Prince William County Greater Manassas Chamber of Commerce

Reprinted from the December 2005 issue of INPRINT Magazine, newsletter of the Prince William County-Greater Manassas Chamber of Commerce.

Principals of Excellence
Each fall, The Washington Post Educational Foundation recognizes local principals who create exceptional educational environments for children. This year, Diana Lambert-Aikens, principal of West Gate Elementary School in Prince William County and Perry B. Pope, principal of Osbourn High School, in the City of Manassas, were among the 18 principals who won this prestigious award.

Biocontainment Lab for GMU
George Mason University (GMU) was awarded $25 million from the National Institutes of Health to construct a Regional Biocontainment Laboratory at its Prince William Campus. The 83,154 square-foot facility will contain a biosafety level-3 laboratory for the detection, diagnosis, prevention and treatment of diseases considered by the government to be potential bioterror threats.

Earnings and Dividends Announced
United Bankshares, Inc. reported record earning per share for the third quarter and first nine months of 2005. Net income for the first nine months of 2005 totaled $74.7 million as compared to $72.3 million for the prior year’s first nine months. United Bankshares, Inc. also announced dividends per share of $1.05 for 2005, representing a 3% increase over 2004 and the 32nd consecutive year of dividend increases.

Everyday Heroes
Commerce Bank’s “Hometown Hero Award” was presented to Past Chamber Chair, Jana Yeates of Employment Enterprises, Inc., who donated the award to The Center for the Arts. The award recognizes the hard work and dedication of “everyday heroes” committed to improving the quality of life in the local community. Commerce Bank honors the hero by donating funds to his or her charity of choice at the grand opening of each new retail location. A separate monetary award was donated by Commerce Bank to Michele Wickham, Executive Director of the Prince William County Public Schools Education Foundation.

Jana Yeates, Employment Enterprises, Inc. (second from left) receives the “Hometown Hero” award from Linda Latorre, Assistant Vice President and Branch Manager of Commerce Bank’s new Liberia Ave. Office (second from right). Also pictured are Michele Wickham, Executive Director of the Prince William County Public Schools Education Foundation (left) and Chamber Chair Kevin Kelley, Falcon Promotions & Print Solutions (right).

New Branch Office
Commerce Bank celebrated the opening of its new office on Liberia Avenue in Manassas with a grand opening ribbon cutting ceremony on Tuesday, November 22nd.

[From left to right]: Assisting at the Commerce Bank ribbon cutting ceremony are Jana Yeates, Employment Enterprises, Inc.; Michele Wickham, Prince William County Public Schools Education Foundation; Chamber Chair Kevin Kelley, Falcon Promotions & Print Solutions; Councilman Steve Randolph, representing the office of the mayor of the City of Manassas; Linda Latorre, Assistant Vice President and Branch Manager for the Liberia Office of Commerce Bank; Brian Monday, Commerce Bank Senior Vice President and Market Manager for DC/VA and Andrew Richards, Commerce Bank Vice President and Senior Retail Market Manager for DC/VA.

Excellence in Education
Northern Virginia Community College (NVCC) is celebrating 40 years of excellence in education. Since its opening in 1965, NVCC has expanded to six campuses that serve more than 64,000 students annually. On Fri., Nov. 18th, faculty and staff shared memories while enjoying a specially designed cake.

At the Manassas Campus, NVCC Provost Hortense Hinton and Board Member James White cut the cake celebrating the institution’s 40th anniversary.

Staff Added
Grant Thornton, LLP is pleased to announce Nancy Murphy, J.D. as the Principal in Grant Thornton’s Not-for-Profit Solutions Group. Murphy focuses on tax research to assist in the development of tax planning, strategies and tax return filing positions for nonprofits.

Backpacks for Katrina Victims
Graham Park Middle School and Bargain Boxes, Inc., member of Partnership Prince William, teamed up to gather and ship more than 100 backpacks filled with school supplies and treats for students who lost everything to Hurricane Katrina.

Local Business Recognized
DiversityBusiness.com, a national multicultural Internet site, recently named Employment Enterprises, Inc. “one of the top 100 diversity-owned businesses in the United States.” Employment Enterprises, Inc. was ranked fifth in Virginia, and 84th out of the top 500 nationwide. The winning companies will be honored at a special awards ceremony next March in Las Vegas, Nevada.

“Super CPAs” Named
Mark R. Frye, CPA, of Frye & Wolcott, CPAs, selected by the Virginia Society of Certified Public Accountants as the winner of the prestigious “Super CPA” award, was one of more than 350 winners highlighted in a special report in the November 2005 issue of the Virginia Business Magazine.

James Monroe Bancorp Announces Stock Split
James Monroe Bancorp, Inc. announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a 5 for 4 stock split in the form of a 25% stock dividend for shareholders of record.

Prince William County Honored
Prince William County government received the United States Senate Productivity and Quality Awards (SPQA) Plaque for Progress in Performance Excellence for sound approaches to the business and educational processes throughout the organization. The awards were presented in October at the 2005 Virginia Quality Conference and Forum for Excellence, held in Williamsburg.

