Shenandoah Valley Life

With family connections in the Valley, Leigh Evans spent a lot of time here before it officially became home last year. Now settled in and serving as the Executive Director of the Shenandoah Valley Technology Council and director of Research to Impact at JMU, Leigh shares her vision for both moving forward and what this community means to her.

This episode features AJ Jalal, owner of AJ's Gentlemen's Barbershop. Listen in as AJ shares the journey that brought him to the United States and why he chose to build a life and a business in the Shenandoah Valley. AJ's story of growing his business and what a barbershop can mean to the community is a fascinating one.

Valley native and Riverbank Farms owner Jack Dixon shares his story in our latest SV Life Podcast. With roots in the Valley that run generations back, Jack spent some time out of the area before he and his wife returned home and he began delving into regenerative farming. Listen in as Jack shares his plans for the farm, what drew him back to the area and what makes him stay.

Harrisonburg native and entrepreneur Tanner Johnson shares the story and evolution of Pure Shenandoah, an Elkton based company that makes products ranging from CBD oils to hemp fiber. With roots that run deep in the Valley, Tanner and his siblings are honoring the legacy of not just their family's entrepreneurial spirt but the Valley's agricultural legacy as well.

In this episode of the SV Life Podcast, Jay talks with George Neighbors, owner of X-Roads Advisory and Shenandoah Valley visitor turned resident. Listen in as George shares the path that led to his current business venture and to the Shenandoah Valley.

In this #SVLifePodcast episode, Jay talks with Connie Frigo , executive director of JMU X-Labs and Patrice Ludwig , interim assistant vice provost for Research and Innovation and associate professor of X-Labs courses. With varied backgrounds leading to their current roles, Connie and Patrice share how X-Labs got its start and has grown and how its "Reimagined Internship" is a huge win fo...

Born and raised in the Valley, Nadia Dames followed in her father's footsteps and now leads the family aviation instrument business in the Town of Dayton. Listen in as Nadia shares her story and what makes the Valley home.

In this episode of SV Life, we talk with JuiceWorks 3D Founder, Andrei Dacko. Listen in as Andrei shares how his experience as a young student and former educator laid the foundation for his business and the plans he has for helping to grow the talent pipeline in our region.

In this episode, we talk with Dick Halterman, lifelong Valley native, business owner and member of the Augusta County Economic Development Authority. Listen in as Dick shares a little of his background, business and what he loves about the Valley.

In this episode, we talk with Eric Terry of Dynamic Aviation. Eric joined Dynamic Aviation in 2023 as the Senior Vice President of Human Resources. Listen is as he shares a little of his background and what led him to the Shenandoah Valley as well as some of the exciting things happening at Dynamic Aviation.

Professional firefighter and entrepreneur Josh Grim holds tight to his West Virginia roots while embracing life in the Valley. Listen in as Josh shares the professional and personal paths that led him to Augusta County and what keeps he and his family here.

In this episode, Jay talks with Thomas Rea, Valley native and Executive Vice President & Regional Commercial Executive for Bank of the James. After finishing his undergrad at Virginia Tech, Thomas returned home and made the conscious decision to build a life here in the Valley. Listen in as he shares his story, how his view of the Valley and what is offers evolved from childhood to now and a p...

In this episode, we talk with Lisa Shull, Executive Director of the Explore More Discovery Museum in Downtown Harrisonburg. Now celebrating it's twentieth year and beloved by families across the Valley, the museum began with just the spark of an idea and a lot of dedication from a team of volunteers.

In this episode of the Shenandoah Valley Life Podcast, we chat with Matt Bingay, Executive Director and General Manager of WMRA, the Shenandoah Valley's public radio station. A graduate of JMU's Music Industry program, Matt has spent his career in public radio and has much to share about what makes WMRA and the Valley so unique.

Born and raised in the Valley, Greg Rogers is the CEO of Shenandoah Valley Electric Cooperative. Studying electrical engineering at Virginia Tech, Greg became interested in the power sector and aside from a few years working as a civilian engineer with the Department of the Navy in Annapolis, Md, has spent his career in the industry. Listen in as Greg shares the path that led to his current positi...

In this episode, Jay talks with guest and JMU Engineering Professor and Assistant Department Head Jacquelyn Nagel. Listen in to learn about the path Jacquelyn took to get here and the work she's doing to connect engineering students with the business community.

Todd Livick is a Valley Native who returned to the Valley after time serving in the U.S. Army and living in Northern Virginia. Todd, whose great-great grandfather founded Augusta Military Academy, has come full circle as he now serves as the Director of Advancement at Fishburne Military School. Listen in as Todd shares the path that led him back home to the Valley and to his current role as well a...

Born and raised in the Shenandoah Valley and a graduate of JMU, Courtney Thompson of the Greater Augusta Regional Chamber of Commerce has spent her entire career in the Augusta County-Staunton-Waynesboro area. Prior to working at the Chamber, Courtney's professional career focused on business development in the banking industry. Her involvement with the Chamber as a two term board member event...

This episode of the Shenandoah Valley Life podcast features Kelli Williams with Virginia Tourism Corporation. Kelli made her way to the Valley from Michigan at the start of her college years. She fell in love with the Valley and what was to be a stop along the way quickly turned into more than a decade with no plans to leave. Now a Destination Development Manager with Virginia Tourism Corporation,...

In this episode, Jay talks with Executive Director of Harrisonburg Downtown Renaissance Andrea Dono. A passionate advocate for the downtown area and beyond, Andrea moved to the Valley seven years ago from Northern Virginia and hasn't looked back since. Listen in as she talks about the path that led to her current role, a little about HDR's history and plans for the future.

With 4 of the top 5 agriculture producing localities in the state located in the Shenandoah Valley, the impact of the ag industry is huge. Our guest for this episode is John King, president of Virginia Poultry Growers Cooperative who has been with the coop since its inception in 2004. In this episode, he talks about the path he took to get to the Valley and the impact the coop has on the Valley an...

Executive Director of the Lexington-Rockbridge County Chamber of Commerce Tracy Lyons relocated to the Valley from Alabama, with a stop in Richmond along the way. Listen in as she shares her story, some history of the area, and highlights why locals love it and visitors keep coming back. 

With a more than 100 year history, Rockingham Cooperative has roots that run deep and so does Valley native and coop feed division manager Keith Turner. Growing up on a local farm, Keith knows first hand the struggles a small farm can go through and helped found The Farm Ministry , a resource that supports farmers through the purchase of the products they produce from donated funds.

The success of a grant funded partnership between Blue Ridge Community College and pharmaceutical company, Merck sparked the creation of an innovative and career launching program called JobStarter. Hear from BRCC President Dr. John Downey and JobStarter coordinator Andrea Livick as they talk about the formation and success of this three week paid training designed to prepare students for a career...

Mark Toorock has made an interesting transition in his career, from being involved in securities on Wall Street to conducting the production of major parkour events all over the world. A major focus of Mark’s is his thought provoking comment, and an admonition to adults, is that adults have forgotten how to play. We are our most creative when we are playing and Mark through his creation of parkour...