Greater Richmond Grid

CONNECTING LIVE + WORK + PLAY

RichmondJAZZ

Society’sNITTY GRITTY ONRVAʼS MUSIC

HERITAGE FREE|ISSU

E #6 | FALL 2010

DESIGNBIZ SAVVY

INNOVATORSCOMMUNITY

WEBSITESART

EMERGING MEDIAFASHION

ALSO ON THE GRID:

EXHIBITS & PERFORMANCES:

THE WHOWHAT &

WHERE OF ART& ENTERTAINMENT

JimSNYDER ONCONNECTICUT’S

LOST-AND-FOUNDLEGACY

INTRODUCINGRICHMONDMOM.COMMAGAZINEHOME + WORKTIPS, TRENDS

& OPTIONS

ODELL’S

r idG R E AT E R R I C H M O N D

HE’S COMPELLED TO

TWEET ’EMLIKE HE SEES ’EM

GENECOXCANʼT HELP IT!

Elizabeth Thalhimer Smartt isRichmond Famous

RVALUTIONbedazzles throngs of revelers with a weekly, circus‑themed dance party, complete with

cotton candy and carnival games.

ITʼS ASHOCKOE

SLIP & SLIDEAFTER‑HOURS

EXTRAVAGANZA!

BIKE & TRAIL:MAYOR DWIGHT C. JONESʼ CITY-CYCLINGCOMMISIONSEEKSCITIZENINPUT

DATE NIGHT

DOWNTOWN

ONLINE COMMUNITYTweet-Trend Tracker

Booth Adams provides tools and research for clients looking to turn

online chatter into meaningful datafrom emerging channels,

such as social media platforms and mobile applications.

page 4

Hot TweetsRichmond Tweeple

page 5

‘Do You Know Where You Are Going To?

Do You Like The Things Your Geo App Is Showing You?’

page 7

COMMUNITY NEXUSMaking the Music Happen

Behind the scenes with the volunteersthat help make the Richmond Folk

Festival a premier venue for indigenousmusic, dance, crafts and food.

page 8

RichmondMom.com MagazineSpecial section after page 8

‘Live Here, Bike Here’To improve the environment

by reducing the cityʼs dependence on motor vehicles, reduce traffic

by getting more cars off of the roads, and improve the health of residents

by promoting physical activity, Mayor Dwight C. Jones

seeks citizen input.page 10

Manning Tapped to Increase

CitywideVolunteerism

page 11

LIVECONTENTS

R I C H M O N D r i d . C O M 3

Date night, such a simple

term with so many impli‑cations. The idea may ini‑

tially suggest a whirl of romanticinterludes̶the high jinx, trials andtribulations of singles looking forthat perfect soulmate (à la any Jen‑nifer Aniston movie).

For others, couples with chil‑dren, the idea of a night on thetown sans the progeny is a wel‑come respite for recharging andjust having uninterrupted, mean‑ingful conversation.

Because Greater Richmondhas so many options for entertain‑ing, too much to cover in one issue,we decided to focus in ShockoeSlip̶a Downtown district that hasevolved into quite the cobble‑stoned mecca for nightlife.

With an array of entertain‑ment options suitable for any type

of social encounter̶from a rollick‑ing evening out with friends, an in‑triguing blind date, a cozyconversation with a close compan‑ion or a club‑hopping, dance‑ʼtil‑dawn adventure̶the Slip has it all.

Speaking of parents and hav‑ing it all, weʼre so excited to workwith Kate Hall as we launch theprint version of her hugely success‑ful RichmondMom.com website.The site has become an invaluableresource for parents living in themetropolitan area.

Much like the online version,RichmondMom.com Magazineoffers ideas, options as well asfeatures that mothers who man‑age children, home, and careerwill appreciate.

As often happens with topicsthat we cover in this publication, anidea for an article often evolves in

unexpected ways. Such is true ofConnecticut, the statue of the Na‑tive American probably bestknown as the icon for the Rich‑mond Braves baseball team.

A simple announcement ofthe statueʼs relocation unfoldedinto a multi‑faceted tale.

The story behind Paul Di‑Pasqualeʼs sculpture and its displayin various locations is a study of howan imageʼs significance in contem‑porary culture can change dramati‑cally from installation art to a sportsmascot and then into a landmark.

But just as important, therelocation of the piece to theriverside site demonstrates thecreative synergy that can hap‑pen when the art and businesscommunities work with city gov‑ernment to orchestrate such atransformation.

On the Grid: ‘Let’s Go Out.’BY TED RANDLER

RICHMONDMOM.COM | 1 |

W ell, sort of. Richmond‑mom.com has beenan online magazinefor the last couple of years.Ingredients: One part cre‑ativity, two parts resourceful‑ness, and three parts deter‑mination. Add a dash of inspi‑ration provided by three littlepeople 8‑and‑under who havetransformed their parentsʼworld for the better!

Our Goal: To be the re‑source for Richmond moms̶whether youʼre managing yourhousehold, want to grow in busi‑ness, or want to maximize yourmom potential with great re‑sources for your most preciousassets̶the kids in your life!As the creator of Rich‑mondMom.com̶and self‑pro‑claimed CEO of the Hallhousehold̶I created the web‑site with the support of my hus‑band Travis and with plenty ofhugs and kisses from the kids.After graduating with an Englishdegree from Penn State Univer‑sity, I moved to Richmond, metmy prince, and started thetoughest yet best‑paying careerever: MOM! Besides being a mom, Iʼma project manager with 15years of human resources ex‑perience with Fortune 500ʼs inthe area̶so I too have en‑joyed the challenges of being aworking Mom. With the help ofmy fabulous friends and fam‑ily, my goal is to expand Rich‑mondmom.comʼs resources tomoms all over Richmond byspotlighting creative, contribut‑ing, candid stories about moms

in the River City as well as thehost of local resources availableto them.Which brings us to this, thefirst print version of our content.RichmondMom.com shares thepositive, community‑orientedvibe celebrated by Greater Rich‑mond Gridʼs 60,000 readers. Sojoining forces to reach morefamilies is a natural fit. Start hereand then find more online atRichmondMom.com, and be sureto drop me an email to let meknow what you think.

MAGAZINEWelcome to the Premiere Issue of RichmondMom.com Magazine

Fall 2010 • Volume 1 • Issue 1 • #1

In This IssuePropellers(or, ThingsThat KeepMe MovingForward)

Liz Pearce, Executive Director Common-wealth Parenting, wants us all to stepback, take a deep breath and franklygive ourselves a break when it comesto living up to impossible standards ofthe perfect parent. “Okay, here’s the se-cret: I’m not perfect,” she confesses.“And I’ll tell you another secret: No one else is either.”

Before& After

Sure we love great ideas for our homeslike this snazzy little girl’s bedroom frompro designers Champe Granger andRoger Bouchard of My Design Guide, but we’re also inspired by our readers.

+MOTHER’S LITTLE HELPER: Tapping ThePower of SocialMedia FromHome Central

Kate Hall, publisher

“Our Goal: To be the resource for Richmondmoms—whether you’re managing your household, want to grow in business, or want to maximize your mom potential...”

Travis and Kate Hall and their three kiddos exist in astate of chaotic happiness, managing two busy workschedules with community involvement. The kids arewell‑versed with terms like blogging and tweeting,and give their parents iPad tutorials on a regular basis.

4 R I C H M O N D r i d . C O M

BIZ SAVVYRegional Business News

page 12

MOMENTUMOpen for Business:

Expense Reduction Analysts +

Legal Brief: In Good Company.

Or Companies.

+Marketing Maven:

To blog, or not to blog?page 16

+Leadership:

Staying Ahead of Crisis+

Just Ask Peter:I’m drowning in

a sea of desktop printers!page 17

COMPANIES & CAREERS132 Local Businesses Plan

Expansions With AssociatedCapital Investments

In Excess of $136 Millionpage 18

Touring RVA Business Innovation:

Observations From Across The Pond

page 19

INNOVATORSYoungHouseLove.com & LaDiffSherry and John Petersik are a couple

of twenty‑something DIY dynamoswho have turned a blog about their

53‑year‑old homeʼs kitchen remodelinto a perky and extremely

popular decorating site YoungHouseLove. com that has gained national

media attention.page 20

Lost & Found Art: Odell’s ‘New’

Downtown MonumentArt and commerce combine forces

to create an enduring tribute to Native Americans.

page 22

Critical Technologies Grouppage 24

Feedback LLCpage 25

WORKCONTENTS

INDICATESMEMBERSHIP TOSocial Media Key

twitter.comwww.myspace.comwww.facebook.comwww.youtube.comwww.linkedin.com

The articles you find in the magazine are alsoavailable online. The online icons from the SocialMedia Key are linked to the individualʼs variouscommunity memberships.

The icons in the articles are there to inform read‑ers that they may learn more about̶and possi‑bly contact̶the writers and subjects of articlesfound in the Greater Richmond Grid.

Many of the articles in print have additional ma‑terial and/or associated web features that can befound on RichmondGrid.com. Wherever pos‑sible, additional articles have been noted, butreaders are encouraged to check the site for ex‑panded articles and daily updates.

Executive PublisherTed Randler

Publisher | Senior EditorDavid Smitherman

PO Box 9288Richmond VA 23227

Greater Richmond Grid& RichmondGrid.com © 2010 by Palari Publishing LLP

804‑355‑[email protected]

804‑355‑[email protected]

Greater Richmond Grid All rights reserved. Repro‑duction in whole or in partof any text, photograph or il‑lustration without writtenpermission from the pub‑lisher is prohibited.

General comments, story suggestions and letters to the editor forpublication consideration should be directed to Ted Randler [email protected].

Greater Richmond Gridis published in the months of

JULY, OCTOBER, JANUARY & APRIL

T0 ADVERTISE CALL 804-822-1422

Go to

RichmondGrid.comfor a complete listing of the magazine’s

distribution locations throughout the Greater Richmond Region.

Also online, connect with Grid’swriters and photographers.

Ted Randler David Smitherman

Sheʼs everywhere. In e‑commerce,social media, business intelli‑gence, staffing, and more. By re‑fusing to be defined by anything,Karen Booth Adams does justabout everything.

For a busy executive with apocketful of projects, Booth Adamswill take you by surprise upon firstmeeting her. She wants to knowabout you, sincerely know aboutyou. Booth Adams is clearly not in‑terested in normal, or the rou‑tine̶her questions to friends andstrangers alike have purpose andare set forth in a way that makespeople want to respond.

An astute observer of her sur‑roundings, Booth Adams has aknack of quickly figuring out whatrattles the core of the person orbusiness in front of her at any givenmoment. She hones in on whatmotivates a person, what drivestheir creativity. By listening̶andwatching̶she creates opportu‑nity around her based upon whatʼsoccurring at the moment and thenassembles the right team to makethings happen.

“I like to create,” says BoothAdams, with an infectious smile.“In fact, my favorite word in theworld is ʻcreate.ʼ I make sure tohave it written somewhere in eachoffice.” The trick to creating at sucha rapid and successful pace, she

says is found in the company onekeeps. “Itʼs simple: you surroundyourself with really great people. Ispend a lot of time recruiting̶youhave to get that part right.”

Take the first business ven‑ture, Computer Professionals, Inc.,that she launched in 1993 andgrew to over one‑hundred em‑ployees before it was acquired atjust the right time in 1995. As ChiefOperating Officer of the company,she raked in 27 acquisitions andgrew the startup into a $600 millionIT consulting firm. Not contentwith one successful acquisition, shepurchased Tekna, a young internetdevelopment company in Rich‑mond that she grew into a nationalleader before selling it in 1998.Meanwhile, Booth Adams venturedinto new territory with

PoshTots.com, where she garneredattention in the Wall Street Journaland People Magazine, just to name afew, for selling luxury childrenʼs fur‑nishings by artists around the world.

Other businesses in herRolodex today include GenesisConsulting, RaceIt.com, IronworksConsulting, and PartnerJD. How‑ever, she spends the majority of herbusy days as founding partner atFahrenheit Technology, an IT con‑sultancy in its tenth year of opera‑tion. Of all her many projects, itʼsno surprise that the newest arm ofFahrenheit Technology, known asFahrenheit Emerging Media, hasthis serial entrepreneur buzzingmost at the moment. Showing offyet again her ability to zero‑in oncultural and business trends, BoothAdams launched FahrenheitEmerging Media as a way to putbusinesses in touch with peopletalking about their services andproducts online.

By using emerging channels,such as social media platforms andmobile applications, her team pro‑vides tools and research for clientslooking to turn online chatter intomeaningful data. Itʼs only fittingthat her approach to the now over‑crowded digital agency sector re‑mains rooted in plain,old‑fashioned listening, but withnewer and better tools.

BY PAUL SPICERBooth

Adamsprovides

tools and research forclients looking to turn

online chatter into meaningful data from

emerging channels, such as

social media platforms and mobile applications.

Paul Spicer

Tweet-Trend Tracker

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DATE NIGHTThe Weekend Starts on Tuesday

Since its launch in April, RVALUTION(pronounced like revolution)

has bedazzled throngs of revelers with a weekly, circus‑themed dance party, complete with

cotton candy and carnival games.page 26

Keeping CurrentAlthough its menu includes

a variety of dishes, The Current, whichopened on May 1st, has a particularlyextensive burger menu and features aweekly variation on the burger theme.

+Green & Free Wheelin’

To The Bottom And Back, Inc. (or simply “2BNB”) advocates and

provides safe and free transportation for those who have had a little (or a lot)too much to drink while enjoying the

nightlife of Shockoe Slip.page 29

Cupid Cuisine: Shockoe Slip’s International-Flavor Flair

page 30

SONGFEST RVA VIBE: Music Matters

The Trillions, David Shultz, The Photosynthesizers,

Brian Jones page 32

+Deep In Their Soul

Combining event production withmusic history and education,

the Richmond Jazz Society is a touchstone of the regionʼs unique role in American music.

page 34

GLITZ & GLAMThe Way You Wear Your Hat

Hats are back and I, as the owner of a half dozen or so,

am happy to see them.

+What’s Kyra Wearing?

If you havenʼt stepped into Fabʼrik(3018 West Cary Street), take

a few minutes to see the “ready to wear.”

page 36

EXHIBITIONS & PERFORMANCES

page 37

PAGEVIEWSRichmond Famous

A look at two new tomes that take on the difficult task of capturing the

excitement of the regionʼs history between the pages of a book.

page 40

PLAYCONTENTSHot Tweets RICHMOND TWEEPLE

@genecoxnbc12Following: 108+ | Followers: 2,264+ | Listed: 142+GENE COX Web: www.nbc12.comBio: “WWBT‑TV anchor”

“Why do I tweet? Because it is better than talking tomyself. I can share my demented thoughts with oth‑ers. On an average day I will tweet four or fivetimes....as the spirit dictates. I really donʼt have a fa‑vorite tweep. I have found good tweeps may comefrom most anyone, and when I see one, I add thatperson to my follow list. I have already given upLinkedIn, Plaxo, and Facebook. Twitter is all I have

left. When I run out of material, I may let that go also. Perhaps tomorrow.Meanwhile, I will use my platform at WWBT a while longer, then let thatfade into the sunset. On the other hand, I may get hit by a truck latertoday and wonʼt have to worry about decision‑making.”

@MChaseRadioFollowing: 101+ | Followers: 1,230+ | Listed: 42+MELISSA CHASEWeb: www.MelissaChase.comBio: Live. Laugh. Love.

“I tweet because...Iʼm totally addicted? Just kidding.Itʼs a great way to connect with people – sometimes Iam showing them secret pics from backstage at aconcert, letting our 103.7 The River listeners knowwhere they can catch us around Richmond or some‑times just venting...itʼs very therapeutic. I try not totweet more than a couple times a day... I mean, if my

life was that interesting, Iʼd have a reality show. I find myself blushing whenI meet people who I stalk on Twitter, but donʼt really know in real life. Ionce met someone at a party and I said, ʻUm, I am so sorry. I know whoyou are on Twitter, but I canʼt remember your real name.ʼ”

@HeyArtFollowing: 263+ | Followers: 759+ | Listed: 63 ARTHUR BAYNESWeb: http://j.mp/heyart Bio: “Iʼm climbing in your windows, and snatching your people up.“

“I tweet because experiences are best SHARED! Plus,I like to pick other peopleʼs brains. I do probablyaround 5‑7 personal tweets, 2‑3 retweets, and lots ofreplies to what other people are saying. I donʼt likesharing my thoughts on every single thing. I find thatannoying. Twitter is becoming ubiquitous and ishere to stay! Itʼs improving all the time, but I'm in‑

terested in what Google has planned for Google Me. Iʼve been tweetingfrom a few different countries these past years.”@LisaTMartinFollowing: 1,012+ | Followers: 980+ | Listed: 74+LISA MARTIN Web: www.belleinteriorsonline.comBio: “Mother of 3 wife of 1. Having fun whether I'm making beautifulspaces or playing with the kids. Love to read great books, meet smartpeople, & I laugh. A lot.“

“Now I tweet because itʼs fun and social and itʼs liketalking to people and I like talking to people, so Itweet. This is the craziest phenomenon...we createthese pseudo virtual relationships which are magicalin that they carry over to REAL LIFE! Iʼve met people Ifollow IRL and (if itʼs another female) when we meet,we scream and hug each other and act like long lost

friends. Itʼs pretty weird, and yes, Iʼm serious. Thereʼs no rhyme or reason.Some days I tweet 10 times, then I won't tweet for 2 days. ”

Some things are better left unsaid...

thatʼs why we donʼt know what they are.

22 Sep via web

Car battery was so dead that I had to manually lock all the

doors. No, really̶I had to read the manual to figure out how to do it.21 Sep via Twitter for BlackBerry®

I wonder who else in theworld right now is also throw‑ing back Capri Suns & playing

The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past. I bet AT LEAST 3.

11 Sep via web

Dear sir in line in front of meat the post office getting

postage for all 20 letters...theyʼre called stamps. And

they come in a book.18 May via UberTwitter

Lots of paint and glitter DIYthis weekend ‑‑ our house

looks like tooth fairies and drag queens

moved in!14 Mar via UberTwitter

See extended Tweet Talk on RichmondGrid.com

COMPILED BY PAUL SPICER

My daughter and I convincemy 13 yo son to watch a chick

flick w/ us. He only laststhrough half...says itʼs just like

real life...boring.11 Jul via web

Watching PBS.....tiny camera attached to the

back of a lizard reveals....I have no life.

Think Iʼll take a nap.17 Aug via web

The word *chicer* really bothers me. Even though itʼs in the dictionary, and I want

to use it...I just canʼt. I have a problem.

3 Sep via web

Show your appreciation by sending flowers from Strange’s. It’s the perfect gift for new business or a job well done. It’s a smart business decision because, when you order online, you save with no wire services fees (up to a $14.99 value) for flowers sent anywhere in the US and Canada. A smile is just a click away online at www.stranges.com.

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Northeast321-22003313 Mechanicsville Pk., near Laburnum Ave. West End360-280012111 W. Broad St. between Rt. 288 & Short Pump Town Ctr.

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Hull Street321-04706710 Hull Street at Chippenham

“HOW I TURNED MY ADVERSITIESINTO THE DREAM OF A LIFETIME, AND SO CAN YOU!”

WWW.HEARTKNOCKS.NET Follow Us On:

Deborah J. Johnston, RN and President of Care Advantage, Inc. invites you on a candid journey from a humble start to a career

as a Registered Nurse and then into the entrepreneurship of a multi-million-dollar compassionate care company.

On this journey you will not only experience the explosive growth ofher business but all the life experiences that provided

her guidance and strength along the way.

As you read and take in the thought provoking pages, she will reveal 10 key steps that will help you on your personal journey

to obtain the life you have dreamed about.

Oh Richmond, you are such a hardmarket to crack. For years, with re‑gard to new products, RVA was no‑toriously̶how shall we say?̶discerning. While other regionsseemed to embrace the odd itemsthat would tumble their way (any‑one remember “near beer”or Divxas a mode of movie rental?), Rich‑mond was a wait‑and‑see type oftown. Now, in the age of instant‑gratification innovation where we

have new products to test almoston a daily basis and literally at ourfingertips via app downloads, weare much quicker to try new ideas.

