loudoun business july 2012

JULY 2012 VOLUME 9 NO. 8

PRSRT STDU.S. Postage

PAIDPermit #78

Springfield, VA

INSIDE

The Challenge: How Green is

your business? ... Page 3

30 Under 30: Jennie Kander

& Dana Burgess Michelle Kellogg

Rebekah Hess

Sara Rechenbach

James Gilliam

Spenser McKenna

Jamie Ream

Jeff Richards Kent Baily

Kevin Arbogast

Lisa Braun Jackie Paige Billy Whittington Brad DeHaven Brooke Waldron

Meredith Amonson

Dhruva Rajendra

Dane Mullins

Ryan Ellis

Charvi Ganatra Christina Diederich Hassan Ahmed Ashley Kennedy Abigail Gribbin

Amy Phelps

Christie McGuire

Laura Ritchie

Nathan Thomas Stuart Morris

Loudoun's Up & Coming Young Professionals

| Loudoun Business JULY 2012

A message from the business communityto the Loudoun County Board of Supervisors:

Thank you for your hard work and careful consideration of Loudoun County’s participation in the Dulles Corridor Rail Project. Your commitment to invest in the long term economic health of Loudoun County is greatly appreciated by the entrepreneurs, job creators and commercial taxpayers in your community.

Committee for Dulles

Dulles Area Transportation Association

Dulles Corridor Rail Association

Dulles Regional Chamber of Commerce

Dulles South Alliance

Loudoun CEO Cabinet

Dulles Area Association of REALTORS®

Loudoun County Chamber of Commerce

Loudoun Rail Now

Northern Virginia Association of REALTORS©

Northern Virginia Transportation Alliance

Visit Loudoun

Washington Airports Task Force

Associated Builders and Contractors - VA Chapter

JULY 2012 Loudoun Business | PAGE 3

By Therese Howe, Staff Writer

Pat Wirth thought her business, Potomac Falls Lube and Express, was pretty environmentally responsible. After all, the automotive quick lube industry had for years emphasized recy-cling many of its waste products, includ-ing anti-freeze, batteries, fuel filters and oil filters. But as a result of participating in last year's Green Business Challenge, sponsored by Loudoun County gov-ernment and the Loudoun Chamber of Commerce, she discovered that her business could recycle almost 95 per-cent of the trash generated. “We used to have two trash contain-ers, one for regular trash and one for the recyclables, and we had to switch them,” she daid. “So now, we have a much bigger one for recyclables and a very small one for the stuff that goes to the landfill. “And on top of that, we recognized that some of the things that we were throwing out, we could actually sell as scrap metal and get paid for it, (such as) leftover pads and rotors from when we do brakes.” That kind of anecdote is exactly what Chamber CEO Tony Howard could use to encourage companies to partici-pate in the annual challenge, a points-based competition that was started in 2010. “What we're looking to do is to rec-ognize and honor those businesses that are implementing business-effective, environmentally sustainable practices

and systems,” he said. “Many companies are realizing if you can cut your ener-gy use, you can cut your costs. We're always striving to find anything we can do to make us more cost-effective and cost-efficient as a business.” This year's contest is under way, and businesses can register online on the Chamber's website at www.loco-greenbiz.org throughout the process. Participants fill out a scorecard as they perform the items on the checklist, and winning businesses in different catego-ries are recognized at a fall gala. “When someone completes the scorecard, they're not just checking a bunch of boxes, they actually have to do quite a bit of work to get it done,” Howard said. “We had 38 participants in year one and we got up to 62 last year so we had exponential growth one year over next. We're hoping to maintain that level this year, if not improve on it.” While most business owners

would agree that environmentally sus-tainable practices are something to aspire to, other factors come into play. Brian Jenkins of Monk's Barbecue, for instance, would love to use compostable silverware and plates to serve his cus-tomers on the weekends he operates at Corcoran Vineyards. But, “the price points on them are really high. When you're first starting out, margins are everything and when you're trying to grow your business, spending so much money—three times as much some-times—on compostable materials is not feasible.” Howard said he understands the sentiment and that one of the aspira-tions of the contest is to help drive down costs of “green” materials by cre-ating more of a demand for them. The challenge also strives to share resources and information so business owners can find out more about how they can get help with their efforts. “I find there's significant posi-tive response to our Green Business Challenge efforts and that people really just want to do the right thing. Especially when it's really not cost-prohibitive or hard to do, they are going to work hard to make certain they're doing the right thing.” To register for the Green Business Challenge, go to www.locogreenbiz.org. The Chamber is sponsoring a coffee series July 31 and Aug. 28 where busi-ness owners can learn more about the contest. The series takes place from 8-10 a.m. at the GWU Science & Tech Campus in Ashburn.


As Loudoun supervisors considered recently whether to opt into the extension of Metrorail service to Loudoun, young members of the workforce testified in support of the Silver Line extension. That show of solidarity came about thanks to the efforts of a group that was established three years ago in response to employ-ers voicing concerns about retaining and recruiting young talent to Loudoun. “The Loudoun County Chamber of Commerce created the Young Professionals Committee as a way to create a network amongst this young cohort so that they could build relationships in their age group,” Chamber CEO Tony Howard said. “It's one additional root that they can put down in this community and it helps their bosses because it helps with reten-tion. Without that network, it becomes that m uch easier for them to say, 'I'm going to live in Dupont or Adams Morgan.' That's why Metro was so important because folks of their generation are much less inclined to be dependent on the automobile. They want options, they demand them. They want mixed-used, live-work-play environ-ments, that's what they're looking for.” The committee's first event at the Wine Kitchen in downtown Leesburg in February 2009 drew about 30 people, Grafton DeButts, a founding member of the initiative and the Chamber's liaison to the committee, said. Since then, “more than 400 young professionals have come through our events,” he said. Besides the monthly networking social that meets the first Tuesday of the month, the program has included an Executive Engagement series in which business leaders hold an informal session with a small group of members. “We do a 90-minute session and they tell us their story,” DeButts said. “And at the same time I encourage young professionals if you've got a question, this isn't a 45-min-ute presentation with Q&A at the end; this is a free-flowing conversation where we're able to engage with them during any part of their story, to ask questions. I also encourage the speakers to fire questions back. “We don't want to learn about the

Businesses Challenged To Go Green

Semper Technology President Mark Lenko,

left, talks recycling at the Green Business

Challenge Coffee Series. Potomac Falls Lube

and Express CEO Pat Wirth, above, shows

one of her firm's green products.

Chamber Urges Area Firms To Join Annual CompetitionDID YOU KNOW?

Businesses in Loudoun are required to recycle at least one principal material that is generated in the largest quantity. For more informa-tion, go to www.loudoun.gov.

Young Professional Group Builds Community

Continued On Page 9

Therese P. Howe/Loudoun Business


ABIGAIL GRIBBIN, 18PRESIDENTEDUCATION FOR SAN PABLO

When Hurricane Stan hit Guatemala in 2005, Abigail Gribbin was able to witness the devastation firsthand and make the move to provide relief for the locals.

At the time, Gribbin was in seventh grade living in Guatemala with her fam-ily. Six years later—at the age of 17—she started the nonprofit organization called Education for San Pablo, which provides education scholarships for Guatemalan children in need.

I m m e d i a t e l y after seeing the destruction, Gribbin and her family began delivering food and relief packages to the villages around San Pablo. The tran-sition from provid-ing food to funding education, however, came from a simple question.

“My dad asked the town leader what else they needed,” she said. The answer was education scholarships.

In 2011, the idea to take a year off after graduating from Loudoun County High School and start the organization arose. Gribbin said the decision was easy to make considering she was already a year ahead in school.

Aside from a delay with the organiza-tion’s tax exemption status, everything has gone pretty smoothly, Gribbin said. Today, there are 40 children enrolled in the pro-gram striving for a higher education and a better way of life. One of the women in the program is even going to become a social worker after her education is complete.

The future seems to be pretty bright for Gribbin’s business, as well. “We want to get a health clinic built,” she mentioned. Plans for this are expected to take place within the next six to eight months.

In addition to these future plans, Education for San Pablo also runs a hous-ing program for widows. Although Gribbin is going to Virginia Tech in the fall to pursue a degree in chemistry, she wants to remain fairly engaged with the organization as well as continuing to take trips to San Pablo.

“I don’t want to ever have to stop giv-ing funds to this town [San Pablo],” Gribbin said. Her aspirations for the organization are a prosperous future through the help of much-needed attention from anyone and everyone.

~ Patrick Szabo

AMY PHELPS, 26 DISPATCHERLOUDOUN COUNTY FIRE-RECUE

Amy Phelps was working as a volun-

teer emergency medical technician in West Virginia when she found her love for fire-rescue services.

“I had a knack for staying calm in emergency situations,” Phelps said. “Dispatch appealed to me because it was something I had never done before. It was the other side of the coin. All the action starts with me.”

