Send announcements 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 Jennifer Lesinski at 703-917-6454. This free listing is reserved for activities and events that are open to the public at no or minimal cost.
The Herndon Dulles Chamber of Commerce announces a new series of three workshops for sales professionals, "Art of the Deal," that will be offered Feb. 8, 15 and 22, from 7:30-11 a.m.
The first sales workshop, Researching the Deal, is scheduled for Wednesday, Feb. 8. Marvin Powell, successful businessman and Small Business Commissioner for Fairfax County, is the presenter. On Feb. 15, Bruce Mancinelli, president of WebSurveyor, will be conducting Presenting the Deal. Closing the Deal is the final workshop, Wednesday, Feb. 22 and will be led by Taiesha Thaxton, corporate sales manager, Lansdowne Resort and Conference Center.
All workshops will be held at the Holiday Inn Conference & Training Center, 22685 Holiday Park Drive, Suite 60, Dulles. Cost: $150 for the series of three or $60 each. Fee includes continental breakfast. Register in advance via the Events page of www.HerndonDullesChamber.org or by e-mail: info@herndondulleschamber.org or call 571-323-5300.
Loudoun Convention & Visitors Association has the following upcoming events:
* Feb. 9, Business Showcase Breakfast, 7:30-9 a.m., at the Belmont Country Club, 19961 Belmont Manor Lane, Ashburn. Tickets: $15 for members in advance; $20 for members at the door, $25 for nonmembers. Preregistration is required no later than Tuesday, Feb. 7, at 5 p.m.
* Feb. 14, Destination Strategy Presentation, 10 a.m.-noon, at Hampton Inn Suites, Leesburg. A presentation of the Destination Strategy that has been developed in conjunction with the Loudoun County tourism industry. RSVP to Bill@VisitLoudoun.org or 703-771-2170, Ext. 20.
* Feb. 16, Business After Hours Mixer, 5:30-7 p.m., Middleburg Bank, 211 Fort Evans Road, N.E., Leesburg. Cost: $5 for members; $10 for nonmembers. RSVP: crichardson@loudounchamber.org.
* Feb. 22, Work-Life Balance Seminar, 7:30-9 a.m., Holiday Inn Dulles, 1000 Sully Road (Route 28, Exit 9B from Route 267), Dulles. Join the Women in Business Alliance as it hosts its first event of 2006. This seminar provides the tools needed to develop a balance between work and life demands. Presented by Indra Books. Members $15; nonmembers $20. Cost includes breakfast. RSVP to crichardson@loudounchamber.org.
* March 30, Annual Meeting and Tourism Awards Luncheon, 11 a.m.-2 p.m., at Washington Dulles Airport Marriott. Get the latest industry update and honor fellow tourism award winners. For information regarding sponsoring a table and other sponsorship opportunities, contact Chris Geno at LCVA at Geno@VisitLoudoun.org or by calling 703-771-2170, Ext. 17.
Local area vendors are invited to the 2005 Loudoun County
Procurement's Buyer/Seller Information Exchange sessions. The purpose of these informal sessions is to give area businesses the opportunity to meet the county's procurement staff and become familiar with the county's procurement process. The next round of sessions are as follows:
* Friday, Feb. 24, 2 p.m.
* Thursday, March 23, 10:30 a.m.
* Friday, April 21, 2 p.m.
* Friday, May 19, 10:30 a.m.
* Thursday, June 22, 2 p.m.
* Monday, July 24, 10:30 a.m.
The sessions will be held in the Lovettsville Room on the first floor of the County Government Center, 1 Harrison St., S.E., in Leesburg. Call 703-771-5142 or send an e-mail to sfields@loudoun.gov.
Provident Bank has launched a corporate-wide initiative and multicultural outreach model aimed at meeting the banking needs of Loudoun CountyÕs growing Hispanic community. Thirteen branches in the greater Washington area, including the Sterling Shoppers Food Warehouse (SFW) branch located at 47100 Community Plaza, will serve as pilot locations for the new initiative and will offer products, services, and community outreach programs targeted specifically toward Hispanics.
