The Valley Today

Our conversation today was about one of my favorite events hosted by the Northern Shenandoah Valley Master Gardener Association : Gardening in the Valley Symposium. Joining me to share the details of the event were Master Gardeners: Bob Gail & Helen Lake, two of the event co-chairs. This year's theme is "Gardening With a Purpose." Proceeds from the symposium benefit the  NSVMGA Memorial Scholarshi...

February is American Heart Month so we pulled up the mics to chat with Dr. Ernesto Jimenez as part of our community health partnership with Valley Health. Dr. Jimenez is a board certified cardiothoracic surgeon specializing in minimally invasive valve surgery, mitral valve repair and coronary artery revascularization with arterial conduits. He's part of Valley Health Cardiothoracic Surgeons and th...

Our conversation today with Monica Colunga, Outreach and Education Coordinator for the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) Washington Field Office was pretty informational. She explained that her job involves working and forming partnerships with employers and communities to inform them of the services the EEOC provides.  The EEOC is a federal agency with 53 offices nationwide.  Monica'...

For our "Tourism Tuesday" episode today, it was Luray/Page County's turn at the mic so we were joined on the screen by Edison Emmons from Luray/Page County Chamber of Commerce and his guest, Bonnie Anthony from Performing Arts Luray. Bonnie told us about all the upcoming performances that will be returning in the coming weeks for the all-volunteer non-profit. She talked about COVID's impact and ho...

We talked today with Jennifer Hall, Senior Director of Community Investments for United Way of Northern Shenandoah Valley and Yolanda Gibson, Chair of UWNSV Women United Leadership Council & Vice President for Student Affairs at Shenandoah University. Jennifer gave us a quick refresher about Valley Assistance Network (a program of UWNSV) and the great work it does for those in need in our communit...

We chatted today with Olivia Hilton, Director of Community Development & Tourism for the Town of Strasburg. Joining us were four of the 30 vendors who will be participating in Cupid's Market on Friday, February 11, 2022. Mandy Robinson from Sassy Snacks told us what she'd have available at the market. Lauren Valentine told us how and why she started Alma Apothecary . Amy Lewis from Bottom of the B...

Today's conversation with Guy Curtis, Director of Marketing for Lord Fairfax Community College (becoming Laurel Ridge Community College) and Carlene Hurdle, Director of Corporate Training for LFCC Workforce Solutions centered around an upcoming webinar: Pivot Strategies for the Great Resignation. We talked about how our workforce has changed on a national AND local level and the importance of reco...

Small business loans & resources, consumer loans, affordable housing ... the list goes on for programs and services People Inc. offers to our community. Today, we had a conversation with new President/CEO Bryan Phipps about all those things and more. Bryan was Edison's guest for The Valley "Business" Today with Luray/Page County Chamber of Commerce . Bryan told us how People Inc. got their start a...

We took a quick trip across state lines for our tourism segment today to chat with Lynn Pechuekonis. Lynn and her husband are the owners of Rockhaven Bed & Breakfast in historic Harper's Ferry. Lynn is also the Vice Chair of Harper's Ferry/Bolivar Historic Town Foundation and serves on the Harpers Ferry – Bolivar Tourism Association board. She told us how she & her husband turned a visit to Harper...

Ryan Hall, an entrepreneur ecosystem builder with Shenandoah Community Capital Fund joined me for a conversation today to talk about their latest StartUp Shenandoah Valley Cohort will be focused on tech and tech-enabled businesses, but all entrepreneurs are encouraged to apply. Ryan explained the process and the value in participating in a program of this nature. S2V will help startups and busines...

Brad Veach, Executive Director for Shenandoah Apple Blossom Festival joined me for a conversation about the 95th Shenandoah Apple Blossom Festival happening Friday, April 22 - Sunday, May 1, 2022. The event will return in full force this year with many of the traditional events as well as a few new ones. The United Bank Bloomin' Wine Fest will return to Old Town Winchester on Friday, April 22 from...

We were NOT live in the studio for our "Traffic Safety Thursday" conversation. Instead, we recorded in advance at the Frederick County Public Safety Building with Frederick County Sheriff Lenny Millholland and Lt. Warren Gosnell. We talked about reactionary gaps: why you should keep one and how to determine how far is far enough. Lt. Gosnell explained their particular importance when approaching c...

