Send announcements to The Loudoun Connection, 7913 Westpark Drive, McLean, VA 22102, e-mail to loudoun@connectionnewspapers.com or fax to 703-917-0991. Deadline is Friday, two weeks before the event. Photos/artwork encouraged. For more information, call Jennifer Lesinski at 703-917-6454. This free listing is reserved for activities and events that are open to the public at no or minimal cost.
Old Dominion Brewing Company is donating 50 cents to the American Red Cross for Hurricane Katrina relief for every growler, a half-gallon bottle filled directly from the tap for take home use, filled during September. In addition, Sunday, Sept. 25, from 1-4 p.m., the company will host a casual buffet dinner at its Brewpub to raise money for hurricane relief. The staff is donating their time to reduce costs. Tickets are $50 and include all food and beverages. Visit www.olddominion.com.
Each year, the Loudoun County Chamber of Commerce seeks nominations from its members for the Board of Directors. Members of the board serve two-year terms and meet as a Board of Directors monthly. Chamber members are encouraged to submit names for consideration by the nominating committee. The submission of a name does not constitute election to the chamber board.
Prospective chamber board member names should be submitted via e-mail to nominating committee chair Mindy Williams at mwilliams@accesspointpa.com. Chamber members should include the following information with the nominations: Nominee name, title, company, brief reason for nomination, and nominator.
The deadline for submitting names is close of business, Friday, Sept. 23.
Beyond Closets, 506 Shaw Road, No. 325, Sterling, focusing on custom home storage, is collecting donations to help Hurricane Katrina victims. The company will collect donations of clean clothes and new underwear at their showroom. Collection hours are Monday-Friday, 8-11 a.m. and 2-5 p.m. The company will sort all items and ship them to designated sites in the Gulf Coast and Texas cities offering relief. Contact Toya Evans at Beyond Closets 703-668-0505.
The Loudoun County Chamber of Commerce has the following upcoming events:
* Lovettsville Business Mixer, Thursday, Sept. 22, 6-8 p.m., at Talk of the Town Restaurant, 13 East Broadway, Lovettsville. RSVP to skeus@loudounchamber.org. There is no charge to attend this mixer.
* State of Education Breakfast, Tuesday, Sept. 27, 8-10 a.m. Come hear a status report on education in Loudoun County, including student population trends, construction plans, curriculum improvement and meeting state and federal standards. Guest speaker: Edgar B. Hatrick, superintendent, Loudoun County Public Schools. At Loudoun County Public Schools Administrative Offices, 21000 Education Court, Ashburn. Tickets start at $30. RSVP to skeus@loudounchamber.org.Ê
* LeadShare Luncheon, Wednesday, Oct. 12, 2005, 11:45 a.m.-2 p.m. Guest speaker: Dan Williams, founder and CEO. The Networking Community. River Creek Country Club, 43800 Olympic Blvd., Leesburg. Tickets $25 per person for chamber members, in advance, $30 per person for chamber members and nonmembers, at the door. Free for current LeadShare members, who must preregister. Lunch is included in the price. RSVP to skeus@loudounchamber.org.
* Loudoun Expo Trade Show, Saturday, Oct. 15, 10 a.m.-6 p.m., at the Dulles Town Center. Annual business-to-consumer trade show attracts more than 20,000 attendees. Dulles Town Center, 21000 Dulles Town Circle, Dulles. Contact Roxane Remley at 703-777-2176, Ext. 25 or e-mail rremley@loudounchamber.org.
* Small Business Awards Dinner, Monday, Nov. 14, 6 p.m., Lansdowne Resort, 44050 Woodridge Parkway, Lansdowne. Call for nominations, visit the Chamber Web site at www.loudounchamber.org and complete a nomination form or fax a form to Roxane Remley at 703-777-1392. All nominations are due by 5 p.m., Sept. 30.
* Holiday Celebration, Thursday, Dec. 1, 5:30-10 p.m. Shop Loudoun will feature an array of Loudoun business presenting their wares for a shop and carry experience. National Conference Center, 18980 Upper Belmont Pace, Lansdowne. Interested vendors, visit www.loudounchamber.org and complete a registration form.
In honor of Breast Cancer Awareness Month, the Leesburg Downtown Business Association (LDBA) is adopting a "Paint the Town Pink" theme for the month of October. This community project is being initiated through the LDBA in order to raise public awareness of the plight of breast cancer.
Businesses of downtown Leesburg will be dressing up their shops in the breast-cancer awareness "pink" theme, helping to distribute brochures about breast cancer from the American Cancer Society, and running their own "Paint the Town Pink" promotions. Visitors to downtown Leesburg should look for the "Paint the Town Pink" ceramic pumpkins on display in participating businesses throughout October, along with the pink pumpkin LDBA float in the annual Leesburg Halloween Parade. This promotion is designed to raise public awareness for breast cancer and is not collectively a fund-raiser. However, many shops are considering a fund raising aspect to their individual promotions.
For more information and to participate, call Paige Buscema, president of LDBA and owner of the Eyetopia shop, at 703-443-6410 or Marilyn Helms-White, event chairperson and owner of the etceteras shop, at 703-777-0024.
