8/14/02
Langley Student Experiences German Immersion
Elise MacKichan, a rising senior at Langley High School, attended the Virginia Governor’s German Immersion Academy at James Madison University in Harrisonburg from June 29-July 21. The students lived their lives completely in German to boost their abilities to use the language. Participating students were selected through a statewide competition.
The students attended classes, which included Russian and pop music, each morning, including Saturdays. In the afternoon, the students participated in activities such as cooking, soccer, volleyball, folk and ballroom dancing, and singing. Each student developed his writing and photography skills through daily journals, a yearbook, and weekly videos and newspapers.
The students concluded the three weeks with a two-hour presentation for their parents consisting of dancing, acting, singing and awards.
Student Journalist Attends Editor’s Workshop
McLean High School student Anthony Braun participated in a week-long, intensive high-school editors workshop at Virginia Commonwealth University in Richmond. Aside from journalism, Braun participates in track and cross-country.
As co-editor of McLean High School’s newspaper, The Highlander, Braun attended the editor’s workshop in the hopes of improving his writing skills and plans to focus on these skills his last year of high school.
He was one of 14 of the state’s top high-school editors participating in the workshop.
Phoc Becomes Troop’s 12th Eagle Scout
Bin Minh Phoc , a member of Troop 904 (sponsored by the Blessed Vietnam Martyrs Church, Arlington), has earned Eagle, Boy Scouting’s highest award. The Arlington troop, which also serves McLean, was formed in 1987 by families and Scouts of Vietnamese descent. Phoc is the 12th Eagle Scout from Troop 904 and the first to earn Eagle with a physical limitation. His Court of Honor was held on May 19 and was also attended by Cub Scout Pack 904 and Adventure Crew 904.
People Notes
Dr. Xavier Slotkoff of McLean and Frank Kelly of Great Falls are training for the 19th annual Make-A-Wish Sea Colony Triathlon, which will take place Saturday, Sept. 21, in Bethany Beach, Del. The event benefits the Make-A-Wish Foundation of the Mid-Atlantic Inc., a nonprofit organization that fulfills the wishes of children facing life-threatening illnesses.
Stlotkoff, a dentist, will be participating in the Make-A-Wish Sea Colony Triathlon for the ninth time.
Kelly, chief lobbyist for Charles Schwab, will be participating in the Triathlon for the first time. His four-year-old son, Brandon, was a wish recipient last September. He met the Pope and took his family to Italy for a ten-day vacation.
Jennifer Cunningham, a journalism teacher at Flint Hill School in Oakton and adviser of The View and Paw Print, was one of 35 teachers selected nationwide as a fellow for an intensive summer journalism institute at the University of Maryland designed to enhance Flint Hill’s newspaper. Cunningham was a fellow in the American Society of Newspaper Editors High School Journalism Institute at Maryland from July 14-26. She and the other fellows participated in hands-on workshops on newspaper writing, reporting, editing, photography, management and layout and design, as well as seminars on journalism ethics, law, diversity and the First Amendment.
Margaret Rubin of McLean, along with 25 other volunteers, has left for the Marshall Islands, where she has made a year-long commitment to teach English in the country’s public elementary and secondary schools. Rubin graduated in May 2002 from Amherst college with a major in French.
The Republic of the Marshall Islands is a tropical economy in the North Central Pacific consisting of 29 coral atolls and more than 1,300 islands. Most of the atolls have neither electricity nor running water. Except for those assigned to the capital, Majuro, volunteers will participate in the subsistence economy of the outer islands, where food is gathered from the trees and from the water. All volunteers will live with host families.
The Ministry of Education has invited these teachers to assist with their newly adopted national policy to use English as the primary language of instruction. With few educational materials in their native Marshallese, the government of the Marshall Islands is committed to strengthening the English skills of the population.
Business Notes
James T. Nelson has joined Potomac Bank of Virginia as vice president and relationship manager based in the bank’s Vienna headquarters. He came to Potomac Bank of Virginia from Sequoia Bank, where he was a vice president in one of its Washington, D.C., offices. Before that, Nelson was affiliated with the Riggs Bank.
Jack Hughes has joined Holland & Knight Consulting and its H&K Strategic Business Solutions affiliate, the corporate management and financial solutions provider for emerging, growth and technology companies, as a principal financial consultant on an exclusive basis. Hughes will take on a leadership position with the financial consulting practice and government contractor team.
Until recently, as co-founder and principal of Phoenix Financial & Advisory Services, LLC, he provided direct support to nearly 50 high-tech, emerging-growth companies and early-stage businesses, and also served part-time as a strategic consultant to H&K. He guided these growing companies in securing financing, developing business plans, orchestrating merger/acquisition successes and designing strategic growth plans and processes.
Prior to launching Phoenix in 1998, he served as senior vice president and C.F.O. of BTG Inc., taking the company from a $50 million business with 300 employees to a $600 million and 1,650-strong employee base in only five years. He negotiated five key acquisitions that increased annual revenues by $225 million and gained BTG prominence in new markets. He was also instrumental in the company’s successful initial public offering and follow-on offering. His business acumen afforded BTG a solid financial foundation that ensured a competitive edge in both the government and commercial arenas.
He honed his financial and operational management skills while senior vice president and corporate treasurer of ManTech International Corp. from 1974-92. His leadership helped grow the company from $4.5 million and 300 employees to a $200 million business with nearly 3,000 employees in 70 locations worldwide. During his tenure, the company’s business base expanded on average 20-plus percent annually through his strategic initiatives including financing growth, finalizing acquisitions, building strategic alliances and creating winning proposal pricing strategies.
A widely recognized expert and frequent guest speaker, he earned a bachelor of science in economics and business, with a minor in political science, from Frostburg State University. His graduate coursework includes contract formation, government procurement and financial management. He began his career with Vitro Laboratories in Silver Spring, MD.
Potomac Bank of Virginia, with headquarters in Vienna, posted significant milestones in its operating results for the second quarter and six months ended June 30, 2002:
- Exceeding $100 million in assets, finishing the quarter with total assets of $103.8 million;
- More than doubling earnings over the same period last year;
- Achieving loan growth of 26 percent over year-end 2001;
- Closing out a successful $2 million rights offering of common stock to existing shareholders;
- Recording more than $1 million in new common stock sold in the bank’s continuing public offering of common stock to new shareholders.