Send announcements, which are open to the public at no or minimal cost, to The Loudoun Connection, 7913 Westpark Drive, McLean, VA 22102 or e-mail to loudoun@connectionnewspapers.com. Deadline is Friday, two weeks before the event. Photos/artwork encouraged. For more information, call Jennifer Lesinski at 703-917-6454. For additional listings, visit www.connectionnewspapers.com.
Air Force Airman David A. Hearing has graduated from basic military training at Lackland Air Force Base, San Antonio, Texas.
During the six weeks of training, the airman studied the Air Force mission, organization, and military customs and courtesies; performed drill and ceremony marches, and received physical training, rifle marksmanship, field training exercises, and special training in human relations.
In addition, airmen who complete basic training earn credits toward an associate degree through the Community College of the Air Force.
He is the son of Vince Hearing of Hopkins Mill Terrace, Leesburg. Hearing received a degree in 2005 from Northern Virginia Community College-Loudoun Campus, Sterling.
Arash Hamidi of Briar Woods High School was one of two students awarded a $1,000 scholarship from Christopher Consultants Ltd. In the fall, Hamidi will begin studies at Virginia Tech in Blacksburg, Va. and plans to study civil engineering. The scholarship award also includes the offer of an internship with Christopher Consultants.
Stephanie K. Whitaker of Sterling and Michael G. Dunn of Leesburg were two of eight graduating high-school seniors recently appointed to the nation's service academies from the 10th District by Rep. Frank Wolf (R-10). In July, Whitaker will enter the U.S. Military Academy and Dunn will enter the U.S. Air Force Academy.
Joshua Thompson of Park View High School, and Dennis Daubert and Blake Smoot of Loudoun County High School graduated from the Commonwealth ChalleNGe Program, June 13, in Virginia Beach. Commonwealth ChalleNGe is the Virginia component of the National Guard Youth ChalleNGe Program, which focuses on preparing at-risk teens for the General Education Degree (GED) and future employment, military or higher-education opportunities.
Loudoun County Sheriff's recruits took eight of the top-10 academic spots at the 116th session of the Northern Virginia Criminal Justice Academy's Basic Deputy Sheriff School.
Loudoun recruit Deputy Joachim Robinson received the Directors Award for the Basic Deputy Sheriff in the session. Loudoun Sheriff’s deputies also took a leadership role with recruit Gary Ace elected as president of the session and Kathryn Franck holding one of the two vice presidential positions. Sheriff’s recruit Patrick Beaver took the top spot in emergency vehicle operations training with Sean McCormack taking a close second. Loudoun recruit Jason Totaro took second overall in the firearms section of the session.
The Loudoun County Department of Economic Development has hired Melissa Piper Nelson as agricultural marketing manager and Patrick J. Ryan as the agricultural and forestal district and geographic information systems specialist. Nelson graduated from Pennsylvania State University and previously worked at the Keystone Innovative Agriculture Center and the Regional Economic Development District Initiatives program. Ryan studied geographic information systems at George Washington University at both the undergraduate and graduate levels and recently completed his graduate thesis, "The Dulles Greenway, Growth Management and Loudoun County, Virginia."
Michael Rice of Leesburg was one of 10 Boy and Girl Scouts recently awarded 2007 Young Volunteer Leadership Awards from the Northern Virginia Regional Park Authority. Michael planted 30 native trees donated by Dominion Virginia Power along the W&OD trail in Purcellville and built a large rest stop in the same area that consists of a raised deck with build-in benches.
Shannon Groves of Broad Run High School was recently awarded a $4,000 scholarship from Loudoun Volunteer Services for exceptional community service. Groves founded the Ashburn Friends of Beaverdam Run Stream and created a long-term program for water quality testing.
LVO also awarded $500 scholarships to the following graduating high-school seniors, based on their volunteer service to the Loudoun community: Rachel Macasieb of Briar Woods High School; Groves, Kelsi Kennedy, Kevin Kurdziolek and Nicole Poltash of Broad Run High School; Andrew Cebulski, Christine Lam and Brendan Butts of Dominion High School; Shannon Walker of Foxcroft; Stacy Thompson of Freedom High School; Elizabeth Rambo and Kenneth Guttman of Heritage High School; Maryam Anam who is home-schooled; Michelle Cummings of Loudoun County High School; Emily Barr, Conor Backman, Catherine Phillips, Shawn McDonough and Ryan Lawson of Loudoun Valley High School; Alexander Llana, Bridget Serone, Colin Johnson and Laren Fauteux of Potomac Falls High School; Sabrina Ripperger of Stone Bridge High School.
Eugene D. Troxell, Loudoun County's director of information technology, was elected president of the Virginia Local Government Information Technology Executives (VaLGITE). VaLGITE is a statewide organization of information technology officials, which promotes progress in the information technology profession by sharing knowledge and addressing issues of importance to local governments. Troxell has served as Loudoun County's director of information technology since 1989 and has been recognized by Computerworld magazine as one of the business world's Premier 100 Information Technology leaders.
