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.
Loudoun Chamber of Commerce is holding an after-hours business mixer, March 16, 5:30-7 p.m., The Medical Spa at Nova, 21785 Filigree Court, Suite 100, Ashburn. $5 for members, $10 for nonmembers. RSVP crichardson@loudounchamber.org.
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:
* 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.
Loudoun Chamber of Commerce is holding a Champagne & Scarlet Gala, March 25, 7:30 p.m., Oatlands Plantation, 20850 Oatlands Plantation Lane, Leesburg. The chamber's "Horsing Around Loudoun" project will culminate with the gala where 25 of the horses will be auctioned. There will be carriage rides through the plantation grounds, champagne and hors d'oeuvres. Some proceeds will benefit the following organizations: Loudoun Therapeutic Riding Association, Loudoun Arts Council and Oatlands Plantation. Visit www.horsingaroundloudoun.org for more information. Tickets $150 per person. To RSVP, e-mail crichardson@loudounchamber.org or register online at www.loudounchamber.org.
The UPS Store, 44050 Ashburn Shopping Plaza in Ashburn Village, raised more than $3,000 for the Marine Toys-for-Tots Foundation as part of a nationwide campaign conducted in November and December. The money raised locally will benefit children in the Ashburn community and surrounding areas. Overall, The UPS Store and Mail Boxes Etc. network raised more than $500,000.
The Loudoun Arts Council recently welcomed the Loudoun County Chamber of Commerce and Creations by April, a design showroom in Sterling, into its Arts in Offices program. The program partners local artists with area businesses, giving artists the opportunity to show and sell their work in locations where it can be viewed in conference rooms, waiting rooms and other public areas.
Seven venues and 14 artists now participate in the Arts in Offices program. Visit the Arts CouncilÕs Web site at http://www.loudounarts.org. Artists and businesses in Loudoun who wish to participate in the program should contact the Loudoun Arts Council at 703-777-7838 or info@loudounarts.org.
Goodwill of Greater Washington is now also offering new goods. As the local nonprofit organization continues to rebuild its brand, it is not only redesigning all of its retail stores to make them more contemporary and colorful, but it is also supplementing its donated vintage merchandise with brand new merchandise.
Goodwill has specifically designated more than 400 square feet in four of its local retail stores including Sterling and northeast Washington, D.C., with new merchandise.
Goodwill began selling new merchandise in September and will continue to evaluate its success over the next several months. The goal is to provide a greater selection of items and to become a one-stop retail store for its customers.
On Friday, Feb. 3, JK Moving & Storage, was named Loudoun County Chamber of CommerceÕs 2006 "Member of the Year."
To be considered for this award, JK Moving & Storage has maintained an outstanding track record with the community. It also contributes its time and services in a way that is beneficial to everyone in the community.
During the 2005 holiday season, JK Moving & Storage implemented a new program that helps transitional families from shelters get back on their feet by donating its services to families moving into new homes. JK also provided storage and transport services for ÒHorsing Around Loudoun,Ó an arts initiative that results in the placement of more than two dozen painted fiberglass horses in prominent locations throughout the country.
Throughout the years, JK Moving & Storage has donated its service and expertise to a number of other organizations, including Toys for Tots, March of Dimes, Katrina Relief, WomenÕs & Girls Tech Foundation, Boy Scout Troop 982, Hamilton Fire Department, COPE (Western Loudoun Teen Center), and Junior League of Washington.
Last month, Loudoun County attained worldwide recognition, when President Bush selected JK Moving & Storage as a venue from which to address the public on his economic policy. In his speech, President Bush praised JK for its contributions to the community and throughout the world.
Safeway's Eastern Division contributed an estimated $5.1 million in cash and in-kind donations to nonprofit agencies throughout the mid-Atlantic region during the 2005 calendar year. The total giving includes $3.929 million by Safeway stores in the Washington- and Baltimore-metropolitan areas with the remaining $1.225 million being provided by Genuardi's Markets, owned by Safeway, in the Philadelphia region.
