The Valley Today

Today's conversation for The Valley Business Today - Luray/Page County edition - with Edie Emmons from Luray/Page County Chamber of Commerce and guest, Bill Dudley from Bill Dudley & Associates Real Estate gave us some insight into the real estate market in Luray/Page County. Bill told us about average number of home sales, prices and days on market in the last several years. We talked about the w...

Today's conversation for Tourism Tuesday - Shenandoah County edition - included Kary Haun from Shenandoah County Tourism, Amber Smoot - Director of Marketing & Events for the Town of New Market, and Zach Hottel - archivist for Shenandoah County Library. Amber & Zach serve on the committee planning the celebration of Shenandoah County's 250th year in 2022. They told us about 3 big events that are h...

We recorded today's conversation on-site at Natural Art Garden Center to chat with owner Lynn Phillips about all things holiday. It was a personal trip for me - picking out/up our family Christmas tree - but also an educational one. Lynne gave me some tips for keeping the tree alive throughout the holiday season (or longer!) She also busted a pretty big myth about poinsettias being poisonous (NOT!...

We recorded today's episode in-person at First Baptist Church in Winchester prior to a dress rehearsal with Blue Ridge Singers. We chatted with Dr. Jeffrey Alban - Artistic Director & Conductor for the choir, Sean Coffron - President of the Board, and Steve Hommowun - choir member. They explained what goes into putting these concerts together, how the songs are chosen, and what it means to be part...

We're kicking off a new weekly series for the month of December where I'm sharing some of MY favorite places to shop local & chatting with some of my favorite local business owners from our surrounding communities. Today's conversations took place from the Old Town Walking Mall in downtown Winchester. I chatted with Christine from Winchester Book Gallery Susan from Nibblins Emily from Sage & Co AN...

We recorded today's conversation in person for The Valley Business Today with Niki Cales from Front Royal Chamber & Royal Cinemas owner, Rick Novak. We learned about reserved seating at the theater, curbside concessions and Rick told us about the new app that lets your purchase your tickets. He gave us the history of the free Christmas Classics and thanked Jean's Jewelers & Tana Hoffman/Sager Real...

For today's episode, we got all the details for the chamber's upcoming Holiday Festival now in it's 6th year. Families can come and enjoy pictures with Santa, live holiday music, cookies, hot cocoa, kid's crafts, barrel train and wagon rides, local vendors, and much more. This is a free event, but a $5 cash donation, pet food, or canned food donations in exchange for pictures with Santa is request...

As part of our continuing series highlighting Shenandoah County's Comprehensive Plan - Shenandoah 2045 - our topic today was Community Facilities. Joining us for the conversation is Tyler Hinkle, Shenandoah County's planner, CAC member Laura Bennett, and CAC member Rochelle Dornatt. The Community Advisory Committee plays a key role as a liaison between community and local government. We talked abo...

We chatted with Kory Campbell, Director of Marketing & Communications for the Top of Virginia Regional Chamber about the reboot of their MarketSpace. Check it out here: https://www.regionalchamber.biz/marketspace/ We also talked about the importance of supporting small business in our communities and why that's a priority for the chamber.

It was Tourism Tuesday - Winchester/Frederick County edition - with Justin Kerns from Winchester/Frederick County Convention & Visitors Bureau, who gave us a quick rundown of SO many holiday events that are happening in the area over the next few weeks. In the second segment we were joined by Heather Scott from Shenandoah Valley Potter's Guild to get the details about their holiday show happening...

We "street-crossed" Strasburg this month to meet up with Olivia Hilton, Interim (soon to be permanent I HOPE!!) Director of Community Development for the Town of Strasburg. Our first stop was at Integrity Home Mortgage to chat with Mike Keffer and his daughter Ashley Showalter about the first step to home ownership - getting a mortgage. We talked about the process, credit scores and the importance...

We were live in the studio today as we begin the wrap up of Camping for Hunger 2021 . We chatted with Royal Broadcasting President/CEO Andrew Shearer on the history of the food drive, now in it's 13th year, and why it's an important community event. Andrew explained why we/he sleeps on the bus each year, regardless of weather or temperatures, as a reminder and lesson in empathy. We talked about th...