Enter the geographical loca‑tion apps Foursquare, Gowalla,Yelp and now Facebook Places.While similar in their methods:posting a userʼs location onlineand in some cases earning theirusers rewards (badges, points andmayorship designations) or allow‑

ing members to comment on abusiness like leaving reviews ofrestaurants, each has distinctionsto differentiate their offerings.

Geo‑placing has gone quicklyfrom a social media‑fringe noveltyinto the mainstream to the extentthat Facebook CEO Mark Zucker‑berg (“Zuck” to the tweeting milieu)recently introduced FacebookPlaces̶an app that is not reallythat dissimilar to the others̶save

for the fact that it put a geo‑locationoption into 500 million active usersʼcomputers and mobile devices.

Greater Richmond GridʼsPaul Spicer took to the streets̶we could tell you his every movedue to his use of geo apps but wethought that would be overkill̶toask RVAʼs emerging‑media maver‑icks which apps were gaining trac‑tion and which would be the nextnear beer.

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‘Do You Know Where You Are Going To? Do You Like The Things Your Geo App Is Showing You?’

WHO’SDIGGING

WHAT?

SO WHAT’S IN YOURPOCKET THESE

DAYS: FOURSQUARE,GOWALLA, YELP,

FACEBOOK PLACES,OR OTHER?

WHY ONE OVER

THE OTHER?

SO WHAT’S THE DEAL WITH

FACEBOOK PLACES? PLAN TO USE IT, LOSE IT,

OR YOU COULN’T CARE LESS

ABOUT THOSE KNUCKLEHEADS

IN PALO ALTO?

WHO DO YOU HOPE

PREVAILS IN THE

GEO WARS?

IF YOU WERE SITTING IN THE

CAPTAIN’S CHAIR OVER AT

FOURSQUARE OR GOWALLA,WHAT WOULD YOU SAY

TO ZUCK?

Foursquare.

I have a blackberry which limitsthe apps I can use but I am a fan

of Foursquare. I was an earlyadopter, I was actually a black‑

berry app beta tester, so I got toprovide feedback

as the app evolved.

Iʼm watching it, but in itscurrent form I wonʼt be

using it. I think it will be thenext Google Wave or Buzz,

a bunch of hype with little adoption...

The best service.Right now I think

that is Foursquare,but in the end...

I think that the geolocation specialists win.

If I were Dennis Crowley[the co‑founder of

Foursquare] I would say,rethink your logo.

Itʼs subtle, but there isclearly a 4 in a square in

the Places logo.

Weʼre big onFoursquare,

especially for retailclients...I think

weʼre taking a wait‑and‑see attitude to

FB Places.

Foursquare is a natural fit forthose already in social media.

The growth has been great, withover 2 million people so far.

Theyʼve been VERY smart aboutwho theyʼve co‑branded with;

History Channel, etc...

Weʼll use it...of course BECAUSE itʼs Facebook. Foursquare. To quote Yosemite Sam,

“Back off, varmint.”

I use Foursquareand Causeworld

and have juststarted playingwith Facebook

Places.

I landed on Foursquare first andhave used it to some degree.However, I do love the idea ofGowallaʼs Trips and think they

are doing some very interestingthings in their partnerships...

I think it has potential asmore people become

comfortable with the idea of sharing their whereabouts

with their friends.

The company thatmakes it most

useful and relevantto the consumer. I canʼt place any

bets yet...

Letʼs talk.

I started usingFoursquare ...Now

that FacebookPlaces is out, I find

myself still pre‑dominately using

Foursquare...

I think Foursquare is going to gothe way of Brightkite and

location‑based social networking will take off in a bigway with Facebookʼs gigantic

pool of 500 million users.

Needs some work, but Ithink will ultimately

prevail.Facebook Places.

Iʼd be sweating a littleright now̶small startups

really canʼt compete in the long run in my opinion.

None of the above.

Faced with choices over blogging, tweeting, updating

and checking in, I dropped thecheck‑in. Still feels generallyuseless to me̶personally

and professionally.

My perspective on location tools in general aside,my confidence in Facebookʼs long‑term

management of my personal information is moderate, at best.

No Facebook Places for me, thanks!

If location is the newblack̶which apparently

big chunks of people believe to be the case̶

youʼd better start figuringout what comes next...

Iʼm partial toFoursquare, interested in

ShopKick, find Yelphelpful and will

try anything.

Just watching the landscape.

It will be just as importantfor what it does for any ofthe 500 million+ averageusers who never check inbut nevertheless end up

impacted by the check‑indata of others...

For Foursquareand all the moregeo‑dedicated

apps...

You were supposed to just take

Microsoftʼs money.

See extended responses on RichmondGrid.com

KIRA SIDDALL

DAVE SAUNDERS

KENDALL MORRIS

TREVOR DICKERSON

JOHN SARVAY

DEAN BROWELL


COM

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With over 160,000 people attend‑ing the three‑day event, the Rich‑mond Folk Festival (RFF) has quicklygained the reputation of a premiervenue for indigenous music,dance, crafts and food. Whatʼsmore, the festival runs on sheervolunteer power̶which meansfree admission for music lovers!

RFF Volunteer CoordinatorBetsy Lecky says work on the Octo‑ber three‑day event is ongoing.“Our volunteers work year roundto plan and organize for the nextfestival,” she explains.

With a festival of this size,Lecky notes there are plenty of op‑tions to participate. “Many of ourvolunteers work a four‑hour shift

during the festival weekend. Weare fortunate to have a number ofvolunteers that sign up for multipleshifts all weekend. You can be asactive as you want.”

Lecky says a large percentageof volunteers return each year andnew groups of people have comeon board as the excitment over thefestival has grown.

“Many of our new volunteersthis year come from area highschools. School clubs are volun‑teering as a group 20‑60 at a timewhich is fun for them and great forus. They get to hear great musicand help a wonderful communityevent at the same time.”

The volunteers come from

every aspect of the city. “This is oneof the most diverse group of vol‑unteers that I think you canfind̶students, professionals, re‑

tirees, families volunteering to‑gether, as well as musicians andartists,” Lecky notes.

One group of volunteers ishard to miss in their safety‑oranget‑shirts and matching buckets.

“This year we are encouragingour volunteers to have alot of funwith the bucket brigade and ex‑press their personalities and love ofmusic,” Lecky says. Volunteers willhave special t‑shirts that they candecorate. “We hope it will draw at‑tention to this very important as‑pect of the festival. Thesevolunteers get to roam the stageareas, interact with our guests andhelp keep the festival free by col‑lecting donations.”

Making The Music HappenRFF volunteers Laura Napky andDamon Davis model the BucketBrigade gear at the event site.

THE RFF ENTOURAGEVolunteering at the RFF alsomeans that some fans of the per‑formers will have up‑close, qualitytime with the acts.

Tim Timberlake, who is on thecommittee for selecting the per‑formers at the event, also overseesthe volunteers who assist the acts.

“Our volunteer artist hostsare charged with taking care of allthe Richmond Folk Festival per‑formers while theyʼre here. Prima‑rily that means meeting them atthe hotel, getting them on theshuttle to the right stage at theright time and generally providingfor their personal needs andwants,” he explains.

In past years this has meantruns to CVS and ABC, driving toursof Richmondʼs historic attractionsand even barbecue and a livelyjam session at Buz & Nedʼs.

“During the earlier years atthe National, the volunteers wereknown as artist ̒ buddies,̓ but when

it became the Richmond Folk Festi‑val, we changed the moniker toartist ʻhost,ʼ adding a little moreweight and distinction to the vitalrole these dedicated folks play inmaking things run so smoothly.”

There are nearly 50 volun‑teers on the team this year, most ofwhom have been on board sincethe beginning.

Timberlake notes, “Itʼs really aonce‑a‑year opportunity to makevery special new friends who canteach us a great deal about othercultures and life experiences.”

The hosts get access to the listof performers before itʼs released tothe public so past hosts can makerequests regarding who theyʼd liketo be assigned. Timberlake accom‑

modates their preferences whilebeing mindful of language issuesand general experience levels.Some artists just need a little more“wrangling” than others.

“We also have a post‑festivalafter party where all the hostscan re‑convene and swap storiesand pictures.”

Timberlake maintains thatstaging an event at this level ismore complex and challengingthan anyone could imagine with‑out being involved in its produc‑tion. “Thatʼs what makes this sorewarding. You appreciate seeingthe festival play out and thecrowdʼs engagement so muchmore when youʼve had a part inmaking it happen.”

Timberlake


Well, sort of. Richmond‑

mom.com has been

an online magazine

for the last couple of years.

Ingredients: One part cre‑

ativity, two parts resourceful‑

ness, and three parts deter‑

mination. Add a dash of inspi‑

ration provided by three little

people 8‑and‑under who have

transformed their parentsʼ

world for the better!

Our Goal: To be the re‑

source for Richmond moms̶

whether youʼre managing your

household, want to grow in busi‑

ness, or want to maximize your

mom potential with great re‑

sources for your most precious

assets̶the kids in your life!

As the creator of Rich‑

mondMom.com̶and self‑pro‑

claimed CEO of the Hall

household̶I created the web‑

site with the support of my hus‑

band Travis and with plenty of

hugs and kisses from the kids.

After graduating with an English

degree from Penn State Univer‑

sity, I moved to Richmond, met

my prince, and started the

toughest yet best‑paying career

ever: MOM!

Besides being a mom, Iʼm

a project manager with 15

years of human resources ex‑

perience with Fortune 500ʼs in

the area̶so I too have en‑

joyed the challenges of being a

working Mom. With the help of

my fabulous friends and fam‑

ily, my goal is to expand Rich‑

mondmom.comʼs resources to

moms all over Richmond by

spotlighting creative, contribut‑

ing, candid stories about moms

in the River City as well as the

host of local resources available

to them.

Which brings us to this, the

first print version of our content.

RichmondMom.com shares the

positive, community‑oriented

vibe celebrated by Greater Rich‑

mond Gridʼs 60,000 readers. So

joining forces to reach more

families is a natural fit. Start here

and then find more online at

RichmondMom.com, and be sure

to drop me an email to let me

know what you think.

MAGAZINE

Welcome to the Premiere Issue of RichmondMom.com Magazine

Fall 2010 • Volume 1 • Issue 1 • #1

In This IssuePropellers(or, ThingsThat KeepMe MovingForward)

Liz Pearce, Executive Director Common-wealth Parenting, wants us all to stepback, take a deep breath and franklygive ourselves a break when it comesto living up to impossible standards ofthe perfect parent. “Okay, here’s the se-cret: I’m not perfect,” she confesses.“And I’ll tell you another secret: No one else is either.”

Before& After

Sure we love great ideas for our homeslike this snazzy little girl’s bedroom frompro designers Champe Granger andRoger Bouchard of My Design Guide, but we’re also inspired by our readers.

+MOTHER’S LITTLE HELPER: Tapping ThePower of SocialMedia FromHome Central

Kate Hall, publisher

“Our Goal: To be the resource for Richmondmoms—whether you’re managing your

household, want to grow in business, or want to maximize your mom potential...”

Travis and Kate Hall and their three kiddos exist in astate of chaotic happiness, managing two busy workschedules with community involvement. The kids arewell‑versed with terms like blogging and tweeting,and give their parents iPad tutorials on a regular basis.

| 2 | RICHMONDMOM.COM

Propellers (or, Things That

Keep Me Moving Forward)Want to know a secret? Here … come closer, I have to whisperit in your ear. Are you listening? Okay, here’s the secret: I’m notperfect. And I’ll tell you another secret: No one else is either.

So now you can stop wonderingwhy everyone elseʼs kids aredoing alright and yours arenʼt.

Those other families over there? Theones you eye enviously? They arenʼtperfect. Nope. There. Isnʼt your lifecomplete now? Itʼs not? Well, areyou looking for more? Are you wait‑ing for me to tell you the magic bul‑let to make your children behave

perfectly? Not gonna happen. Areyou waiting for me to tell you how tobe a perfect parent? Nope. Notgonna happen either.

But, I CAN share whatʼs workedfor other parents like you. And I canshare ideas that have worked for me.When youʼre ready, I can help youfind answers. And I can listen, and re‑late to you, because Iʼve been there.With a toddler who screeches andstops every grocery cart in its tracks;In the hallway as a door is slammedand insults are hurled; In the carwatching a child trudge off to atough day; Hiding in the bathroomreviewing every snippet of a shout‑ing match and wondering why‑oh‑why‑did‑I‑say‑that‑and‑what‑kind‑of‑parent‑am‑I?

Hereʼs a familiar scenario:Youʼre in line at WalSteinTargetMart,and your child is tired of waiting.

At some point, your child startsto whine and complain. You lookaround at the other customers. Theylook back at you. Your child turnsup the heat, asking for treats, de‑manding attention, pulling you,

tugging you. You arethe “perfect” parent,calmly remindingyour child of the con‑sequences of atantrum, and watch‑ing your child dis‑solve into a whirlingdervish of arms andlegs and tears andfrustration. You areembarrassed, angry,impatient and tired.

So, what shouldone do, when oneobserves anotherparent struggling inpublic with a child?Iʼve got an idea. Letʼssupport each other.If Iʼve dropped mypurchases in an at‑tempt to pick up mychild, help me getmy shopping bag

back in the cart. If itʼs impossible notto stare, then get your fill, give me anencouraging smile, and keep onshopping. If youʼre tempted to giveme advice, Iʼd rather have an en‑couraging, “Hang in there, Mom.”You can even hold the door open forme, as I make my way out of thestore.

This would propel me to keepmoving forward.

The bottom line: Perfect par‑enting is a myth. Iʼve been at thispersonally for 17 years, and profes‑sionally for 23. We do our best. Wemake mistakes. We search for abetter way. We try again. Wash,rinse, repeat. You can do this. Iknow you can.

BY RICHMOND MOM LIZ PEARCE, EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR COMMONWEALTH PARENTING

Dream Baby Shower Nominate an expecting Richmond mom in ourDream Baby Shower October 15-31st. The grand

prize winner will receive her dream shower with thousands of dol-lars in prizes at It’s Hip To Be Round in Carytown in December.

‘Richmond Rocks!’Richmondmom.com Publishing’s first book Richmond Rocks! (created and published locally) is available at Palaribooks.com

Commonwealth Parenting Distinguished Speaker SeriesFeaturing Wendy Mogel, Ph.D. Clinical Psychologist, Parenting Expert & Best-Selling Author of The Blessing of a B Minus: How to Nurture Resilience and Optimism during Challenging TimesWednesday, October 20th and 21st. www.commonwealthparenting.org

Women’s Wellness Expo & Pink Tie Gala to BenefitRichmond KomenThe Pink Tie Gala is a must-attend event for Richmonders onSaturday, October 23, 2010. With a fabulous band, deliciousdinner and dancing all for the cause of fighting breast can-cer, why not treat yourself to a night out?

During the daytime beforethe gala, thereʼll be a first‑time Womenʼs Wellness

Expo with free lectures and ac‑tivities promoting good healthfor Richmond women.

At night, at the actualPink Tie Gala, youʼll see anamazing group of Pink TieGala dancers and experi‑ence a huge party to cele‑brate life and the fightagainst breast cancer.

Plus, all of our hunkybachelors from the Pink TieGala Bachelor Auction willbe at the gala̶click herefor more info on the bache‑lor auction and all the funthat ensued as we raisedover $5,000 for this cause!

Richmondmom.com isa proud media sponsor ofthis event, and weʼd love tosee you there!

So, what should

one do when one observes another

parentstruggling in public

with a child?

VIEW QR CODES WITH A SMART PHONE BEETAGG MULTICODE READER FREE APP.SCAN THE QR CODE TO LEARN MORE ABOUT THEWOMENʼS WELLNESS EXPO & PINK TIE GALA.

ROCKSTARS:RichmondMom.com recognizes women in the Richmond, Virginia andsurrounding community for their outstanding leadership, achievements,and contributions. Whether their passions are personal or professional,we want to hear about them!

Rachel Reynolds is a local business owner of Romp n’ Roll Mechan-

icsville and a powerhouse fundraiser for the non-profit launched by

she and her equally-awesome husband, Roger Reynolds. Their non-

profit, CJ’s Thumbs Up Foundation CJStuf.org was

created in honor of their daughter, Charlotte Jen-

nie, who was undergoing cancer treatment; the

Reynolds family received so much support they de-

cided to pay it forward with $10,000 in donations

to families suffering from terminal illness. Charlotte sadly passed away

in January 2010, and CJStuf.org serves as a reminder of her beauty and

will continue to support families undergoing similar hardships.

BEFORE & AFTERPRETTY IN PINK . . . AND GREEN! Richmonders Champe Granger and

Roger Bouchard are the owners of My Design Guide. Self‑proclaimed “se‑

rial renovators, serial entrepreneurs” who “LOVE a bargain,” they designed

this little girlʼs room as a space that serves a function while still creating a

place of whimsy and energy any child would love. Check out their blog at

http://mydesignguide.blogspot.com for more ideas.

WHILE YOU’RE AT IT: At RichmondMom.com, we always marvel at the creativekids rooms our readers come up with. Send us your children bedroommakeovers, before & after images, as well as your home‑spun inspiration.



The Betrayal“I feel like you betrayed me,” my oldest stepdaughter con-fessed. That got my attention, amidst details of the situationshe had confronted me with, after I asked if she were upsetwith me. She continued in that high voice, strangled with tears,“When I told you how disappointed I was about my weight,you said not to worry about it—that you had seen how I eat,that I didn’t overeat and that the weight would come off.”

Thatʼs true. We had spent a weektogether earlier in the summer,while her husband was away

on business. I was delighted to helpher care for the baby. This was oneof several nice conversations be‑tween us during a busier‑than‑I‑could‑have‑ever‑imagined week.

However I had changed mytune the other night when thetopic of eating and weight cameup in what I thought was a privateconversation with my sister‑in‑law. I had expressed concernabout my stepdaugh‑terʼs weight. It was asingular comment withlittle elaboration. But itwas overheard. And re‑peated.

Though I will prob‑ably have to endurestoning as a result of thisconfession, itʼs only fairto admit that I did notgive birth or raise an in‑fant. I came into my stepdaughtersʼlives when they were 14 and 18, andI, 31. I know little firsthand of whatsheʼs going through adjusting tolife, 10 months post‑partum.

I acknowledged the betrayal,trying to explain why I would havesaid something: “Then I spent an‑other week with you and saw whatyou ate,” I tried chiding. That was asflimsy then as it sounds now.

She doesnʼt overeat. She justeats a lot of what I consider “fake”food. She takes after her father andgrandmother: sturdy, carbohydrate‑loving German people. Where asweet roll makes for a fine breakfast;a hot dog, a succulent lunch, andvegetables at dinner include pota‑toes and corn.

The truth, though, is that herdad is in very good health despite afew extra pounds, and her grand‑mother, who was indeed heavy,died only recently̶at age 90. Thetruth is also that my stepdaughterʼsdoctor told her sheʼs healthy and ingood shape at her last visit. Sheʼsjust a little “sturdier” than before.

I switched gears: I told her how

proud of her I was; what an incredi‑ble job she had done turning hermarriage of two into a family; whata beautiful mother she was. Andhow she had picked a flatteringbathing suit.

“Theyʼre maternity bottoms!”she wailed in that voice, which I willnever forget first hearing during thebrief time she had lived with us afterI married her father, when she andher college boyfriend had brokenup. The phone had rung. She hadgone into her room. Then she had

come out and stood in the hall witha look of death on her face. She had‑nʼt needed to say a thing. She hadbeen 21 at the time, and I had heldand comforted her as I would herson now. As I was trying to comforther now. Though that time, I hadnʼtcaused the tears.

I dug deeper: “Iʼm sorry,” I said.“My mom has always been on meabout my weight,” recalling the firsttime Mom told me I was destinedto look like my dadʼs older sister,another “sturdy” woman. I donʼthave a weight problem, though Iʼmnot petite. But weight has been anobsession for me throughout myadult life. I had always hoped tohave a part in instilling enough self‑confidence in my stepdaughtersthat they wouldnʼt have to gothrough the mental gymnastics Ihad over the years. And I had justfailed miserably.