A range of services, including a ÒLanguage LineÓ interpreter service, have been put in place to meet the banking needs of Hispanic customers, while also providing them with better accessibility. These resources include acceptance of the Matricula Consular Card, bilingual Spanish ATM options and the ITIN Mortgage product for permanent and non-permanent residents.
Van Metre Companies donated $140,000 to four Loudoun County organizations as part of its 50th anniversary. Van Metre donated $35,000 each to the following programs: Loudoun Community Free Clinic, Loudoun County Fire, Rescue and Emergency Management Department, Loudoun County Parks, Recreation and Community Services Department and the Loudoun Youth Initiative.
Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield in Virginia and the Anthem Foundation have awarded grants totaling $30,000 to the Loudoun County Free Clinic. The grant allocates $20,000 to be used for cancer screening programs and $10,000 to help support the clinicÕs operational expenses.
Fitness Together, owned and operated by Eric Sutton, a certified personal trainer, is a new personal training studio that offers one-on-one training in private training suites. Located at 44335 Premier Plaza, Suite 130, the studio is the seventh franchise to open in Virginia.
Let's Dish! is opening its second site at Prosperity Center, 705 E. Market St., Leesburg. The store is a make-and-take, meal assembly location that allows customers to prepare meals that can be frozen until ready to be cooked. The first Loudoun location opened in Ashburn in August.
Piedmont Investment Advisors LLC, a registered investment advisory firm, announces that it has merged with Loudoun Investment Advisors LLC. The new company, Piedmont Investment Advisors LLC, will have close to $50 million in assets under management (AUM) and expected this year to surpass $100 million in AUM and growth of more than 100 percent.
The merged companies will have a total of four employees and will move into its headquarters at 19455 Deerfield Ave., Suite 307 in Lansdowne at the end of February.
The Herndon Dulles Chamber of Commerce announces that it has elevated its Hispanic Business Committee to a "council" level to reflect the importance of its mission, accomplishments, regional impact and important alliances in Northern Virginia. It will be called the Hispanic Business Council.
Since its formation in the spring of 2004, the chamber's Hispanic Business Council has been conducting outreach to the Hispanic business community by collaborating with Loudoun County Small Business Development Center, Liberty's Promise, the Virginia Hispanic Chamber of Commerce.
The committee also reached out to the broader Hispanic community through organizing a Hispanic Business Reception, conducting community outreach at the annual Reston Multicultural Festival and the Hispanic Heritage Festival in Herndon, creating a Hispanic Resource Guide and distribution of brochures and flyers about the chamber translated into Spanish, assisting Congressman Frank Wolf's gang prevention efforts through an initiative to link businesses with young people.
The Hispanic Business Council is composed of 24 business members. The officers are Giovanni Cozzarelli, chairman; Ximena Savitch, vice chair and Jackie Krick, secretary. The council reports to Chamber of Commerce Board of Directors officer Chris Griffin, vice president of community relations.
Chuck Kuhn, president of JK Moving & Storage, located in Sterling, announces the companyÕs formal acceptance as a member of Latin American & Caribbean Association of International Movers (LACMA).
For six months, the LACMA Association and Board of Directors conducted an extensive review of JK Moving & StorageÕs international service record and documentation, along with an in-depth review of business operations, financial information, facilities and employees, prior to approving the companyÕs membership application. An association comprised of Latin American and Caribbean international movers, LACMA accounts for more than 90 percent of the moves to and from that region.
The Loudoun Arts Council (LAC) announces that it has developed a new logo to express its mission of supporting artistic expression throughout Loudoun County. LAC introduced its new logo Feb. 1.
Several area designers bid on the logo project. Following an extensive review process, the Arts Council selected SparkyÕs Garage, an award-winning advertising and design firm based in Leesburg.
LAC board member and past president, Gale Waldron, initiated the logo project last spring.
The Loudoun Arts Council is a nonprofit organization that promotes the development of artistic expression throughout Loudoun County by supporting visual, performing and literary artists and arts organizations.