February 2010

Harrisonburg Tourism Launches 2nd Edition of African American Heritage Brochure
2/24/10 - In celebration of black history, the African Heritage brochure tells the stories of the people and places in Harrisonburg and Rockingham County. Our African American community has been an integral part of Harrisonburg and Rockingham county since the beginning of our history in the 1700s. Most of the early African Americans were brought to the Shenandoah Valley destined for agricultural and domestic labor. The majority worked on small family farms, in local businesses, and in regional industries like iron foundries and canal building. In 1865, the Freedmen’s Bureau in Harrisonburg opened the first school for Negros built along Black’s Run.

Learn more by picking up a copy of the brochure at the Hardesty-Higgins House Visitor Center located at 212 S.Main St in downtown Harrisonburg. The brochure provides sites of interest, monuments, galleries, and the history of black education, early churches, and the people that shaped our community.

HPD Reminds Residents of Upcoming Census
2/23/10 - The Harrisonburg Police Department wants to remind residents that workers with the U.S. Census Bureau may be in your neighborhood in the upcoming months.

The 2010 Census will be sent through the mail. Census workers will visit residences, where the questionnaire was not filled out and returned through the mail. All census workers will have an official identification card on their person, while working on the population count. The worker’s identification card should be in plain view. If the identification card is not visible, residents should ask to see the census identification card along with a photo ID. To verify a census employee with this type of ID, please contact the U.S. Census Bureau, Charlotte Regional Census Center at 704-936-5330.

The U.S. Census Bureau will also be sending an “American Community Survey,” in the mail to some residences. This survey is a legitimate survey. All surveys sent by the U. S. Census Bureau are sent to an address and not a specific person. The surveys are also returned to Jeffersonville, Indiana for processing. These are a few ways to determine if a survey is in fact sent by the U.S. Census Bureau. For more information on the 2010 Census or surveys sent by the U.S. Census Bureau please visit www.census.gov or call 1-800-923-8282.

StellarOne Bank Joins with Habitat for Humanity for Affordable Housing Program
2/22/10 - StellarOne Bank has joined forces with Habitat for Humanity Virginia to help provide affordable homes for Virginians. The Federal Home Loan Bank (FHLB) of Atlanta has awarded Habitat a grant of $994,000 to help purchase foreclosed homes and re-sell them to low income families. The grant will be distributed through StellarOne. StellarOne’s partnership with the FHLB is vital to the success of the Affordable Housing Program (AHP) to leverage AHP capital to create affordable housing and job opportunities in the community. For more information, please visit www.StellarOne.com.

BC Students Highlighted on America's Funniest Home Videos
2/17/10 - If you're a fan of the long-running ABC show, America's Funniest Home Videos, you might want to catch the Sunday, Feb. 21, show, at 7 p.m. During Interterm in January, a communications class from Bridgewater College toured Los Angeles to study its film/television industry. On Jan. 16, the class wound up in the audience of America's Funniest Home Videos, which is hosted by Tom Bergeron, where two students – senior Brad Jones of Rocky Mount, N.C., and junior Jill Dovenspike of Lewistown, Pa., won "Best Dressed" cash awards. Several other BC students participated in a video judging contest. Drs. Jeffrey Pierson and Michele Strano accompanied the students to L.A.

Mather Architects Off to a Strong Start
2/17/10 - Mather Architects of Harrisonburg is announces a strong start to this year with the following new
projects:

• New 50,000 s.f, four story Hampton Inn in Covington, Va.
• 51 new workforce housing units for City of Norfolk and Old Dominion University on 43rd Street, Norfolk.
• Additions and renovations to the Luray Rescue Squad
• Renovations to Westminster- Canterbury of Lynchburg
• Re-roofing of Rappahannock County Elementary School

The company is also pleased to announce that the additions to Stuarts Draft Retirement Community, White Hill Church of the Brethren in Stuarts Draft, Founders Way Condominiums in Harrisonburg, and Mulberry Condominiums in Culpeper are all now well under way with construction!

Westridge Energy Signs $1 Million Contract
2/10/10 - Westridge Energy, LLC  has just signed a $1 million contract to install a sophisticated energy management system and tenant submetering to a 450 unit Reston, Va condominium project. The system once installed will not only reduce energy and shave demand costs but with customized programming will allow shedding load on hot summer days  to sell back into the energy market on a voluntary basis earning up to $50,000 annually in revenue. Additionally, they are currently under contract to provide all the Virginia Community College System campus with a real time energy monitoring system that will allow them proactively track energy usage and participate in revenue generating like the PJM Demand Response Program referenced above. For more information, contact Westridge Energy at www.westridgeenergy.com.

Lantz Executive Named Vice-Chair to State AGC Board
2/9/10 - John Long, Vice President of Estimating for Lantz Construction Company (Broadway, VA) has been named Vice-Chair for the state board of directors of the Associated General Contractors of Virginia.  Long previously served as Vice-Chair Elect and will become Chair in January, 2011. As Vice-Chair, Long will Chair the Finance Committee and serve on the Nominating, Board Development and Compensation Committees.  Long will also serve as President of the Virginia Construction Industry Education Foundation and represent the Valley District as a board member.  For more information, visit lantzcc.com.

