The Valley Today

Our conversation for The Valley Business Today features Kaleigh Fincham, Director of Programs & Events for the Top of Virginia Regional Chamber and her guest, Andy Gail, Director of Literacy Volunteers Winchester Area and chamber board member. We discuss various leadership programs offered by the chamber, including the Community Leadership Program (CLP), Business Leadership Program (BLP), and Aris...

Our conversation today with Wendy May, the marketing manager of the Frederick County Economic Development Authority , gave details about FredCo Eats Restaurant Week happening from January 29, 2024 through February 4, 2024. She explained the event's growth over the last two years and the variety of restaurants participating, ranging from food trucks to coffee shops. Wendy also mentioned the new Fre...

Our conversation today with Vince Cannava, Program Manager for St. Lucy Food Project, and Tina Bearden, Pantry Manager for Loaves & Fishes Food Pantry in Front Royal included a discussion about the operations and services of  Catholic Charities of the Diocese of Arlington and the St. Lucy Food Project. They provide a wide range of services including food assistance, rental and utility help, medica...

Our conversation for Extension Office Friday included Joanne Royaltey, Program Associate based in the Frederick County Extension Office (though she serves all five counties.) Our topic was the Northern Shenandoah Valley Master Gardener Association 's 2024 Seed Exchange happening on Saturday, January 27, 2024, from 10am - 2pm at the State Arboretum of Virginia at Blandy Experimental Farm in Boyce,...

As part of our community health partnership with Valley Health , we talked today with Dr. Charbel Fawaz , a board-certified general neurosurgeon with Valley Health Virginia Brain & Spine . He has expertise in minimally invasive and complex multi-level spine surgery. We discussed the benefits of robotic-guided surgeries and the use of technology in spine surgery. Dr. Fawaz emphasized the advantages...

Our conversation today is part of an ongoing partnership with the US Small Business Administration highlighting small businesses in the Shenandoah Valley as well as offering advice and resources to all small businesses. My co-host for this monthly series is Carl Knoblock , Virginia District Director for the SBA. We met at Daily Buzz Cafe in Middletown to talk with Chris Daniels, the owner and CEO....

Our conversation for Tourism Tuesday - Luray/Page County edition - with Edison Emmons from Luray/Page Chamber of Commerce included Cort Maddox, one of the new owners of Faithbrooke Barn & Vineyard.  We discussed the unique features and attractions of the venue, such as its scenic location perched on top of a mountain, surrounded by breathtaking views of the mountains and vineyards. We delved into...

Our conversation today took place in the conference room at Winchester Fire & Rescue 's administrative offices. Joining me to chat was Jeremy Luttrell , Deputy Chief of Community Risk Reduction and the Fire Marshal along with Shannon Ganoe , Winchester's Community Paramedic. Jeremy gave an overview of the structure and operations of the Winchester Fire and Rescue, defined Community Risk Reduction,...

Our conversation today with Stacy McFarland, Executive Director for the Greater Shenandoah Valley chapter of the American Red Cross included a discussion about the nationwide blood shortage and the importance of blood donation . Stacy emphasized the need for O-positive and O-negative blood donors, as these types can be used in emergency situations and are always in demand. She also cited a loss of...

Our conversation with Laurel Ridge Community College today included Guy Curtis (Director of Marketing), Sharon Hetland (Director of Adult Education), as well as several guests from Northwestern Regional Adult Detention Center . Joining us from there was Kirk Jordan, an adult education instructor, Captain Dan Cotrill, and two inmates: Ricky Arbogast & Carl Funk. Sharon explained the adult education...

Our conversation for The Valley Business Today featured Dean Francis, Senior Consultant and Partner at OneBridge Advisors. Dean provided a wealth of information about the Employee Retention Credit, a tax benefit introduced during COVID-19 that many businesses are not aware of. OneBridge Advisors helps businesses uncover funds they may not know about, including the ERC. Dean explained that despite...

Our conversation for Tourism Tuesday - Berryville/Clarke County edition - with Nathan Stalvey, Executive Director for Clarke County Historical Association gave details for several upcoming events, programs and projects. He also told us about a large undertaking they're planning this year rebuilding the mill dam. Learn more about the events below, get registration information, find out about volunt...

