Send notes to the Connection at south@connectionnewspapers.com or call 703-917-6459. Deadline is Friday. Dated announcements should be submitted at least two weeks prior to the event.
<b>Thursday/Oct. 16
</b>Networking Mixer. Gather business cards and join the Greater Springfield Chamber of Commerce from 5-7 p.m., at Comfort Inn, 6560 Loisdale Court, Springfield. Members, first and second time visitors, free. Non-members $15. 703-922-9000.
Candidate Forum with Keith Fimian and Gerry Connolly, on energy and the environment. 7:30-9 p.m. at Lake Braddock Secondary School, entrance 14, 9200 Burke Lake Road, Burke. The moderator will be Mike Tidwell, executive director of Chesapeake Climate Action Network, and questions will be taken from the audience. Contact Lauren Glickman, 804-335-0915 or lauren@chesapeakeclimate.org.
<b>Saturday/Oct. 18
</b>Community Clean-up Day. 7:30-9 a.m. Volunteers will meet at the Waterford, 6715 Commerce St., Springfield, for coffee and muffins. All volunteers receive a brightly colored T-shirt and an assigned stretch of roadway. 703-866-3501.
<b>Monday/Oct. 20
</b>Meeting for parents of English for speakers of other languages (ESOL) students. 6-9 p.m., at Robinson Secondary School, 5035 Sideburn Road, Fairfax. Interpreters will be available for Arabic, Farsi, Korean, Spanish, Urdu, and Vietnamese. FCPS Superintendent Jack D. Dale will be present. Information on ESOL services, how to help children with education, advanced academic programs, and opportunities for questions and comments. Community representatives will talk about resources available to Fairfax County residents. Displays on Fairfax County adult ESOL classes, the Center for Multicultural Human Services, the Partnership for Healthier Kids and more. www.fcps.edu/DIS/OESOL/meetings.htm.
<b>Tuesday/Oct. 21
</b>The Diversity Committee focuses on the needs of small, minority- and woman-owned businesses. Meets 9-10 a.m. every third Tuesday at United Central Bank, 6400 Brandon Ave., Springfield. 703-866-3501.
Springfield Mall Redevelopment Information Session. Vornado Realty Trust is updating its proposal for the conversion of the Springfield Mall and parking lots into a mixed-use town center. Plans call for the project to commence in 2009. A mix of department stores and specialty retail, residential buildings, hotels, restaurants and a new theater complex are proposed for the new development. 7 p.m. at Francis Scott Key Middle School, 6402 Franconia Road, Springfield. Sponsored by the Mount Vernon Group of the Sierra Club and the Coalition for Smarter Growth. Contact jim.hutzler@verizon.net or 703-768-2899.
Keeping Engaged: Community Options for Seniors Who Need Extra Support. Choosing the appropriate social environment is not always easy. Learn about programs, activities and services available to older adults who need support in order to stay engaged. 7-9 p.m. at Groveton Senior Center, 8350 Richmond Highway, Alexandria. 703-324-5205, TTY 703-449-1186 or www.fairfaxcounty.gov/aaa. The event is sponsored by the county’s Department of Family Services’ Fairfax Area Agency on Aging and partners.
<b>Wednesday/Oct. 22
</b>ASBCs of Government Contracting. 11:30 a.m.-1 p.m. at Houlihan's, 6550 Loisdale Road, inside the Hilton Springfield. Focuses on tactics and resources necessary in the development of effective market research, and which agencies and contractors to target for business opportunities, and why they are viable. Greater Springfield Chamber of Commerce members $25, non-members $35. Guest speaker Guy Timberlake, Chief Executive Officer of The American Small Business Coalition LLC. 703-866-3501.
<b>Sunday/Oct. 26
</b>Stress and Your Health. A free seminar is offered 1-4 p.m., at the Fairfax County Government Center Board Auditorium, 12000 Government Center Parkway, Fairfax. A doctor and patient team up to lead a conversation on stress and health, community and happiness, and re-establishing mind-body harmony through art, contemplation and attitude. 703-968-9818, cfsupport-owner@yahoogroups.com.
