stephens City walk, to talk about this year's event on Oc...

A haunted trail, campsites decked out for Halloween, and Yogi Bear himself — fall at Yogi Bear's Jellystone Park in Luray is a lot more than pitching a tent. On this Luray-Page County edition of Tourism Tuesday, Janet Michael and Gina Hilliard of the Luray-Page County Chamber of Commerce welcome general manager Bryan Fykes — better known around the park as "Ranger Bryan" — to talk about one of Pag...

"I was stuck. You guys unstuck me." That's what one participant told Winchester CCAP Executive Director Andrea Cosans, and it's the heart of THRIVE, a new two-year program helping local families move from constant crisis to real self-sufficiency. Janet sits down at CCAP with Andrea and Jordan Hurley, Executive Assistant at Connected Communities, to talk about how four local nonprofits are joining...