The Valley Today

Our conversation today with Edison Emmons from Luray/Page County Chamber of Commerce gave us details for several events happening across Luray/Page County from this weekend through Thanksgiving. Edison told us about a festival happening at Massanutten Country Corner & Wisteria Farm & Vineyard. We also got the details for the Halloween events happening across the different towns in Page County. We...

We headed to Jim Barnett Park for a conversation with Chris Konyar, Director of Winchester Parks & Recreation to talk indoor aquatics, toddler programs, and holiday activities. Chris filled us in on all the activities available for indoor aquatics at the pool in Jim Barnett Park. We talked about it being the only indoor facility in our community and the role it plays keeping kids, teens, and adult...

We met up with Olivia Hilton, Director of Strategic Initiatives for the town of Strasburg in the square at the pavilion to have today's conversation. Olivia brought Barbara Plitt to talk about her role as a volunteer for the town. Barbara gave us some background and then talked about a few of the projects she's involved in and why. Olivia explained the value of having volunteers like Barbara and e...

We headed to Millwood for today's conversation with Nathan Stalvey, Director of the Clarke County Historical Association to chat about Art at the Mill at the 200+ year old Burwell-Morgan Mill. The art show happens twice a year at the Burwell Morgan Mill and features over 1100 works of art from paintings to wood carvings and sculptures. Nathan told us how it all comes together and lauded the work o...

Our conversation for The Valley Business Today - Luray/Page County edition with Edison Emmons from Luray/Page County Chamber of Commerce , featured Ben Dolewski, Executive Director of the Page Free Clinic. Ben told us about an upcoming fundraiser - Thanksgiving Dinner - hosted by Faithbrooke Barn & Vineyards. Get more information and tickets by clicking here . We talked about a few of the services...

Our conversation with Alex Flanigan, Main Street Program Manager for Old Town Winchester gave us all the details for several upcoming events and insight into how things happen in downtown Winchester. First, Alex told us about a stakeholders meeting that is happening on Tuesday, October 11, 2022, at Vibrissa Beer & Kitchen from 5:30pm til 7:30pm. The event is an opportunity to meet Old Town staff,...

We recorded part of today's conversation on Thursday, September 22, 2022, with Ellie Williams Tahmaseb, Marketing and Public Relations Manager at NW Works, and Mark Wafer, a disability advocate and former owner of 14 Tim Horton restaurants. Mark was slated to be the keynote speaker for a disability employment conference on Monday, October 17, 2022, hosted by NW Works. The conference was canceled o...

Our conversation today with Lt. Tony Hitt & Firefighter Lisa Wilbanks from Warren County Fire & Rescue gave us some valuable fire prevention tips. The pair talked about the importance of having and practicing a fire escape plan and talked about where they'll be setup during fire prevention week which happens Sunday, October 9, 2022 through Saturday, October 15, 2022. We discussed their free smoke...

We were in person at the Frederick County Public Safety Building to record today's show. Joining Lt. Warren Gosnell and me for the conversation was the Traffic Division team: Sgt. Eddie Roberts, Deputy Austin Stump, Deputy James Glantz, Deputy Trey Cram, and Frederick County Sheriff , Lenny Millholland. We talked about a wide range of topics from their favorite thing about their jobs to things the...

Our conversation for The Valley Business Today with Niki Foster from the Front Royal/Warren County Chamber of Commerce gave us a recap of their Civic Pride Workshop as well as details for several upcoming events. We talked about the Civic Pride Workshop on September 27, 2022, including who attended, what was discussed, and how to move forward.  In the second segment, we talked about the newest Lea...

We took a little road trip to record today's conversation. I met up with Kary Haun from Shenandoah County Tourism at North Mountain Vineyard & Winery last week to chat with owner, Krista Foster about the vineyard/winery and learn the details of their "Oktober Wein Festival" happening on Saturday, October 8, 2022. Krista gave us a bit of history for the vineyard & winery and talked about the fact t...

Our conversation today with Richard Kennedy & Dawn Devine from Non-Profit Alliance of Northern Shenandoah Valley gave details for their upcoming non-profit symposium: Re-connect, Re-engage, and Re-invent. Richard explained the organization's mission and talked about the resources they provide to non-profits in our community. He walked us through the details of the symposium which will take place o...