Our conversation for The Valley Business Today with Niki Foster from Front Royal/Warren County Chamber of Commerce centered around the free business counseling services the chamber offers to startups & small businesses in the community. The services are offered regardless of chamber membership status. Joining for the chat was Herb Melrath, a business consultant, who explained what the services are...

It was Tourism Tuesday - Shenandoah County edition - with Kary Haun from Shenandoah County Tourism and her guest, Andrew Devier-Scott from Bryce Resort. Andrew filled us in on all the fun things to do at Bryce Resort during the winter season. We talked about skiing, tubing, ice skating and even golf! He explained how their lesson work and told us that all their winter sports offer the option of re...

Our conversation with Tyler Hinkle, Shenandoah County's Planner is part of an ongoing series following the work on Shenandoah 2045 - Shenandoah County's comprehensive plan. Joining us to talk about Chapter Two: Natural Resources, was Mike Liskey. Mike is a member of the CAC (Citizen's Advisory Committee) that has been charged with working on the plan. We talked about what the chapter for natural r...

We chatted with Elise from United Way Northern Shenandoah Valley and her guest, Andrea Cosans from Winchester CCAP about the impact her agency has had on those in need in our community. Andrea explained the role Winchester CCAP serves helping residents of Winchester/Frederick County through their food pantry, housing & financial assistance. Get more information on their website: https://www.ccapwi...

I took a field trip to the Museum of the Shenandoah Valley last week to record today's show with Nick Powers, Curator of Collections for the MSV. He gave me a full tour while we talked about the newest exhibition at the museum: Contributions: African Americans in the Shenandoah Valley . Nick explained why this exhibition is important, how they've acquired many of the pieces, and the local connecti...

Our conversation for The Valley Business Today included Cynthia Schneider, CEO of Top of Virginia Regional Chamber and her Chairman of the Board, Scott Harvard (CEO of First Bank.) We talked about the board's role in moving the chamber forward & the diverse backgrounds an institutional knowledge it provides to Cynthia. Scott explained his role as the Executive Committee Chair and talked about how...

Our Tourism Tuesday conversation with Justin Kerns from Winchester/Frederick County Convention & Visitors Center included Bryant Condrey, Pipe Major for City of Winchester Pipes & Drums. Bryant gave us the history of the organization and told us that anyone (at practically any age) can join the band. They offer training to learn to play the bagpipes or drums and will help with choosing the proper...

Today's conversation with Wendy May, Markting Manager for Frederick County Economic Development Authority gave us all the details for the inaugural FredCo Eats Restaurant Week happening across the county from Monday, January 31, 2022 through Sunday, February 6, 2022. We recorded it in person at Daily Buzz Cafe in Stephens City - one of the participating restaurants. Wendy told us how the idea came...

It was Extension Office Friday on the show today with Karen Poff. Karen manages the Northern Shenandoah Valley Financial Education Program for the area extension offices. We talked about getting your finances in order after the holidays and she gave us several tips and advice about how to start paying down your debt. We also talked about how to handle debt collectors and she warned us about scams...

Today's conversation with Georgeann Freimuth, MS, RD, LDN, a registered dietitian with Valley Health's Metabolic and Bariatric Program was pretty insightful. She gave us some great tips about making healthier eating choices and busted a few myths about how often you should be eating each day to lose weight. Valley Health's Metabolic & Bariatric Program offers surgical and non-surgical options. She...

We didn't do any strolling for our conversation today with Olivia Hilton, Director of Community Development & Tourism for the Town of Strasburg due to our recent weather "event." But, we still managed to have a pretty enlightening conversation with Director of Public Works, Jay McKinley. He explained all the different things that his department is responsible for including managing winter storm re...

We had a lively conversation for Tourism Tuesday - Luray/Page County - with Edison Emmons from Luray/Page County Chamber of Commerce and his guests: Barbie Stombach (owner of Virginia Gift Shop) and her store manager, Tyler Bogle. We talked about the history of Virginia Gift Shop that has been open in Luray for nearly 77 years. Barbie is the 5th owner and explained how it's changed with the times...

Our conversation today with Celeste Brooks - Community Outreach Coordinator, and Ryan Cubbage - Community Liaison with Northwestern Prevention Collaborative (which includes Warren Coalition ) focused on their programs & trainings that help build a stronger, more resilient community. The pair explained a few of their programs, talked about some upcoming events and told us about their Recovery Ally...