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<i> Send announcements to The Reston Connection, 7913 Westpark Drive, McLean, VA 22102, e-mail to

reston@connectionnewspapers.com or fax to 703-917-0991. Deadline is two weeks before the event. Photos/artwork encouraged. Call Jean Card at 703-917-6437, with questions.

This free listing is reserved for activities and events that are open to the public at no or minimal cost. </i>

First Horizon Bank celebrates its First Anniversary. Learn Smart Banking and Enjoy Family Fun as the company commemorates one year in the Washington Metro region. Saturday, June 4 from 10 a.m. – noon at First Horizon Bank’s Reston Financial Center, 12170 Sunset Hills Road.

Guests have the chance to sign up for a free First Horizon checking account, enjoy a live music remote from radio station 100.3 WBIG, balloons, a moon bounce and refreshments while vying for the chance to win $15,000 by guessing the correct combination on the bank vault.

Northern Virginia companies can now apply for the 2005 CARE Awards (Companies As Responsive Employers) administered by Northern Virginia Family Service (NVFS). Applications are available online and must be submitted by June 10.

The CARE Awards recognizes businesses located in Northern Virginia that are leaders in promoting a positive work-life balance for employees through company policies and benefits. Since 1992, the CARE Awards have identified the best places to work in Northern Virginia. The application can be downloaded from the Northern Virginia Family Service Web site at www.nvfs.org/applyforcare.pdf.

Applicants are evaluated against other businesses of like size and resources by a committee comprised of human resource professionals, previous CARE Award winners and Northern Virginia Family Service staff. CARE Award winners are recognized at an awards breakfast to be held Thursday, Nov. 17.

The Greater Reston Chamber of Commerce, acting as a dropoff and distribution station, gathered and handed out several thousands of articles of donated clothing to those needing professional outfits to re-enter the workforce. Overseeing the seventh annual drive, the Chamber’s Community Services Committees donated the clothing to the following recipient organizations: Reston Interfaiths’ Embry Rucker Shelter; Fairfax County Department of Family Services; Fairfax County Battered Women’s Shelter; and Northern Virginia Family Services, as well as those transitioning into the workforce that stopped to shop throughout the day.

To learn more about the initiatives of the Chamber, visit www.restonchamber.org.

The National Women’s Business Center Inc., a nonprofit organization serving entrepreneurs at all stages of business development, in partnership with Maryland and Virginia Governors Robert L. Ehrlich and Mark R. Warner and Washington, D.C., Mayor Anthony A. Williams announced the First Annual National Business Women’s Conference. The Conference will be held June 7, at the Hyatt Regency on Capitol Hill.

The National Business Women’s Conference will feature remarks by Williams, Warner and Ehrlich. The opening session and luncheon will be highlighted by keynotes from prominent business leaders. The morning and afternoon breakout sessions will present insights by industry experts on key topics related to federal procurement; state issues and advocacy; marketing and public relations; business and financial management; and international trade.

Small business owners will have the opportunity to schedule one-on-one appointments with federal agencies and corporate buyers interested in quality women-owned suppliers. And, to top off a highly energized, information-packed day will be a reception and networking that precedes the NWBC’s Annual Awards Dinner and Gala.

The conference price is $245 ($215 NWBC member) if paid before May 31, after that date the cost is $275. Registration for information is available online at www.businesswomensconference.com or by calling 202-785-4922. Sponsorships are still available and details can be found at the Web site.

Reston Hospital Center has received this year's Hospital of Choice Award from the American Alliance of Healthcare

Providers (AAHCP), which recognizes America's most customer-friendly hospitals. Reston Hospital is one of only four Virginia hospitals to win this recognition.

The Choice Awards status is granted to health-care facilities that provide the very best customer service to patients and their families, as well as active involvement in the communities they serve, according to AAHCP President, R. Vincent Parr. Designation criteria include meeting high quality management standards for improving patient care, strong physician and nursing leadership, support for continuing education and development, and effective community involvement.

The goal of the American Alliance of Providers, based in Alexandria, is to help consumers make educated decisions about the quality of their. The organization's strategy is to build systems of improvement that will help identify, measure, and monitor key indicators necessary for outstanding.

Reston Hospital Center, a 160-bed facility located in Reston Town Center, is an expanding full-service medical/surgical hospital that has served the residents of growing western Fairfax and eastern Loudoun Counties since 1986. When its current expansion project is completed, Reston Hospital

Center will feature 187 beds in all-private rooms.

Reston Hospital Center and its sister facilities, Northern Virginia Community Hospital, Fairfax Surgery Center, Reston Surgery Center, and the proposed Broadlands Regional Medical Center, are affiliates of Nashville-based HCA, the nation's leading provider of health-care services.

Community Preservation and Development Corporation (CPDC), welcomed J. Michael Pitchford as its new CEO and president serving as community development equity executive for Bank of America, he led a team of real estate professionals who developed more than 23,000 units of affordable housing since 1994.