Our conversation today with Dr. Jeffrey Feit, Valley Health Population & Community Health Officer and Tracy Mitchell, Director, Valley Health Wellness Services centered around how/why Valley Health prioritizes and implements various community health objectives. Dr. Feit explained the Community Health Needs Assessment that Valley Health conducts every three years. You can take the survey here: vall...

We met up with Jennifer Hall, Sr Director of Community Investment at United Way of Northern Shenandoah Valley to learn more about Valley Assistance Network - a program of UWNSV that offers immediate crisis intervention services to help ALICE ® families navigate the complex social services system and move from crisis to stability. Jennifer explained who ALICE families are and how sometimes they fal...

We met up with Michelle Smeltzer, Community Liaison for Warren County Social Services to learn more about the resources that are available to the community through her agency. She told us about all the connections she helps to make, reminded us about their resource app, and told us about their new job developer. In the second segment we talked about the Thermal Shelter of Front Royal. She gave us...

We were live in the studio today to kick off Camping for Hunger week to benefit Front Royal/Warren County CCAP. Joining me for the conversation was Larry Elliott, President of the organization and Joanne Koszyk, their new Executive Director. Larry gave us an overview of the services CCAP offers and the impact they have on members of our community. He talked about their goal of expanding food distr...

We were back with our fun squad from Frederick County Parks & Recreation - Tony Baker & Sarah Young - to get all the details about winter programs & activities, Story Walk at Bowman Library and Rose Hill Park, plus Walking in a Winter Wonderland that opens at Clear Brook Park on Friday, November 26, 2021. Tickets will be required in advance again this year for the month-long event and there will b...

We were on location recording for today's episode to chat with Professor Liz Palffy, Assistant Professor and Program Lead for the Engineering Program at Lord Fairfax Community College. Professor Palffy explained the relatively new program and talked about all the different specialties available under the engineering umbrella. She walked us through what classes are like and told us how this Associa...

While we didn't record today's show AT Shenandoah Valley Discovery Museum, we still took our own field trip there to check out the new sock skating rink they've installed on their roof. Dawn Devine, Director at Shenandoah Valley Discovery Museum and Tammy Stevenson, Director of Development & Marketing joined me for the conversation to get the details about what goes into adding things like the soc...

Our conversation with Kristen Laise, Director of Belle Grove Plantation and Kelynn Powell, Museum Shop Manager centered around details for their upcoming Kris Kringle Market - an outdoor Christmas market happening on Saturday, November 20 & Sunday, November 21, 2021 from 10am - 4pm. The event will feature nearly 50 artisans, crafters, and vendors along with food, mulled wine, a petting zoo, and a...

Our conversation today with Captain Ann Hawk from Front Royal Salvation Army centered around the organization's need for volunteers to assist with bell ringing. Capt. Hawk explained how easy it is to choose your day/time and get signed up at registertoring.com . We also talked about the availability of virtual kettles and the use of QR codes for local businesses. She gave us the details for their...

November is Lung Cancer Awareness Month, so we chatted for our Community Health episode (in partnership with Valley Health ) with Dr. Shalini Reddy, thoracic surgeon & Medical Director of thoracic surgery at Winchester Medical Center. She told us about the special low dose CT lung screening event offered at Valley Health's six hospitals during the entire month of November. The screenings are for u...

Lt. Warren Gosnell from Frederick County Sheriff's Office returned from his 90-day hiatus for a LIVE edition of Traffic/Public Safety Thursday. He gave us a quick overview of his campaign experience and talked about meeting so many of our community and the various questions they asked of him. Based on those questions & conversations, we talked about "red flag" laws. He explained how they work, the...

Niki Cales from the Front Royal/Warren County Chamber of Commerce joined me as co-host for today's conversation on The Valley Business Today with her guest, Caitlin Love, owner of Front Royal Wines that recently opened on Main Street in Front Royal. Caitlin explained how the wine shop came into existence and gave us an overview of the wines they offer as well as other wine-related items. She told...

Our conversation for Tourism Tuesday - Shenandoah County edition - with Kary Haun included Shane & Cara Waller, owners of Star in the Valley Winery. They gave us some background about the winery and talked about the importance of sustainability and why growing their grapes and producing their wines all on-site was always a priority for them. We also got details for their Countdown to Christmas cel...