But some light had begun topeek through, as I considered vari‑ous influences, personal and cul‑tural. Earlier this summer, Irecollected being beside myselfafter my mother had asked me if my

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90BY STEPHANIE SHARECK WERNER WHO LIVES IN ASHLAND WITH HER HUSBAND,

BLACK LAB AND TABBY CAT. SHE LIKES TO EXPLORE WEIGHTY ISSUES.

READ THE ENTIRE ARTICLE IN THE“REAL RICHMOND PARENTS” SECTION

OF RICHMONDMOM.COM

Weight is, well, a weighty issue; no doubt

about it. I don’t think I’d be doing this

soul-searching had I commented on my

stepdaughter’s hair color.


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stomach was now the same size asmy hips. She later blamed it on myunflattering outfit, but it hurt towhere I had to seek the solace of agirlfriend̶over drinks. I continued,“I know youʼre trying. You have athousand things youʼre doing verywell right now. So much haschanged in your life.”

She agreed, and we talked itthe rest of the way through. Itended all right. But the damagehad been done, and I wanted toget to the bottom of it. What had Ibeen thinking?

My initial reaction when mystepdaughter confronted me wasanger at the eavesdropper. I ownedmy part in the conversation butthought it insensitive that some‑one would first listen in on a con‑versation and then repeat not onlywhat was not meant to be sharedbut that which would cause harmin sharing.

Iʼm pretty pragmatic about“casual conversation”: people talkabout one another. Itʼs human na‑ture. I draw the line at lies and mis‑information̶gossip̶essentially.But I had a right to express a con‑

cern of mine to someone else.Granted, I also believe the

comments people make often saymore about them than they do ofthe one theyʼre about. Thatʼs why Ilike Eleanor Rooseveltʼs sage advice,“What people say about me is noneof my business.” I had beentempted to share this favoritequote with my stepdaughter, as away of saying, “just ignore me”̶tomake it all go away. Yet I hadnʼtbeen ready to ignore my comment.

DO SOME SUBJECTS WEIGH MORETHAN OTHERS? MORE IMPORTANT,DOES THE ONGOING NURTURANCEOF FRIENDSHIP AND LOVE REQUIREEVEN MORE DISCRETION OF US?

A couple months earlier, I hadexperienced a similar kind of con‑flict with a girlfriend of mine wholives out of town. Renee had re‑cently completed chemo and radia‑tion. We were due to attend a partyfor a mutual friend, and she calledthe day before the event, besideherself. Her confession: “I donʼt haveanything to wear. I gained a lot ofweight after the chemo, and noth‑

ing besides hospital scrubs fit.”My bias that day was very

clear: our friend had just graduatedfrom chef school and was lookingforward to seeing Renee after herhard‑fought battle. Incredulous, Iblurted out, “For Godʼs sake: youʼvejust lost both your breasts, enduredchemo‑hell and added insult to in‑jury with radiation̶and youʼreworried about looking fat?”

This got us nowhere, so I triedlistening compassionately for a mo‑ment. Evidently some people atwork had made comments to her(which in and of itself is mind‑bog‑gling, especially given that sheworks in healthcare). My sugges‑tions to wear the scrubs, make a runto Target or simply not worry aboutit fell flat.

Nonplussed, she continued̶and hereʼs the kicker̶“If I go, doyou think theyʼll talk about mewhen I leave the room, because Iʼvegained so much weight?”

I responded honestly, “Theymay. Itʼs reasonable for people tonotice things like that. They may saysomething out of concern or sur‑prise.” It would have been idealistic

to think otherwise.She erupted, “Why do people

think they can just say things aboutsomeoneʼs weight?”

Not surprisingly, Renee didnʼtattend the party, and I obviouslydidnʼt learn from our conversation.Until now.

Weight is, well, a weightyissue; no doubt about it. I donʼtthink Iʼd be doing this soul‑search‑ing had I commented on my step‑daughterʼs hair color.

But what about “casual” con‑versation? Now into my 40s, Iʼmclear that weʼre not in a position tocontrol the thoughts or utterancesof the owner̶only our responsesto them. I trust that my true friendslove me, despite my flaw̶andtheir need to comment on them. Ican forgive that.

As to the heart of my concernover my stepdaughterʼs weight,and this is very embarrassing toadmit: I can only surmise I was feel‑ing self‑righteous. Given my past,the culture we live in today and thefact that we all make mistakes, I canforgive myself of this. But only by in‑sisting that I learn from it.


Mother’s Little Helper: Tapping The Power of Social Media From Home Central

Since launching Richmond‑mom.com after a layoff twoyears ago, a couple of things

became glaringly apparent: 1) changing careers often re‑

quires learning new skill sets and that2) social media would be a

critical part of this learning.

Career move: Launch Richmondmom.com.Check. Next: open a Twitter account on January 1, 2009.Great. Now what? Cue crickets.Noticing that folks in Richmonduse the hashtag #rva in theirtweets, I started searching and fol‑lowing others in the river city tosee what exactly local Twitter folkswere tweeting about̶ and if it re‑ally mattered.

As it turns out, it did matter agreat deal. Not only were manylocal businesses notifying their“followers” of fabulous sales andannouncing community events,but I was getting a birds‑eye viewinto the gears of the great ma‑chine Richmond, all from my com‑puter, then later from myBlackberry.

Dr. Oz is on the phone...Twitter quickly became the cama‑raderie that I had once found inmy corporate life, and the connec‑tions developed through tweetingwith others in Richmond becameinvaluable.

For example, when the Dr. Ozshow called me from New YorkCity searching for the Real House‑wives of Richmond to makeover

on their show and wanted nomi‑nees the next day I was a bit flab‑bergasted. Being in the onlineworld, Iʼm used to quick turn‑arounds, but I had just sent out mye‑newsletter to 8,000 women anddidnʼt want to spam them for thisone request.

Cue the Richmond Twitterrockstars who helped me spreadthe message: Within one hour ofposting the Dr. Oz call for Rich‑mond women on my site andtweeting/Facebooking the link,my tweet was “retweeted” (orshared for you non‑Twitter folk)and the link shared on Facebookover one hundred times in lessthan twenty four hours to literallythousands of viewers.

The result: the Dr. Oz showreceived a tsunami of great Rich‑mond candidates, and I was ableto offer some local ladies a hugeopportunity to get a fitness andhealth makeover. Their lives werechanged forever. Couldnʼt havedone it without social media.

Social media consumners: a new demographic is born. Other local businesses are takingnote. Amelia Melis, Marketing andBusiness Development Manager forCall Federal Credit Union states,“We focus on helping families andin particular, children learning tosave at an early age. By using socialmedia such as Twitter and Face‑book, we're beginning to build ourbrand in Richmond as a family‑friendly business who cares.”

Savvy business owners likethese are taking note of socialmedia use. According to com‑Score, a leading metrics firm, 23%of Twitter users follow businessesto find special deals, promotions,or sales. Acclaimed social mediablogger Brian Solis, atBriansolis.com converts com‑Scoreʼs data to determine that:

• Facebook and Twitter visi‑tors spend more money onlinethan average Internet users.And, as Facebook usage increases,so does the propensity to spendonline.

• On Facebook, heavy usersspend on average $67 online,topping the total internet aver‑age of under $50.

• Active Twitter users

werenʼt far behind, spending onaverage $63.

• Medium users on Twitterspent $75 online compared to$61 on Facebook and light userson Twitter also outspent Face‑book users $73 to $50.

The Mom FactorAnd social media isnʼt just goodbusiness̶the social element isappreciated by so many. Stay‑at‑home moms and home‑officetypes use Twitter and Facebook totap into a network that helps themreach out into the communityfrom the comfort of their homes.

How is Richmond using So‑cial Media?

Richmond mom Kate Sempexplans, “I initially used socialmedia to stay in touch with familyand friends since I grew up livingall over the world and not all of myfamily lives close. When my hus‑band got laid off in 2008, and itbecame apparent he was notgoing to find a new job overnight,I felt the need to get caught upwith the current work world withno time to spare. I turned to socialmedia for real time information, tobuild skills and to connect withpeople not just for support and in‑formation but to help put myselfout there. I felt communicatingwho I am, my values, my strengthsand attitude would position meahead of others if I needed to get ajob. It has also helped me be‑come better connected to mycommunity because I enjoy know‑ing the people behind the busi‑nesses I am supporting.”

Richmond Stroller Stridesowner Rachel Pustilnik says, “Ihave been running my businessfor six‑years now and have seenhow marketing in social media hasgone from just a fun means ofcommunication to full‑blown

client recruitment.Instead of usingsocial media tofind new clients, Iuse it (mainly Face‑book) to increasemy relationshipswith current

clients. By improving my clientloyalty, I find they have a tendencyto promote my business to theirfriends through posts. So in a

round‑about way, this helps merecruit new clients. I actually ran aspecial where my clients receiveda discount on their monthly mem‑bership fee for a month when theywould post on Facebook and tagour Fan Page. This was a fun andcreative way to increase visibilityto my business.”

Social media guru StephanieBrummel: “I actually received ajob offer based on my Twitter/SMprofiles.”

Casey Quinlan, local authorof Cancer for Christmas:

“I was able tomake my book abestseller on Ama‑zon using Twitter,and have developeda reputation as ahealthcare patientexperience expert

using both Facebook and Twitter.”Michelle Vosper, co‑owner of

iliketoSave.com agrees: “Being aRichmond mom and businessowner, Facebook has allowed me

to keep in touch withfriends not just lo‑cally, but all over theworld and keep apulse on whatʼsgoing on in Rich‑mond. Especially,with launching our

new business, ILikeToSave.com,we are making so many wonderfulnew friends on Facebook; andwith their help, we have been ableto share savings and discountswith countless moms and families.These tools have become a vitalpart of our personal and profes‑sional life.”

Karen Curcio, grandmotherand owner of her part‑time home‑based sewing businessSewinit.com, “Facebook allows me

to keep up with mychildren and grand‑children; itʼs so easyfor them to postphotos and for me tocomment and sharethem with friends. Inever imagined

being almost seventy years oldand using all of this technologyfor my part‑time business and myfamily, but I am a tech‑savvyGrandma and loving it!”

Stay-at-home moms, home-office entrepreneurs and even big business thrive through online communities.

BY KATE HALL

We know what women want. One day that’s all about them. So gather your girlfriends, moms, sisters and co-workers and join us for “Girls’ Day & Night Out.”

This special event will feature Kate Hall of Richmondmom.com as our keynote speaker along with mini-seminars on a variety of lifestyle and wellness topics such as “Get the REST of Your Life,” “Disconnect to Reconnect” and “Weekend Getaways on a Budget,” and free health screenings.

Indulge yourself with superb food, fabulous friends and a great time! And keep the day going into the night with special packages at Lemaire and The Jefferson.

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COM

MU

NIT

Y N

EXU

S

O ver 200 fitness enthusiasts packed into the Carillon at Byrd

Park recently to voice their support for a city‑wide initiative

to make Richmond a friendlier place for walkers and bikers.

Dr. Carolyn Graham, Deputy Chief Administrative Officer for

Human Services and Champe Burnley, President of the Virginia

Bicycling Federation̶co‑chairs of the mayorʼs Pedestrian, Bik‑

ing and Trails Commission̶kicked off the meeting by letting the

audience know that “Richmond is ready to be a trail‑friendly

town” and that it will help residents and visitors to better enjoy

all the city has to offer.

The Pedestrian, Bicycling, and Trails Planning Commission

TO IMPROVE THE ENVIRONMENT BY REDUCING THECITYʼS DEPENDENCE ON MOTOR VEHICLES, REDUCETRAFFIC BY GETTING MORE CARS OFF OF THE ROADS,AND IMPROVE THE HEALTH OF RESIDENTS BY PRO‑MOTING PHYSICAL ACTIVITY, MAYOR DWIGHT C.JONES SEEKS CITIZEN INPUT.

‘Live Here, Bike Here’ was established this past

June to provide the Mayorʼs

administration with advice on

ways to incorporate bicycling

and walking as viable meth‑

ods of transportation in the

City of Richmond.

The Commission is review‑

ing adopted citywide trans‑

portation plans, strategies and

plans from other jurisdictions.

Mayor Jones has directed the

commission to make recom‑

mendations for policies that

support pedestrian and bicycle

travel in Richmond. According

to the Mayorʼs directive, the

recommended policies “will en‑

sure that our city becomes a

community where walking and

bicycling are integral parts of

the transportation system.”

The Pedestrian, Bicycle andTrail Planning Commission

wants your inputon how to make

Richmond a more pedestrian

and bike‑friendly city.Please take a minute or two

and share your thoughts on what can be done to improve our city by

taking the survey online.

VIEW QR CODES WITH A SMART PHONEBEETAGG MULTICODE READERFREE APP. SCAN THE QR CODE

FOR THE SURVEYOR CLICK ON

HTTP://RICHMONDVACITYNEWS.BLOGSPOT.COM

Mayor Dwight Jones spoke about thecityʼs need to utilize the existing trailsand do a better job of educating thecommunity about sharing the road.

Graham [above photo]and Burnley kicked offthe meeting by lettingthe audience know that“Richmond is ready to bea trail‑friendly town.”

BY DAVID SMITHERMAN

LIVE

Co

mm

unity N

exus


While the effort will cer‑

tainly enhance quality of life for

Richmondʼs current residents

and visitors, it will also be good

for business and tourism. Jones

has also pointed out “a well‑

publicized and effective system

of pedestrian and bicycle trails

could be a strong selling point

for economic development and

tourism efforts.”

Mayor Dwight Jones spoke

about the cityʼs need to utilize

the existing trails and do a bet‑

ter job of educating the com‑

munity about sharing the road.

“Live here, bike here,” said the

Mayor because “Richmond

loves pedestrians.”

Burnley noted, “There are

so many great parks in the

Richmond area.” He also used

Route 1 and Route 76 as exam‑

ples offering “an incredible op‑

portunity that would run

through Richmond.”

The Pedestrian, Bicycling

and Trails Commission worked

diligently to propose a policy

framework that would make

Richmond easier to navigate for

walkers and bikers using a net‑

work of trails and pathways

that safely connect all areas of

the city together.

The goal, according to City

of Richmond trails manager

Nathan Burrell is to make sure

Richmond is “a trail and cycling

friendly town.” And Mayor

Jones has “moved fairly aggres‑

sively with the timeline for trail

building and greenways plans.”

CITIZEN INPUTStressing the Mayorʼs priority

for citizensʼ safety, Amy George,

Office of the Assessor of Real Es‑

tate for the City of Richmond,

provided an analysis of bicycle

and pedestrian accidents that

occur “due to underdeveloped

routes and a lack of awareness

by motorists.”

After the presentations by

the commission, it was time

for residents to provide feed‑

back and vote on the plan they

liked best.

Ultimately, the plans pro‑

pose bike lanes on busy city

streets (like Broad Street and

Main Street) with the benefits

of reduced pollution, increased

safety and increased tourism

from bikers.

To continue gathering

input and measuring how the

proposed plans will impact res‑

idents, the presentations have

been posted online along with

the ability for anyone to ex‑

press their opinions about

walking and biking around the

city, and how to make improve‑

ments [see sidebar]. When it

comes to safe walking and bik‑

ing options, everyone wins.

Paul Manning is the City

of Richmondʼs first Chief

Service Officer. He will

serve as a senior city official,

reporting to Chief Administra‑

tive Officer Byron Marshall.

Mr. Manning is charged with

developing and implementing

a citywide plan to increase vol‑

unteerism and target volun‑

teers to address the cityʼs

greatest needs.

Mayor Jones stated, “Paul

Manning has a proven record

as a senior level executive in

the Richmond area in devel‑

oping long and short term

strategic business/financial

plans; building financial, oper‑

ational and administrative in‑

frastructure which supports

corporate objectives as well

as cultivating philanthropic

donor relationships.”

According to Jones in

order to expand efforts to in‑

crease volunteerism, “we

needed an individual with the

proven ability to provide

proactive leadership in creat‑

ing, developing and utilizing

corporate resources to de‑

liver growth of volunteerism

in our city.”

NEIGHBOR TO NEIGHBORManning will be the lead for

the cityʼs Neighbor‑to‑

Neighbor Program; an initia‑

tive launched by Mayor Jones

in April of this year designed

to engage citizens in volun‑

teerism to support their

neighbors through a commit‑

ment to service.

Neighbor‑to‑Neighbor

projects have included men‑

toring to children in schools,

visiting the elderly, as well as

providing home repairs for

elderly population, beautifica‑

tion projects throughout the

city, supporting various special

events, and youth programs to

include back‑to‑school shop‑

ping and several others.

Manningʼs position of

Chief Service Officer is being

funded through a Cities of

Service Leadership Grant that

was awarded to Richmond on

June 30, 2010.

“We went through a very

competitive process with cities

from across the country as

only 10 cities were selected to

receive the $200,000 grant

over a two‑year period,” said

city Chief Administrative Offi‑

cer Byron Marshall. “Funded

by the Rockefeller Foundation

and Bloomberg Philanthropies,

the funds were made available

exclusively for the hiring of a

Chief Service Officer.”

Manning is the founder of

U‑Turn, Incorporated, and is a

graduate of Virginia Polytech‑

nic Institute and State Univer‑

sity, where he earned a

Bachelor of Science degree in

Electrical Engineering.

Amy George, Office of the Assessor of Real Estate for the City of Richmond, provided an analysis of bicycleand pedestrian accidents.

Manning Tapped to IncreaseCitywide Volunteerism

Manning at the Mayorʼs pressconference announcing the ChiefService Officerʼs appointment.


Cortview Capital Securities, a re‑

gional broker‑dealer that will

focus on fixed income sales, trad‑

ing, origination and securitization,

serving a national middle‑markets

client base, opened for business

in Richmond.

Cortview offers relationship‑

driven, client‑focused services to

customers across the full suite of

fixed income products and will

deploy substantial capital to fa‑

cilitate its customersʼ trading

strategies and needs.

Cortview is backed by a cap‑

ital commitment of up to $125

million from leading global pri‑

vate equity firm Warburg Pincus,

and will deploy that capital for

trading, balance sheet and gen‑

eral corporate purposes.

The firm also has offices in

New York, Charlotte, NC, and

Boca Raton, FL. The firm also an‑

ticipates opening additional of‑

fices across the country as it

attracts more experienced middle

markets sales and trading, securi‑

tization and advisory talent to

serve the Cortview customer base.

Cortviewʼs four founders

include Theodore B. Luse II,

who will serve as President of

its Cortview Capital Markets Di‑

vision. Mr. Luse has over

twenty‑five years of experience

building and managing regional

capital markets platforms and

was most recently the head of

debt capital markets for BB&T

Capital Markets.

“The leadership of this team

has spent decades living and

working in regional markets

and understands their needs, so

I am excited by the opportunity

at Cortview to build the pre‑

mier fixed income firm focused

on middle‑market customers.

Cortview offers a unique and

compelling combination of expe‑

rienced regional sales and trading

talent, substantial trading capital

and a single‑minded focus on the

middle market, without the limi‑

tations of larger and more

broadly focused banks and finan‑

cial institutions,” Luse said.

Cortview Capital Securities Opens in Richmond

VCU Health System, HCA Vir‑

ginia Health System and Bon Sec‑

ours Richmond Health System

named to Working Mother mag‑

azineʼs 100 Best Companies list.

Eight areas are scored:

workforce profile; benefits;

womenʼs issues and advance‑

ment; child care; flexible work;

paid time off and leaves; com‑

pany culture; and work‑life pro‑

grams. An essay regarding best

practices to support working

mothers is also evaluated.

Working Mother considers

not only the programs, benefits

and opportunities offered by

companies but also recently set‑

tled, decided or still‑pending

gender discrimination lawsuits.

Governor Announces $20 MillionDuPont Facility in Chesterfield County

Working Mother Places Three Richmond Firms In Top 100

The Inc. 500, available in the magazineʼs September issue, in‑

cludes Richmond‑area company̶Henrico County‑based MortonConsulting. The technology consulting and project management

company, founded in 2006 by Mark D. Morton, is ranked number

419 on the Inc. 500. Astyra Corporation, a staffing, outsourc‑

ing, consulting and technology integration firm placed in the top

5000 for the second consecutive year̶improving its rank sig‑

nificantly from 1246 in 2009 to 888.