Phelps has worked in Loudoun County Fire-Rescue for four years—one as a call taker and three as a dispatcher, han-dling the calls that come into 9-1-1, wheth-er they are dispatched to Loudoun County Fire-Rescue, the Loudoun County Sheriff’s Office, the Leesburg Police Department, Virginia State Police or the air-port police.

“You have to be on your game 100 percent of the time,” Phelps said of the high-demand job. “The person on the other end of the phone needs you on the top of your game.

“At the end of the day, to know I made a difference in someone’s life. That at a moment when somebody needed some-one, I was there,” she said, noting despite all the training she went through, and con-tinues to go through, not everything about being a dispatcher can be taught.

“I believe you have to naturally have something to be able to have that sixth sense about what people need,” she said. “You can learn the skills, but being in that moment and being able to handle it, and then not only at that time but after-wards—you can’t learn that.”

In addition to working as a dispatcher, Phelps has dug into many other aspects of work at Loudoun County Fire-Rescue. She is working on the first-ever annual report about the communication division, its work and accomplishments. She is also helping with the purchase of a new computer-aided dispatch system, a side project that has taken her to conferences outside of Loudoun to learn about the newest technologies and programs.

“I am trying to absorb everything,” she said. “If I am going to be here, this is the system I am going to be using, so I want to know everything about it.”

Phelps is getting her master’s degree in public administration with a concentra-tion in dispatch management through the county’s tuition reimbursement program, and she says she has a goal of one day heading the dispatch center. “I really want to be the person who brings all the goals of this division together.”

~ Erika Jacobson Moore

ASHLEY KENNEDY, 25FOUNDER AND OWNERTHE RUN AROUND HOUND Ashley Kennedy has clothed a dog in pajamas before bedtime and said a prayer with another canine before dinnertime—these are just the little tasks she does to keep her customers happy. Kennedy is the founder and owner of The Run Around Hound, a full-service pet concierge that caters to animals of all breeds and species. The list of services Runaround Hound offers is endless as well, as Kennedy said she dedicates herself to every pet owner’s individual needs. “We do daily dog walks, in-home pet sitting, pet taxi to take a dog to the groomer or vet, we run pet errands to pick up food, prescriptions or treats—anything that is related to pet services we can definitely cater to,” she said. “We are also a 24-hour service company, so we are always working around the clock.” D e v o t i n g herself to the lives of animals wasn’t Kennedy’s initial plan for herself. After high school, she worked in a number of cor-porate offices as a receptionist, but quickly realized she needed to make a career change. “I wasn’t happy and didn’t feel like I was fulfilling what I was supposed to be doing,” she said. “I gave dog walking a try, and I was a dog walker for about two to three years. Ever since that first day of dog walking, I knew it was a lifetime thing. I couldn’t see myself doing anything else except being around pets—it is so reward-ing.” In August 2010, Kennedy officially

opened The Run Around Hound—which is based out of her Ashburn home—expand-ing on the idea of dog walking. For now, she only has two people working for her. However, she would like to expand the company in the future to target Fairfax County, Reston, McLean and Great Falls instead of just Loudoun, specifically the Ashburn, Sterling and Leesburg areas. But for now, Kennedy is focusing on juggling the business mainly on her own, as what she calls “The Pack Leader.”

~ Lindsey Brookbank

BROOKE WALDRON, 28EXECUTIVE DIRECTORSPROUT THERAPEUTIC AND RIDING CENTER Brooke Waldron was all set to be an equine vet. She had grown up riding hunt-er/jumpers in McLean and went on to ride for the equestiran team at the University of Delaware, where she graduated with a degree in pre-veterinary medicine. That's when her professional jour-ney took a detour. “I ended up decid-ing I really liked to teach so I kind of just changed things in the midst of my college career and ended up getting my master's in edu-cation,” she said. She helped open Stone Hill Middle School as a seventh grade life science teacher and became head of the science department. “I loved every minute of it,” she said, but life would again take her on a new professional path when her cousins called to offer her the opportunity to build a therapeutic riding center on a 27-acre soybean farm in Aldie. “I thought about it for a brief moment

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and thought, 'Well gosh, to combine hors-es, which I've always loved, and teaching, which I really love to do, is the best of both worlds,” she said. So she and her husband, Steve, sold their Ashburn home and moved their young daughters to the farmhouse in Aldie. “I thought about it for a brief moment and thought, 'Well gosh, to combine hors-es, which I've always loved, and teaching, which I really love to do, is the best of both worlds,” she said. So she and her husband, Steve, sold their Ashburn home and moved their young daughters to the farmhouse in Aldie. “My cousins invested a good chunk of money into building the barn of my dreams; they just said that as long as I stayed within a budget I could build what I needed. So I went to a bunch of therapeutic centers and took notes to learn as much as I could and then built our center. And then while I was doing that, I was getting my certification in therapeutic horseback riding.” They opened the center in the fall of last year and hit the ground running. After starting with just seven clients, they quickly began working with more youths thanks to partnerships with county agen-cies including Loudoun County Public Schools, Juvenile Court Service Unit and youth shelters. Her work with special needs and at-risk children has earned her many fans, includ-ing one parent who recently nominated her for the Lady Godiva Program, which recognizes inspirational women around the country. “Brooke is not only launching a business that is built on helping people with disabilities grow and succeed, she is doing this while raising two babies of her own,” Pamela Steuart said in her nomina-tion. “She works harder than anyone that I have ever met.”

~ Therese P. Howe

CHARVI GANATRA, 24 DIGITAL MARKETING MANAGERFORTESSA Charvi Ganatra believes marketing resembles applied psychology—which is why she sought a job as a digital marketing manager with Fortessa, Inc. after earning her master’s degree in psychology in at the University of Pennsylvania in 2010. “I was doing more theoretical research and doing tests on specific reasons to find out more about people’s behavior through patterns [in college],” she said. “Marketing is kind of the same in a business set-ting—figuring out consumer behavior. It was quite a direct application, and I enjoy a lot more working with so many people and working with something that is tangible.” As digital marketing manager at

Fortessa—a Sterling-based company that sells tableware to high-end restaurants and hotels, as well as to consumers via an online store—Ganatra oversees its online market-ing campaigns and social media program. “Email is a big chunk of what I do—email marketing campaigns and analytics, trying to use what we find through online track-

ing to see what we can learn about our consumer behavior,” she said. Ganatra started working for Fortessa in 2011—it is her first job after attending college—and said she is still learning new things not only about the position and company, but also about the Northern Virginia area. When she landed the job, Ganatra moved from her home in Philadelphia to Loudoun. “It was a little bit different at first because I didn’t know anyone in the area,” she said. “However, I think compared to where I am from—Delaware originally—I think Loudoun County has a lot more to

do than most other places, so it has been quite a smooth transition.”

~ Lindsey Brookbank

CHRISTINA DIEDERICH, 27PROGRAM MANAGERRESTON LIMOUSINE If you're looking for suggestions about which of Loudoun's 30-some wineries to visit with family or friends, Christina Diederich is your girl. In addition to manag-ing large conventions and groups for Reston Limousine, she plans private wine tours in DC's Wine Country. “I would send them to

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Continued On


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Bluemont Vineyard, Breaux Vineyards and Sunset Hills Vineyards—those are the big-ger ones. If I were to [choose] smaller ones, 8 Chains North is really nice, they're so friendly and you can go sit out on the back deck. And I like Notaviva.” Her knowledge of the terrain came through experience over the years with Reston Limousine. “I never knew Virginia had a wine country until I started work-ing here. I was like, 'Oh, there's vineyards here?'” the Ohio transplant said. A 2007 graduate of Bowling Green State University where she majored in tour-ism, Diederich moved to the area in 2008 to become an intern with a Falls Church des-tination manage-ment company. When the compa-ny went through a downsizing, she transitioned into a position with one of her major vendors, Reston Limousine. After trying on different positions for the best fit, she proposed expand-ing her responsibilities to more of the hospitality management work she enjoys. Management approved the idea, and she began working on major events such as First Lady Michelle Obama's 2010 com-mencement address at George Washington University, which drew almost 15,000 peo-ple. More recently, she managed transpor-tation for the Virginia Wine Country Half Marathon in June. “I was up at 4 in the morning, making my way to the wineries and hotels making sure they were picking guests up to transfer runners to the race.” Large events such as these require a lot of patience and empathy, she says, when dealing with hot and tired people who just want to return to their hotel and relax, or with frustrated drivers who have been at the wheel all day and have been badgered nonstop by sometimes grumpy riders. “You just need to be firm and calm because there are so many people you need to get what you want to do. I've seen people do it the other way and it doesn't always work out. So I've learned: Be nice and ask nicely.”

