Shenandoah Valley Life

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...

April Anderson sought a career in the rapidly expanding craft beer brewing industry and landed at the right place at the right time with the right people. California provided a perfect environment to learn the trade and provide her expertise to rapidly move up the ladder in the craft-brewing scene, but family and personal issues brought her back home. April has come into her own as the master brew...

Scott Asbell, SVP’s producer for the Shenandoah Valley Life Podcast series. talks about his serial entrepreneurial background and approach to life.  A humorous and talented renaissance man, Scott discusses his purchase of a bowling alley when he was a junior at JMU, his building of a tiny home, his musical talent and his YouTube videos under the moniker of Slack Scott: Not cheap, not lazy, ju...

Hannah Cooper with the Staunton Innovation Hub, an adventurist in her personal life, explains how so many of her personal traits are analogous to the Staunton Innovation Hub management philosophy and how through a circuitous early adulthood professional journey, she stayed and thrived in the Shenandoah Valley.

Aimee Roberts with Nest Realty is in charge of a very polished publication that reaches a target audience of decision makers.  Aimee and Nest have partnered with the Shenandoah Regional Airport and the Shenandoah Valley Partnership to tell the story of living, working, playing and serving in the Valley.  Listen to what drew Aimee to the Valley and how she is channels her story of family,...

Greg Campbell has been at the Shenandoah Regional Airport (SHD) since 1988, worked at the airport through college at Bridgewater and has a tireless supporter of the airports growth as an asset in the region.  No less passionate about the airport, Heather Ream has the pleasure of developing the message about the airport and our ability to be one stop from most anywhere in the world.  Lear...

Andy VanHook may be the face most associated with Appeal Production, but he and his partners have become a force in video production in the Shenandoah Valley.  As stated on their website, “Welcome to the video sanctuary.”  Andy talks about Appeal Production’s humble beginnings, working for beer – and their employer was out of beer – to launching Appeal Production in the Great Recession a...