Henrico Company Makes Inc. 500 Rankings

BIZ

SAVV

Y

Governor Bob McDonnell announced that DuPont will invest$20 million to establish a facility in Chesterfield County tomake the first nanofiber‑based polymeric separators forhigh‑performance lithium ion batteries for electric vehiclesand many other potential commercial uses.

The facility, an early commercial‑scale plant to produce thenew material for this growing market, will be located at aleased building in Chesterfield County and will begin opera‑tions in early 2011. Virginia successfully competed against anumber of other locations for the project.

“DuPont is a science leader and a major employer in theCommonwealth. The company has been in ChesterfieldCounty since 1929 and this exciting new battery technologyfacility will continue DuPont's history of innovation in theCommonwealth of Virginia. We are committed to helpingour existing employers expand their operations in the Com‑monwealth. This announcement is positive news for oureconomy, and for the competitiveness of ChesterfieldCounty and the entire Commonwealth in the global market‑place,” said Governor McDonnell.

The facility will further refine and develop DuPont™ Ener‑gain™ separators, a nanofiber‑based material that improvessafety by allowing high‑performance lithium‑ion batteriesto operate at higher temperatures and can increase powerup to 30 percent.

Capital One Financial Corp., one of

the largest employers in the Rich‑

mond area, is expanding in the

Innsbrook Corporate Center in

western Henrico County.

The credit card and banking

company is buying two buildings

for more than $17 million, accord‑

ing to area brokers, to expand its

call center and operations.

The buildings, Innsbrook Cen‑

ter I and Innsbrook Center II on

Wheat First Drive, were formerly

occupied by Wachovia Securities.

Capital One Expands In Innsbrook

WORK

Biz Savvy

R I C H M O N D r i d . C O M 13R I C H M O N D r i d . C O M 13R I C H M O N D r i d . C O M 13

Headquarted in Richmond, Enviva LP, a lead‑

ing manufacturer of wood pellets and

processed biomass fuel in the United States

and Europe, won a contract to supply wood

pellets to a European utility company.

The order for 480,000 metric tons of wood

pellets a year to Belgium‑based Electrabel is the

largest contract ever for the local firm.

Enviva Materials sources energy‑rich

wood and crop residues and transforms

them into biomass fuels like wood chips,

mini chips, micro chips, and wood pellets

for industrial and utility‑scale renewable en‑

ergy applications.

Since Enviva Materials biomass fuels are

carbon‑neutral, use of the reclaimed biomass

residues significantly reduce the carbon foot‑

print as well as achieves independence from

the price volatility of fossil fuels.

500,000 TONS OF WOODY BIOMASSEnviva Materials currently sources approxi‑

mately 500,000 tons of woody biomass annu‑

ally for operations in the United States, Europe,

Latin America, and the Caribbean. They pro‑

vide biomass fuel to a host of renewable en‑

ergy applications, including those of the par‑

ent company, Intrinergy Operating LP, and our

sister company, Enviva Pellets.

Enviva Acquires CKS EnergyIn related news, Envira has acquired CKS En‑

ergy Inc, a privately held company that manu‑

factures wood pellets for industrial,

commercial and residential uses.

Based in Amory, Mississippi, CKS is one

of the few US‑based companies with a suc‑

cessful track record of manufacturing and ex‑

porting sustainable, high‑quality wood pellet

biomass fuel for utility customers, many of

whom are based in Europe where the use of

wood pellets is well integrated into all areas

of the energy sector.

“As we continue to increase our US manu‑

facturing footprint, we are particularly excited

about this acquisition. Strategically, CKS is an

excellent fit, providing Enviva with a robust

and stable fiber supply chain and easy access

both to our key European customers as well as

to customers in the upper Midwest,” said En‑viva Chairman and Chief Executive OfficerJohn Keppler.

Ironworks Consulting Opens New HQIronworks Consulting, a man‑agement, IT and web consultingfirm, has opened a new head‑quarters located at 10900 NuckolsRoad, Glen Allen.

The move comes as a result of thecompanyʼs growth, which has av‑eraged 30 percent each year de‑spite the economic downturn.The role that the companyʼsclients play in the success doesnot go unnoticed̶a client logowall is proudly mounted in thelobby, emphasizing Ironworksʼclient‑first attitude.

With over 35,000 square feet andan open floor plan, the new officewas designed to support a dy‑namic environment that encour‑ages teamwork and creativity.The innovative space offers ex‑

tensive team rooms and fewer of‑fices, all of which is essential tosupport agile development.

“When designing the new space,we focused on creating a work‑place that will be highly collabo‑rative for our client projects aswell as energizing for our people.”said Scott Walker, Chief Execu‑tive Officer of Ironworks.

Ironworks continues to operatefrom offices throughout the East

Coast and Midwest, serving agrowing list of national clients.

Ironworks is a management, ITand web consulting firm. The firmoffers expertise to clients nation‑wide in the practice areas that in‑clude strategy and programmanagement, business processimprovement, user experience,content management. Ironworksalso operates from offices inTysons Corner, Raleigh, Charlotteand Minneapolis.

Richmond Biomass EnergyTo Supply Wood Pelllets To European Utilities

Williams MullenLaunches EconomicDevelopment TeamWilliams Mullen has formed adedicated Economic Develop‑ment Team that will assist do‑mestic and internationalcompanies with relocation orexpansion projects.

Led by former Virginia Secre‑tary of Commerce and TradePatrick O. Gottschalk andAngie D. Harris, the formerDeputy Chief of Staff to NorthCarolina Governor Jim Hunt,the team of attorneys and con‑sultants will draw on decadesof experience assisting compa‑nies with all business aspectsof corporate relocation and ex‑pansion.

The Teamʼs focus will be onprojects in the following sec‑tors: advanced manufacturing,warehouse, distribution and lo‑gistics, research and development, technology̶including information and com‑munications technology,biotechnology, nanotechnol‑ogy, modeling and simulation,headquarters, energy powergeneration̶with an emphasison renewable power (hydro,wind, solar, biomass, ethanol,etc.)̶and data centers.

“Our attorneys and consultantshave a well‑regarded history ofguiding companies with eco‑nomic development projects,”said Thomas R. Frantz, presi‑dent and CEO of WilliamsMullen. “This new Team willchannel their talents and expe‑rience to provide the most ef‑fective full‑scale solutions for our clients.” In addition to negotiating in‑novative state and local incen‑tive packages, the multi‑disciplinary team can assist inareas that include real estate,land use, environmental per‑mitting, corporate law, interna‑tional, immigration, labor andemployment and intellectualproperty issues.

GREEN-TECH NEWS

BIZ

SAVV

Y


The Virginia CommonwealthUniversity Rice Center has re‑

ceived a major land gift of ap‑

proximately 150 acres along the

James River that encompasses

critical nesting areas for bald ea‑

gles and habitat for a wide vari‑

ety of flora and fauna.

The property, part of the

Meadowville Tract in eastern

Chesterfield County, is a gift of an

environmentally conscious group

of individuals who form the

Meadowville Trust.

Acquisition of the property

will increase the size of the VCU

Rice Center by nearly half. The

center, VCUʼs biological field sta‑

tion, is a 343‑acre site in Charles

City County overlooking the

James River, with a primary mis‑

sion of enhancing science, edu‑

cation and public outreach

related to large river ecosystems

and their riparian landscapes.

“This remarkable gift ex‑

pands the reach of the VCU Rice

Center as we enter Phase II of

our development plan, enrich‑

ing research and educational

opportunities for both faculty

and students,” said Thomas F.Huff, Ph.D., VCUʼs vice provostfor life sciences.

For researchers, the Mead‑

owville Tract provides an exten‑

sive area of bottomland

hardwood forest that comple‑

ments the habitats at the Rice

Center in Charles City County

and opens many new opportu‑

nities for research and educa‑

tional opportunities while

preserving critical habitat along

the James River.

The Meadowville Tract is sit‑

uated on the south side of the

James River, approximately 20

minutes east of Richmond. The

property adjoins Meadowville

Landing at Riverʼs Bend, a resi‑

dential development, and is adja‑

cent to the Meadowville

Technology Park.

VCU Rice Center Increases Size With Land Donation

Virginia Commonwealth Uni‑versity School of Medicine and

VCU Massey Cancer Center re‑

searchers have shown that the

impotence drug Viagra, in com‑

bination with doxorubicin, a

powerful anti‑cancer drug, en‑

hances its anti‑tumor efficacy in

prostate cancer while alleviating

the damage to the heart at the

same time.

For more than four decades

the chemotherapeutic agent dox‑

orubicin has been used to treat a

number of human cancers, in‑

cluding that of the prostate. De‑

spite doxorubicinʼs clinical

efficacy for cancer treatment, its

use is associated with irre‑

versible heart damage, often pre‑

senting several years after

treatment stops.

Researchers have been

working over the past 15 years

to find an optimal therapeutic in‑

tervention for protecting the

heart against the cytotoxicity as‑

sociated with doxorubicin.

In the study published on‑

line the week of Sept. 27 in the

Early Edition of the journal Pro‑

ceedings of the National Acad‑

emy of Sciences, researchers

using a variety of powerful in

vitro and in vivo approaches,

have shown that a combination

of Viagra, generically known as

sildenafil, and doxorubcin sig‑

nificantly enhances the genera‑

tion of reactive oxygen species

that trigger cell death, or apop‑

tosis, in prostate cancer cells.

They also observed that the

combination did not harm the

normal, healthy prostate epithe‑

lial cells.

VCU Study: Researchers Discover a DrugCombination That ShrinksTumors In Vivo

Education | Innovation

Need help getting a book published or advice on how to

navigate the publishing waters?Want to take your speaking

gigs to the next level? Whetherit’s for professional or personalreasons, we can help you create

a book you’ll be proud of.

PALARIBOOKS.com.Palari Books(804) [email protected]

GET PUBLISHED!GET PEOPLE TALKING ABOUT YOUR BOOK!

BOOKBUZZ

An annual study produced by

Pollina Corporate Real Estate,

Inc., names Virginia as "America's

most pro‑business state" for a

second consecutive year.

The study is based on 31

factors controlled by state gov‑

ernment, including taxes, human

resources, education, right‑to‑

work legislation, energy costs, in‑

frastructure spending, workers

compensation laws, economic in‑

centive programs and state eco‑

nomic development efforts.

Virginia again #1 In Pro-Business Report

WORK

Biz Savvy


COBB TechnologiesCobb Technologies is a Rich‑

mond‑based, Family‑owned

office technology dealer, head‑

quartered in Richmond. 20

years serving Richmond busi‑

nesses with digital copiers,

printers, scanners, and fax so‑

lutions. You've heard the radio

ads with Freddy Cobb; we in‑

vite you to talk to Peter Larsen

at Cobb Technologies and

learn the rest of the story!

In a new partnership with the

Virginia Council of CEOs, Uni‑versity of Richmond's RobinsSchool of Business has devel‑

oped an economic outlook sur‑

vey to help central Virginia

companies plan for growth.

The council will survey area

business owners and CEOs of

mid‑sized companies each quar‑

ter. Results will be analyzed by

Jeff Pollack, assistant professorof management at the RobinsSchool, who created the survey

and will develop a resulting eco‑

nomic outlook index. He will base

the index on businesses' pro‑

jected six‑month sales, spending

and employment figures.

“Our MBA students and

faculty have enjoyed interacting

with the council's members over

the last few years, and a joint re‑

search project seemed like a

natural evolution in our rela‑

tionship,” said Richard Cough‑lan, the Robins School's seniorassociate dean.

Businesses with gross an‑

nual revenues of at least $1 mil‑

lion that are not council

members are invited to partici‑

pate in the survey. If enough

businesses participate, the coun‑

cil will provide survey results by

industry. Participation is free,

and all participants will receive

copies of the survey data.

“The leaders of entrepre‑

neurial companies need informa‑

tion they can use to make deci‑

sions about growth. We know

that our members will be able to

use data from the new CEO sur‑

vey to better understand the

market and its opportunities, and

we are glad to share it with the

business community,” said ScotMcRoberts, executive directorof the council.

Business owners and CEOs

who would like to participate

should contact McRoberts at sm‑

[email protected].

The Virginia Council of

CEOs connects CEOs so that

they can learn from each other.

The Council accomplishes this

through confidential peer

roundtables and exclusive

learning events. Learn more at

www.vaceos.org.

The Robins School of Busi‑

ness is the only fully accred‑

ited, top‑ranked undergraduate

business school that also is part

of a top‑ranked liberal arts uni‑

versity. Business Week ranks

both the Robins School's un‑

dergraduate and part‑time

MBA programs among the top

20 in the country.

The school's executive ed‑

ucation division offers open

enrollment courses and cus‑

tomized leadership development

programs for individuals and

businesses.

Robins School of Business And VirginiaCouncil of CEOs Create Quarterly EconomicOutlook Index for Central Virginia

“We know that our members will be able touse data from the newCEO survey to better

understand the marketand its opportunities, and

we are glad to share it withthe business community.”

Contact Ted [email protected]

804‑355‑1236

In addition, RichmondGrid.com receives 35,000+ unique visitors a month.

If youʼre reading this, so are 60,000 college students, business professionals,

and smart people involved with nonprofit organizations, entertainment and

the arts in the Greater Richmond Region.

Itʼs time to get your products and services on the grid.

You have a brainstorm for a newservice or a new product. Youalso have an existing business.Say your cupcake store wants tostart distributing cake mixthrough other retailers, or yourweb development firm starts tosell software.

Should you launch the newinitative under the existing busi‑ness entity, or would it be better toset up a new company? It is a com‑mon question, and one that de‑serves some thought.

To help you decide, considerthese factors:

Short Bridge or Long BridgeConsider how far the new prod‑ucts or services are from the exist‑ing ones. If they are entirelydifferent, a new business entitymay be indicated.

But if what you are selling is inthe same general market area andtargets the same type of customer,it may fit well enough into onecompany.

What Do You Call It?If the new initiative includesnew branding̶separate productnames, maybe a new website̶these additions can still bemanaged within one company.

But the need for new brand‑ing can also be a good sign that aseparate entity would make sense.

Give some thought to whatcombined branding of productsand services would look like. If thecombination might be confusingto potential customers, new em‑ployees, investors, or others, then aseparate business entity may be in‑dicated.

Ownership or SaleIf you and your business partnerswould like ownership, profit or lossdistributions to be different fromeach other for different lines ofbusiness, that is an indication thatseparate companies may be thebest way to go. This can avoid line‑drawing disputes when it is time toaccount for the profits and lossesamong the owners for each piece

Viveca had been a CPA andworked for Capital One as well asother Fortune 250 companies be‑fore leaving to stay home with herbeautiful family for several years.She started doing some independ‑ent consulting work. She foundthat it provided her with the flexi‑bility to be there for her familywhile also being able to generatesome additional income for thefamily. She also liked the work andwas great at it.

The one thing about being anindependent consultant is that allthe work is up to you; Viveca hadfound that she might prefer tohave some additional support andstructure. Which is where I comeinto the picture. The franchise Ex‑pense Reduction Analysts (ERA)piqued her interest. ERA is thelargest cost management consul‑tancy franchise in the world. ERAhelps all types of organizations, bigand small, find extra profit by re‑ducing their non‑core costs. Theydonʼt charge an up‑front fee; theyshare the actual savings theyachieve for their clients. Viveca sawthat this business was a great fitwith the consulting she was al‑ready doing. Plus, being a fran‑chisee gave her access to resourcesand other consultants expertisethat she wouldnʼt have had by stay‑ing out on her own.

Hereʼs what Viveca has to sayabout her newest adventure : ”ERAis the perfect fit for me. I am work‑ing with high caliber professionalsthroughout the network. ERA al‑lows me to help companies in‑crease their profitability, withoutcutting headcount. If it werenʼt forEntreprenuer Source, I wouldhave never known that this oppor‑tunity existed.”

ERA works with companiesand their suppliers to obtain indus‑try benchmark pricing without sac‑rificing quality and service levels.

ERA is different from mostconsulting firms in that they actu‑ally assist clients with the imple‑mentation of their cost savingsstrategies and stay with them for18 to 24 months, auditing the ven‑dorʼs performance and ensuringthat the cost savings are realized.

ERA works strictly on a contin‑gency fee basis̶ERA only getspaid if its clients actually savemoney! To date ERA has completedover 14,000 projects, have expertisein over 30 overhead cost categories,and are achieving an average costsavings of 20%. ERA was recentlyfeatured on NPRʼs Marketplacewith a positive client testimonial(which can be heard at the follow‑ing link http://expensereduction.com/in‑the‑news).


Robin Smith is the owner of The Entrepreneur's Source. www.e‑sourceva.com.

BY ROBIN SMITH

Open for BusinessAMAZING TALES OF ENTREPRENEURSHIP

Legal BriefIN GOOD COMPANY. OR COMPANIES.

Marketing MavenTO BLOG, OR NOT TO BLOG?To some, the idea of writing a blogcan seem monumental. Itʼs oftenmet with responses such as: “Whywould I write a blog?” “What will Iwrite about?” “Whoʼs going to readit?” “WHY would they read it?” “Idonʼt have the schedule to write allthe time.”

Before banishing a blog fromthe realm of possibility, considerthat for any business or non‑profitorganization, one of your market‑ing communications goals is to in‑fluence investment in your product,service or cause. A blog is can serveas one of your best tools.

Hereʼs how to leverage it:

1. Your blog should live onyour website. A blog is a great toolto drive traffic to your website, es‑pecially if you keep it fresh and in‑corporate keywords into thecontent. But having your blog ona separate website from your orga‑nizationʼs website forces visitorsand search engines to choosewhich to visit and rank. Ideally,have your blog built as a featurewithin your website.

2. Content should be key‑word rich. As you write, keep inmind keywords – the words some‑one searching the internet to findwhat youʼre promoting. Weavethese words throughout your blogposts to increase your siteʼs rele‑vance on search engines.

3. Frequency of posts is lessimportant the content. You canwrite as often as youʼd like, butdone too infrequently diminishesyour relevance in your sphere of in‑fluence and on search engines.Aim to post weekly, but no lessthan monthly.

4. Variety can help with con‑tent concepts. Here are some ideagenerators:

• Commentary on a news arti‑cle, survey or recent report relevantto your business or industry.

• Case studies or success sto‑ries of your clients.

• Spotlight post on a partnerthat teams up with your organization.

• Event̶upcoming, youʼrehosting, promoting or attending.Post‑event review.

• Spotlight post on one ofyour products or services.

• Company announcements.• Have more than one blog‑

ger. Itʼs good to have a person re‑sponsible for the blog, but thatdoesnʼt mean he/she is the onlyperson within the organizationwho can write for the blog. Get asmall team of content providers, as‑sign dates (and set up reminders),assign topics, and stick with it.

Many websites serve as onlinebrochures. Since search enginesfavor websites with fresh content, ablog is a great way to add it. Usethe blog to showcase your industryrelevance, expertise, resourceful‑ness and influence.

And then share it! Include alink in your email signature line andannounce new posts on social net‑works, like Facebook and Twitter.

Most importantly, be patientand consistent. Your audience willgrow and the search engines willappreciate the new content onyour site.

Robin SmithViveca Wright Jennifer Yeager

VIVECA WRIGHT

BY JENNIFER YEAGER

Jennifer Yeager is a marketing com‑munications and strategy consultant.

MO

MEN

TUM

WORK

R I C H M O N D r i d . C O M 17R I C H M O N D r i d . C O M 17

of the business. Also, if one or the other divi‑

sions might be a good stand‑alonebusiness to sell at a later time, set‑ting it up separately at the outsetwill prepare it for such a transac‑tion. Spinning it off later is oftenmore of a production, particularlywhere there are multiple owners.

Cheap InsuranceA major reason that business enti‑ties are used by small and growingbusinesses is that they separate thebusiness liabilities from the individ‑ual owners. In the same way, usingmultiple companies for differingbusiness operations provides afence between the companies, sothat the liabilities of one are not theliabilities of the other. Think of it asa cheap form of insurance.