~ Therese P. Howe

CLYDE'S WILLOW CREEK FARMNATHAN THOMAS, 28SOUS CHEF

STUART MORRIS, 26

SOUS CHEF To the casual diner, sous chefs Nathan Thomas and Stuart Morris would appear to be monsters in the back of the house. On a busy Friday night, they're working on 800 to 1,000 orders; just this Mother's Day, they estimated feeding about 2,600 diners in the popular Broadlands restaurant. “I was so sick of eggs by 4 p.m.,” Thomas said jok-ingly. The fast-paced environment of a busy kitchen is what draws the duo to an indus-try that keeps you on your feet for long hours on just about every day of the year. “Not everyone can work in a kitchen,” said Thomas, a graduate of the New England Culinary Institute in Vermont. “Not every-one can handle the stress. … I've heard it being referred to as going to battle. It's the same thing. Not many peo-ple understand what you do, and there aren't many people who understand that you have to work every holiday. You don't have weekends.” “It's work, work, work,” added Stuart, who grew up in Sterling and got his start in the industry as a line cook when the restaurant opened in 2006. He worked his way up and became sous chef two years ago. Thomas also is responsible for work-ing with farmer Tim MacLean in coordi-nating what will be grown on the one-and -a-half-acre boutique garden a short dis-tance away from the restaurant. The site is home to specialty fruits, vegetables and herbs that they don't normally get. Although Willow Creek Farm is just one of 14 establishments in Clyde's Restaurant Group, '”we are allowed to be as creative as we want,” Thomas said. “We get a lot of freedom here. We get to work with a lot of Loudoun County farms and get some stuff that the people in DC wouldn't be able to get.” Roommates who share a home in Leesburg, their camaraderie is evident in their shared opinions on everything from their favorite restaurant other than Clyde's—Fireworks Pizza in Leesburg—to their favorite Clyde's menu items—Buffalo Chicken Wings. They part ways, however,

when it comes to sharing one of Thomas' pastimes: competitive shotgun shooting. “I did it once, but that was it,” Stuart said, with a grin and a shake of his head. ~ Therese P. Howe

DANE MULLINS, 19 OWNERDANE'S HOMETOWN SERVICES Dane Mullins seems to be 19 going on 40. He spends his days doing backbreak-ing work, tilling gardens, mowing massive lawns, excavating trenches and bush hog-ging, and when he’s done he balances bud-get books and outreaches to community members bring in more clients. Mullins is now in his fifth year as owner and operator of Dane’s Hometown Services, an estate and farm maintenance company. Throughout high school—first at Loudoun Valley High School and then at Woodgrove High School—he balanced his role as a student, a friend, a son and a business owner. He worked every day after school and on weekends to keep up with the demand for services. And since he gradated from Woodgrove in June, the amount of time he dedicates to his company and its clients has only multiplied. “It’s a lot of work, and you grow up really fast,” he said, sitting behind the wheel of a forklift in his work boots and Wrangler jeans. Mullins has left his mark on western Loudoun. He volunteered his time and drummed up donations to build Walter the Wolverine, Woodgrove’s motorized mas-cot, out of metal and fiberglass, and welded a barbecue smoker for the school. He is also creating a two-mile walking trail that will connect three outdoor classrooms on Woodgrove’s campus, also a project he’s donating. “It’s really just a big cycle,” he says of why he donates so much of his time and money. “I give back to the community, but they give back to me, and I want to thank them for that.” M u l l i n s plans to attend Ferris State University in Michigan to study welding engineering. He earned his welding certification through Monroe Technology Center and recently took second in Virginia’s SkillsUSA college-level competition. He also applied to the CIA’s Co-Op Program, which would give him a chance to use his certification in network cabling. “My dream job would be something in

robotic welding,” he said, adding that what-ever he does he will take much of what he learned as a young business owner—both the financial stress and the rewards of hard work—with him.

~ Danielle Nadler

DONE JUST RIGHTDANA BURGESS & JENNIE KANDER, 29 OWNERS

Best friends since they met at Waterford Elementary School more than 25 years ago, Dana Burgess and Jennie Kander have united their personal rela-tionship with a business one through their new events planning venture, Done Just Right.

“The best part of working with my best friend is that we complement each other very well,” Kander said. “My weak-nesses are Dana’s strengths and vice versa. This prevents us from stepping on each other’s toes and allows us to work ef-fectively and efficiently on all of our client work.”

Kander studied communication at George Washington University as an under-graduate and then at Johns Hopkins for a master’s degree, while Burgess received a degree in psychology at Shippensburg Uni-versity in Pennsylvania. “Our educational backgrounds have helped us really understand how to com-municate successfully with people. However, our creativity and unique ability to relate with our clients is innate,” Kander said in an email. “I have worked in the public relations industry managing a variety of events for many clients for nine years. Dana has been a pharmaceutical sales rep—and has organized events for her company and clients. Through our profes-sional experience as well as our less-for-mal training (i.e. experience hosting and designing events for friends and family) we were able to build a solid understanding of what works and what doesn’t.”

Although they work with clients around the DC metropolitan area, the Loudoun natives decided to stay in the area with their business “because we have a genuine interest in the people in our community. Loudoun is full of wonderful and creative people and over the past year, we've thoroughly enjoyed helping our community create and execute their events. Since we've spent the last 29 years in Loudoun County, we have an in-depth

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~ Therese P. Howe

DHRUVA RAJENDRA, 23OWNERRAJEDTECH CONSULTING

When Dhruva Rajendra realized his dream of becoming a tech entrepreneur, he didn’t waste any time making it a real-ity; he hit the ground running starting not one, but two technology companies this summer.

Rajendra, a 2006 Dominion High School graduate, launched his first com-pany, Rajedtech Consulting, a technology consulting group that helps businesses identify and resolve internal issues. He’s since added four clients to his roster.

Swrmit (pronounced swarmit) is Rajendra’s second entrepreneurial effort. The stealth start-up company will fully launch this fall, but the idea behind it was conceived more than a year ago when Rajen-dra worked as a corporate strategy analyst at CTIS, a global innovative technology company.

He observed a key gap in the way people communicated in the workplace. He knew that he wanted to devote his time to addressing this issue. “How do we cre-ate more engagement in our work force,” he asked himself.

To answer that question, he assem-bled a team and implemented software designed to help businesses build stron-ger and closer relationships in the internal sphere of their company.

Some would say his efforts as an entrepreneur are quite ambitious but for him it all comes down to helping people. “I love helping people solve problems,” he said. At 23, Rajendra is constantly looking forward to what the future of technology systems will bring. However, he says, “the challenge for the next few years is to humanize them”—connecting people through technology which is exactly what he plans to do.

~ Niketa Woodley

EVENTS IN THE CITYCHRISTIE MCGUIRE, 27LEAD EVENT DESIGNER

LAURA RITCHIE, 29 CO-FOUNDER, DESIGNER

With the owners' backgrounds in fash-ion and film, it's little wonder that creativ-ity abounds in one of Loudoun's newest events planning companies, Events in the

City. Co-founder Megan Pollard studied film at Old Dominion University and Laura Ritchie got her degree in fashion mer-chandising and marketing before the pair worked as event designers at a local cater-ing company. After creating an especially memorable event, “we knew we had some-thing special between us,” Ritchie said, and they decided to form their own com-pany in 2009.

A year later, Christie McGuire was brought in to help with a large and com-plex corporate launch. “The event was a smash hit, and it was clear that Megan, Laura and I were a perfect fit,” McGuire said, adding that she was asked to join the company as a lead event designer.

“We truly enjoy everything from a lux, classic DC themed fete at one of our gorgeous historical hotels in the city to a creative DIY backyard barbecue with beers being served out of a canoe! Bring it on!” Ritchie said.

In June, they opened their first office in downtown Leesburg, attracted by a unique combination of “historic charm, modern conveniences and hip atmosphere that is really starting to build up,” Ritchie said.

“Loudoun County is so rich in his-

tory and vintage charm but it is also becom-ing such a fast-growing, mod-ern place to be. We truly have everything we need right here,” Ritchie added. “We have a won-derful following here in Loudoun and really enjoy our relationships with the vendors in this area.” However, we do travel quite a bit and service everywhere from Virginia Beach, the Eastern Shore, down-town DC, Alexandria and even a handful of destination events. The majority of our work is certainly in the Northern Virginia and DC area with probably 30 percent being in Loudoun County specifically.”

With a five-star rating on Wedding Wire and recognized as “One to Watch” in Washingtonian’s 2012 Bride and Groom

Magazine, the young company has firmly established itself on the regional wedding vendor scene.

~ Therese P. Howe

HASSAN AHMED, 22EMR TECHNICIANNOVA MEDICAL & URGENT CARE CENTER Misplaced patient charts and illegible handwriting are things of the past in many doctors' offices thanks to the introduction of electronic medical records, and at Nova Medical & Urgent Care Center, the imple-mentation of the EMR system has come in large part because of Hassan Ahmed. Originally a pre-med student at Virginia Commonwealth University who grew up in Sterling, Ahmed came to Nova Medical seeking an internship during a school break. “They said, 'Well are you any good with computers?' And I said, 'Yeah, I guess I could do computers.' And they said, 'Why don't we turn this into a job so that way you could shadow doctors but also do some work for us.'” He started by entering information from paper charts into the electronic sys-tem, and continued working with Nova Medical on his winter and summer breaks.

