Send announcements, which are open to the public at no or minimal cost, to The Loudoun Connection, 7913 Westpark Drive, McLean, VA 22102, e-mail to loudoun@connectionnewspapers.com or fax to 703-917-0991. Deadline is Friday, two weeks before the event. Photos/artwork encouraged. For more information, call Matthew Razak at 703-917-6457. For additional listings, visit www.connectionnewspapers.com.
Loudoun Interfaith Relief Inc. received $5,000 from the Food Lion Charitable Foundation. The donation will be used to support the nonprofit's mission of feeding the hungry living in the community.
Rebecca Brock of Leesburg is one of the recipients of the Virginia Commission for the Arts Artists Fellowships. Brock received a $5,000 award in fiction.
On Saturday, Nov. 11, 40 Cub Scout packs, 25 Boy Scout troops and the local Order of the Arrow chapter collected 98,661 pounds of food in Loudoun County during the annual Scouting for Food drive. This year, Scouts collected 5,814 pounds of food for Messiah's Market, 20,680 pounds for LINK Inc. and 72,167 pounds for the Community Holiday Coalition. The weekend's collections resulted in a 6,600 pound increase over the last year's totals.
Jeremiah Cunningham of Ashburn has been accepted into the class of 2010 at St. Lawrence University, Canton, N.Y. He will be taking part in the school's First-Year Program, an introduction to the liberal arts curriculum taught in the residence halls by faculty teams. Cunningham graduated from Salisbury School in Salisbury, Conn.
Alice Mejin Leechor, a Davidson College (N.C.) junior from Leesburg, was inducted into the college's Richard Bernard Mathematics Honor Society. She is the daughter of Chad and Hye-Sook Leechor and a graduate of Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology.
Leechor is a music major. She is assistant concertmaster of the Davidson College Symphony Orchestra and a violinist for the Aurora Trio. She is also a member of the school's women's crew team and the Methodist College Fellowship.
The Bernard Society promotes interest in mathematics among students as it honors professor emeritus Richard Bernard and his contributions to the study of mathematics at Davidson.
Susan Curtis, executive director of the Loudoun Abused Women’s Shelter, was appointed to the governor’s Commission on Sexual Violence, which is tasked with making recommendations to improve the treatment of victims of sexual violence and to prevent and respond to related crimes.
Lightfoot Restaurant hosted the First Annual Corporate Spelling Bee to benefit the Loudoun Literacy Council Nov. 20. The Council, through contributions of the contestants raised nearly $15,000 to help low-literate adults and children who live at or below the poverty line, improve their literacy skills. Eight corporations sent a team of four of their best spellers to compete against other teams representing a variety of industries. The winner was The Boys & Girls Clubs of Loudoun County, which was sponsored by Armfield, Harrison & Thomas, Lansdowne Resort and MicroStrategy Inc. Seven other corporate teams competed: AOL, Argon ST, EIT, LaFarge North America, Loudoun-Times Mirror, Rolls Royce North America, and Verizon. Celebrity judges, Betty Korte, 2006 Loudoun County Teacher of the Year, state Sen. Mark Herring and NASA astronaut Bill Readdy were on hand to officiate the event, while Tom Notar of MicroStrategy was the emcee.
The Virginia State AARP recognized the nearly 300 volunteers that make up the Loudoun Volunteer Caregivers (LVC) with a volunteer appreciation evening at Leesburg’s Tally Ho Theatre Dec. 7.
Courtney Mason of Sterling, a graduate student in the veterinary medicine program at the Virginia-Maryland Regional College of Veterinary Medicine at Virginia Tech, has been awarded the Virginia Kennel Club Award. This award is presented to a VMRCVM student based upon their interest in purebred dogs.
A record 1,541 runners came from 28 states, and Germany, to participate in the Ashburn Farm Thanksgiving 10K, 5K and 2K Fun Run. This was the 13th year for the event, sponsored by Crossroads United Methodist Church.
The top-five 10K finishers were Benson Cheruiyot, age 24 of Chapel Hill, N.C., 30:44; Philip Cheruiyot, 33, Carrboro, N.C., 31:14; Jacob Frey, 25, Oakton, 31:15; Will Christian, 23, Norfolk, 31:21; and Gidey Teferra, 17, Ashburn, 35:22.
The top-five 5K finishers were Jon Lauder, age 24 of Oakton, 16:25; Matt Maline, 23, Oak Hill, 17:19; Michael Mcginnis, 21, Oak Hill, 17:20; Hernan Cortes, 19, Oakton, 18:10: and Tyler Dietrich, 13, Leesburg, 18:11.
Proceeds benefit The HUMBLE United Methodist School in Lukojjo, Uganda. Started by Crossroads UMC in 2003, the school now serves 190 children, most orphaned from HIV/AIDS or war. A medical clinic is under construction and will provide medical care not only to the children of the school but also to the surrounding area.