CPDC works with residents, governments and financiers to turn around troubled communities and preserving those subjected to market pressures and rising rents. Wardman Court (formerly Clifton Terrace), Edgewood Terrace and Southern Ridge in Washington, D.C., and Admiral Oaks in Annapolis, Md., represent model successes where crime and mismanagement once ruled. Island Walk in Reston and 1330 Seventh St. in the District are examples of where complex financing allowed for sustainability and the opportunity for residents to eventually own their homes.

In the wake of the December tsunami, CDW Government, Inc. (CDW-G) executives offered to send a few coworkers to Thailand if the coworkers could collect $100,000 in donations. As part of this program the selected workers would assist Habitat for Humanity International in rebuilding homes for two weeks to leverage both money and (wo)manpower in helping victims.

When the CDW-G Tsunami Fund Drive closed at the end of February, coworkers had surpassed the milestone by raising more than $103,000 in donations. As promised, the company's executives held a "raffle" to select coworkers who contributed to the fund. In addition to coworker donations, CDW founder, Michael Krasny, made a personal contribution of $100,000 to the fund drive. Krasny's generosity, combined with the donation match program brought CDW-G's total donation to $306,000.

Selected coworkers will travel to help with relief efforts from July 9-23. Money raised for the victims will go to the American and Canadian Red Cross organizations, CARE International, and Habitat for Humanity International.

Angela’s Happy Stamper offers free Learn at Lunch programs every Tuesday from 12–2 p.m., free make and take opportunities and many new classes. Currently, Happy Stamper customers are creating and donating all kinds of stationery for the charity, Support Our Troops. In Iraq, stationery is in short supply for those wishing to send mail home.

Greater Reston area business people have a new professional networking opportunity. A.M. Executive Connections is held the third Wednesday of each month, 8-9:30 a.m., and features a full, hot breakfast, complimentary display table for promotional literature and door prizes. Contact Barbara LaRock, 703-709-8600, e-mail at bml@barbaralarock.com or visit www.barbaralarock.com.

The U.S. Air Force has awarded Northrop Grumman Corporation a delivery order to adapt its Joint Mission Planning System (JMPS) for use in a service-oriented environment by joint service war fighters.

The JMPS automates mission planning through the development of common components and software that can be shared across all platforms, including various aircraft, smart munitions and some ground vehicles.

The Framework 1.3/1.4 delivery order, valued at $23 million,

was awarded under the Mission Planning Enterprise Contract (MPEC), a five-year, indefinite delivery/indefinite quantity contract managed by the Electronic Systems Center at Hanscom Air Force Base, Mass.

Northrop Grumman Mission Systems, based in Reston, is a

global integrator of complex, mission-enabling systems and services for defense, intelligence and civil government markets. The sector's technology leadership and expertise spans areas such as strategic systems, including intercontinental ballistic missiles; missile defense; intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance; command and control; technical services; and training.

Millennium Bank, N.A. is pleased to announce the launch of Electronic Check Deposit, a new service that lets business customers scan and deposit checks without ever leaving their office. Electronic Check Deposit eliminates deposit slips and trips to the bank and can cut a 60-minute task of depositing checks down to just 5 minutes. It also helps businesses receive their funds faster. Businesses using the scanner typically receive their funds in 2 days versus up to 5 days it takes paper checks to clear.

Added benefits include the ability to access archived check images available online for easy review as well as the ability to export scanned check data into in-house accounting and database programs.

Business customers interested in seeing an in-office demo of Electronic Check Deposit should call Mark Gould, the bank’s VP of Marketing, at 703-467-3422.

Millennium Bank, N.A. is pleased to announce the addition of four new loan officers to the bank’s commercial loan division. The new loan officers will help Millennium provide added financing support for small to mid-size businesses throughout Northern Virginia, Fredericksburg and Richmond. Millennium Bank is a Preferred Lender of the U.S. Small Business Administration and one of the top providers of loans through the SBA’s Washington Metro office. The bank offers businesses both conventional financing options as well as guaranteed loan programs.

Dianne Smith joins the bank as Vice President of Commercial Lending. She will be supporting commercial and SBA loan operations in Fredericksburg and surrounding markets.

Jim Glenn joins the bank as VP of Commercial Lending. Throughout his financial services career he has also worked as a registered investment adviser, residential appraiser, teacher/trainer and underwriter.

Herb Harris joins the bank as Vice President of Commercial Lending. He will be calling on commercial and commercial real estate clients in the Greater Washington Region.

Sandra Cannon joins the bank as Vice President of Commercial Lending. She will be supporting commercial and SBA Loan operations in the Richmond and surrounding markets.

"A Celebration of Women" recently held in Reston brought 150 local women together to raise more than $10,000 for My Sister's Place, a nonprofit group providing services to victims of domestic violence in the Washington, D.C., area.

Hosted by the Austin-Weston Center for Cosmetic Surgery in Reston, participants enjoyed complimentary massages, digital imaging, and hors d'oeuvres. Tips on cosmetic surgery, cosmetic dentistry and skin care were also provided by the center. Visit www.austin-weston.com, call 703-893-6168 or visit 1825 Samuel Morse Drive in Reston.

Funds were raised through charitable donations from vendors, raffles held throughout the event and a charity gift boutique entitled "The Power to Give."

My Sister's Place serves battered women and their children through safe, confidential shelter, transitional housing, counseling and education.