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He became so interested in the work that he decided to switch his major to com-puter science and moved back to the area last year. He's currently attending Northern Virginia Community College and plans to transfer to George Mason University to get his degree in computer science. Under the supervision of Medical Director Dr. Christopher Connolly, Ahmed's responsibilities over the years have expand-ed to customizing the system's forms and training new hires on the program. He's enjoyed the variety of jobs, and his new role as the go-to person when some-one has a computer question. “We have an outside compa-ny that we have for a lot of the IT stuff but as far as some-body in the office, people call me the IT guy around here. “I didn't really know anything about EMRs at first so when I came here I just learned a lot about them. They're really making a big difference in doctors' offices, and more and more offices are adapting them. For me, since I was there from close to the beginning, it was sort of a step-by-step process … and slowly moving more and more away from paper, and so I've kind of seen the change of how EMR can affect things. It's been really cool to see how much it helps and I'm glad to have been a part of that.”

~ Therese P. Howe

JACKIE PAIGE, 22 BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT MANAGERMODERN MECHANICAL An outgoing go-getter who started net-working at local business events at the age of 17, Jackie Paige landed her first position with Modern Mechanical even before she graduated last spring from West Virginia University. “I was very lucky to have four job offers right out of college and start two days after walking across the stage for graduation,” she said. She credits her mother, Gale Paige of CEXEC, with showing her the ropes by taking her to networking mixers throughout her high school and col-lege years. . “My senior year during spring break I went to about four or five different BNI groups and I said, 'I'm looking for a full-time job, I'm graduating and this is my degree, this is what I want to do.' And I had four job offers that I luckily got to choose from even

before finishing my finals.” Not one to rest on her laurels, she got straight to work three days after gradua-tion and started her new career as Modern Mechanical's public face on the social scene. “I'm constantly meeting new people at different networking events and meet-ings. I'm always out and about, there's no typical day for me,” she said. When it comes to giving back, the line between busi-ness and pleasure is often blurred, and she can be found working with nonprofits even on her days off. Most recently, she teamed up with younger sis-ter Vanessa to play volleyball and raise $4,270 for the breast cancer awareness group Side-Out Foundation. She's joining forces with her mother to organize an Aug. 1 barbecue fundraiser at Fortessa in Sterling for Final Salute, an organization that provides housing and other services to homeless female veter-ans and their families. Working with her mom and forming their own consulting business is her dream, she said. “[My mom] has the Queen of Networking title, so naturally I'd be the Princess of Networking. ... We like to help people get where they want to be.”

~ Therese P. Howe JAMES GILLIAM, 23FOUNDERBLUE PRETZEL STUDIO When James Gilliam graduated from James Madison University in December, he finished school with the promise of a full-time position for L-3 Stratis, a defense contractor where he interned the summer before. After a rough fall for the company, however, they rescinded his offer, and he was left in the cold. Unlike many recent college graduates, instead of getting a part-time, temp job somewhere, Gilliam decided to strike out on his own and start his own graphic design company. After a few months of planning and a few small projects, Gilliam’s company, Blue Pretzel Studio, is open for business. Gilliam has a team of five contractors working with him to help with projects such as designing book covers, which he’s already done for a Russian-American author's two English releases, logos and T-shirts, like for a Nashville-based band called Hummingbird, or websites, like for a Washington, DC-based fashion blog. Blue Pretzel’s also done work with the Children’s National Medical Center, Gilliam said.

“It was scary,” Gilliam said of starting his own business. “Luckily, I have a very supportive family, I wasn’t burdened with student loans. If there was a time to do it, it might as well be now.” Gilliam, an Ashburn native, is also a painter and a musician, but as a 23-year-old, he’s unique in that he’s already an entrepreneur, and on his way to being a successful one at that. He said while cli-ents may initially be skeptical of a design firm with a team of 23-year-olds, their work—and their previous clients—speaks for itself. Still, being young has its disadvantag-es. Most young adults Gilliam’s age aren’t aware of the pro-cess it takes to even get a busi-ness started, such as going through the process with the Chamber of Commerce, the Internal Revenue Service and get-ting all the requi-site permits. For Gilliam and Blue Pretzel—a name he came up with to invoke a tangible and playful image that sticks in potential cli-ents’ minds—after having a job offer pulled out from under him less than a year ago, the future is looking bright.

~ Ethan Rothstein

JAMIE REAM, 27PASTRY CHEF AND GARDE MANGER CHEF LANSDOWNE RESORT Chef Jamie Ream’s natural habitat is the kitchen at Lansdowne Resort, where she has been creating delectable desserts as pastry chef since 2007. Recently she's also been working as garde manger, chef in charge of preparing cold foods for the resort's restaurants and guests. This means her daily tasks are unpredictable. “I can spend half my day mak-ing chocolate mousse and dec-orating a wedding cake and spend the second half of my day grilling chicken for a cold salad,” she said. A graduate of the Pennsylvania Culinary Institute, Ream has a Le Cordon Bleu diploma in patisserie and baking. Before working at Lansdowne, she was a pastry cook at the Ritz Carlton in Pentagon City. As a 22-year-old chef entering the business, Ream had to prove herself to succeed. “I just met a chef who had faith in

me and gave me a chance,” she says. Ream enjoys being able to use her cre-ativity at work every day, particularly with the cakes. “I love doing wedding cakes and other special occasion cakes; that’s kind of why I do what I do,” she says with a smile. In the future, Ream dreams of climb-ing the kitchen hierarchy and making her mark as a woman in an often male-domi-nated field. “You don’t see a lot of female executive chefs or sous chefs. To prove the world wrong would be kind of cool,” she said with a laugh.

~ Samantha McClain

JEFFREY RICHARDS, 27TEACHERSANDERS CORNER ELEMENTARY SCHOOL For three years, Jeffrey Richards’ job was to provide elementary school kids with fun activities, as well as enhance their behavior, social and physical skills as part of an after-school program called CASA. It didn’t take him long to realize he wanted to work with the students more than he could during the short program—he wanted to teach. “I was really into the after-school and recreation aspect and then I got more into wanting to teach the kids more and help them grow more in a focused setting,” Richards said. While teach-ing in a fun envi-ronment with arts and crafts was rewarding for Richards, he wanted to get more involved in the school and classroom. “I felt like the school provided that more focused setting so that I could have a bigger and better impact,” Richards explained. With that in mind, he decided to become a special education teacher with the hope of helping the students who need-ed extra assistance in learning. In 2011, he became a teacher's aide in a special education classroom at Sanders Corner Elementary School. “I have the opportunity to structure my learning around the interest of the kids—if we’re learning numbers and the kids like bugs or cars we can go into counting with bugs or cars,” Richards said. “One of my favorite parts is creating a unique learning environment for a unique learner.” Richards enjoys bringing that creativ-ity to teach his students different subjects and he will continue to do just that when

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Continued On Page 10



Everyone needs a hero. We are surrounded daily with our local heroes, the First Responders in Loudoun County.

These women and men risk their lives for us — every day.

On behalf of the Valor Foundation’s Board of Directors we would like to take this opportunity to express our sincerest appreciation for the community support received throughout the year and especially for our main fundraiser held on May 8th — the 6th Annual — 2012 First Responders Golf Classic. Funds raised are available for our local heroes who may become injured or killed in the line of duty, and also help the Valor Foundation provide scholarships each year to children of our First Responders.

We would like to thank INOVA Loudoun Hospital, our platinum sponsor — as well as our valued additional tournament sponsors, golfers, volunteers and 1757 Golf Club for hosting us this year. The Valor Foundation is deeply grateful for your support and generosity. It is through the support of donations like yours that we are able to continue to support law enforcement, fire and rescue organizations in our community.

For additional information about the Valor Foundation, or to make a donation, please visit: ValorFoundation.org. Again, thank you for your support!

Sincerely,

Valor Foundation Board of Directors

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~ Therese P. Howe

technical side of their business but what really makes them tick as a leader. And what are the take-aways that we can apply to our lives now to help us be more suc-cessful in the future.” Another aspect of the initiative when it was first started was that as the young professionals received support through the committee, they would then be asked to give back to the community in the form of some type of service, DeButts said. He was surprised, however, to find that was an interest from the outset. “This group, they're wired differently,” he said. “They think about community service before they think about their own professional development in a lot of ways. It's like, 'hey, let's build community and OK, let's go get involved somewhere, let's do something.'” “We've actually developed a subcom-mittee just for volunteerism,” Committee Vice Chair Victoria Rawlings, director of client services for AR Group, said. At the monthly committee meetings, the group identifies the fundraisers and charities that members will participate in, which have included Loudoun Youth and its Step Up competition. While DeButts agrees that Loudoun still has some ground to cover when it comes to offering the night life and enter-tainment that many young professionals are drawn to when deciding where to live and work, he believes the committee has been able to make inroads when it comes to retention. Many of the young workers “who have been involved in our initiative have cho-sen to stay in Loudoun County because they see this community being formed and because they have friends that they may

not have had outside of the chamber,” he said. “I don't think most local people would think their circle of friends revolves around the Chamber of Commerce but with Loudoun YP, I've found that their circle of friends have come through the Chamber of Commerce,” he added. Kevin Arbogast, a 26-year-old opera-tions and portfolio manager with Toth Financial, is a testament to that statement. “I actually really enjoy doing the network-ing events through the chamber, because you meet amazing people there, great business people, great community lead-ers,” he said. Through their social and civic efforts, “we are creating community,” DeButts said. “We don't need to create jobs and we don't have the ability to create the Reston Town Center. We don't have the ability to create an urban setting but we can work to cre-ate community, to forge relationships, to provide some type of professional devel-opment and professional relationships. “It's really about building relation-ships and building a unified community of young professionals here in Loudoun.”

