Culpeper Star Exponent - The Charlottesville Connection

You may have noticed that the Culpeper Star-Exponent featured video from this week’s events at Montpelier from NBC 29 in Charlottesville. The two media outlets are partnering to help each other get consumers a full package of news no matter where it happens. The partnership between Channel 29 and Media General has been ongoing for years, with the television station having a bureau at the company’s The New Virginian in Waynesboro. Last year, Star-Exponent Publisher Mitch Sneed and Editor Rob Humphreys met with station officials and agreed to work together when possible as well. “We are really working to expand the way we can deliver news,” Sneed said. “We can now do video via our Web site and let’s face it, the television folks are much better at it than we are right now. There have been times and there will be times when big news breaks here and Channel 29 can’t get here in time to get images from the scene. We have helped them with images and video from a few events and they have been a big help to us. It’s good for both of us, but the news consumers are the big winners here.”
Blog Entry Compliments of Mitch Snead - Culpeper Star Exponent

Montpelier Restoration Celebration

James Madison's Montpelier re-opened today. 2500 Local School students participated in the ceremony by creating a "Seen by Helicopter" size American Flag. Culpeper was represented by 7 Culpeper County Elementary Schools. Most notably Chief Justice John Roberts addressed the crowd describing the contributions that James Madison made to the establishment of our country.

Eric Cantor - Our 7th District Congressman in the US House of Representatives was noted as being in the same Congressional Seat as was James Madison when he served in Congress. Virginia's Governor Tim Kaine spoke of the importance of the Montpelier Restoration and it's contribution to Virginia.

Culpeper Open House - Mulberry Court Condominiums

Yates Properties - a Member of the Culpeper Chamber of Commerce hosted an Open House yesterday to introduce their newest project Mulberry Court Condominiums. This Upscale Condominium Project is well underway. With 10 unique floor layouts to choose from and a sophisticated range of amenities, the newest addition to our community is attracting a great deal of attention. The proximity of the Mulberry Court Condominiums to the Country Club of Culpeper adds to the value of this great location. Thank you to Yates Properties for brining such Quality of Life options to our community . The Open House was a great event and very informative.

Culpeper Businesses - Emergency Preparedness Training

September is designated as Emergency Preparedness Month. The Culpeper Chamber of Commerce - working with the RRMRC, Town Police, County Sheriff, County Director of Emergency Services, and the American Red Cross joined together yesterday to provide an educational seminar for the Small Businesses of Culpeper. The topics covered ranged from Natural Disaster Preparedness to Local Crisis Preparedness.

Practical preparation takes time and effort and is time well invested. In addition, practical work place practices were discussed with regard to reducing the spread of germs. One of the best ways to stay current with the preparedness practices is to become involved with the local organizations such as the RRMRC - Rappahannock Rapidan Medical Reserve Corps and the American Red Cross to name a few.

The Director of Emergency Services for Culpeper County offered to review Emergency Preparedness Plans for Culpeper Businesses. "Easy Button" Anyone.....


This was the first of a monthly Lunch n Learn format organized by the Culpeper Chamber of Commerce Small Business Committee. In October we plan the have a panel discussion about Health Care Issues for Small Business. In November, We plan to have a presentation about Web Basics for Small Business.

Go to the Calendar of Events at the Chamber website for times, dates, and details.

Culpeper Library of Congress

The Library of Congress - Packard Campus for Audio - Visual Conservation opened to the public this week. This is one of the few places in the world where being a Negative Expert is a good thing. Touring the facility is like being able to walk through time. It is fascinating to see how the films that frame the legacy of our recent American History are preserved. The Theater is said to have the best projectors / projected images available. Movies are shown to the public in a retro state of the art theatre on a regular basis - follow the link for more information http://www.loc.gov/avconservation/mtponytheater/index.html . We are proud to have this addition to our community. Thank you to the Packard Foundation, The Library of Congress, and to all who worked to bring this treasure to Culpeper, Virginia.

Culpeper Chamber Lead Share

The Culpeper Chamber of Commerce Leadshare Groups joined together to hear a guest speaker from Brian Tracy Programs World Wide. Edward Prichard III, a National Sales Trainer, addressed the group with 30 minutes packed with tips to tune up your $ales. Many Thanks to Mr. Prichard for enriching the Culpeper Chamber of Commerce Businesses in such a positive way. Mr. Prichard's presentation is the tip of the proverbial iceburg. There are several larger seminars in the area in the next few weeks and months in Springfield, VA and Greenbelt, MD. Check the Brian Tracy Website for details.

One of the great points made this morning was that it may only take a slight difference between you and the competition for you to be awarded the sale - much like Michael Phelps winning the Olympic Gold Metal in Swimming by 1/100 of a second. Applying good sales training may give you the edge that wins the sale... and often....

Thanks to Theresa Dalman of the Friday Morning Leadshare Group for bringing such a great speaker to the Leadshare Groups this morning.

Culpeper Chamber YPG Lunch

Thyme Market in Old Town Culpeper - What a great place for the Young Professional Group of the Culpeper Chamber of Commerce to host their monthly luncheon!!! The Terrace at the Thyme Market resembles a classic European market. The 24 who attended enjoyed a delightful selection of lunch choices while listening to a presentation by Russell James - Director of the Daniel Technology Center. We had lunch served, presentation, and network introductions within 45 minutes. A great network opportunity to fit into a 1 hour lunch.

The YPG is accepting nominations for the Culpeper Young Professional of the Year

Culpeper ReEntry Programs

I had the privilege of attending a Culpeper ReEntry Committee meeting at lunch today. Our community continues to amaze me. The devoted professionals who attended today’s meeting are a group of men and women who have a sincere interest in helping those who have been incarcerated to re-enter society productively. Their dedication and personal sacrifice to help others is remarkable and commendable.

My invitation was to add the view from a business perspective regarding how the programs and incentives might be seen by the business community. Far from an expert in this area, I can only say that awareness is the best tool. If businesses have a need for trained employees and through awareness of the programs they find those employees – the community wins….

If you are interested in the programs and incentives available to businesses in the Culpeper area for those reentering from prison - there are many excellent resources here in Culpeper.