Privott Advertising Welcomes Dean Brothers Electrical
2/9/10 - Privott Advertising welcomes Dean Brothers Incorporated as a client. Their initial service to this client will be to develop a Corporate Capability brochure.Dean Brothers Incorporated is a Virginia Class A Registered electrical contracting firm that has been in business since 1985. They have served the Harrisonburg-Rockingham County / Shenandoah Valley marketplace with projects coming from a variety of industry categories: Commercial, Industrial, Retail, and Residential.For more information, call 540-574-4448.

Bridgewater College Receives $124,000 Grant For Scholarships
2/8/10 - The trustees of the Lettie Pate Whitehead Foundation have awarded Bridgewater College $124,000 to be used for need-based scholarships during the 2010-11 academic year. The Lettie Pate Whitehead Foundation was established in 1946 by Conkey Pate Whitehead as a memorial to his mother. The primary purpose of the foundation is to provide need-based scholarships to deserving Christian women in Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina and Virginia.For more information, call 540-828-5720.

Camp Horizons Receives Distinguished Safety 1st Award
2/8/10 - Camp Horizons, received the Market Safety 1st Award for the third year in a row. Markel Insurance Company, a division of Markel Corporation, awarded 64 camps and 4 Boys and Girls Clubsthe prestigious Safety 1st designation in 2009. Each year, Markel's Safety 1st program recognizes policyholders who have shown an exceptional commitment to the safety of their employees and customers. Camps and clubs must meet stringent criteria to qualify for the Safety 1st designation. They must have a proven safety record for at least three consecutive years, undergo formal assessments and inspections, and participate in continuing education and certification programs.For more information, visit www.endlesshorizonsva.com.

 
Shenandoah Valley Tech Council Seeks Nominations for Tech Nite 10
2/4/10 - Once a year, the Shenandoah Valley Technology Council highlights the successes of technology firms, organizations and programs in the region and the entrepreneurs, innovators, leaders and educators behind those successes.

On March 31, 2010 they will gather for the 10th time to honor the Valley’s best and brightest. This is the council’s biggest to-do of the year — they call it TECH NITE. During the nomination ‘season’ for the 7 award categories (Jan. 15 – March 1), self nominations and nominations of others are accepted. Nominations are easy to make online; and all forms, guidelines, a list of previous winners and nominees, and all sponsorship  information is posted. Visit www.svtc-va.org; call 540-568-7882; or email info@svtc-va.org for more information.

McCLUNG Advances Color Technology
2/3/10 - Always striving for excellence in color reproduction, McClung Companies has invested in a new state-of-the-art color management system.

In addition to the requisite color proofer, McClungs new system includes color proofing software and a scanning device. McClung can now manage color internally rather than relying on outside consultants. This allows McClung to evaluate color more frequently and will yield more consistent proof matching.For those of you supplying files to McClung to print, the biggest color management task you can do is calibrate your monitor, preferably with a hardware display calibrator. If that is not available, use the built-in tools with your operating system or that came with your monitor to achieve the best color balance. As always, remember that the color gamut of monitors is different from the printed piece and is only an approximation. Also, note that most spot colors cannot be accurately reflected on the monitor or printed color proofs.For more information, call 800-942-1066, ext. 16.

Stonewall Jackson Inn B&B awarded Top Rating in the Mid-Atlantic States
2/3/10 - The Stonewall Jackson Inn in Harrisonburg  has just been chosen as the Mid-Atlantic Region’s Best Bed and Breakfast Inn.  The selection was announced by BedandBreakfast.Com, which is the world’s largest reservation system in the B&B industry processing thousands of reservations every year.  The award is based on unsolicited, documented reviews by guests who have stayed at the B&Bs which they evaluate.  The evaluation categories used to rate each B&B are:  Service, Cleanliness, Rooms, Value, and Dining.  In addition to this objective rating, guests write a narrative paragraph reporting on their experience during their stay.

The Stonewall Jackson Inn is no stranger to such awards.  TripAdvisor.com, the largest general guest advisory directory and reservation system, has rated it as a TOP choice and a highly recommended B&B in the Central Shenandoah Valley.  These ratings are based on qualitative and quantitative data and are objectively constructed from 100,000 unsolicited guest reviews.You can enjoy the “Stonewall Jackson Experience” by visiting the website and checking out pictures at www.StonewallJacksonInn.com. 
 

PBGH, LLP and John Hanson, CPA, CFE announce the formation of Artifice Forensic Financial Services, LLC
2/3/10 - PBGH, LLP Certified Public Accountants has formed a new affiliate, Artifice Forensic Financial Services, LLC, under the direction of John Hanson, CPA, CFE.

Artifice Forensic Financial Services, LLC is a boutique consulting firm specializing in independent corporate monitoring, forensic accounting and financial fraud investigations.  With more than 70 degreed accountants, most of whom are CPAs, and affiliations with other CPA and forensic accounting firms nationally and internationally, Artifice is positioned to respond immediately to client needs.Artifice is headquartered 1101 Pennsylvania Avenue in Washington D.C. and also conducts business from each of PBGH’s locations.  PBGH, LLP has offices in Harrisonburg, Fredericksburg, Warrenton, and Fairfax, VA. For more information, visit www.artificeforensic.com.