The next Loudoun Young Professionals networking social takes place Aug. 7 at Lost Rhino Brewery in Ashburn. To register, go to www.loudoun-chamber.org.

Dulles RailContinued From Page 3

Members of the Loudoun County Chamber of Commerce's Young Professionals group

meet for a networking social at The Green Turtle in Leesburg.



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he begins his second school year in the classroom this fall. “The kids drew me to wanting to work with them,” he said. “They’re rewarding to work with and inspiring.”

~ Danielle Nadler

ENT BAILEY, 30SOCIAL SCIENCE TEACHER LOUDOUN VALLEY HIGH SCHOOL Kent Bailey has always been interested in international relations. But recently, as a social science teacher at Loudoun Valley High School, he’s applied that interest to expanding the international relations pro-gram. Bailey focuses his efforts on sparking students’ enthusiasm about the world out-side Loudoun. “The thing that I want more than anything is just for them to under-stand how life works and how different cultures are in other parts of the world,” Bailey said. During the 2010-11 school year, Bailey went to Hungary through the Fulbright pro-gram, which provides teachers with grants to teach in other parts of the world. He was one of six U.S. teachers selected to teach in Hungary, and the experience there opened several doors for Bailey. One of those was the opportunity to start a new exchange program between Hungarian students and Loudoun Valley students. He is also organizing a student trip to the Model United Nations con-ference in Budapest, Hungary, for the upcoming school year. Bailey worked with Model UN during his time in Hungary and kept in touch with the people to extend the opportunity to 15 Loudoun students. The students will be the first delegation to come from the U.S. to the conference in Hungary. Bailey is providing extensive interna-tional exposure to his students and assur-ing that they understand the world. “I tell my students every day that they have an opportunity to live and work abroad,” he said. “I want them to under-stand that it’s a big world and they don’t have to be confined to the U.S., not that there’s anything wrong with that.”

~ Danielle Nadler

KEVIN ARBOGAST, 26

OPERATIONS AND PORTFOLIO MANAGER TOTH FINANCIAL On the ground or in the air, Kevin Arbogast is flying high. Just two years after graduating with a finance degree from the University of Akron, OH, he's the opera-tions manager and a portfolio manager at Toth Financial, a highly regarded Leesburg investment firm founded in 1986. As of June 30, the company managed about $83 million in assets. Besides handling day-to-day client operations, Arbogast is a co-adviser on 10 different client portfolios. With his hand in almost all aspects of the company's opera-tions, multi-tasking comes as second nature to him. Known as a hard worker, he prides himself on achieving goals. “I've been told many times that if you want a proj-ect done, give it to Kevin, he'll get it done,” he said. He also can be counted on to have a steady head in what can sometimes be a high-stress environment. “You know, when the clients call in and the market's dipping down and they want to get out of everything. You gotta keep 'em calm and remind them of the long-term strategy and approach, get them to look at the long term and not the day to day.” It's the people he works with and for, however, who keep him energized. “It's just such a good environment (with) the people that work here. And then on top of that we have great clients; some of the nicest, most amazing people I've met through this company. I love making those connections. That's what keeps me going.” Outside work, you can find him out with friends enjoying new restaurants or at one of the wineries, running a 10K or playing out on the greens. “My favorite course is Creighton Farms by far. I don't deserve to be on it, though. It's an amazing, amazing golf course and I'm not that great of a golfer at this point. But it's something I enjoy doing, I love being outside on a golf course.” In about three months' time, you'll also find him in the pilot's seat. He's been taking lessons at Leesburg airport to obtain his private pilot's license. “The company owns an airplane and we use that to go to client meetings, whether it's a few counties or states away. It is a Beechcraft Baron, which is a twin-engine prop plane. I can't fly that one yet, but that is the long-term goal, to be the corporate pilot here.” Whether it's trying out new restau-rants with friends or sampling some of the

county's award-winning wines, Arbogast is making the most of his time here in Loudoun. “Having moved down here from Ohio and just seeing the job opportunities …. the whole economic engine down here is just different from anywhere else and I'm ready to capitalize on that.”

~ Therese P. Howe

LISA BRAUN, 28 VOLUNTEER RECRUITMENT AND RETENTION SPECIALISTLOUDOUN COUNTY FIRE-RESCUE For Lisa Braun, working as the volun-teer recruitment and retention specialist for Loudoun County Fire-Rescue comes naturally. “I have grown up around service,” Braun, who has been an active fire-rescue volunteer in Purcellville since 2006, said. “I have three siblings in the military, one of my sisters is a paramedic, and I worked in the police department before.” She also has a penchant for doing any-thing that someone may say girls are not strong enough or capable enough to do. “I definitely have that, ‘I’ll show you’ thought,” she said with a laugh. But at the core, volunteering in fire-rescue is her passion, and she is excited to have the opportunity to pass that on. “When you’re passionate about something, you want to get other people passionate about it, too.” Her position makes Braun at times a jack-of-all-trades in the fire-rescue sys-tem, handling anything and everything that comes her way—from maintaining an information database for volunteers to access when they need something to jumping in and helping with a training class or a McGruff Camp where needed. Braun, who lives in Purcellville, earned her college degree in education and said there is a lot of teaching involved in her day-to-day work, particularly about what Loudoun combination system—between career and volunteer personnel—really is. In addition, she maintains the county’s recruitment website, www.answerthecall.info, which requires her to reach out to people who have expressed interest in volunteering and get them acclimated into the system. She also helps companies who are looking to recruit new members, and helping current volunteers with whatever they need. Her job takes her into the various volunteer companies for meetings, where

she can get ideas about where the hurdles are and how to get over them. She is also helping to develop successful processes for the volunteer program to reduce the risk of someone dropping out. But one of her favorite aspects of her job is organizing the Firefighter Family Day and graduation. “I love doing those because you get to be with people and you get to see them so excited to see their family member doing what has kept them away from home all those days and nights,” she said. “It’s really rewarding.” While she does not know where the future will take her with Loudoun County Fire-Rescue, Braun said she sees service being a continued part of her work. “If I am not helping someone, fixing something, doing something to benefit the whole, I wouldn’t find working as rewarding.”

~ Erika Jacobson Moore

MEREDITH AMONSON, 28ZONING ASSOCIATE TOWN OF PURCELLVILLE Almost a year into her job handling zoning complaints and violations for the Town of Purcellville, Meredith Amonson has found that patience and empathy go a long way when dealing with the public. “A lot of individuals and business own-ers just don't understand the ordinances,” she said, so she'll often explain the situa-tion “before coming down with an iron fist. Many people aren't even aware they're in violation of the ordinance. A 2007 James Madison University grad-uate in geography, Amonson started her professional career as a zoning technician with Fairfax County government before moving on as a geographic information system analyst for Tetra Tech, a Reston environmental engineering and consulting firm. The work was isolating, how-ever, and these days she's enjoy-ing interacting with citizens and business owners on a daily basis. A western Loudoun resident, she also appreciates the shorter commute. “Going from Bluemont into Fairfax, that was an incredible hike, especially with all the development on Rt. 50. So I am glad to be back in my neck of the woods.” Spending less time on the road has meant she is able to devote more of her attention to her other interests: gardening and raising chickens and pigs. The latter has become a small side business, which she operates as High St. Farm. A devotee of sustainable lifestyles in which you grow



your own food, Amonson says she's always wanted to raise her own meat. “I think eating meat is a privilege and the livestock we eat should be treated humanely and respectfully. The commer-cial meat industry in America, especially factory farming, is probably the core oppo-site of the purpose of why I raise my ani-mals.”