Umar Aziz of Sterling, a student in the Pamplin College of Business at Virginia Tech, recently received the 2007 Burlington Industries Scholarship for high academic achievement. This merit-based scholarship is awarded for having the highest GPA out of all applicants for the scholarship and having completed the majority of work at Virginia Tech.
Virginia Tech honored the following local students at the university's spring commencement ceremony held Friday, May 11: Robert Bernhards, Matthew Dye, Kristyn Heiser, Allison Jarnagin, Edwin Moreno, Michael Nguyen, Jason Pilchuk, Veronica Skinner, Shannon Begle, Chang-l Chen, Brian Durkin, John Medlock, Alexandra Moses, Marc Saint Raymond, Ricardo Vargas and Thu Soe of Sterling; Henry Eickelberg, Nancy Fung, Courtney Gjorman, Kimberly Gould, Wright Lewis, Kenneth Logan and Victoria Wilson of Potomac Falls; Michael Fella of Dulles.
Gov. Timothy M. Kaine (D) has appointed Guillermo Meneses of Loudoun County, media strategist for the Law Media Group, to the Vocational Rehabilitation Council for the Blind.
The following Coastal Carolina University students from the area earned President’s List and Dean’s List status for the spring 2007 semester: Kyle T. Smith, Leesburg; Thomas M. Stokes, Clifton; Lindsey A. Facemire, Sterling; Ryan M. Dunham, Sterling; Meagan E. McCrane, Potomac Falls; Joel D. Nash, Potomac Falls.
The Loudoun Wildlife Conservancy held its annual meeting May 20 to highlight the organization's accomplishments during 2006 and to discuss plans for the coming year. Elizabeth Evans was named Outstanding volunteer of the year for her longstanding work with the LWC. Bertie Murphy was given a Special Recognition Award for her efforts in expanding the organization's outreach. The LWC also presented awards to the Amphibian Monitoring Poster Contest winners, all from Loudoun Valley High School: first place to Katherine Eckenfels, second place to Casey Curtis, third place to Stephanie Roush and Honorable Mention to Curtis Winsor. Other awards presented were to the LWC's Science Fair Award winners: first place to Vanessa Bornholdt of Broad Run High School and second Place to Nadia Waterman of Freedom High School and Robert Lee of Potomac Falls High School.
Sixty-nine new leaders with the Loudoun County Department of Fire, Rescue and Emergency Management were honored at a promotional ceremony held at Heritage High School in Leesburg, Thursday, July 26. A celebration of the department's officers' accomplishments and hard work, this ceremony recognizes the members of the department who have been promoted throughout the year. The following is a list of those promoted:
Technicians: Brian Beaulieu, Jonathan Everly, Lawrence Lippincott, Guy Robinson, Kyle Stephens, James Best, Shawn Fluharty, William McGann, William Sarley, Tim Taheri, Richard Bonney, Christopher Grubb, Seaver Miller, Rodney Scott, Christopher Turnbow, Emmett Carolan, Rodney Kable, Paul Musser, Daniel Shealy, Chad Wilson, Michael Ciaburri, Blaine Keyser, David Puffenburger, Michael Shiffler, Joshua Yoder, Thomas Clappi, Trevor Lambert, Michael Quinn, Matthew St. Clair.
Lieutenants: Phil Abruzzese, Vinson Dieterich, Brandon Frieder, Alex Keepers, Scott Richardson, Eric Banfe, James Disinger, Bernard Gottholm, Jason Koglin, Herb Rundgren, Scott Brazier, Patrick Dougherty, John Grant, Scott Lantz, Martin Rutledge, Michael Burrier, John Earley, Nicole Hankin, Boyd Morris, Ian Titus, Dan Bush, Chris Frank, Michael Kehne, Michael Nichols, Mark Wynkoop.
Jay Hoffman, a third-year dean's list student at the University of Virginia, was inducted into Tau Beta Pi, the engineering honor fraternity, and Eta Kappa Nu, the electrical and computer engineering honor fraternity.
Hoffman is a 2004 graduate of Potomac Falls High School and is the son of Kathy and Tim Hoffman of Sterling.
Rebecca Young of Dulles, a junior at Northfield Mount Hermon School in Massachusetts, was named to the academic honor roll for the spring term.
Lauren P. Hartwell of Potomac Falls has been selected by the University of Mary Washington in Fredericksburg for honors admission for the fall of 2007. Hartwell is the daughter of William and Robin Hartwell and is a 2007 graduate of Potomac Falls High School.
She is a member of the National Honor Society; is a recipient of an academic letter as well as the Psychology Student Award, the Purple Panther Award and the Kodak Young Leadership Award.