The Valley Today

It was a great conversation today with Karen Poff where she shared her personal financial checklist for wrapping up the year. Karen manages the Northern Shenandoah Valley Financial Education Program through Virginia Cooperative Extension . She explained why knowing where you stand financially at the end of the year is important and she gave us some advice for making tax time a little easier. Her p...

Our conversation for The Valley Business Today featured Top of Virginia Regional Chamber. Danita Roble, Director of Membership Development and Hannah Stewart, Membership Development Specialist joined me for the conversation to talk about all the benefits chamber membership brings to businesses of all sizes in our community. We talked about all the different programs such as LeadShare, that are inc...

We had a fun conversation for today's Tourism Tuesday - Winchester/Frederick County edition. Justin Kerns, Renee Bayliss, and MiKayla Hatfield joined me to look back at tourism-related events & projects from 2022. We talked about their newcomer events, holiday lights trolley tours, and the group shared their favorite things from the past year. We also looked ahead to 2023 and learned about upcomin...

Spoiler Alert: It is NOT. Our conversation today debated that very question. Joining me on the wrong side of the argument was Andrew Shearer, President of Royal Broadcasting (The River 95.3FM Fox Sports Radio 1450AM) and Dr. Jeff Feit (my personal Dr Fauci.) We each gave our thoughts with whatever evidence we could find in our favor. We talked about what makes a movie a "Christmas movie" and liste...

Our conversation today took place in the offices at Concern Hotline with Executive Director Rusty Holland and Program Manager Charly Franks. Concern Hotline is a free 24/7/365 anonymous information & referral, crisis intervention, and suicide prevention hotline serving the Northern Shenandoah Valley of Virginia. We talked about the services offered by the organization over the last 55 years they'v...

Our conversation today with Jennifer Hall, Director of Community Investment for United Way Northern Shenandoah Valley and Abby Zimmermann, Manager for Valley Assistance Network ( a program of UWNSV) gave us some insight into the needs of our community and the big impact a little help can provide. Jennifer & Abby shared stories of recent clients with a wide range of needs from rent & utility assist...

Our conversation for Tourism Tuesday - Luray/Page County edition - with Edison Emmons from Luray/Page County Chamber of Commerce included Marlise Lee, owner of Cameo Galleries. Marlise told us about her passion for photography and the journey to opening her own studio and gallery - Cameo Fine Art & Photography - a unique art studio that offers high-end photography services as well as custom painti...

Our conversation today 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. Keven Walker, CEO of Shenandoah Valley Battlefields Founda...

Our conversation today gave us all the details for applying to become part of the Northern Shenandoah Valley Master Gardeners class of 2023. Joining me for that was Elaine Specht, NSVMGA 2023 Class Coordinator along with Kathy Doyle, Volunteer Coordinator, and MaryJane Korrigan, Shenandoah County Coordinator. We talked about the requirements and application process for the class which will be full...

Our conversation today about community health welcomed back Dr. Jeffrey Feit, Valley Health 's Population & Community Health Officer (and my personal Dr. Fauci) to learn about the term tridemic and the effects it's having on our community. We talked about COVID variants, the flu, RSV, strep, and the common cold. Dr. Feit explained the different viruses that are currently plaguing (no pun intended)...

Our conversation for The Valley Business Today with Edison Emmons from Luray/Page Chamber of Commerce featured Joyce Krech, Director of Shenandoah Valley Small Business Development Center . Joyce explained the concept of small business development centers and gave us an overview of the no-fee services they provide to current and budding small business owners. Headquartered in Harrisonburg, VA at J...

Our Tourism Tuesday conversation today with Alex Flanigan, Main Street Program Manager for Old Town Winchester gave us some insight into the holidays in Old Town Winchester. We talked about previous and upcoming events as well as the downtown experience that doesn't just happen on the walking mall. She told us about recent improvements to the Taylor Pavilion that will allow for more performances l...

We recorded today's conversation on location at Natural Art Garden Center to chat with Lynne Phillips about their huge supply of Christmas trees, wreaths & holiday decor. She gave us tips for keeping your tree alive as long as possible and talked about why she names each tree she sells. We also busted the myth of poinsettias being poisonous and she educated me on the different types of Christmas c...