Dr. Namrata "Sonia" Choudhary of Women First OB/GYN, P.C., in Reston and Sterling, announces Dr. Reepa Shah has joined the practice.
Shah recently completed her residency training at George Washington University Hospital. She is a fellow of the American College of Obstetrics and Gynecology.
Shah is marries and has a 1-year-old son. She is fluent in English and Gujarati and speaks some Hindi and Spanish.
Robert Dawson, director of sales for Ambassador Worldwide Moving, was inducted as a board member of the Loudoun County Chamber of Commerce at the Lansdowne Resort in Lansdowne. In his expanded role with the chamber, Dawson will also be chairing the Annual Expo, a key activity of the chamber.
Whitestone Farm in Aldie has been recognized nationally by the American Angus Association for having one registered Angus cow included in the Association's 2006 Pathfinder Report. Only 2,187 of the more than 34,000 American Angus Association members are represented in this year's report. The Pathfinder Program identifies superior Angus cows based upon recorded performance traits that are economically important to efficient beef production. The 2006 Pathfinder Report lists 9,321 individual cows and 258 Pathfinder sires. It is published in the April issue of the Angus Journal, and copies are available from the Association.
Nichole Towers, resident of Ashburn, has opened an additional Kinderdance educational dance and fitness center at Chesterbrook Academy-Cascades, Logan Way, Sterling. Towers is now teaching more than 45 students in a total of eight different authorized Kinderdance centers.
On March 4, Lansdowne Resort opened Spa MinŽrale, pronounced Min-er-al, a 12,000-square-foot, full-service luxury spa. The new spa, which will open as one of the largest luxury spas in the Washington, D.C., area, is one of the final additions of an estimated $60 million renovation and expansion campaign.
Close to 700 people attended the YMCA Loudoun County's Chocolates Galore and More, Feb. 17. The event raised nearly $37,000 for the Y's Building Bridges Campaign, which provides financial assistance to families that want to participate in YMCA programs. Awards were handed out by judges, as well as people's choice. Judges' awards went to Patowmack Farms, Dinner in the Garden, best dessert presentation; Cilla's Cookies and Confections, best dessert taste; Stratford University, bet hors d'oeuvres presentation; and Lansdowne Resort, best hors d'oeuvres taste. The people's choice awards went to Stratford University, best dessert presentation; Chantell's Cakes and Pastries, best dessert taste; Washington Dulles Airport Marriott, best hors d'oeuvres; and Tuscarora Mill, best hors d'oeuvres taste.
Loudoun Chamber of Commerce is holding a Women in Business Alliance (WIBA) presents Financial Planning Workshop, March 29, 11:30 a.m.-1 p.m., Holiday Inn Dulles, 1000 Sully Road, Sterling. Joan Coullahan, CDFA, CFDS, facilitator. Cost $20 members, $25 nonmembers, includes buffet luncheon. To RSVP, e-mail crichardson@loudounchamber.org or register online at www.loudounchamber.org.
Loudoun Convention & Visitors Association will hold its annual meeting and tourism awards luncheon, March 30, 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.
Loudoun Chamber of Commerce is holding the Valor Awards, April 18, 11:30 a.m.-2 p.m., Washington Dulles Airport Marriott Hotel, 45020 Aviation Drive, Dulles. Recognizes members of the various public-safety departments, as well as everyday civilians, who have placed themselves in harm's way over the past year to ensure the safety of others. Guest speaker, H.C. "Barney" Barnum Jr., Deputy Assistant Secretary of the Navy (Reserve Affairs). Advance $50 member, $60 nonmember; at the door $60 member, $70 nonmember. Register by calling 703-777-2176, Ext. 23, or RSVP to crichardson@loudounchamber.org.
FunKtion Auto Group, a Dulles-based automobile dealership, maintenance shop, racing group and auto enthusiast club announces the grand opening of its 9,000-square-foot facility at 44264 Mercure Drive in Dulles. The Òone stop auto shopÓ sells, services, maintains, races and stores automobiles for its customers.
Friberg Financial Group has opened a second location in Lansdowne, in addition to their primary office in Round Hill. Friberg has been providing financial planning services for 10 years.