Shared ResourcesLook at what inputs will be neces‑sary for the new product or service.Are there raw materials, offices,people, or intangible assets thatwill be necessary only for the new

initiative and not for the ongoingbusiness?

This is another way of thinkingabout how separate or united thebusinesses should be. Vendor dis‑putes are also the kinds of liabilitiesthat you might want to section offso that they do not affect unrelatedbusiness interests.

Separate BooksYou can certainly track expensesand income of two divisions withinthe same company. And you candivvy up shared expenses betweenthem. But having two companiescan provide greater clarity andmore formal separation throughseparate bank accounts, payrolls,and tax returns.

That kind of clarity can behelpful to knowing which of yourpursuits are rewarding your invest‑ment and which are struggling.

BY CHRIS GATEWOOD

Providing outside general counsel serv‑ices to companies with or without alegal department, Chris Gatewood is anattorney & founder of Threshold Coun‑sel, PC, (www.thresholdcounsel.com)

There are three common elementsto a crisis: a threat, the element ofsurprise, and a short time in whichto decide how to face the crisis.

During crisis, your employeesmay feel fear, uncertainty, anddoubt, but they certainly will lookto you to see how to react.

Leaders must understand thatemployees are always watchingthem̶that stressful times are thetimes when leaders must set theexample̶and that crisis is thetime when leadership is most im‑portant.

Leaders must also understandthat their own mood is conta‑gious. So be careful to watch youremployees to monitor their mood.

Most importantly duringtimes of crisis, the leader must en‑courage the team to change itsthinking from “how will circum‑stances affect me” to “how will I af‑fect circumstances.”

Leadership by example is the sim‑plest way to lead.

In time of crisis, leaders muststrike a positive mood for employ‑

ees to emulate, set the example bydoing everything they ask of oth‑ers, and above all, when in charge,take charge. Unfortunately, leadersare not always taught how to re‑spond to crisis, and most leaders donot know where to turn to learnhow to handle crises.

Fortunately, many of the bestlessons on leadership can belearned by studying history.

When crisis hits your organiza‑tion, it is too late to learn how tohandle it. But by studying exam‑ples of leaders who dealt with cri‑sis, you can learn in advance fromthe successes and mistakes ofothers.

I encourage leaders at alllevels to read the stories ofleaders who have faced chal‑lenges and thus absorb the les‑sons of history.

Better to learn crisis‑manage‑ment lessons now rather thanwhen you find yourself in a crisis,because then it is too late.

BY MARK MATTHEWS

LeadershipSTAYING AHEAD OF CRISIS

Attorney Mark Matthews ownsThe Matthews Law Group, P.L.L.C.thematthewslawgroup.com

Mark MatthewsChris Gatewood

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Just Ask PeterIʼM DROWNING IN A SEA OF DESKTOP PRINTERS!

Peter Larsen

“Man, do we really need all thesedesktop printers all over the placearound here?”

This time, I want to talkabout something I see every‑where I go: a sea of desktopprinters, many of which are notbeing used.

Thatʼs right, they just sitthere. Some are broken. Someare out of ink. Some have such lowprint quality that people wish theywould just disappear!

So how do you take controlof your printing costs?

Research by several leadingfirms has shown that organiza‑tions spend as much as 15% of an‑nual revenue on documentproduction, management and dis‑tribution.

Assessing your network andrerouting documents to more effi‑cient printers reduces costs, im‑proves productivity and increasesefficiency.

Upgrading printers can alsoeliminate bottlenecks and im‑prove diagnostics. By developinga strategy to tackle this prevalentoffice problem, you can:

• Save 10% to 30% on yourtotal printing costs.

• Reduce the cost of partsand supplies.

• Proactively monitor yourprinter supply levels and serviceneeds.

• Enable less IT focus on print‑ing devices.

Hereʼs what you do! Check with some local docu‑

ment management companiesand see what they offer in thearea of Managed Print Serv‑ices.̶also known as ”MPS.” Itʼsvery effective for controlling officeprinting costs. Everybody is look‑ing at MPS these days, and tryingto figure out how to make it workfor their company.

What makes Managed PrintServices work for your company?

Hereʼs a good example.A Richmond‑based medical

practice had more than 35 copiersand printers from a variety of ven‑dors spread throughout its multi‑ple locations and spent a smallfortune annually on toners andsupplies. The practiceʼs adminis‑trators spent too much timebarely containing the “masschaos” of numerous vendors, serv‑ice agreements and multiplemonthly invoices.

The practice ʻs administratorbrought this chaos to their localdocument management com‑pany and started looking for acost‑effective, highly‑productivesolution̶one that would helpmanage the practiceʼs ongoingneeds for high‑quality, high‑effi‑ciency printing and copying of pa‑tient records, education materialsand billing information.

The document managementcompany performed a print auditto assess the practiceʼs currentequipment inventory, suppliesusage and ongoing printing costs.

They found out the specificneeds and functions required byindividual departments within thepractice, such as billing, patientrecords, patient care, etc. Armedwith this information, the docu‑ment management company wasable to recommend a cost‑savingrestructuring of all of the practiceʼsoffice equipment.

What about the results?• Measureable savings in

overall printing costs. • Proactive maintenance and

supplies fulfillment on their entirefleet of printers.

• A newer, more efficientarray of devices.

• Less IT focus on printers. • Peace of mind!So if you are drowning in the

costs associated with all thosedesktop printers...there is hope.Find a local document manage‑ment company you trust and letthem work to find ways to saveyou money.

Trust me̶they will! Peter Larsen has been in the documentmanagement industry for 13 years. Hehas provided multi‑function copier so‑lutions for Xerox Corporation and IKONOffice Solutions prior to joining CobbTechnologies.

BY PETER LARSEN


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132 Local Businesses Plan ExpansionsWith Associated Capital Investments In Excess of $136 Million

The importance of sup‑

porting local businesses

is not lost on anyone.

One of the four core programs

of the Greater Richmond Part‑

nership, Inc. is Business First

Greater Richmond, the regionʼs

business retention and expan‑

sion program.

Business First uses face‑to‑

face interviews with top leaders

of existing businesses to gather

feedback on doing business in

Greater Richmond. This feed‑

back helps program partners

connect businesses with the re‑

sources they need to stay and

grow in the region and build an

even better business climate.

“Satisfied existing busi‑

nesses are among our best am‑

bassadors for attracting new

businesses to Greater Rich‑

mond. Ensuring they are con‑

nected to the resources they

need to be successful is a criti‑

cal component to our overall

economic development strat‑

egy,” says Gregory H. Wingfield,

president and CEO of the

Greater Richmond Partnership.

The Business First initiative

is a regional effort led by the

Greater Richmond Partnership,

Inc., and the economic develop‑

ment offices in Chesterfield

County, Hanover County, Hen‑

rico County and the City of Rich‑

mond. It is supported by

dedicated volunteers from the

business community who share

our commitment to business

success.

The 2009‑2010 Business

First Greater Richmond annual

report revealed that:

•132 identified businesses

plan to expand in the coming

year with associated capital in‑

vestments in excess of $136 mil‑

lion.

• 27 percent of respondents

plan to add additional employees

over the next 12‑month period,

adding nearly 1,400 new jobs.

• Largest employment

gains are anticipated in the

Manufacturing industry

and the Arts, Entertainment

and Recreation industry.

• 96 percent have an over‑

all positive attitude toward the

community and 78 percent be‑

lieve that they will see an im‑

provement in the local business

climate over the next five years.

• 86 percent rate workforce

quality as good or excellent, al‑

though 95 firms report that re‑

cruitment is still a challenge,

which is likely a mismatch be‑

tween skills and demand.

SUCCESS STORIESBusinessFirst program success

stories include:

• The retention of Pfizer

Consumer Health Research and

Development in the City of

Richmond which saved 300

jobs locally.

• The consolidated facility

of Smurfit‑Stone Container Cor‑

poration in Henrico County

which saved 150 jobs.

• The expansion of Maruchan

in Chesterfield County that

included a capital investment

of $16 million and up to 50

new jobs.

• Hanover County‑based

Flexicell, Inc. which was con‑

nected to a training grant

through the Virginia Jobs Invest‑

ment Program of the Virginia De‑

partment of Business Assistance

to support the skills advance‑

ment of 11 employed engineers.

Sara Dunnigan, senior vice

president of Existing Business

Services and Talent Develop‑

ment of the Greater Richmond

Partnership and program man‑

ager for Business First Greater

Richmond, says, “The program

is more than just a collection of

data. We take the time to thank

area businesses for choosing

Greater Richmond as a location

to operate their business.”

The information gathered

during the interviews is used to

identify ways to help solve busi‑

ness problems, remove barriers

to growth, and to quickly con‑

nect firms to the resources they

need to be successful.

THE BUSINESS FIRST TEAM MET WITH MORE THAN 530 BUSINESS LEADERS OVER A 12‑MONTH PERIODENDING JUNE 30, 2010. TEAM MEMBERS RESPONDED TO MORE THAN 90 SPECIFIC REQUESTS FOR AS‑SISTANCE, SUCH AS JOB TRAINING, FACILITY ASSISTANCE, BUSINESS GROWTH ISSUES, AND POTENTIAL RE‑DUCTION IN WORKFORCE. COMPLETED PROJECTS RESULTED IN THE CREATION OF MORE THAN 250 NEWJOBS AND HELPED TO RETAIN NEARLY 500 POSITIONS. PARTICIPATING COMPANIES MADE NEW CAPITALINVESTMENTS OF $137 MILLION.

SUCCESS

STORIES

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Tracey initially connected

with the Greater Rich‑

mond Partnership, Inc. in

Nottingham, England when she

attended a GRP presentation

about expanding UK businesses

into the US.

The presentation was done

in partnership with the Eco‑

nomic Development Council of

Nottingham, a connection par‑

tially the result of Capital Oneʼs

operation there, GRPʼs partner‑

ship with BioCity in Nottingham

and the Virginia BioTechnology

Research Park, an international

network of connections built

over the past 16 years.

Tracey blogged her visit

and tour of Capital Oneʼs West

Creek campus:

Wednesday 15 September̶visit with Greater RichmondPartnership and Capital One Met with the Greater Richmond

Partnership and enjoyed our

visit with Rowena Fratarcangelo,

Gregory Wingfield and Sara

Dunnigan. Rowena kindly took

us to the Capital One head quar‑

ters the following morning

based in west Richmond.

Rowena gave us a newspa‑

per article from the Richmond

Times‑Dispatch business news‑

paper about ʻWorking Moms

Best Companies.ʼ This talked

about the top best companies

to work for ̶specifically aimed

at women.

Definitely an idea to do re‑

search in the UK to find out the

top best companies for

women/mums to work for, who

offer the best benefits for flexi‑

ble working.

The Capital One headquar‑

ters was a fantastic place of

work to look around̶a huge

campus covering an area of

about 100 acres employing

around 7,000 people. The area

comprised of about 8 buildings

and a lot of parking space areas

which were all packed to capac‑

ity with cars̶a very busy place.

Definitely needed a car to get

around the place.

This actually provided us

with a significant change in cul‑

ture and a major different focus

on looking after and retaining

employees. The state‑of‑the‑art

facilities and technology and in‑

novative training and develop‑

ment tools gave a huge

impression of how much this

particular company invests in

their employees.

What made a massive im‑

pact was how the layout of the

offices/work space was pro‑

vided for people. Basically an

employee finds a preferred

place (hot desk) to work from,

logs on computer, uses instant

messenger (similar to what we

use on Skype) to show theyʼre

logged on and ready to start

work. The emphasis on the pro‑

duction of quality work, provid‑

ing the right environment which

gives the employee much more

incentive, trust and flexibility

was great to see actually work‑

ing in a successful setting.

This particular visit pro‑

voked so many new ideas

around the concept of virtual

working.

They mentioned that gen‑

erally on Fridayʼs the building

can seem very empty due to a

lot of employees working from

home accessing their work re‑

motely, logging in at home to do

the work, again another flexible

option for employees.

This gave rise to the con‑

cept of teleworking being vir‑

tual with the option of

working from home with a mix

of working on site at a pur‑

pose‑built office environment

so employees get chance to in‑

teract with each other, attend

meetings and training ses‑

sions, striking a good produc‑

tive balance of work.

I did ask about the use of

video conferencing due to the

number of office bases in differ‑

ent states and countries̶they

explained that video conferenc‑

ing was used regularly, but still

felt that technology was still not

stable to the quality they really

required e.g. someone would

not be able to get sound or talk

as part of the group call etc.

The actual buildings inside

were extremely well thought

out, lots of internal café areas

for employees, places for relax‑

ation with large tv screens, a

fantastic indoor gym and lots of

outside sporting areas as part of

the campus for playing team

games̶very big on team build‑

ing and getting people to inte‑

grate together.

It will be very interesting to

look at the Capital One offices in

Nottingham in England when

we return from the US to find

out if they too have adopted this

way of flexible working and

change in working culture.

GETTING TO TRAVEL TO THE UNITED STATES WAS A LIFELONG GOAL FOR TRACEY CLARKE. SHE RECENTLYHAD HER WISH COME TRUE AND MADE HER FIRST STOP GREATER RICHMOND, VIRGINIA. OWNER OF UK‑BASED VIRTUAL ADMINISTRATION, TRACEY TRAVELED ON A WINSTON CHURCHILL MEMORIAL TRUST FEL‑LOWSHIP GRANT TO RESEARCH THE GROWING US VIRTUAL ASSISTANCE INDUSTRY.

WORK

Touring RVA Business Innovation: Observations From Across The Pond

“The state-of-the-art facilities andtechnology and innovative trainingand development tools gave a huge

impression of how much this particular company invests

in their employees.”

SCAN QR CODEWITH A SMART

PHONE TO VISITHTTP://TRACEYCLARKE‑

FELLOWSHIP.BLOGSPOT.COM


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YoungHouseLove.com & LaDiff

Refugees from the New York advertis‑ing scene and Richmond transplants,Sherry and John Petersik are a couple

of twenty‑something DIY dynamos who haveturned a blog about their 53‑year‑old homeʼskitchen remodel into a perky and extremelypopular decorating site YoungHouseLove.com that has gained national media attention.

Their press page reads like a tally of toptrend‑trackers from magazines like Real Sim‑ple, Better Homes & Gardens, Do It YourselfMagazine and The Nest to exposure on tele‑vision shows like HGTVʼs Rate My Space andcoverage on CNN.

In a highly competitive arena full of dec‑orating divas doling out experienced ad‑vice̶a la Martha Stewart̶the Petersiksstand out not for their expertise but for their

oh‑so‑clever naïveté. “Weʼre not experts, justtwo happy homeowners who love to learn aswe go and share our adventures (and misad‑ventures) with the world,” they proudly pro‑claim on their site. And because theyʼre notdesigners but just a couple finding their waythrough homespun culture, the Petersiks havetapped into a hip, young highly‑accessiblevibe̶with legions of DIY readers. The perfectvenue youʼd want for introducing consumersto new ideas and products.

In an intriguing arrangement withDowntown brick‑and‑mortar stores like LaDiff(125 South 14th Street), the Petersiks haveembarked on weekly giveaways with impres‑sive responses from their readers and sales forthe stores. Greater Richmond Grid caught upwith the decorating duo for details.

Can you talk a little bit about the La DiffWallflowers Freebie giveaway? It seemedto get a huge response. John: “We were so excited to team up with LaDiff to offer something to our readers in theform of one of our weekly giveaways. Andwhen Sarah [Paxton LaDiffʼs Vice President ‑Sales & Finance] invited us to swing by herstore in person and select something that wethought our audience would love, we knewthe Wallflowers would be a huge hit as soonas we saw them.

Sure enough, over 1,700 readers enteredto win. And Sarah got a nice little influx of or‑ders for them after the contest winners wereannounced. Weʼre especially glad that wecould send people her way because we lovespotlighting and supporting local businesses.”

SMART PARTNERS:Sherry and John Petersik with LaDiffʼs

Vice President of Sales & Finance Sarah

Paxton in front of the storeʼs wall‑

flower display.

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How do you deter‑mine which productsto endorse?Sherry: “Thatʼs easy!We endorse thingsthat we actually likeand believe thatour readers will likeas well.

We donʼt en‑dorse products, com‑panies, or services fora fee when it comes toour posts (we do haveblog sponsors on our sidebar who are clearlymarked as such), but all of our in‑post mentionsand weekly giveaways are something that we dofree of charge just to spread the word aboutthings that we think are great̶and items that welove to reward our readers with in the form of aweekly giveaway.“

What products from local retailers have youpromoted on your blog? John: ”Since our Fab Freebie giveaways areweekly occurrences, we have also teamed upwith a few other local businesses that we love!Weʼve worked with Quirk, Sunnyʼs GoodtimePaint, Youʼve Got Supper, and Monkey Grass forother Fab Freebie posts over the past two years(which were also met with a lot of enthusiasmfrom our readers).

And weʼve featured or mentioned localplaces in other blog posts about our houseʼsprogress (like Mongrel, Pleasantʼs, Clover, Diver‑sity Thrift, Love of Jesus Thrift, Ruth & Ollie,William's & Sherrill, EcoLogic, The Interior Outlet,The Decorating Outlet, and Shades of Light).”

Though you consider yourselves full‑time blog‑gers, donʼt you also do designing gigs as well?Sherry: “These days weʼre just blogging for themost part. We used to offer virtual design consul‑tations as well as run an online shop full of printsthat we designed but the blog itself keeps us sobusy that itʼs truly all that we're focusing on thesedays (along with our regular columns with Baby‑Center and Do It Yourself Magazine, which we arehonored to be a part of).

Whatʼs coming up on the horizon for YHL brand?Sherry: “We want a new house! Weʼre on the huntfor a nice older home that we can rescue and re‑vitalize, just like weʼve done with our currenthome over the last four years. Weʼre excited totake the next step and keep all of our readersposted along the way!”

“...all of our in-postmentions and weekly

giveaways are something that we do

free of charge just to spread the word

about things that wethink are great...”


G enerally when public art isconceived, much of its de‑sign is based on the site

where it will be on display. Particu‑larly in the case of monumentswhere months, or in some casesyears, of collaboration between thecommunity, government and civicleaders as well as the commission‑ing group occurs in order to createa space in the public domain.

On November 6th in a cere‑mony of “honor, remembranceand dedication,” a contemporarymonument to all Native Americanswill be unveiled on top of the OdellBuilding̶originally the PowerPlant at Lucky Strike (2700 EastCary Street)̶in sight of Chimbo‑razo National Battlefield Park andthe Stone of Powhatan, a bouldermarked by a bronze plaque whichreads, “An old Indian stone re‑moved from and now overlookingʻPowhatan Seatʼ a royal residenceof King Powhatan.”

The new statue, Connecticutcreated by Richmond artist Paul Di‑Pasquale̶who also sculpted theArthur Ashe statue on MonumentAvenue̶defies the traditionalprocess of monument‑making. Infact, the sculpture has an unique his‑tory in popular culture, contempo‑rary art and, now, in adaptive reuse.

DiPasquale originally builtand installed the wood, epoxy andfiberglass figure of a Native Ameri‑

can peering out from the roof of aBest Products showroom inBethesda, Maryland in 1983[shown in photo below].

However, the artistʼs initial vi‑sion for the site of the monument

was on Connecticut Avenue inWashington, D.C. For DiPasquale,the capital of the nation was thesuitable place for a monument cel‑ebrating all American Indians.

The founders of Best Prod‑ucts and contemporaryart collectors Sydney andFrances Lewis, who leasedthe sculpture from theartist, were known for in‑corporating avant‑garde,eye‑catching artworks intotheir showroomsʼ architec‑ture. The DiPasquale pieceatop the suburban box ofthe store read less as a monumentand more of a surreal art piece,grabbing attention with its star‑tling incongruity.

Four years later, it was pur‑chased from the sculptorand donated to the Dia‑mond, where it became acity icon for 25 years.Tucked under the swell ofbleachers at the stadiumand overshadowed by theRichmond Braves baseballteam promotions, thestatueʼs significance wasrelegated to that of a mas‑cot or pop imagery at best.

