Send announcements or events, which are open to the public at no or minimal cost, to The Loudoun Connection, 7913 Westpark Drive, McLean, VA 22102 or e-mail <a href="mailto:loudoun@connectionnewspapers.com">loudoun@connectionnewspapers.com</a>. Deadline is Friday, two weeks before the event. Photos/artwork encouraged. For more information, call 703-917-6454.
A poem by Joan Flaherty, 7, of Ashburn, has been selected for publication in Spider magazine. In May, readers were asked to submit an original poem about an older person. Joan’s poem, "Mt Friend Kate," appears on the Spider’s Corner page of the October 2008 issue. Spider is a magazine for children ages 6-9 and features short stories, poems, articles, multicultural features and activities by children’s authors.
Ashburn author, J.J. Conte, has used the proceeds from the sale of his books, "Down the Yellow Brick Road" and "Flies in my Spaghetti, Chocolates Over the Wall" to pay for four tube wells in Sahay, India. As a result, 768 families can have fresh water in their communities. The project was completed in conjunction with Children International. He intends to offer his next book for organizations to sell, all tax deductible through his foundation. The organizations can keep every penny they raise for their charitable work in excess of the $10. For more information, visit www.alsgroup.org.
Tracy Fitzsimmons, 41, began her new position as president of Shenandoah University July 1 and a two-day inauguration celebration was held Sept. 25-26, 2008. Fitzsimmons is the youngest sitting university president in Virginia.
On May 1, Shenandoah's board of trustees voted to elect Fitzsimmons, then the university's senior vice president and vice president for academic affairs, to succeed James A. Davis as president. Fitzsimmons is the first woman president of the 133-year-old institution and the fourth president to serve at the Winchester campus since the institution moved from Dayton, Va., in 1960.
Fitzsimmons began her tenure at Shenandoah University in 2001, when she joined the faculty as dean of the College of Arts and Sciences and also as a professor of political science. Prior to coming to Shenandoah, Fitzsimmons was a tenured associate professor of government at the University of Redlands in Redlands, Calif.
Mikey T and Big Macette, members of the Hogettes of Washington Redskins fame, entertained Loudoun County's Resource Families at the recent annual picnic held by the Department of Family Services. The picnic offered the opportunity for foster children and their resource families to spend time together.
Area Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology students were named to the list of 16,000 semifinalists for the National Merit Scholarship. Daniel Holohan, Brian Jang, Ashley Lewis, Ginny Kim, Brian Tubergen and Michael Chang, all of Ashburn, will vie for one of 8,200 scholarships worth $35 million that will be awarded in the spring. More than 1.5 million high-school juniors were eligible for the award.
Loudoun resident Amina Rana was appointed by Gov. Timothy Kaine to the state's Council on the Status of Women.
The Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority board of directors has elected H.R. Crawford to chairman, Charles D. Snelling to vice chairman and Quince T. Brinkley Jr. to secretary. The 13-member board is appointed by the governors of Virginia and Maryland, the mayor of the District of Columbia and the president of the United States.