<b>Tuesday/Oct. 28
</b>Business Watch Rountable. 8-9 a.m. Join business leaders for a quarterly meeting with Officers from the Franconia District Police Station, and an informal discussion about safety and security issues important to businesses and property owners. Waterford, 6715 Commerce St., Springfield. 703-866-3501.
<b>Thursday/Oct. 30
</b>Clifton Architectural Review Board. 7:30 p.m. in the Clifton Town Meeting Hall, 12641 Chapel Road, Clifton. 703-802-0847.
<b>Monday/Oct. 27
</b>Clifton Planning Commission Meeting. 7:30 p.m. in the Clifton Town Meeting Hall, 12641 Chapel Road, Clifton. 703-802-0847.
<b>Tuesday/Nov. 4
</b>Clifton Town Council Meeting. 7:30 p.m. in the Clifton Town Meeting Hall, 12641 Chapel Road, Clifton. 703-802-0847.
<b>Friday/Nov. 7
</b>Fairfax County and Partners’ Sixth Annual Caregiver Luncheon, in celebration of National Family Caregiver’s Month. From 9 a.m.-2 p.m. at the Springfield Golf and Country Club, 8301 Old Keene Mill Road, Springfield. Susan Geffen Mintz, president and co-founder of the National Family Caregivers Association, is the keynote speaker. Register and request reasonable accommodations by Oct. 24 at www.fairfaxcounty.gov/aaa or 703-324-5631, TTY 703-449-1186. The event costs $10 for snack, lunch, seminar and fair. Sponsored by the county’s Department of Family Services’ Fairfax Area Agency on Aging and partners.
<b>Tuesday/Nov. 11
</b>Fairfax County Public Schools will offer four town meetings to solicit citizen input in order to determine boundaries for the new elementary school under construction at the Laurel Hill site on Laurel Crest Drive in Lorton, a 38-classroom school serving students in kindergarten through grade 6. Schools involved in the boundary study include Gunston, Halley, Lorton Station, Newington Forest and Silverbrook elementary schools. Town meetings for this study will at 7 p.m. at South County Secondary School, 8501 Silverbrook Road in Lorton. Contact Denise James at 703-246-6920 or denise.james@fcps.edu.
<b>Wednesday/Nov. 12
</b>NARFE Springfield Chapter Meeting. David Robarge, Chief Historian for the Central Intelligence Agency, presents "George Washington, the Father of Intelligence." 1:30 p.m. at American Legion Post 176, 5620 Amherst Ave, Springfield, adjacent to Kay Jenning's Springfield Toyota. Contact Sharon Forrest at 703 960-9017 or taffyjoe@aol.com.
<b>Sunday/Nov. 16
</b>Rabies Clinic. Low-cost rabies clinic 2-4 p.m. at the Fairfax County Animal Shelter, 4500 West Ox Road, Fairfax. The cost for rabies shots at the clinic is $10, cash or checks only. 703-830-1100.
<b>Thursday/Nov. 27
</b>Clifton Architectural Review Board. 7:30 p.m. in the Clifton Town Meeting Hall, 12641 Chapel Road, Clifton. 703-802-0847.
<b>Monday/Nov. 24
</b>Clifton Planning Commission Meeting. 7:30 p.m. in the Clifton Town Meeting Hall, 12641 Chapel Road, Clifton. 703-802-0847.
<b>Monday/Dec. 1
</b> Fairfax County Public Schools will offer four town meetings to solicit citizen input in order to determine boundaries for the new elementary school under construction at the Laurel Hill site on Laurel Crest Drive in Lorton, a 38-classroom school serving students in kindergarten through grade 6. Schools involved in the boundary study include Gunston, Halley, Lorton Station, Newington Forest and Silverbrook elementary schools. Town meetings for this study will at 7 p.m. at South County Secondary School, 8501 Silverbrook Road in Lorton. Contact Denise James at 703-246-6920 or denise.james@fcps.edu.
<b>Tuesday/Dec. 2
</b>Clifton Town Council Meeting. 7:30 p.m. in the Clifton Town Meeting Hall, 12641 Chapel Road, Clifton. 703-802-0847.