With the recent trans‑formation of the Diamondto the home of the FlyingSquirrels, Connecticutʼs in‑stallation came into ques‑tion again. Enter James C.Snyder, Chairman and CEOof Odell, an architecture,engineering and designfirm known for cutting‑edge projects.

“It really began as ajourney. I met Paul Di‑Pasquale a few years agowhen he agreed to teach aperfect stranger (me) tomake a bronze sculpture,”

explains Snyder, who is a sculptor aswell as an architect. “As an artist, I be‑lieve the artist knows best whereand how their piece should be pre‑sented. Paul believed that ourbuilding would be the perfecthome. You see, Quinnehtukgut isthe native American word meaningʻbeside the long tidal riverʼ̶or Con‑necticut in our tongue̶which isthe name Paul gave to his sculpture.”

DiPasquale sees the monu‑mentʼs Odell site as a revitalizationof his first concept. “Now my origi‑nal vision can come together with asetting that will realize my inten‑tions, and the sculpture has founda permanent home that will honorthose who came before us,” hesays. “It is as if it were meant to befor Richmond and for Connecti‑cut ̶beside the long tidal river.”

THE JOURNEYAs for the journey, Snyder explainshis understanding of the signifi‑cance of the riverside location ofthe Odell Power Plant has grown.

In his effort to work with localNative Americans and national fig‑ures in the Indian community forhelp in restoring Connecticut froma pop mascot to a significant land‑mark, heʼs learned of the propertyʼsoriginal use as a commerce site bythe indigenous people and Englishsettlers as well as its later role in thetobacco‑industry history.

“Every once in a while, the op‑portunity to become a steward ap‑pears, often times when we leastexpect,” Snyder says. “As welearned more about the sculpture,its original intent, its history over 31years coupled with the rich historyof the Native Americans to Rich‑mond, the Commonwealth of Vir‑ginia and our nation, we becameconvinced something meaningfulto continue the legacy was appro‑priate. So, in conjunction with shar‑ing our building with Connecticut,the Odell Scholarship will becomepart of the continuing legacy.”

In collaboration with the Rich‑mond Metropolitan Authority̶which owned Connecticut at thetime̶Odell decided to allocate amajority portion of the purchaseprice to create a meaningful schol‑arship to be awarded to a NativeAmerican studying to become anarchitect. The scholarship will beawarded on November 6ththrough the Odell Foundation withthe ultimate goal being to estab‑lish the scholarship as a sustain‑able program.

The unveiling event has alsogrown from Snyderʼs modest orig‑inal vision of a straightforwardpress conference into a all‑day cel‑ebration featuring a festival of Na‑tive American music, dance andfood. Tribes, in full regalia from allover America, will present displaysand demonstrations of pottery,tools, handwork , arts and crafts.

Snyderʼs Hand at Deconstructing Art

DiPasquale designed the sculp‑ture in six modular parts, eachweighing approximately 300pounds. Odell has been ware‑housing the sculpture elementsuntil reassembly occurs for the November 6th event.During this time, Connecticutʼsupturned hand has inspired Snyder to create a series of impromptu portraits of himself, friends and associates who visit 2700 East Cary Street.Top Row: Alex Garfield,LauraLee Chandler,Jim & Susan Snyder,Katrina BlankenshipMiddle Row: First Lady Maureen McDonnell,Max Gray, Lucy Meade, Tom SilvestriBottom Row: Sculptor Paul DiPasquale, Kim Scheeler, Jack Berry,Jeannie Welliver

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This photo and below: DiPasquale at work on Connecticut.

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Rendering of the newriverside site atop ofOdellʼs building.

Click on www.connecticutonthejames.com for event details.

Connecticut installed at The Diamond baseball stadium.

Y ou have to be one heck ofan app developer thesedays to hatch something

big enough to fit the feisty brandcarved out this year by the Rich‑mond Flying Squirrels. Scott Davisis just Nutzy enough to take onSquirrels VP Todd “Parney” Parnelland company.

An early adopter of mobiletechnologies, Davis was tinkeringwith phones well before they be‑came oh so “smart.” Serving asthe top brass at Critical Technolo‑gies Group, Davis has been creat‑ing meaningful ways to useemerging media since 1998.Today he is showing off hisprowess by building successfulapplications for local businesseslooking to make a splash oniPhone, Android, and iPad.

During the Flying Squirrelsʼ in‑augural year, Davis approached theteam with the idea for a mobile ap‑plication that was bold enough tofit their fun loving approach to thegame. Working with ChristinaShisler, Director ofCommunity Relations(and everyoneʼs fa‑vorite on‑field MC),Davis was able to un‑leash the first MinorLeague Baseball iPhoneapp to hit iTunes.

“For me, mobiledevelopment is aboutfulfilling that anywhere, anytimementality,” explains Davis. “It reallygets the creative juices flowingwhen you take the ʻwouldnʼt it becool if I could do thisʼ idea and turnit into a reality.”

Others apparently agree with

Davis, as evidenced the success ofhis Squirrels app which was down‑loaded over 3,000 times in its first

six months anddebuted in theTop 25 of thesports categoryof iTunes. Davissays that fanshave interactedwith the appmore than150,000 times

since it was originally launched.And heʼs quick to add, “We are con‑stantly evolving the app and work‑ing with the team to develop newfunctionality on a daily basis.”

With the popularity of mobileapps spiking, Davis quickly began

knocking out of the park similarproducts for other Minor LeagueBaseball teams like the Lehigh Val‑ley IronPigs, Lakewood BlueClaws,and the Hagerstown Suns. He saysthat a growing list of apps are alsoslated for opening day next year,with versions for Android and iPadto boot. Best of all, of the apps outon the market at the moment, allare experiencing a similar surge.Most recently the Lehigh ValleyIronPigs app debuted at #3 in theApp Store and has seen over 5,000downloads with more than a quar‑ter of a million fan interactionssince July.

“We have recently been work‑ing with teams from other sports todevelop apps as well, including the

ECHL Hockey League, MinorLeague Lacrosse, and college ath‑letic departments,” rattles off Davis.He says that an increasing numberof sports venues and musicians arealso hoping on board.

In the mean time, Davis en‑courages Richmonders to look fornew updates to the Richmond Fly‑ing Squirrels mobile app, suchnuggets as live game tracking fea‑tures, a play‑by‑play interface, andteam social media feeds. And ifyou can hold onto your bag ofpeanuts for a bit longer, Davis saysthat heʼll soon add augmented re‑ality to his snazzy little app in thecoming months.


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Besides the cur‑

rent news, team

roster and

promotions

features updates

to the Richmond

Flying Squirrels

mobile app as live

game tracking

features, a play‑

by‑play interface,

and team social

media feeds

are being

developed.

Fans haveused the app

more than150,000 times

since it waslaunched.

An early adopter of mobiletechnologies, Davis was

tinkering with phones wellbefore they became

oh so “smart.”

Critical Technologies Group

W hat do you get whenyou combine ethnogra‑phy, social media, and a

little bit of Bonnaroo? Feed‑back̶lots of it.

Get ready to adjust your set‑tings, folks̶Feedback Agency isbuzzing. Packed with talent, thisRichmond social media researchand consulting group just cele‑brated its first anniversary markedwith a whirlwind year of cross‑country tours and a fat book of na‑tional clientele. As if the potcouldnʼt get any sweeter, theagency, which boasts over twodozen prized clients across thecountry, just signed RVAʼs favoriteblogger, Jeff Kelley, to an alreadystacked team that includes BradCarr and Thomas McDonald.

Relaxing in a playful officefilled with Bonnaroo Music Festi‑val stickers, Executive Vice Presi‑dent Dean Browell, can hardlyhold back his enthusiasm. Hismood is elevated not from thethree clients his crew just closedthis Friday afternoon alone, but in‑stead by the results that Feedbackis producing in a truly integratedfashion. He says that gone are thedays of building Facebook fanpages and the like (just becauseyou can), and here to stay are thesocial media campaigns createdout of sound research and listen‑ing models.

“You shouldnʼt be doing any‑thing on social media if itʼs not aninformed decision,” opines Brow‑ell, while pivoting his chair withexcitement. “Itʼs about really ex‑amining the culture of the peoplethat youʼre trying to reach̶goingin and literally living among thegorillas,” he smiles. “If you donʼtdo that, you end up doing some‑thing with social media thatʼs builton USA Today articles or some‑thing an executive read on a planein Sky Magazine on the way backfrom a business trip.”

And hereʼs the thing, Browellshould know. He comes to the so‑cial media space with a PhD in Ed‑ucation and extensive experiencein ethnographic research. Brow‑ell takes the long view of commu‑nications and has a vision for thechanging social media industryunmatched by most digital agen‑cies concentrating on the plat‑form with the most users andfunny little “like” symbols. He saysthat with some clients Feedbacksimply does the research andnever touches implementation onplatforms like Facebook and Twit‑ter. While at other times his gang

trains a clientʼs internal workforceto operate social media cam‑paigns with clear goals and meas‑urable outcomes.

In the office next to Dean sitsJeff Thompson, President and CEOof Feedback. With music bellow‑ing out of his office doors, Thomp‑son looks more like heʼs fresh offof a musical performance thantackling a mountain of email. Ashe prepares to leave the countryfor a presentation in Europe,Thompson takes a moment toslow down and reflect on the lastyear that he calls a “fantastic jour‑ney.” Thompson, who logged in25 years at traditional advertisingagencies, says that the secret toFeedbackʼs success is a direct re‑sult of “passion, energy, and ex‑pertise.” Over the course of hiscareer Thompson honed hischops at hot spots such as Ogilvy& Mather and The Martin Agency.However itʼs with Feedback,which he formed with Browell andmarketing whiz Anna Lucas, thatThompson was able to bring to‑gether his knowledge of tradi‑tional marketing with trulyintegrated, research‑based socialmedia campaigns.

With a growing team in theworks, Thompson and Browellshow no signs of slowing down.In fact, immediately after their an‑niversary party Feedback beganmaking plans for an upcomingyear brimming with clients in Eu‑rope, the Caribbean and SouthAmerica. In typical Feedback

style, however, Browell makessure to note that heʼs savingplenty of time to continue to de‑liver free social media workshopsto businesses in Virginia as well as

sought after gigs like presenta‑tions to the national Craft BrewersConference.

Inn

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Feedback LLC


BY PAUL SPICER

With a growing team in the works, Thompson and Browellshow no signs of slowing down.


THE WEEKEND STARTS ON TUESDAY

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Since its launch in April,RVALUTION (pronouncedlike revolution) has be‑

dazzled throngs of revelers witha weekly, circus‑themed danceparty, complete with cottoncandy and carnival games. Rotat‑ing novelty acts̶from contor‑tionists to fire spinners̶joinalluring hula hoop artists andRVALUTIONʼs own burlesquedancers, the Bombshells, to pro‑vide non‑stop visual entertain‑

ment complementing therhythms seamlessly spun by animpressive host of DJs.

“We have so many talented,extraordinary people who dospectacular things,” says HatFactoryʼs Flynt Burton, whobooks both local and visitingperformers for RVALUTION, “Itʼsvery organic, and the musicnever, ever stops.”

Befitting a dance party, themusic dominates the RVALUTION

scene. Creating the audio ambi‑ence are RVALUTIONʼs two resi‑dent DJs, John Reinhold of PartyLiberation Front (PLF) and Dod‑die Braza of Audio Ammo, whooccasionally relinquish control ofthe turn tables to guest DJs fromRichmond and other townsaround the country.

Ringmaster Parker Galore(a.k.a. Jeremy Parker), RVALU‑TIONʼs stage manager andemcee, reigns over the mayhem.

Inspired by a similar event held atNew York Cityʼs Webster Hall, theHat Factory approached Parker,who produced Gallery Fiveʼs Car‑nival of Five Fires, with the idea ofintroducing a circus‑themeddance night in Richmond. Parker,along with DJ John Reinhold, hislong‑time collaborator, took theconcept and ran with it, tappinginto their personal aptitudes andtheir network of talented associ‑ates to make the event a reality.

“It really isto be s

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Despite early doubts about public responseto a Tuesday night dance party, RVALUTIONʼsturnout has exceeded the expectations of or‑ganizers. “I knew we had the right pieces to thepuzzle, but I honestly wasn't expecting it to takeoff quite as fast as it did,” Parker recalls. “Duringthe summer, we were getting 1,500 to 1,700people every Tuesday night with hundreds get‑ting turned away,” he adds. Parker was also sur‑prised to learn that people were traveling fromDC, Charlottesville, and Norfolk to attend theevent. “Thereʼs nothing like this going on nearhere and word of mouth has spread across thestate and beyond.”

“It really is the place to be seen,” saysJonathan Austin, who has displayed his jugglingprowess at RVALUTION since its debut and who,while amusing crowds awaiting entry outside theclub, has gained unique insight into the partyʼs at‑tendance. “Itʼs the Studio 54 of Richmond, thatʼsfor sure.”

The eventʼs success is apparent not only inthe numbers it draws, but in the obvious energy itgenerates from its attendees.

Among RVALUTIONʼs dedicated following isMichael Hostetler, a server at Fish Bowl Bistro and

Bar, whose passion for the weekly gatheringmoved him to start a Facebook page called, “RVA‑LUTION Addicted.” Hostetler credits the gatheringwith expanding his social network and exposinghim to new forms of performance art and music.,saying, “Itʼs opened up a whole lot of doors.”

While RVALUTION performers presentconstant visual diversion, the guests them‑selves eagerly become part of the spectacle.Artfully wielding glow toys (available at theevent) and donning costumes in keeping withweekly themes, patrons create a vibrant displayof their own. “Our crowd loves to dress up,”

Burton points out. Roommates Danielle Perry and Melanie

Dunn, inspired by the captivating attire of theBombshells and hula hoopers, started their owntradition of wearing different costumes to eachRVALUTION. “We became known as the girlswho dress up every week,” remarks Perry, aserver at Texas de Brazil, who describes the RVA‑LUTION experience as, “like nothing Iʼve everseen before.”

VCU freshman Erik Fox recalls of his first ex‑posure to RVALUTION, “It was crazier than I ex‑pected it to be, but I think thatʼs possible onlybecause of the professionalism of the performersand organizers.”

The Hat Factoryʼs attention to safety con‑cerns remains a palpable presence. “We have azero tolerance policy toward underage drinking,”Hat Factory General Manager Mitchell Warneckestates emphatically, “We do take a lot of precau‑tions to make sure everyone here is safe and has agood time.” In support of RVALUTIONʼs spirit of re‑sponsible revelry, the To the Bottom and Back busmakes Tuesday night runs.

Upcoming events at Hat Factory include FearFactory (October 19th through October 31st).

This summer,Hat Factory

generalmanager

MitchWarnecke

saw 1500-1700club-goers

attend RVALUTION

Tuesdaynights.

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The concept came from a simpledemand,” says Justin Moore, co‑owner of the canal‑front restau‑

rant, “We thought the city needed agreat combination of a new take onburgers, plenty of different beer, and ourown bourbon bar.”

Although its menu includes a vari‑ety of dishes, The Current, which openedon May 1st, has a particularly extensiveburger menu and features a weekly vari‑ation on the burger theme. Some ex‑amples of timely burger specials offeredin the past include the “HealthcareBurger,” the “Oil Spill Burger” and “TheHanson Burger,” whose moment toshine coincided, of course, with Han‑sonʼs performance at The Hat Factory.

Boasting a dedicated bourbon bar

with a selection of over 40bourbons, the nascentrestaurant is carving outits own niche amongDowntown eating anddrinking establishments.In addition to attractingHat Factory audiences andstudents drawn to thehalf‑price burgers andopen mic sessions offeredon Monday nights, TheCurrent appeals to pa‑trons seeking a sophisti‑cated drinking experienceand tranquil atmosphere,according to Moore. “Thebar design is fit for ourbourbon lovers and itgives a great overall soli‑tude for those who justwant bourbon and cigars.”

The Current occu‑pies the tucked‑awayspace on Virginia Street,adjacent to The Hat Fac‑tory. Its location providesa pleasant sanctuary fromthe more heavily traf‑ficked Shockoe streets.

Moore, who hasbeen working in variouspositions in the restaurant

industry since he was 16, says that run‑ning a business in Downtown Richmondis full of “unique challenges and prom‑ise.” Inspired by the success of The Boat‑house at Rocketts Landing, anothernew̶and somewhat hidden̶diningdestination, Moore expresses confi‑dence that The Currentʼs specializedmenu and bar offerings, along with itsambience on the canal, will distinguishthe restaurant among its more estab‑lished neighbors.

“I think, just like the Boathouse withthe amazing amenities that they pro‑vide, eventually we will reach that clien‑tele, as well. Because of the newdevelopments that will happen rightacross from us, itʼs going to be like a miniCarytown in a year or so.”

Green & Free Wheelin’ L ast August, while watching the local news, Sandy Ap‑

pelmanʼs attention was grabbed by a story about localJim Porter beginning operations of a free bus/shuttle

service that sought to help prevent drinking and driving in thecity. Porterʼs project intrigued Appelman as just five years ear‑lier he had attempted a similar undertaking with GRTC, whichdue to some setbacks early on, never came to be. Motivatedby Porterʼs initiative, Appleman quickly got in contact withhim to see how he could get involved.

After a meeting of minds, Appleman says both partiesrealized they “shared the same passion about the transporta‑tion need in Richmond.” The fervor which they both had forthe cause stemmed from knowing too many friends that hadbeen put in circumstances that led them to drive after drink‑ing, as well as Jim Porterʼs firsthand experience with the hor‑rors of drunk driving when he was hit by an intoxicated driverwhile he was on his way to his sonʼs graduation.

The following month, with the original business plan hehad written for his intended project with GRTC in hand, Ap‑pleman had officially joined forces with Porter and his partnerPatrick Biase to become the third member of the new organ‑ization. Soon, a big green school bus with the words “To TheBottom And Back” emblazoned on its sides, filled with happyriders, became a common sight at night in the city.

For some itʼs a safe (and most importantly, free) meansof transportation between the residential areas of CarytownRichmond and the bustling social scene of Downtown. Al‑though it is true that the non‑profit organization known as ToThe Bottom And Back, Inc. (or simply “2BNB”) advocates andprovides safe and free transportation for those who have hada little (or a lot) too much to drink while enjoying the nightlifeof Shockoe Slip and Shockoe Bottom, they are much more.

A commonly overlooked goal of the organization,though one they are just as passionate about, is to “providefree transportation relief of the poor, the distressed, or under‑privileged in conjunction with other charitable organizations,”Appleman says.

When put into practice, this goal manifested itself in theform of 2BNB providing transportation to other great causesand organizations that operate locally including Art180, VCUvolunteers for Habitat for Humanity, The Giving Hear, The Sal‑vation Army, and many others over the course of their highlysuccessful first year of operations.

With no signs of slowing down anytime soon, as wellas a new partnership with Venture Richmond which willundoubtedly enhance 2BNBʼs efforts, the future of thecityʼs public transportation is as bright as a big, lime‑greenschool bus.

Moore says that running a business inDowntown Richmond is full of “uniquechallenges and promise.”

BY THOMAS MCMULLEN

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WHETHER ITʼS A BLIND DATE OR A FIFTEENTH ANNIVERSARY DINNER, YOUR NIGHT OUT IS GUARANTEED TO BEA CULINARY SUCCESS WITH THE EXOTIC ENTREE SELECTIONS AVAILABLE WITHIN THE FEW BLOCKS OF THE SLIP.HEREʼS A SAMPLING OF JUST SEVEN OF THE MANY̶NEW AND CLASSIC̶ETHNIC EATERIES IN SHOCKOE.

CUPID CUISINE: Shockoe Slip’s International-Flavor Flair D

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Doraʼs Brazilian GrillThe Rodizio style meals make for a fun andunique date night, especially on Friday nightwhen the guests are treated to a variety of localmusic, including the occasional Brazilian sambasession, at no charge. Complementing the au‑thentic cuisine, they also serve authentic refresh‑ments including Brazilian beer and coffee (afavorite of the daytime business crowds), and asoft drink called “Guarana Antarctica.” Nights atDoraʼs have all the allure and atmosphere of anexotic Brazilian locale and can making it perfectfor couples seeking a romantic and somewhatprivate place to enjoy each otherʼs company.