Municipal Monday returns to The Valley Today with guest Olivia Hilton. Olivia is the town manager for the Town of Mount Jackson. She explained the transition from Strasburg to assistant town manager to town manager and praised her staff for their knowledge and patience. She highlighted the challenges of the role, including the need to learn and adapt quickly, and the importance of strategic growth...

Our conversation for United Way Day with United Way Northern Shenandoah Valley 's CEO, Kaycee Childress, included Vicki Davies (Executive Director) from St. Luke Community Clinic. Vicki gave an overview of the types of services they provide to people without health/dental insurance or Medicaid. She explained their ability to now offer dentures to clients thanks to a community impact grant from Uni...

Our conversation for Traffic Safety Thursday with Lt. Warren Gosnell from  Frederick County Sheriff's Office included discussion about teaching your young driver how to be safe in winter conditions. He explained the safety issues with using empty parking lots and talked about the legal differences between licensed drivers and those with a learner's permit. We also talked about the 2023 traffic fat...

Our conversation for The Valley Business Today with Niki Foster from Front Royal/Warren County Chamber of Commerce also included Lizi Lewis, Director of Community Development & Tourism for the Town of Front Royal . Lizi explained her recent promotion and told us about the duties she performs for the town which include organizing events, managing the visitors center, and working with local business...

Our conversation today with Kary Haun from Shenandoah County Tourism also included Brenda Black. Brenda gave several details for Shenandoah County Tours which happen each month in 2024 and feature a wide variety of businesses from wineries to museums, and even a town or two. She explained how the tours work and the types of insight you can gain from participating. Registration is required and ther...

Our last conversation of the year featured Rusty Holland from Concern Hotline. He explained the history and purpose of Concern Hotline, a local philanthropic initiative established in 1968 to support those in crisis, particularly veterans returning from the Vietnam War. He highlighted the hotline's role in providing a platform for people to share their struggles and the importance of giving them t...

Our conversation today with Tootie Rinker, Byron Brill, and Kathy Kanter gave details for a new non-profit getting started in our area, Sleep in Heavenly Peace . The group gave details for the organization, told of their history and leadership and explained why there is a need for it in our area. Sleep in Heavenly Peace is a group of volunteers dedicated to building, assembling and delivering top-...

Our conversation for The Valley Business Today with Cynthia Schneider, CEO at Top of Virginia Regional Chamber introduced us to two new team members. Joining us to talk about their new roles at the chamber were Jenny Stover, Director of Marketing & Communications and Kaleigh Fincham, Director of Programs & Events. The group gave details for several upcoming events including their Business Leadersh...

Our conversation for Tourism Tuesday with Justin Kerns from Winchester/Frederick County COnvention & Visitors Bureau featured Tim Youmans, Winchester's City Planner. Tim recently published a book: Streets and Alleys of Winchester, VA . We talked about the 20+ years of research that went into the book and he told us several stories of how and why certain streets were named in the city. We discussed...

Our conversation for United Way Day with United Way Northern Shenandoah Valley 's CEO, Kaycee Childress, included Robyn Miller (Executive Director) and Cindee Steele (Communications & Community Outreach Coordinator) with WATTS (Winchester Area Temporary Transitional Shelter) to talk about their organization. WATTS is a low-barrier shelter, meaning they will take ANYONE who is homeless, regardless...

As part of our community health partnership with Valley Health , we talked today with Dr. Jeff Feit, Chief Population Health Officer / Chief Medical Information Officer for Valley Health along with Anna Kemp, a Marketing Manager for Valley Health. Dr. Feit and Anna discussed their recent implementation of Epic, a platform for electronic health records. The project involved hundreds of people and t...

Our conversation for The Valley Business Today featured Scott Haines & Felicia Hart to talk about their business, GNC Online Auctions. The couple purchased the business in August 2020 from the previous owners who were retiring/relocating. GNC Online Auctions is a local online auction company where all bids are placed via their website and then the items are picked up locally or shipped if requeste...

Our conversation for Tourism Tuesday - Luray/Page County edition - with Edison Emmons from Luray/Page County Chamber of Commerce featured Karin Crawford from TripForth, a vacation rental property management company. Karin explained how their services work and the wide range of properties they manage in a variety of ways. We talked about the different booking/marketing platforms available to those...