The Loudoun Women Business Forum is Oct. 6, noon,
ZeffirelliÕs Restaurant, Leesburg. Amy Brandts will speak on
"Taking the Fear Out of Investing." Cost $15, includes
lunch. Call 703-728-8900.
Local area vendors are invited to the 2005 Loudoun County
Procurement's Buyer/Seller Information Exchange sessions. The purpose of these informal sessions is to give area businesses the opportunity to meet the county's procurement staff and become familiar with the county's procurement process. The next round of sessions are as follows:
* Thursday, Oct. 20, 2 p.m.
* Friday, Nov. 18, 10:30 a.m.
* Thursday, Dec. 22, 2 p.m.
The sessions will be held in the Lovettsville Room on the first floor of the County Government Center, 1 Harrison St., S.E., in Leesburg. Call 703-771-5142 or send an e-mail to sfields@loudoun.gov.
Dan Brown has joined the Dulles-based moving and storage company, Relocation System, as the training, quality control, compliance and safety coordinator.
Loudoun Healthcare Inc. of Leesburg was one of five Washington, D.C.-area businesses named AARP 2005 Best Employers for Workers Over 50. It was recognized for offering flexible schedules that accommodate training programs at George Mason University with the possibility of earning a master's degree, emphasizing recruitment of retirees, monthly brown-bag diversity lunches and generous health/financial benefits.
Oatlands recently hired Katherine Farley of Purcellville as its new special events manager. Farley is responsible for all of OatlandsÕ special events, corporate meetings, co- sponsored events, property rentals and weddings.
Farley has been involved in events management for the past 15 years. She most recently worked in event sales and coordination for Tarara Winery in Leesburg. Her background includes work with various corporate and nonprofit organizations in the Washington, D.C., area., and recent studies in historic preservation. Farley also specializes in sponsorship programs and vendor partnerships.
Oatlands is located six miles south of Leesburg on U.S. Route 15. The 360-acre estate is a property of the National Trust for Historic Preservation.
Inova Loudoun Hospital has successfully implemented the Novo Healthcare Grid. The hospital is one of the first organizations in the country to take advantage of this technology, which allows the secure exchange of information across the health-care community and has the ability to transform the future of health care.
This technology allows information to be moved in a standard format, securely and quickly. Potential future applications for this technology could include opportunities such as medication reconciliation, individual electronic medical records that could be shared among providers to ensure continuity and collaboration of care, gathering personal health information such as blood pressure or weight, and disease surveillance.
Moore Cadillac Hummer has opened a new Dulles location on Route 50 just west of Route 28, which includes a planned test track and state-of-the-art video delivery system.
LLP Designs, based in Ashburn, has recently started a home-based scrapbook business designed for people who want to help preserve their photos and memories for future generations.
The Leesburg Downtown Business Association (LDBA) awarded three local businesses with Streetscape Awards during its final quarterly meeting of the year. Norris House Inn, The Left Bank, and Leesburg Bookstore were recognized for their efforts to keep the downtown streetscape clean and inviting. All three businesses were recognized for their outstanding flowering pots, window boxes, clean business fronts and well-manicured green spaces. It is the hope of the LDBA that these businesses will serve as a strong example to the rest of the business community for the importance of the overall presentation of any business.
The Hispanic Business Committee of the Herndon Dulles Chamber of Commerce has launched what it calls a Òstrategic partnershipÓ with the Loudoun Small Business Development Center (SBDC), a nonprofit organization that has been aiding small businesses since 1987.
SBDC programs and workshop cover marketing and sales development strategies, exploration of business opportunities, financial management, licenses and taxes, regulations and policies, and employment procedures. To make these services more readily available to Hispanic business owners, the Chamber of CommerceÕs Hispanic Committee and SBDC are working together to develop complimentary Spanish language versions of several of these important seminars.
Contact the Loudoun SBDC at 703-430-7222, or visit the Web site at www.loudounsbdc.org or contact Ellen Kaminsky, Herndon Dulles Chamber of Commerce membership director via e-mailmembership@HerndonDullesChamber.org or call 571-323-5302.
Dr. Thomas P. Finley announces the opening of his new optometry office in Ashburn and the arrival of his new optometry associate, Dr. Paul T. Colbourne. Finley's Family Eyecare-Ashburn is located at 21785 Filigree Court, Suite 206 in the Professional Center.
Services offered include comprehensive eye examinations for adults and children, contact lens fittings and follow-up care for new and existing contact lens wearers, computer vision examinations, vision therapy and sports vision consultations, treatment of eye emergencies and infections, and laser vision consultations.
Colbourne will serve as the principal eye doctor overseeing most operations in the practice. Colbourne is originally from the town of High Wycombe in England. He received his bachelor of science degree in integrated studies from George Mason University and his doctorate of optometry degree from The Pennsylvania College of Optometry. He is married to Dr. Shannon Colbourne, also an optometrist.
Finley and Colbourne have worked together on and off for more than eight years. Both are members of the American Optometric Association, Virginia Optometric Association, and Northern Virginia Optometric Society. Finley will continue to work primarily in his Herndon office, which he has owned and operated since 1989.