Today's Strolling Strasburg conversation with Olivia Hilton, Director of Strategic Initiatives for the Town of Strasburg had a shopping twist. We met at Nancy's Coffee Bar to fuel up before strolling King Street to talk to a few small business owners about what they offer for the holidays. We started off at Pot Town Organics - 181 W. King Street, Strasburg - to check out the ornaments, felt birdho...

Our conversation today with Guy Curtis, Director of Marketing for Laurel Ridge Community College featured Jeff Browne. Jeff serves as the chair for Warren County EDA and is also a member of The Wednesday Group. He explained how those two paths intersect and gave us details for a new club sponsored by The Wednesday Group: This is IT. We talked about why the club was formed, who it targets, and how...

Our conversation today with Niki Foster from Front Royal/Warren County Chamber of Commerce gave us a recap of the Front Royal Christmas Parade and Merry Market. Niki also told us about their Business After Hours on Tuesday, December 13, 2022 hosted by Royal Cinemas. Following the event, there will be a free showing of Love Actually. The chamber will be collecting donations at the event to benefit...

Our conversation for Tourism Tuesday - Shenandoah County edition - with Kary Haun gave us all kinds of information about upcoming holiday events happening across Shenandoah County this month. We talked about the things she has highlighted to do in the "Five Things Friday" posts on Shenandoah 250th Facebook page . She also encouraged listeners to check out a recent blog post on their website for a...

Our conversation today with LaTasha Do'zia, Artistic Director and Founder of Selah Theatre Project gave us all the details for their upcoming holiday production of A SEUSSARIFFIC CHRISTMAS CAROL. In partnership with Laurel Ridge Community College , Selah Theatre Project presents A SEUSSARIFFIC CHRISTMAS CAROL, an imaginative twist of Dickens' Christmas story classic in wacky rhymes. Will Tiny Tamm...

Our conversation today with Michelle Marino, President of Berryville Main Street gave us all the details for their tree lighting & Christmas Parade happening this weekend. We talked about how those events come together and the value in partnerships to make them successful for everyone involved. She gave some insight into how and why the parking meters are decorated every holiday season and explain...

We were live in the studio for today's Traffic Safety Thursday conversation with Lt. Warren Gosnell from Frederick County Sheriff's Office . After we worked through the technical difficulties - Goz to the rescue - we talked about all things holiday. Lt. Gosnell talked about the increased traffic on the roadways as people are out and about going to holiday functions and getting their shopping done....

We recorded today's conversation on location at the Winchester corporate campus of Navy Federal Credit Union as part of our quarterly Valley Business Today segment with Frederick County EDA . Joining me to chat was Shayla Rickard, Business Retention Manager for FredCo EDA, and Kristy Powers, Asst. VP of Winchester Operations for Navy Federal Credit Union. Kristy gave us a quick overview of their g...

Our Tourism Tuesday - Luray/Page County edition - conversation featured Gina Hilliard & Edison Emmons from Luray/Page County Chamber of Commerce . The pair talked about their 7th Annual Chamber Holiday Festival happening on Friday, December 2, 2022 from 4pm - 9pm at the chamber office - 18 Campbell Street, Luray. Gina gave us all the details for the free event which will feature free activities in...

We pre-recorded today's conversation with Dr. Shalini Reddy , Thoracic Surgeon and Medical Director of Thoracic Surgery at Valley Health's Winchester Medical Center . November is Lung Cancer Awareness Month. As part of our community health partnership with Valley Health , our conversation this month focused on lung cancer screenings , the importance of having them BEFORE symptoms appear and the ch...

Our conversation today was all about pancakes! Front Royal Kiwanians, Wayne Barber & Bill Powers joined me to give me all the details for the 66th Annual Front Royal Kiwanis Pancake Day . The event happens on Saturday, December 3, 2022 from 6am - 1pm at Warren County High School. Tickets are $7 for the all-you-can-eat breakfast and can be purchased from any Front Royal Kiwanis member, at Bill Powe...

We were on the screen for today's conversation with Mike Robinson, local author and historian to learn about an upcoming book signing for the final volume in his Winchester Tales series. Mike told us how the idea started from a Facebook post and then grew to now 7 books that are full of independent stories about the history and people of Winchester & Frederick County. He explained why this is the...