Shaklee Aids Hurricane Relief Efforts
Shaklee Corporation, the nonprofit organization Shaklee Cares and its employees and distributors across the country, including Becky O’Brien, Shaklee/AirSource and Margaret Short, Essential Wellness, have donated more than $330,000 in cash and daily necessities to assist victims of Hurricanes Katrina, Rita and Wilma.

Cardinal a Presenter at Bank Conference
Cardinal Financial Corporation, parent company of Cardinal Bank, gave a presentation at the Mid-Atlantic 2005 Super Community Bank Conference in Philadelphia, one of six regional conferences held annually to feature banks with assets of $500 million–$15 billion to the institutional investment community.

New Executive Director
The Independence Empowerment Center (IEC) has appointed Dr. Mary D. Lopez as Executive Director. Since her diagnosis of Multiple Sclerosis in 1992, Dr. Lopez has dedicated her education and career to the empowerment of people with disabilities and their full inclusion in education, employment, housing, transportation and community.

Local Designer Wins Accounts
Allan Guy, Allan Guy Design & Illustration, LLC has been chosen to develop the image for a local, award-winning winery located in Nellysford, Virginia. In the same vein, Guy was hired to develop a poster promoting the Monticello Wine Trail, a group of 21 wineries and vineyards around Charlottesville. In addition, he has designed a new tabloid-sized magazine called The Cultural Times to spotlight the arts and culture in the high-mountain region of central Colorado.

New Location for ReStore
The Habitat for Humanity of Prince William County’s ReStore will be moving to more spacious site located at 9506 Center St. in Manassas this winter. Restore is a resale store for gently-used building materials, appliances and fixtures for home remodeling projects.

Thank You to Local Heroes
The American Red Cross Prince William Chapter would like to thank the Chamber members who donated to the “Heroes for the American Red Cross Campaign” which raised more than $60,000. The money will help support the Prince William Chapter in its mission to provide relief to victims of disasters and help people prevent, prepare for and respond to emergencies.

Country Club Recognized
Dominion Valley Country Club was recently recognized as the “Community of the Year” for 2005 by the Washington Metropolitan Sales & Marketing Council, Northern Virginia Building Industry Association and the Maryland National Capitol Building Industry Associations at the 2005 MAME (Major Achievements in Marketing Excellence) awards.

PRTC to Start New Route
The Potomac and Rappahannock Transportation Commission (PRTC) added a new OmniLink route called “Route 1 OmniLink” that will operate Monday through Saturday between the Woodbridge and Quantico VRE stations, allowing passengers to travel the length of the Rte. 1 corridor without transferring buses. Download schedules at www.prtctransit.org.

New Vice President
Sandra R. Gregg joins Kaiser Permanente’s Regional Office in Rockville, Maryland as vice president, communications and external relations. Gregg will oversee government relations, internal communications, media relations and community giving.

Accreditation Awarded
Didlake, Inc. has received a three-year accreditation from CARF, the international accrediting commission, for its Employment and Community Inclusion Services. This is the third consecutive Three-Year Accreditation Outcome awarded to Didlake by CARF.

President’s Cup Performance
Members of the Prince William Symphony Orchestra gave three performances at the prestigious President’s Cup Golf Tournament held this fall. Both local dignitaries, international dignitaries and golf legend Jack Nicklaus, complimented the Prince William Symphony Orchestra, which is currently celebrating its 33rd season.

Local Firm to Assist Air Force
ImPrint, LLC has been selected to develop marketing collaterals and a video promoting the advantages of GeoBase, an innovative digital mapping software system that allows airmen of the United States Air Force Air Combat Command to create highly detailed electronic maps that can be accessed easily and securely.

Local Travel Agent Sails
Lynn Irvin of Manassas-based Cruise Holidays, recently returned from a two-day inaugural cruise of the new 110,000-ton “Carnival Liberty.” Irvin was one of 3,000 guests who enjoyed the ship’s 22 lounges and bars, four swimming pools, casino and 13,300-square-foot health spa.

Retirement Plan Resource Guide
Small business owners can now learn virtually everything they need to know about setting up and maintaining IRA-based retirement plans for their employees, thanks to a new, free compact disc from the Internal Revenue Service. The CD, entitled “Individual Retirement Arrangement (IRA) Resource Guide for Small Business Owners and Individuals,” contains information about both traditional and Roth IRAs. For more information, visit here.

Ribbon Cutting Ceremonies
1st American Mortgage, located at 7960 Donegan Dr., Manassas and Mathis Photography, located at 9024 Mathis Ave., Manassas, both celebrated their opening with a ribbon cutting ceremony. 1st American Mortgage celebrated its opening on Fri., Oct. 28th at 9:00 a.m. and Mathis Photography celebrated its opening on Fri., Nov. 18th at 9:30 a.m.

News & Notes