~ Therese P. Howe

MICHELLE KELLOGG, 29PRODUCTION MANAGERJOURNEY THROUGH HALLOWED GROUND PARTNERSHIP Michelle Kellogg's past, and present, is steeped in history and the humanities. While working on her art history degree at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, she spent a year abroad study-ing the material culture of museums at the University of Aberdeen in Scotland. After graduating in 2005 and working for two years as an assistant director at a Charlottesville art gallery, she returned to Scotland to pursue her master's degree in museum and gallery studies at the University of St. Andrews. She made good use of her year there, interning at Hill of Tarvit Mansion House, a 20th century National Trust Property home; designed an exhibition on scientific exploration at St. Andrews Museum; and worked with the Scottish Fisheries Museum on its re-design. She returned to the United States and is now production manager with the Waterford-based nonprofit Journey Through Hallowed Ground Partnership. The organi-zation is dedicated to raising aware-ness of the rich cultural heritage throughout the Rt. 15 corridor run-ning through four states. “I love getting to travel and meet with lots of different partners within our National Heritage Area, which runs from Gettysburg to Monticello. We work close-ly with museums, cultural heritage sites, national parks, historic towns, elected offi-cials and a variety of other organizations, meaning I get to see and do something a little different every day,” Kellogg said. As much as she enjoys the travel, though, the Ashburn resident's love of all things historic gives her an appreciation for the county. “The beauty and charm of the his-toric small towns that make up Loudoun is unparalleled. I am very fortunate to work in the idyllic village of Waterford, which is like taking a step back in time every day when I

head to the office.” As production manager, Kellogg designs and implements the group's annual donation program; maintains the constitu-ent database; oversees all merchandising; and plans events such as donor dinners and the annual gala. She also has coor-dinated a Book Talk series that so far has included noted authors Tony Horwitz, Adriana Trigiani and Dennis Frye. “My primary interest is making history and culture accessible and interesting,” Kellogg said. “My long-term mission is to help museums and cultural heritage orga-nizations develop financial and environ-mental sustainability plans to ensure our collective history is still available for future generations.”

~ Therese P. Howe

OASIS PLANTSCAPING BRAD DEHAVEN, 29OWNER

BILLY WHITTINGTON, 28VICE PRESIDENT When Brad DeHaven and Billy Whittington say their business is growing, they mean it. Interior landscapers who maintain a client list of about 60 businesses from

Baltimore to Alexandria, they've recently expanded their reach south into North Carolina, thanks to a recent hire of a trust-ed friend. “My goal would be to be the premier provider for inte-rior plant services on the East Coast and as far down as North Carolina up to Pennsylvania,” DeHaven, who start-ed the company after branching out from the family busi-ness in 2005, said. “I want to have a team of people who are as passionate to come into work, and I want to create that envi-ronment where they want to be a part of what we are growing and kicking butt and having fun.” Whittington echoes the focus on oth-ers in his vision for the future, saying his desire is “to have a sustainable business

that provides jobs for other people. I think the opportunity to provide a career for someone else is my ultimate goal.” Former college roommates at Salisbury University in Maryland, where DeHaven played football and Whittington played soccer, they have continued their sports participation, but now mostly as coaches. DeHaven coaches swim teams in the sum-mer, and Whittington leads a girls' travel team in soccer and trains a boys' team in Chantilly. They also maintain an active lifestyle through their business. “We do interior landscaping, green walls, holiday decorations, rentals, flo-ral—anything that has to do with interior plants,” DeHaven said. “As far as exterior work if it's small-scale hotel fronts or build-ing fronts we maintain those, but anything large we partner up with a couple of exte-rior companies to subcontract it out to them. “We get the flexibility to move around; we're not sitting in an office,” Whittington said. “We're constantly visiting different sites and we're providing something that helps provide a little bit of happiness in

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people's days. People love seeing plants in their office, especially when we get flowers and they get switched out, we give the old ones for them to take home. They love that kind of stuff. It's kind of cool.”

~ Therese P. Howe

REBEKAH HESS, 25ENGLISH TEACHERYOUNG ADULT PROJECT, LOUDOUN COUNTY PUBLIC SCHOOLS “I knew that I wanted to be a teacher since 6th grade,” Rebekah Hess said. “I had a really amazing teacher and she really inspired me to go into education. I wasn't sure about the specific subject for a while; I was torn between English and history because I really love the humani-ties. But I had two teachers in high school that leaned me toward English,” the 2004 graduate of Stone Bridge High School said. She went out of state, to Lee University in Tennessee, for her undergradu-ate degree in English Literature but returned to the commonwealth for a graduate degree in secondary English education at the College of William and Mary. “When I got out of grad school I knew that I would love to work in Loudoun,” Kellogg said. After receiving a call from the school system's Young Adult Project, she interviewed and got the job with the alternative educa-tion program that targets at-risk students. “Our goal is to help them transition suc-cessfully back to their home school, help them develop in certain areas: socially, academically, emotionally so that they can be a more successful student in their home school. “I liked the program but honestly, I was unsure because the population of students is really different from anything I had been exposed to before,” she said. “But … it's turned out to be better than I expected, much better than I ever anticipated it would be.” Smaller classes have meant better opportunities to get to know students personally. “It's a real honor that they come to trust me in such a short amount of time to share what's going on in their lives or let me help them in very specific ways in the classroom and personally. I've had students come to me and ask for advice for something that's going on in their personal

life and I think that it's a real honor that they are willing to open up to a teacher that way.” And the learning process has become a two-way street. “My students and col-leagues teach me to be strong, to listen better, to continually improve, to try new things, to allow others to help me when I need it, and to overcome my introverted nature in order to be a better teacher..”

~ Therese P. Howe

RYAN ELLIS, 22 RACECAR DRIVER GRAND-AM SERIES

From go-karts to some of America’s top series of racing, Ryan Ellis has been proving himself behind the wheel since he was only 4 years old.

At 22 years old, Ellis races full-time in the Continental Tire Series of Grand-Am while still finding time to pursue a market-ing degree at George Mason University. It was the influence of his father’s life as a racer that led to Ellis’ desire to do the same. At age 4 he began his go-karting career, which was soon to be followed by quarter midget racing and late models in NASCAR’s weekly series.

His road racing experience, how-ever, came from his move to racing with the Sports Car Club of America and the National Auto Sport Association. It was shortly after this transition that Ellis got involved in the more professional side of racing with the Volk-swagen TDI Cup for two years.

For the past year-and-a-half, though, Ellis has been racing in the Grand-Am series as a full-time racer. He has also periodically raced in different divisions of racing like the NASCAR Nation-wide series of just four weeks ago.

Ellis clearly has more than one plan—regardless of how different and second-ary for him it may be. He attends George Mason University and will be graduating next year with a bachelor’s degree in marketing.

“You always have to consider that your main plan,” he said about college. “How many people try to become profes-sional race drivers and actually make it to the point they can support themselves or a family?”

Nevertheless, his plans don’t seem to be built around school. For the time be-

ing, Ellis wants to find a ride in the Rolex Series of Grand-Am racing while occasion-ally driving as a road course specialist in NASCAR.

Yet, his main goal is a bit different. “In the end I want to end up in NASCAR.” Regardless of where he ends up, Ryan Ellis will continue to be one to showcase his racing abilities in many diverse auto-rac-ing atmospheres.

~ Patrick Szabo

SARA RECHENBACH, 23 SALES MANAGER NATIONAL CONFERENCE CENTER A fan of James Patterson's thrillers, Sara Rechenbach's career trajectory has been as fast-paced as one of the favorite author's novels. Hired by the National Conference Center an intern last summer who rotated among the sales, h o u s e k e e p in g and front desk d e p a r t m e n t s , Rechenbach was picked up as an account execu-tive following her graduation with a hospital-ity degree from Virginia Tech last year. And just about two months ago, she was promoted to a sales manager position. “I love it. Everybody here is so won-derful,” she said. “It's really a learning experience. NCC is a training facility so I'm always in a learning environment and I'm just soaking everything up. I'm fresh out of school so I still have a lot to learn.” She's catching up by doing a lot of research into her new specialty markets, religious and corporate groups in a variety of industries from transportation to retail to manufacturing to media. “I love the challenge of selling. I used to work in a toy store in high school and to me, selling is like a giant game, a puzzle you have to try to figure out with the client and what their needs are so they can have the best experience possible.” Originally from Richmond, the Ashburn resident is making her way around the county's attractions. “There are a lot of fun things to do around here, I like going to all the wineries in Leesburg and that area.” She also is still catching up to the whirl-wind pace of her career. “Honestly I'm just so floored by the idea that I'm just a little over a year out of school. I was an intern, account executive and here I am sales man-ager. This time last year I was just a month out of school. I still can't believe it.”