“During the day itʼs relaxed with a pretty bigbusiness crowd, we get a lot of people from theoffices downtown, and during the summer wesee a lot of families and tourists. At night, the at‑mosphere is a bit more intimate and we see a lotof couples who end up staying for a pretty longtime. Our sign outside lists our Friday and Satur‑day hours as “4 p.m.‑ ???” and a lot of people takeadvantage of that on dates.” ̶ Sarah M., waitressat Doraʼs

The Fish Bowl Bistro BarThe fetching scenery and modern atmospheremake a fun place for a business lunch or get‑to‑gether with friends during the day. At night, thescene becomes a bit more lively when bothbars are in full service for the 3 p.m.‑7 p.m.happy hour during the week, and when theroom is set up for a live performance frombands or DJs̶a perfect night out for a groupof friends. If things get to be too electric duringthe live music performances (which have grownfrom the weekends to include weeknight per‑formances), one can still enjoy an intimate dateon the cozy outdoor deck seating (withoutbreaking the bank).

“Weʼre a new restaurant and weʼre reallyexcited to become a part of the culture andnightlife, and to take advantage of what the cityhas to offer. We cater towards a young profes‑sional crowd and weʼre looking forward to ex‑panding our clientele. Over the next weeksweʼre also hoping to expand our live music per‑formances even further.” ̶Mike, manager atThe Fish Bowl

Kobe Japanese Steaks and SushiThe weekday lunches are a favorite for the localoffice crowd. At night, the authentic hibachistyle grilling is a big draw for families andgroups of friends, as they gather around andcheer on the well‑trained cooks. Additionally, aquiet date without the excitement of wildflames and trick steak cutting is not far awaywith the quaint outdoor seating that is all themore charming at night with the glow of Down‑

town lights to set the atmosphere.“I come here a lot with my wife, itʼs always

a fun night out for us. Weʼve brought our kidsalong too and they always get a kick out of thefood and how they cook it right in front ofyou.” ̶patron

Lucky BuddhaAn undeniably trendy nightspot, although itserves authentic sushi dinners most nights (withthe exception of Tuesday when it is strictly adrinking spot opening at 7:00 p.m.), it is one ofthe busiest club locations in the Slip. The twohouse DJs, large bar and dance floor, as well asthe frequent crowds that inhabit it at nighthardly makes it the go‑to spot for initmate dates;however, it is perfect for groups looking to havea night out of drinking and dancing. They alsoboast $3 martini specials on Saturdays.

“We do get some big crowds for dinnerduring the week, but it really starts buzzing dur‑ing the club hours. The set‑up has a really bigdance floor and we have a lot of regulars whocome out just strictly for the club experience. Ourbar selection is pretty big too, weʼre the onlyplace around here I know of that serves “33” [aJapanese import beer].” ̶Sheri, bartender atLucky Buddha

Sam Millerʼs Restaurant & Oyster BarThe restaurant contains an elegant atmospherewith a bit of an old‑world feel. Although thespace boasts several rooms for groups and par‑ties, the main dining room provides ample seat‑ing for smaller parties, including a number ofwell‑placed tables tucked away in corners andnear windows̶perfect for a couple seeking aquiet place to enjoy stellar food. There is also afully‑stocked bar to accommodate their happyhour on weekdays.

“I use office lunches and dinners as an ex‑cuse to come here as much as possible. The foodis always excellent and the service gives it a veryupscale feel. The crab cakes here are beyondwords.” ̶Larry , patron

“A lot of our dining set‑ups are great forgroups, we have a lot of private seating forthings like parties, so we get a lot of peopledoing business, as well as people throwing par‑ties. Iʼd describe our usual demographic asmostly young professionals.” ̶Danielle, bar‑tender at Sam Millerʼs

Sine Irish PubA charming tavern and restaurant with all of thefeeling and atmosphere of a traditional Irish pub,the bar boasts ample seating, an impressivenumber of draft beers (including, of course,Guinness), as well as a large stock of liquors. TheirIrish coffee completes the experience, especially

during their “comfort hour” from 4‑7 p.m. dur‑ing the week which hosts several drink specials.The lively, informal atmosphere is spot on for afun and casual date, and their outdoor seatingin the back provides a great place to enjoy din‑ner on a nice night. With frequent themedevents such as “Halfway to St. Patrickʼs Day,”thereʼs always a chance to get in on the Irish funat Sineʼs.

“We have a busy yet casual atmosphere.The energy here is really young and exciting. Youcan come here to eat or to just sit at the bar andenjoy the football game on Sunday. The ʻIrishPubʼ feeling really comes out on Thursdays withthe live music.” ̶Mike, bartender at Sineʼs

“They have probably one of the best beerselections in Shockoe Slip and everyoneʼs alwaysreally friendly. Even if you come in alone, youʼllprobably end up with a group ofpeople.” ̶Melvin, patron at Sineʼs

Tobacco CompanyThis landmark establishment at the top of theSlip provides food, drinks and entertainment formany different crowds. The beautiful atrium inthe middle of the restaurant sets the airy atmos‑phere that incorporates the historic nature of thebuilding with just a taste of contemporary flair.

Cocktails are served in the elegant first floorlounge every day, which can be reserved for pri‑vate parties, and serves well as a first stop for acouple on a date. Nearby the bar and stage areaare buzzing with small groups and couples alikeenjoying drinks and intimate music perform‑ances (Tuesdays‑Saturdays).

The dining rooms on the top two floorsboast a great deal of seating, including privatebooths and secluded seating for two romanti‑cally overlooking the atrium.

The expansive wine list as well as the im‑pressive menu (which contains nightly specials)seems to be catered towards couples seeking atraditional, upscale, romantic evening, all thewhile enjoying the electric ambiance of ShockoeSlip. Additionally, the club on the basementlevel has a completely elegant feel while main‑taining a fun and inviting energy. To top every‑thing off, “The Shockoe Hour” on Mondaysthrough Fridays has an almost unbeatable dealon half‑off drinks.

“We try to offer the best of everything. Al‑most everyone knows us for our food and restau‑rant upstairs, but we also have a bar, our cocktaillounge and performance venue on the first floor,and the club in our basement. Whatever youʼrein the mood for that night you can find some‑thing here.” ̶ Tom, waiter at Tobacco Company

“The club is really nice. Itʼs a younger crowdwithout the feeling that youʼre at a fratparty.”̶Brent, patron

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Dora’s Brazilian Grill1331 E. Cary St.Brazilian/BeefA Brazilian grill serving authentic Rodizio style meals̶atype of Brazilian cuisine where customers pay one priceand are served a variety of dishes throughout theevening.

Whole Cornish HenWood grilled hen served with

salad, bread, black beans,rice, sliced white and

sweet potatoes,and sautéed plantains.

Friday Night MusicLocal musicians jam

Fridays in the bar thatoffers fine wines fromArgentina, Chile and

Brazil as well as Brazilian Beer.

Fish Bowl Bistro & Bar101 S. 15th St.Asian, Caribean/SeafoodReplete with fish tanks as well as eye‑popping orange andblue murals, this new, mod aquatic‑themed eatery offerseconomical, yet edgy, lunch and dinner selections.

Alla AndouilleAndouille sausage, jumbo

lump crab, roasted red pep‑per, basil, with penne pasta

tossed in a light roasted garliccream sauce and topped with

pecorino Romano.

Two Bars of FunLive bands and DJs arepart of the mix in thetwo bars̶with oneoutdoors̶that offerhuricane parties and

happy hours featuringfresh sangria

and $2 appetizers.

Kobe Japanese Steaks & Sushi19 S. 13th St.Japanese/Seafood/BeefThis classic Hibachi restaurant blends the knife‑whirlingentertainment of creating steak and sushi delights.

Hibachi Filet Mignon& Shrimp

Includes Japanese clear onionsoup, house salad, grilled

vegetables, steamed rice andappetizer shrimp.

Donʼt BlinkHibachi chefs

perform tricks withtheir forks, knives andspatulas as they cook

for their guests.

Lucky Buddha1421 E. Cary St.Asian/ClubWith nights dedicated to “Corsets and Cufflinks!” and a“Red Stilettos Party” the super‑social sushi bistro rocks a“South Beach/ Vegas” after‑dinner scene.

Sweet & Sour ChickenStir fried chicken with pineapples, peppers

and onions in a sweet and sour sauce.

DJ in the HouseDJ Matt Busch

on the decks topsthe charts with

todayʼs mainstreamclub music and special events.

Sam Miller’s Restaurant & Oyster Bar1210 E. Cary St.American/Seafood/CrabcakesA Slip original for over 35 years, the restaurant has beenthe defacto business eatery and offers fabulous crabcakes to go.

Sam Miller's Crab CakesServed on a roasted red

pepper and corn puree withscallion crème fraiche and

grainy mustard.

Private PartiesThe Rockfish Room,The Boat Room, The

Main Dining Room andThe Oyster Room are

available for private events.

Sine Irish Pub1327 E. Cary St.Irish/Gathering SpaceA vast warehouse has been transformed into a cozy tra‑ditional Irish pub that sports authentic dishes as well asAmerican food served with a Celtic flair.

Shepardʼs Pie An Irish‑American

traditional dish; beef and veg‑etable stew topped with a

mashed potato crust.

Live MusicFeatures live music

from acts like DJWilliams Projekt,William Walter,

Patchwork and Jubeus.

Tobacco Company 1201 E. Cary St.American/Seafood/Beef/DanceWith a dinner menu devoted to seafood and beef selec‑tions, this Shockoe stapleʼs three floors offer a one‑stopfor dining, drinking and dancing.

Braised Lamb ShankServed with

oven‑roasted cherry tomatoes, black eyed peas,

collard greenstopped with red wine syrup

and natural Au Jus.

Lounge ActsLive entertainmentevery Wednesdaythrough Saturdaynight with shows beginning at 9:30 in the atrium bar

and lounge.

RESTAURANT Entree Sample Online Entertainment

Scan QR codes with a smart phone free BeeTagg Multicode Reader App.


RVA VIBE: MUSIC MATTERS

Last year, Glenn and two other mem‑bers of now‑defunct Prabir and theSubstitutes, Chris Smith (guitar andvocals) and Robbie King (bass) re‑cruited drummer Joe Fergusson̶formerly of The Awesome Few̶toform the The Trillions.

The Trillions incorporate abroad field of compositional and sty‑listic influences, ranging from LedZeppelin and The Flaming Lips toStravinsky and Beethoven. “At theend of they day, though, it is rock and

roll,” as Glenn describes it, “Youknow, loud guitars, crunchy bass,and big drums and ʻyeah, yeahs.̓ ”

Partial to playing such localvenues as Gallery 5, The Camel, andThe Locker Room, The Trillions haveadded a novel visual dimension totheir performances, presenting anilluminated display, designedspecifically for their shows, whichbassist Robbie King likens to, “anold Light Bright.”

Coincidentally, all members of

The Trillions were born in Canton,Ohio. Fergusson explains, “Actually,if you put a thumb tack on our birth‑places, and trace in chronologicalorder, it forms an upside down pen‑tagram, centered in some parking lotnear downtown Canton, Ohio, whichis pretty interesting because thereare only four members.”

Still, The Trillions are a Rich‑mond band, according to Glenn,“Weʼve played elsewhere, placeswith charm and verve, but it's evi‑

dent our roots are happiest in Rich‑mond soil.”

At the moment, The Trillionsare working on an EP and are lookingforward to playing more gigs alongthe East Coast and possibly produc‑ing some videos. “And of coursethere will be more experiments withlighting and electricity,” King antici‑pates, “It has been a great effect to'see' the music and we would like totinker with what else we can comeup with in that department.”

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The Trillions“In not even a year, Richmond has gone out of its way to come to our shows, recordour songs, play us on the radio, make us stage art̶and tell us we donʼt suck that bad,all for free or for mitigated fees,” observes Charlie Glenn (guitarist and vocalist) oflocal response to The Trillions, “You canʼt call that anything but notable support.”

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The PhotosynthesizersHarnessing the individual talents and disciplines of seven varied artists, The Photosynthesiz‑ers treat Richmond to an eclectic entertainment experience.

“Each member of the band brings their influences to the table for songwriting: hip‑hop,rock, jazz, electronic, ambient, indie, classical,” explains Wade Puryear (keyboard, synthesizer),whose grandmother taught him to play piano when he was five years old.

With a musical background in hip‑hop and soul, vocalist Barcodez (Maurice Jackson)̶who performed at the Apollo when he was 17̶contributes not only his voice, but his lin‑guistic acumen to the bandʼs performances.

Also lending her voice to the mix is Samsun (Samantha Hewlett), who attributes her mu‑sical skills to years of singing in church. “I was always the girl singing every vocal part or eventelling my director when things were off key,” she recalls.

Josh Bryant, a classically‑trained guitarist who has played both rock and jazz, joins Dr.Data (drums and turntable), Nick Tharpe (trapkit), and Mikemetic (bass) to round out the sound.

Noting the groupʼs diversity, as well as the assortment of genres represented in Rich‑mondʼs music scene, Mikemetic explains, “We synthesize all of that into our own brand of mu‑sical expression, which we call, ̒ tronic soulschool hip hop,ʼ and feed it to the people in a varietyof different presentations.”

Currently completing their new EP and preparing for an album release party to be heldon October 16 at Gallery 5, The Photosynthesizers encourage Richmond to come out and showsome support. “Donʼt sleep on us and miss out on your chance to witness greatness firsthand,”Bryant urges.

David ShultzWith three albums already to his credit, Singer‑Songwriter David Shultz of David Shultz and theSkyline is set to release a new album showcasinghis latest project, Ophelia. The fruit of his collabo‑ration with fellow indie folk Singer‑SongwriterJonathan Vassar of Jonathan Vassar and theSpeckled Bird, the Ophelia album will debut at theCamel on November 21 and will be released on theTriple Stamp Records label.

In Ophelia, Shultz and Vassar join creativeforces and enlist the talents of Willis Thompson,drummer for Thao with the Get Down Stay Downand The Diamond Center and Grant Hunnicutt(bass, guitar, piano), currently with River City Band.

“The four of us spent a few weeks rehearsing,”says Shultz, “and we recorded the bulk of the albumover a long weekend at my wife's family's riverhouse in Ophelia, Virginia.”

A secondary project for each member, Ophe‑lia performs compositions by both Shultz (vocalsand guitar) and Vassar (vocals, guitar, harmonica,accordion). “We have a pretty laid back writingprocess,” Shultz explains. As compared to the Sky‑line, “Ophelia is a bit more fluid in its approach towriting music. It's melodic music, but a little moretextured.”

Of his dual projects, Shultz remarks, “Bothbands are an absolute joy to play in.”

Brian JonesDrummer Brian Jones brings his musical passion to whatever project and genre he tackles.“There's no difference really. No matter what you are playing you have to approach it withtotal conviction and honesty,” Jones remarks.

Jones, who grew up in Pittsburgh, took interest in jazz at a young age. “I started play‑ing drums in 4th grade. My first influences were bands like Led Zeppelin and Rush. By thetime I was in high school, I got into jazz and started studying with a drum set teacher at theUniversity of Pittsburgh.”

Drawn to Richmond in 1991 to study music at the University of Richmond, Jones hasremained a steady figure in the local music community since, founding his Slang Sanctu‑ary record label in 1999. According to Jones, current projects include “a ballads quartet,standards trio, and a percussion ensemble.”

Jones also organizes the annual Musicircus, a tribute to John Cage. The Septemberevent, Jones explains, was inspired by a concert held in the UK in honor of the iconic, ex‑perimental musicianʼs 90th birthday. Featuring a vast array of musical artists performingsimultaneously throughout the Visual Arts Studio, it is also a celebration of local musicians.“I immediately thought Richmond would be a great place for a similar event because of theincredible talent and generous community of creative musicians in the city.”

Jones performs at The Camel on the third Tuesday of each month and will appear atthe Mingus Awareness Project at Center Stage's Rhythm Hall on Oct 24th.

Will Thompson, Grant Hunnicutt, David Shultz and Jonathan Vassar

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When thousands of jazz

fans enjoyed acts like

the Robbie Cunning‑

ham Quintet, Delores Murray

and Richmondʼs Legends of Jazz

featuring Herman Hawkins,

and the James “Saxsmo” Gates

Quintet at the 2010 2nd

Street Festival on the Joe

Kennedy, Jr. stage (just one of

four stages of entertainment)

they had Venture Richmond

and the Richmond Jazz Society

(RJS) to thank for the two‑day

line‑up of top acts.

With a impressive record of

providing acts to festivals to the

organizationʼs credit, founding

member and Executive Director

B.J. Brown isnʼt resting on her

laurels as she is busy with the

organizationʼs education com‑

ponent as well as its ambitious

efforts to archive the regionʼs

current and past jazz artists.

Greater Richmond Grid

caught up with her to talk about

the festival and RJS progams.

COMBINING EVENT PRODUCTION WITH MUSICHISTORY AND EDUCATION, THE RICHMOND JAZZSOCIETY IS A TOUCHSTONE OF THE REGIONʼSUNIQUE ROLE IN AMERICAN MUSIC.

Deep In Their Soul


How long has RJS been in‑volved with the 2nd StreetFestival?RJS has worked with the festival

practically since the begin‑

ning̶with Nina Abady and

Downtown Presents (now Ven‑

ture Richmond). RJS programs

the music for the Joe Kennedy,

Jr. Jazz Stage on Saturday and

Sunday of the festival. The line‑

up features a variety of groups

who love to entertain and who

bring their own interpretation of

Jazz music.

Some of the groups are fes‑

tival favorites; some of them are

newcomers and some are leg‑

endary for their contributions to

jazz when Second Street was in

its “heyday.”

The styles range from

Behind The Scenes at 2nd St.“Veteran Jazz vocalist Delores Mur‑ray has been a god‑send in helpingme with the Jazz Preservation Ini‑tiative. For this yearʼs festival shegathered some remarkable musi‑cians to perform as a reunion band,former members of the famousBass Carrington Band. LouisWilliam ʻBassʼ Carringtonʼs careerlasted for over 60 years. He playedwith the great pianist Bud Powelland with the bands of Duke Elling‑ton, Lionel Hampton and CountBasie. In Richmond, he served asmentor and teacher to countlessmusicians. Ms. Murray was chosento succeed one of Carringtonʼs fa‑vorite vocalists Herman Hawkins.Hawkins returned to Richmond toperform at the festival with theLegends. Hawkins is revered as ajazz and bebop singer and, at 80years old, continues to perform inclubs in DC, Atlantic City andthroughout the region.“

RJS Board of Directors – circa 1982Standing: Randy Dillard, Khari Branch, Rick Stanley, J. Plunky Branch, Will LoweSeated: Robert Payne, James Bracey, B. J. Brown, Pierre Ames

RVA VIBE: JAZZ

PLAY

RV

A V

IBE

: Rich

mo

nd

Jazz Socie

ty


ALL

PHO

TOS

OF

RICH

MO

ND

JAZZ

SOCI

ETY

COU

RTES

YO

FTH

EO

RGAN

IZAT

ION

.

straight ahead and bebop to

R&B and Smooth Jazz; to Swing;

Caribbean and Gospel Jazz.

This yearʼs line‑up was heavy

on vocalists, but thereʼs some‑

thing for everyone.

How do you determine who will play? Are programsdeveloped thematically?Some groups get a spot because

their fan bases are huge! Some

of these fans come to the stage

early in the morning to get a

good seat to see their favorites.

I especially like to introduce au‑

diences to fresh; emerging Vir‑

ginia artists, and to present

women who perform jazz.

And there is always a spot

for our veteran Jazz musicians,

some of whom are in their 70ʼs

or above, but can still “out‑

swing” anybody in their path.

Most years the stages are

not thematically planned; ex‑

cept in 2004 when the Jazz

Stage was officially renamed in

honor of Richmondʼs educa‑

tor/violin virtuoso Joe Kennedy,

Jr. That year RJS programmed

both the main stage and the

Jazz Stage featuring colleagues

and students of Joe Kennedy.