Today's conversation with Kaycee Childress, CEO for United Way of Northern Shenandoah Valley was a news-breaker. Joining us to chat was Heather Clatterbuck, President of United Way Front Royal/Warren County and Amanda Kindall, board member of UW FR/WC. Heather announced that effective Saturday, October 1, 2022, United Way Front Royal/Warren County will merge into United Way of Northern Shenandoah...

For today's show, I met up with Winter Brooks at Espresso Bar Cafe to have a conversation about the Stephens City Out of the Darkness Community Walk . Winter serves as the co-chair for this year's suicide prevention walk as well as a volunteer board member for the Virginia chapter of the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention . She gave us details about the walk happening on Saturday, October...

Our conversation today with Kory Campbell, Director of Marketing & Communications for the Top of Virginia Regional Chamber gave us all the dates, times & details for several upcoming events hosted by the chamber as well as events they've partnered with other organizations. The events we discussed included The Valor Awards - which is currently sold out, plus: The MSV Business Forum Luncheon ; Commu...

Our (Winchester/Frederick County) Tourism Tuesday conversation with Justin Kerns featured Jill Edlich from Ravenwood Faire - a Medieval Faire - happening over the course of three days at Frederick County Fairgrounds. The event opens on Friday, September 30, 2022, from 3pm - 10pm and continues on Saturday, October 1 from 10am - 7pm and Sunday, October 2 from 10am - 5pm. Ravenwood Faire will feature...

I took a quick trip to Shenandoah County for today's conversation with Tyler Hinkle, Shenandoah County's Planner and Dan Harshman, Mayor od Edinburg about Shenandoah 2045 - Shenandoah County's comprehensive planning process. Dan gave me some background on Edinburg and talked about his path to being mayor. We talked about the struggles small towns sometimes face regarding water issues and how that...

It was United Way Day on the show today with Jenna DeHaven, Director of Advancement for United Way of Northern Shenandoah Valley and her guest, Lori Noakes, Executive Director for Bue Ridge Housing Network. The Blue Ridge Housing Network is a HUD-Approved Housing Counseling Agency that provides households with one-on-one support as well as free classes to navigate housing and financial decisions....

Our conversation today was all about FUN! In the first segment, I chatted with Tammy Stevenson, Director of Development & Marketing for the Shenandoah Valley Discovery Museum , about unveiling their full-floor exhibit, BUILD! She gave me the inside scoop on logistics and explained how a BUILD of this magnitude doesn't happen in a vacuum. This was the first new full-floor exhibit since moving into...

Joan Chapman from Seven Bends State Park joined me for a conversation today about an upcoming concert hosted at the park. Beats on the Bend will happen on Saturday, October 1, 2022 from 5pm - 7pm in the historic Lupton Barn at 1191 Lupton Road, Woodstock. The event will feature The Rogue Farmers who will perform a mix of Gypsy Americana & Alternative Bluegrass music. The backbone of "The Rogue Far...

I took a trip to Wisteria Farm & Vineyard in Stanley, VA, to record today's conversation with Edison Emmons from Luray/Page Chamber of Commerce and Cassandra Wallace, owner of Wisteria Farm & Vineyard. Cassandra explained how she & her husband came to be owners of the farm and vineyard. We talked about their animals, their wine, and their experiences as they navigate the first year of it all. In t...

Our conversation today with Shannon Atkinson-Ganoe & Melinda Topham from JustServe.org gave us all the details for their upcoming event, Community Connect & Serve. JustServe.org is a website where the volunteer needs of organizations may be posted and volunteers may search for places to serve in the community, providing opportunities to help those in need and enhance the quality of life in the com...

We welcomed back Karen Poff to the show today. Karen manages the Northern Shenandoah Valley Financial Education Program through Virginia Cooperative Extension . The goal of the program is to help people manage money more effectively. They offer workshops, series classes, speakers for groups, and individual consultations about personal finances, budgeting, credit, banking, insurance, recordkeeping,...

September is Peripheral Artery Disease (PAD) Awareness month so our conversation today gave us great information about the unfortunate consequences of ignoring PAD symptoms, especially if they're diabetic and have other risk factors. It is part of our community health partnership with Valley Health where we talk each month with administrators, physicians, and other Valley Health staff about health...

Our conversation today is part of an ongoing partnership with the US Small Business Administration highlighting small businesses as well as offering advice and resources to small businesses. We talked with Martin Short, Lead Economic Development Specialist & Public Information Officer at the Virginia-Richmond District Office for the US Small Business Administration and Natalie Hodge from Hometown...