~ Therese P. Howe

SPENSER MCKENNA, 24FOOD AND BEVERAGE MANAGER ON THE POTOMAC RESTAURANT, STONEWALLS TAVERN, LANSDOWNE RESORT To describe Spenser McKenna as a busy guy would be a complete understate-ment. As manager of two large restaurants at Lansdowne Resort, McKenna’s day is filled with duties ranging from public rela-tions work to managing kitchen staff. And he wouldn't have it any other way. “I love being busy,” he said. “There’s never any down time. If there is, you’re not doing something right.” Because the resort hosts a variety of events from parties to business conferenc-es, McKenna has gained expertise in coor-dinating events in different circumstances along with managing his 35-member staff. “Working within the resort and running the restaurant in that capacity is an endeavor because you have so many different people that are pulling you in different direc-tions.” Joining the AAA four-diamond resort only a month after graduating from the Culinary Institute of America in New York, McKenna is committed to acquiring as much experience as he can. “I’m not out on Friday nights, I’m here,” he said. “I chose to jump into the workforce at 21 and start running.” He has wanted to work in the industry since he was 5 years old after watching his parents run their business, “The Coffee Pot Restaurant,” in New Hampshire. “It is breakfast and lunch all day, 6:30 a.m.-4 p.m., seven days a week. ... They have been making homemade American breakfast and lunch for over 32 years now.” While his future plans include running the family’s restau-rant in six years and an establish-ment of his own, he has enjoyed the close-knit culture at Lansdowne. “We’re all a big family,” he said, adding that it's helpful for high-stress occasions, such as when 250 people from Dulles airport are sent to the resort for the night at 11 p.m. Despite his busy schedule, McKenna makes time for hobbies, such as Bikram yoga, the gym, concerts and foodie day trips. “I adore food and whenever I can, I escape either to NYC or DC for culinary excursions to try new restaurants.”

~ Samantha McClain



My father runs an art gallery called the Berkshire Art Gallery, and my mother runs an estate sale busi-ness. Through the gallery and the estate sales, my parents taught me to have a deep appreciation for art. Although my formal educational background includes computer science and finance, I was extremely inter-ested in music throughout my twenties. I played the keyboard and sang backup in a band and even had the chance to open up for a few big names in New York City—but that’s a story for another day…

Between my parent’s influence and my music and education experiences, I developed a great apprecia-tion for the arts and the impact they can have on an individual’s personal and intellectual development as well as the direct tie to science and math.

As a result of those experi-ences I became an advocate of STEAM education—that’s STEM plus the arts. Leonardo da Vinci and Michelangelo were not only great scientists and mathema-ticians, but also unbelievable sculptors and painters. In the same regard, music theory is basically math—rhythm, pat-terns, and the adding and sub-tracting of note values. Perhaps most importantly, the arts fuel creativity. And creativity fuels our economy.

I was told a few months ago that there weren’t many artists in Loudoun County. I dismissed the comment because it was completely mis-informed—Loudoun County has a wealth of artists and a thriving art community. The Loudoun Arts Council is active, provid-ing leadership and support to a healthy, vibrant artistic and cultural community.

But regardless of how misinformed that comment was, it got me thinking—what if business leaders feel the same way? What if business leaders are unaware of Loudoun’s thriving arts and cultural community? Or worse yet, what if business leaders don’t believe that the arts in Loudoun County are a worthy invest-ment?

Let me put it simply: the arts ARE important to our region’s economic prosperity. As the leader of an IT security company, I can say first hand that our company thrives on the creation of innovative solu-tions. That innovation stems from creativity... and that creativity is fostered through the arts. In case there are any naysayers who don’t believe in the positive impact the arts can have, I’ve outlined a few reasons that a strong arts community will benefit Loudoun County.

Five reasons Loudoun County benefits from the arts:

1. Community Building. The arts help restore our cultural traditions and remind us of our regional heritage. In the same way, the arts revitalize our sense of community. By attending concerts or art galler-

ies showcasing local artists, we are supporting our neighbors. That support creates a more tightly knit community.

2. Lifeblood of Tourism. Tourism is tightly linked to our arts and cultural community. The Loudoun tourism industry is thriving—but where would Loudoun tourism be without the art galleries, performing arts or performance venues? Where would it be without the cultural activities like vineyard tours or local festivals? Arts and culture bring character and charm to Loudoun, which makes it a more attractive place to visit.

3. Livability Factor. A community that val-ues arts and culture increases the quality of life for its residents. Primary quality of life factors include

lifestyle, public transporta-tion, environmental quality, a vibrant music and art scene, and natural outdoor ameni-ties. Mixed-use developments like OneLoudoun and Kincora promise to incorporate all of those quality of life factors, focusing on increased cultur-al experiences (think: Reston Town Center).

These new developments are essential because they add flavor to an otherwise vanilla region and make Loudoun a more attractive option for potential businesses and workforce.

4. K n o w l e d g e Economy. Loudoun is a high- tech region and because of that we have a knowledge-based economy, which depends on attracting and retaining knowledge-based employees. These knowledge-

based employees are the intellectual backbone of our economy. We want to continue to improve the quality of life in Loudoun, or the livability factor, to attract these skilled thinkers.

5. Innovative Habitat. A knowledge-based econ-omy calls for an innovative and creative workforce. Innovative solutions are formed through creative thinking—the same creative thinking that may be used to add paint to a canvas or to turn words into poetry. These innovative thinkers are drawn to a cre-ative community. They also have the career flexibility to choose where they want to live and work—and if Loudoun fails to provide a strong creative environ-ment, then that innovative workforce may choose to locate elsewhere.

What can we do? Support the local arts dis-trict—both on and offline. Attending local arts and culture events is important, but it is also important to spread the message. Not only the message that Loudoun County needs and values the arts, but also that Loudoun has a thriving arts community. Take a moment to visit the Loudoun Arts Council website and see how you can help promote the creative com-munity in Loudoun. Every little bit helps.

Loudoun County Needs the Arts

By John Wood

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Lens on Loudoun Business

Middleburg Bank Celebrates 88 YearsJane Williams, official greeter and a 32-year employee with Middleburg Bank, hands out ice cream to customer service representative Brittany Harshman at the bank’s Middleburg location. Middleburg Bank celebrated the milestone July 10-14 by giving out free ice cream treats and thank you gifts at all locations.


Sterling Women hosts Grl Pwr Grl Pwr founders Bria Toussaint and Royal Phillips, recent high school graduates whose young lives have been marked by trauma and violence, including the murder of Toussaint's father, shared their personal stories at the July Sterling Women networking luncheon. During their presentation, the teens discusssed the program they created to boost self-esteem and teach leadership skills to elementary school-aged girls. The monthly networking event was founded by Reston Limousine CEO Kristina Bouweiri, shown above with the girls. To register, visit www.sterlingwomen.org.


JP Events & Consulting CEO Tina Johnson was honored with the President's Award recently in recogni-tion of her service, dedication, and sup-port of the Greater DC chapter of the National Association of Women Business Owners. Johnson, the board's special events chair, has been involved with the NAWBO chapters in Northern Virginia and the metropolitan DC area for the past eight years.

Middleburg Financial Corp. CEO and President Gary R. Shook has been named chairman-elect of the Virginia Bankers Association, and will take the helm of the organization in 2013. Before joining Middleburg Financial in 2006, Shook was senior vice president at Fauquier Bankshares. Among his civic positions, he has served as a director of the Loudoun County Chamber of Commerce; vice chairman of the Fauquier Chamber of Commerce; and chairman of the Bluemont Concert Series.

The Town of Leesburg recently pro-moted two current staff members to top management positions: Renée LaFollette as director of Capital Projects and Annie Carlson as Information Technology manager. LaFollette had been serving as acting director of capital projects since October 2011, and now formally assumes the responsibility for the design and construction manage-ment of the town's capital improvement projects. Carson, formerly a Senior Management and Systems Analyst with the town’s Finance Department, now supervises daily operations of the town’s Information Technology Department. She also is responsible for implementing information technology-related projects in the current budget and developing a long-term strategic plan for the Town’s information technology needs.

Loudoun County Chamber CEO Tony Howard has been elected as the next president of the Virginia Association of Chamber of Commerce Executives, based in Richmond. Howard has served as the county's CEO and president for the past six years and takes over the VACCE position from Vicki Gardner, exec-utive director of the Smith Mountain Lake Regional Chamber of Commerce. His installation as president took place at VACCE's annual meeting at Smith Mountain Lake June 22.

Katie E. Verbano has joined the National

Conference Center as a sales manager who will specialize in the pharmaceuti-cal, healthcare and life sciences corpo-rate segments. A graduate of Penn State University, Verbano previously was gov-ernment sales manager at Hyatt Regency at Crystal City and sales manager at LXR Luxury Resorts Inc. in Cocoa Beach, FL.

Dr. Grace Keenan, founder of Nova Medical & Urgent Care Center, was honored with a 2012 Brava! Women in Business Award by Washington SmartCEO magazine. Kennan will join 24 other recipients at an awards ceremony July 24 at the Kellogg Conference Center at Gallaudet University.

James Wehr, president of Loudoun Habitat For Humanity, has been rec-ognized for his volunteer work with a Community Service Award and $10,000 grant by Massachusetts Mutual Life Insurance Company. Wehr, a Hamilton resident and a volunteer with the group for the past six years, was one of 11 win-ners from around the country who were recognized.

Inova Loudoun Nursing and Rehabilitation Center has earned a Silver – Achievement in Quality award by the American Health Care Association and National Center for Assisted Living for its outstanding performance in pro-viding high-quality long-term care. The Inova program was one of 52 facilities nationwide to receive the silver award this year. “

Dulles-based Allegra Print has been ranked on Quick Printing magazine's 2012 Top 100 Printers in North America. “I am very excited for our employees who have worked so hard to keep our custom-ers happy. Our commitment to new tech-nologies and service have assisted in our continued growth,” company President John Flynn said.