There was even a parade of

Kennedyʼs former student musi‑

cians, majorettes and drum ma‑

jors from his Maggie Walker

High School marching bands.

Can you talk a little bit aboutthe “Bright Moments” jazzband and the “Make MusicWith Me Band” outreach programs? RJSʼ outreach programs are de‑

signed to address two of the

most underserved audiences in

our community̶our young

children and our senior citizens.

Both programs are interactive

in that the audiences partici‑

pate with the musicians.

The “Make Music With Me

Band” introduces the youngest

audiences to jazz by allowing

them to take a simple nursery

rhyme or childrenʼs song and

make it into a jazz tune. They

learn how to “improvise” and

create their own music. The

“Bright Moments Jazz Band”

brings special joy to our seniors

by allowing them to re‑live the

music of their youth. The bands

visit senior recreation and living

facilities, as well as rehab cen‑

ters and even hospitals. In some

places, many of the residents

have memory loss or some form

of dementia, but they always

come alive when we visit them.

The facility directors describe

our performances as therapeu‑

tic for their clients.

What is the RJS Jazz Preservation Initiative?When Joe Kennedy, Jr. passed

away in 2004, it was really like

a kick in the stomach to us.

Kennedy had been our mentor

and advisor from the very be‑

ginning of RJS. He was instru‑

mental in teaching us about the

jazz musicians who were awe‑

some when Richmond was

known as “the Harlem of the

South” like Bass Carrington,

Milton Bell, “Jay Bird” and many

others. In 2006 RJS honored

nearly 50 musicians, singers,

dancers, jazz club owners, pro‑

moters and others who had

made their marks and deserved

to get their roses while they

could still smell them.

Many of those “pioneers”

encouraged us to record their

stories so that our childrenʼs

childrenʼs children would have

a permanent record of what

they had done.

We lost a few of those mu‑

sicians before the project

started but to date we have suc‑

cessfully videotaped over 40 of

them; documenting their sto‑

ries, and preserving their pho‑

tos and mementos. We have

amassed so much information!

We will use it to produce a re‑

source book and timeline of

Richmondʼs jazz history; and,

accompany it with a DVD fea‑

turing their interviews and per‑

formances. Itʼs a huge project,

but it is a labor of love.

Whatʼs coming up for RJS?RJSʼ Guest Educators Series is a

monthly performance series

whose purpose is to give Rich‑

mond audiences an up‑close

and personal look at the art

form of jazz. To experience it in

an intimate setting and to meet

some of the musicians who are

not only performing this

uniquely American music but

are carrying it to even greater

heights. We are especially

proud of our Virginia artists

who are receiving critical ac‑

claim and we are equally ex‑

cited when we can present

nationally and internationally

recognized groups.

Some winter events will

feature fabulous women Jazz

artists making names for them‑

selves on the Jazz Scene. Next

up, on October 21st we will

present trumpeter Gabriel Ale‑

gria and the Afro‑Peruvian Jazz

Sextet. This group is currently

on a US tour promoting its

unique blend of jazz with

African rhythms and the tradi‑

tional music of Peru! Who

knows, world peace through

jazz may not be a bad idea!

Click on www.vajazz.org

www.venturerichmond.com

On October 21st RJS will presenttrumpeter Gabriel Alegria and theAfro‑Peruvian Jazz Sextet.

Joe Kennedy Jr. (violinist)with RJS advisor pianist andeducator Dr. Billy Taylor.

Joe Kennedy Jr.


I just got back from New YorkʼsFashion Week (more on this in asec), and found myself in search ofa casual yet sexyoutfit for the fall.Even though Fash‑ion Week is aboutthe next season, itgets the juices flow‑ing and the thirst forwhatʼs hot now.

If you havenʼtstepped into Fabʼrik(3018 West CaryStreet), take a fewminutes to see the“ready to wear.” It isa place to find thatcute little top to gowith a pair ofdenim leggings̶aperfect mix for the fall. Add somenude booties and a bracelet tocomplete the ensemble.

I am wearing a Glam splitsleeve top ($68). What I love aboutthis top is the back! It is totally cutout, yet because the garment isloose fitting, it is still very appro‑priate for brunch, dinner orevening cocktails anywhere.

The William Rast Leggings

($155) compliment the top.When wearing a loose top, con‑sider leggings or skinny jeans to

add a flatteringcontrast. Try onthe Michael An‑tonio basketweave booties($62). They gowith anything!The turquoisedrop earrings($18) and tribalbracelet ($22)add a nicetouch. Includethe Golden‑stella tote withstud trim ($60)and youʼre done!

Fashion Week, held September 9‑16, 2010 premiering at LincolnCenter and throughout theLower East Side and Chelsea, hascome and gone, but the influ‑ences are there for next spring.Garments were aflow, literally,with cut outs and layers found onthe runway. Wispy and solid gavea sense of freedom with confi‑dence. Neutrals. Booties. Lots of

booties with everything. I saw Nicole Miller in a new

way. The past few seasons haveincluded lots of ruching and fittedgarments. The spring presentsher, the woman, in longer skirtswith layers of light fabrics and cutout sweaters, mainly revealing theback. Interesting how she cap‑tures this formal and elegant, yetsexy feeling in the front, then asurprise awaits you when thewoman turns.

Soho was swarming with

“after‑party after party.” Chanelhad a “black carpet” wrapping theentire store on the sidewalks ofthe lower east side. Later in theevening, I passed back by theChanel store to find men in suitscarefully scrubbing the shiny mar‑ble floors from the scuffs obtainedthroughout Fashionʼs Night Outheld on September 9th.

On Saturday night, I foundmyself at the Kardashian swimsuitparty. The after‑party was on Mer‑cer Street and you had to be onthe guest list or you were notwalking the red carpet. Shortlyafter arrival, models were tower‑ing the crowd from the stage giv‑ing us a preview of thecollection. The line flaunts lots ofstraps, jewels and string tiesadorned with crystals and lace. Ilove the ruching on the bikinibottoms and the one piece suitswith straps crossing the front ofthe body were very sexy.

Dress well always.

Hats are back and I, as theowner of a half dozen orso, am happy to seethem. But Iʼve noticedthat the etiquette of hatwearing doesnʼt seem tohave been revivedamong the stylish.

Hats today are wornas part of “a look” and assuch are too often keptpermanently in place. Re‑moving your hat or cap isa sign of respect. The tra‑dition started with ar‑moured knights whoraised their visors to iden‑tify friend or foe. Serverswere required to dofftheir hats to show defer‑ence to patrons duringthe Middle Ages.

These days, weʼvegot it easier. Herewith, atip of the hat to Mr. Sinatraand all those men whocame before who knewthese few, simple rules.

Upon introduc‑tion to a woman, aman takes his hatoff. If it is exception‑ally cold or raining,he may tip his hat toher instead.

Upon enteringa building, removeyour hat. Exceptionswere made for storesand bars in the past.Now that women arepermitted in bars, it is

polite to remove your hat in one,certainly if you are seated with alady. In restaurants or at the table,you do not wear a hat. If there is nohat rack or hat check person, storeit under your seat, crown down ornext to you on an empty seat. It

does not go onto thetable. In stores (orother public spaces)you may keep yourcaps and hats on.

Please hold yourhat against your chestin a crowded elevator.

Remove your hatand hold it over yourheart during the Na‑tional Anthem.

It is polite to re‑move your hat when a

funeral procession passes.When in doubt, take off

your cover.

GLIT

Z&

GLAM

BY KYRA OLIVER

Notes from an EasyandElegantLife.com

Chris Coxʼs blog is devoted to ʻthesearch for everyday elegance and astudy of the art of living well.ʼ

Kyra OliverChris Cox

The Way You Wear Your Hat BY CHRIS COX

What’s Kyra Wearing?

Kyra Oliver is an entrepreneur, phi‑lanthropist and a runner who is pas‑sionate about her environment,from what she is wearing, to whereshe is wearing it.

Removing yourhat or cap is a

sign of respect.The traditionstarted with

armouredknights whoraised their

visors to identifyfriend or foe.

A select few of the authorʼsfall and winter hats and caps.

What I loveabout thistop is theback! It is

totally cut out...

Nicole Miller:Lots of booties

with everything.

Exh

ibitio

ns &

Perfo

rman

ces


Henley Street Theatre and Richmond Shakespeare present:The Winterʼs Tale Leontes has everything:Power, wealth and a loving family. How‑ever, when he is struck with a sudden, all‑consuming jealousy, he lashes out, losingeverything. Sixteen years later, he re‑ceives something that most people neverget: a second chance. The Winterʼs Tale isa dazzling and compassionate sagaknown for its masterful blending of thetragic, comic and spiritual. Dec. 4 ‑31, 2010 Student Shows: Dec 9, 10, 13, 14, 16, 17 at 10 a.m. Gottwald Playhouse at Richmond CenterStage 600 E. Grace St. Box Office ‑ (804) 340‑0115www.HenleyStreetTheatre.orgwww.RichmondShakespeare.com

PLAYEstablishing Shot: paintings by Josh

George. The show runs through October30th at Ghostprint Gallery (220 W BroadStreet).

1708 Galleryʼs InLight Richmond 2010 will kick‑offwith a Community Lantern

Parade at 7:30 p.m. on Friday,October 22nd in Richmondʼs

historic Shockoe Slip.

The Power of the Orisha: Helene Ruiz' curationof paintings by various artists explores visual in‑terpretations of the Orisha that represent Yorubaorigins of thought and spiritual practice in WestAfrica as well as its influences and practices in theAmericas. Opens in October and runs through De‑cember 31st. Elegba Folklore Societyʼs CulturalCenter, (101 East Broad Street).

The Beach Pictures by Eleanor Ruftyand Tell Me Again, The World Will BeBeautiful by Alyssa Salomon at thePage Bond Gallery (1625 West MainStreet). Runs through October 30th.Rufty uses pastels paralleling the elu‑sive quality of visual recall. Salomonuses nineteenth century photographicprocesses as a call to inactive action.

Justice as a Human Creation by AlvaroIbanez at Art Works (320 Hull Street). Runsfrom October 22nd through November 20th.Inspired by his teacher, David Manzur, andartists DaVinci, Dali, and Van Gogh, Ibanezespresses his love of life and beauty througha broad range of realism to surrealism, a fewinches to many feet, and with themes run‑ning the gamut of human experience andgoing beyond into the realm of myth.

Dance on Camera Film Screeningat Grace Street Theater on October 26.This evening of dance films created by in‑ternational artists represents an intrigu‑ing range of approaches to the hybrid artform of videodance.


EXH

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Tyler Thomas “Pen and Paper” at Gallery5 (200 West Mar‑shall Street). On display until October 23rd. Over the pastcouple of years, Tyler Thomas has been drawing Beta MonBirds and a plethora of other creatures and humans thatwould be at home in a psychedelic world. Thomasʼs workhas been featured on many local bandʼs merchandise (Deadto Me, Brainworms, and Mouthbreather) and has collabo‑rated with friends and fellow artists Adam Juresko and JimCallahan. Pen and Paper showcases some of Thomasʼ morestripped down and raw images. His work has been com‑pared to Maurice Sendakʼs llustrations in Where the WildThings Are.

ʻSimply Barbraʼ October 22nd and23rd at the Richmond Triangle Play‑ers (1300 Altamont Avenue) StevenBrinberg is Simply Barbra̶A twotime MAC and Bistro Award winner,he has recorded two CDs Simply Bar‑bra Live in London and Simply Bar‑bra: The Duets Album, in which hesings with Karen Mason, Mimi Hines,Kaye Ballard and many others.

New Work by David Rohrer at Eric SchindlerGallery (2305 East Broad Street). Opening recep‑tion Friday, October 15th from 7 p.m. to 9 p.m.Show runs through November 13th.

Altria Masterworks Rachmaninoff & Stravinskyat the Carpenter Theatre October 16th and 17th,the Richmond Symphony features pianist Dmitri

Shteinberg, the 2010‑11Florence Robertson GivensGuest Artist. Performanceswill include Dukasʼ La Péri:Fanfare, Debussy/RavelʼsSarabande and DanseStravinskyʼs Firebird Suite(1919) and RachmaninoffʼsPiano Concerto No. 3.

Reflections On The Shenandoah:Christopher Stephens at Red DoorGallery (1607 West Main Street).Show runs through October 23rd.Richmond Ballet at the Studio Theatre (600 East

Grace Street) revives one of the most beloved worksby John Butler, After Eden. Providing a glimpse intothe Garden of Eden after the fall of Adam and Eve,After Eden is an evocatively sensual study of theoriginal man and woman, and features Butlerʼs in‑novative choreographic combination of ballet andmodern technique. At its core a story about loveand forgiveness, Butlerʼs message is as relevanttoday as it was when the ballet was first performedin 1966. Runs November 4th through the 14th.

Giuseppe Verdiʼs Rigolettowill be performed October22nd and 24th by the Vir‑ginia Opera at the Carpen‑ter Theatre at RichmondCenterStage (600 EastGrace Street). Torn be‑tween a servantʼs bitter‑ness and a fatherʼs love,Rigoletto discovers thatrevenge is a double‑edgedsword. Virginia Opera fea‑tures a free pre‑opera dis‑cussion 45 minutes beforeeach opera performanceby Dr. Glenn Winters, Vir‑ginia Opera's CommunityMusical Outreach Director.

Russell/Projects(0 east 4th street, #44)

presentsClaire Stiglaini:

ʻLet Them Eat Cakeʼand

Aaron McIntosh: ʻMan Shyʼ

from October 22nd

through December 8th.

PLAY

Exh

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ns &

Perfo

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ces


Vadis Turner “Last Dowery” at Quirk (311 West Broad Street). On dis‑play until October 23rd. Enamored with the legacy of handmade objectsthat mature from heirlooms to artifacts, Turner explores history, self, fam‑ily, and culture in the fabrics and handmade objects she collects, ma‑nipulates, and creates. She explains, “I am developing a collection ofcontemporary hierlooms that will ultimately compose my Dowry. Theworks re‑imagine conventional handicrafts, rites of passage and genderroles to represent the values of my generation. Traditionally exchangedfor societal advancement through marriage, my Dowry will be sold ortraded for professional gain.”

The Gallery at UNOS (700 North 4th Street ) opened to the public onSeptember 3rd. The premiere exhibit will be on display through Oc‑tober 30th. This first show features the work of Dr. W. Baxter Perkin‑son, Jr. who has painted 15,000 pieces of art during the last 30 years.In lieu of selling his work, Perkinson donates the majority of his workto local charities.

artspace Membersʼ Exhibitswill feature Nicholas Can‑delaʼs “Beating Back Baby‑lon,” Bruce Mortonʼs “LostHomes,”and Sharmon David‑sonʼs “Transformations” Octo‑ber 22nd through November21st. The gallery is located atZero East 4th Street.

Imaging South Africa: Collection Projects by Siemon Allen at the An‑derson Gallery (907½ West Franklin Street). On display until October31st. The show examines the changing image of South Africa througha series of expansive installations. Filling all three floors of the Ander‑son Gallery, this exhibition offers the most comprehensive presenta‑tion to date of Richmond‑based, South African artist Siemon Allenʼscollection projects.

New Works by Dave Brunerat glave kocen Gallery (1620West Main Street). Show runsthrough November 2nd.

Limited Reading Required at Main Art Gallery (1537West Main Street). On display until October 30th.“Limited Reading Required” is a collection of pop‑up,movable and sculptural books that is derived morefrom the visual component of the paper engineeringrather than the printed word. A dozen artists (severalfrom the Richmond area) who have either worked inthe sculptural book arts or who create work whichwould naturally lend itself to the form have been in‑vited to participate. Works are either original or in alimited edition rather than professionally published.The goal is to showcase the variety of subject matterand sculptural styles but just as importantly the in‑tense technical craftsmanship and necessary atten‑tion to detail.


Richmond Famous

First up is Elizabeth Thal‑

himer Smartt who spent

twelve years and count‑

less research hours writing

Finding Thalhimer: One

womanʼs obsessive quest for

the true story of her family and

their beloved department store.

The book alternates between

chapters detailing the 150‑year

genealogy of the German‑Jewish

immigrants and Smarttʼs own

story of “growing up Thalhimer.”

Smartt keeps the writing

simple, but sharp,

with some humor

sprinkled in for

good measure.

While the mem‑

oir section of the

story covers a lot

of territory (col‑

lege life, finding

jobs, living in

New York, leav‑

ing after 9/11,

marriage pro‑

posal), the book

hits its stride when focusing on

the turbulent retail journey

starting with the first dry good

shop that opened in Shockoe

Bottom in 1842 and ending

with the demolition of the iconic

store in downtown Richmond.

In one particularly timely

section, the author revisits 1974

and the “worst recession in

decades” and notes that despite

it all Thalhimers still managed

to increase sales by 9% (al‑

though itʼs not clear how). And

it was not at all surprising that

they celebrated reaching the

$100 million sales mark by giv‑

ing all employees an extra week

of paid vacation̶further estab‑

lishing their reputation as a

company that fostered excep‑

tional employee relations.

The book is sprinkled with

interesting black‑and‑white pho‑

tos that show pivotal moments

in Thalhimer (and Richmond)

history such as a horse‑drawn

carriage with “Thal‑

himer Bros.” painted

on the side. Toward

the end, the story of

the final days of the

store are intertwined

with the authorʼs

grandfather passing

away, and ultimately

the birth of her own

child. Finding Thal‑

himer provides a

mostly positive, but

ultimately satisfying

chronicle of one of the cityʼs

most admired and cherished re‑

tail institutions.

Historic Photos of Rich‑

mond in the 50s, 60s, and 70s

by Emily J. and John S. Salmon

gets the award for most obvious

title, but at least readers know

exactly what they are getting.

Or do they?

These are not the more fa‑

miliar photos that one might ex‑

REVIEW BY DAVID SMITHERMAN

You may have written a classic.

But if no one has heard of it,

does it exist?Books won’t sell without promotion.

We can help you get reviews and media, both print and online.

We also provide other book services like distribution and fulfillment.

Contact us and see if we can help you.

Palari Book [email protected] or (804) 355-1035

ITʼS NO SECRET THAT RICHMONDERS, AND THOU‑SANDS OF YEARLY VISITORS, HAVE A PARTICULARFONDNESS FOR HERITAGE AND TRADITION. HISTORYLOVERS COME TO TOUR BATTLEGROUNDS AND OTHERATTRACTIONS OF BYGONE ERAS̶AND RICHMONDERSARE KNOWN FOR THEIR DEDICATION TO HOMETOWNMERCHANTS. TO CELEBRATE THAT LOVE OF THEPAST, GREATER RICHMOND GRID TAKES A LOOK ATTWO NEW TOMES THAT TAKE ON THE DIFFICULT TASKOF CAPTURING THE EXCITEMENT OF HISTORY BE‑TWEEN THE PAGES OF A BOOK.

pect to see of Richmond. These

black‑and‑white pictures show a

fresh side of history in the Cap‑

ital City. The writers make the

important point that photos are

less subjective than words when

portraying history. The images

speak for themselves.

These oversized photo‑

graphs are accompanied by a

sentence or two of text to help

place the date and location of

the image. Subject matter

ranges from a 1950s art festival

in Byrd Park to Regency Square

Mall in 1975. Thereʼs even a

photo of a “health spa” in the

early 1970s that would equate

to a fitness club today. With this

well‑thought‑out coffee table

book, readers might come to ap‑

preciate a quieter side of Rich‑

mond history and re‑live some

memories at the same time.

These black-and-white pictures show a fresh side of history

in the Capital City.

PAGE

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It’s Time...

...to discover the City of Richmond!With the newly formed Department of Economic & Community Development ready to work with you, now is the time to discover the benefits of starting your business in the city of Richmond. Contact us to learn how we can assist you

—so you can get back to spending your valuable time running your business.

DEPARTMENT OF ECONOMIC & COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT (DECD)

WWW.RICHMONDGOV.COM/ECONOMICCOMMUNITYDEVELOPMENT

Main Street StationSuite 400

1500 East Main StreetRichmond, VA 23219

Phone: (804) 646-5633Fax: (804) 646-6793

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