Inova Loudoun Hospital is partnering with Loudoun Soccer to train coaches on health-related subjects including con-cussion awareness this fall as part of a new partnership program. “This is an opportunity for us to work directly with one of the largest youth sports organiza-tions in our community and help educate and equip people who can have a sig-nificant impact on the health of the 7,500 children that participate in Loudoun Soccer,” H. Patrick Walters, CEO Inova Loudoun Hospital, said.

In BriefHistory will record that it was on July

3 when the Board of Supervisors voted to approve the County’s investment in the Dulles Corridor Rail Project.

While this was the date of the Supervisors’ historic vote to ensure Loudoun remained a part of the rail project, and would reap the proven economic and transportation benefits that rail will bring, the real turning point on this decision hap-pened a month earlier.

That turning point occurred on June 4, when the Loudoun Board of Supervisors held a public input ses-sion to hear from con-stituents and commu-nity leaders on Dulles Rail.

That evening, the citizens, business lead-ers and employees of this community spoke with eloquence, with force and with a consis-tent message: approve Loudoun County’s sup-port for the completion of the Silver Line to Ashburn.

In the process, they effectively drowned out the irrational and often belligerent noise from the anti-rail crowd that threatened this project, and proved beyond any doubt that Loudoun County overwhelmingly supports the Dulles Rail Project.

But this outcome almost didn’t occur.To their credit, the anti-Rail crowd was

ready for a fight and secured the first 10 speakers slots at the public input session.

Though after that, the rout was on. It is estimated that after a slow start, more than 80% of the next speakers – more than 150 Loudouners made their voices heard that evening – stood before Loudoun’s supervisors and expressed their strong and unequivocal support for the county’s investment in the Silver Line.

They were business owners and young professionals, working parents and retired citizens, representatives of business organi-zations and non-profit groups, Democrats, Republicans and independents. They came from every walk of life and from every cor-ner of the County.

And their message was focused and consistent: the opportunity to connect Loudoun to the rest of the National Capital region via the Metrorail system was far too valuable for the Board of Supervisors to miss.

What is most significant about this out-

come is that the vast majority of the eve-ning’s speakers have rarely, if ever, stood before their elected representatives in a public setting to express their thoughts on a public policy issue.

They are not activists, lobbyists or others who are immersed in the business of government.

As many political and government leaders well know, most of the constitu-ents they hear from are those who are adamantly in favor of or opposed to a particular project or legislation.

Many of the folks who spoke in favor of Dulles Rail on June 4 or who wrote letters to their Supervisors told me, both before and after that eve-ning, they were alarmed to learn that the Board had any doubts about Loudoun’s involve-ment.

Most assumed that the county’s decision to was already made, or that their elected leaders would make the only logical decision and support the rail project.

When they found out that the Board of Supervisors might have been leaning against the project and that Loudoun’s once-in-a-lifetime opportunity was in peril, they were nothing short of outraged.

Then, they quickly mobilized into that citizen who is unafraid to look their elected representative in the eye and tell them: “this project is important to me and my family and I urge you to support it.”

In the process, they proved the skep-tics and cynics wrong. They showed that it is possible for ordinary citizens and busi-ness leaders to have their voices heard by the powerful, to make a difference on the important issues confronting their com-munity.

Some day in the future, when the Silver Line is completed to Moorefield Station in Ashburn, when Loudoun’s economy has grown stronger and the areas around our train stations have become vibrant com-munities where Loudouners live, work and play, those who spoke out in favor of the Dulles Rail Project will be able to look back with pride.

And they will be able to say: “I played an important role in making this happen.”

Rail Vote Proves That Citizens Can Make A Difference

By Tony HowardFrom

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From left, Tom Kniezewski, Joe Markell and Andy Dannenberg of Sunrise Landscape & Design at the16th annual PLANET day of service at Arlington National Cemetery. This the eighth year that Sunrise Landscape & Design has participated in the event.


In the aftermath of the derecho wind-storms June 29 that left tens of thousands in the county without power for days, businesses large and small stepped up to provide relief and aid to the community, their employees and other companies. At the peak of the outage, 35,200 Dominion customers and 9,875 Novec cus-tomers were in the dark, utility representa-tives said. In response, Dulles Town Center joined county government facilities in opening as an overnight cooling center July 1 and 2 for those who wanted a good night's rest. “We wanted to be as accommodating as possible to help community members plug back into the world and get recon-nected,” Marketing Director Dan Cook said. About 25 to 50 people came the first night, he added. “It was not a lot but people defi-nitely came in to cool off and check their cell phones or plug in their cell phones.” Besides the allure of air conditioning, the center's food court also was an attrac-tion for residents unable to cook at home. “The food court was bustling all through-out the weekend [of June 30 and July 1],” Cook said. Other restaurants saw increased busi-ness that weekend, including Clyde's Willow Creek Farm. Three of the Washington, DC, restaurant group's locations lost power, but other than “a little blip for a couple of minutes,” the Ashburn restaurant had no issues, Private Events Manager Melissa Carroll said. Feeling lucky that Willow Creek Farm was spared from having to throw out thousands of dollars of food as other restaurants had to, Carroll offered help to colleagues in downtown Leesburg such as Palio Ristorante Italiano and Lightfoot

Restaurant. “As far as the restaurants in Leesburg, we're all a small tight-knit community,” Carroll said. Knowing the stress involved in potentially having to cancel say, a wed-ding rehearsal dinner, she said that offer-ing to stand in their place as a venue was “the right thing to do.” Many grocery stores also dealt with thousands of dollars in food losses, yet still provided the community with aid. Harris Teeter distributed more than 40,000 10-pound bags of ice to nine locations in Maryland and Northern Virginia, includ-ing at its Ashbrook Commons Plaza and Purcellville stores. “Our customers support us every day when they choose to shop in our stores; we want to be their community partner as well,” Communications Manager Catherine

Reuhl said. “We were in a position to help those affected, and we wouldn't have had it any other way.” The gesture was appreciated by cus-tomers who left messages on the compa-ny's Facebook page, including a Middleburg customer who wrote, “Thank you for the ice on Saturday in your beautiful new store in Purcellville. You rock.” Grateful guests also wrote on Lansdowne Resort's Facebook page, laud-ing the hotel for providing discounted rates after the storm. “We are one of the hundreds of thou-sands in Northern Virginia—Vienna—experiencing the effects of Friday's Thunderstorm,” one fan wrote. “No power—no A/C for the past four days. Lansdowne offered us a grat rate with total understanding and support.”

Lansdowne Resort Marketing Manager Phil Werz noted while news reports indi-cated hotels in the District increased rates, “we actually offered a 'storm rate' exclu-sively on our Facebook page. That rate was $99 per night on Sunday, July 1 and Monday, July 2. We sold out both nights, mainly because of the generous rate we provided for people who had lost power and had no air conditioning.” Other large businesses in Loudoun that don't serve the public nevertheless provided aid to hundreds of their employ-ees. Neustar, for example, surprised its more than 750 staffers in the DC area, including 640 on the Sterling campus alone, with an offer to subsidize hotel stays and meals for employees who lost power. Company executives decided to extend their cafeteria hours and allowed employ-ees to bring in their families. The company also offered a daily subsidy of $100 toward a hotel bill and $50 toward food for staff. “It was just so nice,” Director of Communications Susan Wade said. “Honestly, I've lived in DC for 22 years and worked for a number of different large companies, and I've never seen a response like this. It was pretty cool.” Others felt the same way. “We've heard from lots of our employees about how extraordinary this is, that they'd never seen anything like it before,” Senior Vice President and General Counsel Scott Blake Harris said. “What's interesting is that when we were deciding to do this at the senior exec-utive level it didn't strike us as extraordi-nary,” he said. “We very much think of ourselves as an employee-oriented culture and we think about what we can do to make the work experience a good one, and this was a direct outcome of that.”

Firms Earn Good Will With Aid After Storm

Staff from Sterling-based Sunrise Landscape & Design traveled to Arlington July 9 to participate in the 16th annual Renewal and Remembrance event at Arlington National Cemetery.

Owner Joe Markell, Landscape Management Coordinator Tom Kniezewski and Field Supervisor Andy Dannenberg, along with junior staff members, spent the day in sections 28, 51 and 52 of the cemetery. They applied lime to replenish the lawn, working alongside more than 400 other volunteers who trimmed trees, installed landscaping, maintained irrigation and other tasks.

In all, participating landscape companies and individuals contributed more than $200,000 in labor and goods to the national landmark this year—that adds to the more than $2 million in contributions since the event’s incep-tion.

The event is sponsored by The Professional Landcare Network, an asso-ciation representing more than 100,000 lawn and landscape professionals in the United States and Canada.

Sunrise Landscape Helps At Arlington National Cemetery

Dulles Town Center welcomed residents who wanted to connect their laptops and phones after a windstorm cut electricity to almost 40,000 Loudoun customers.

Danielle Nadler/Loudoun Business


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