Educational Resources Support Our Local Economic Stability, Growth and Success

Culpeper Star Exponent

Business Monday

September 24, 2012

Jim Charapich

“I continue to be amazed at Culpeper” were the comments from the Lead Culpeper 2012 group last week. We have covered a lot of ground in introducing the leadership class to various aspects of Culpeper.

Last week our session was on Education. We asked Dr. Johnson to open the session with a discussion about public education. She immediately earned the admiration and respect of the emerging leaders. There is a lot more to educating Culpeper students than SOLs. There is a balance between experiential 21^st Century learning, and the ability to perform on standardized tests. We are fortunate to have the leadership in our schools to develop the best strategies for our students.

Former Chairman of the Culpeper County School Board, George Dasher followed Dr. Johnson with a discussion about his experience as a School Board member. He spoke from the perspective of a career business professional. His project management and engineering background were evident in his experiential assessment. Our leadership class felt a transformation from preconceived notions to a revelation of the extraordinary talent of our educators in today’s complex system. Ask Mr. Dasher about Blueberry Ice Cream some time. The story will bring a certain “ah ha” moment worthy of repeating often.

The afternoon was built to address higher education offered by Germanna. With presentations by Germanna’s President Dr. Sam, VP Jeanne Wesley, and Kim Rodenberg, the class was again left with the sense that we are very fortunate in Culpeper. To have a community College in Culpeper is a big part of creating new jobs. Companies looking for a place to locate consider a Community College as essential for continuous training of their workforce.  The real take away from the Community College discussion, is that it enables a culture of life-long learning in the community. A progressively educated workforce is one of the most important components to economic prosperity.

Finally, to pull it all together, the group heard from two of our most inspiring champions of education: Chuck Gyory, President, and Mike Dale, Vice President, of Career Partners, Inc. Career Partners works in a unique way to bring educational focus on wealth creation to Culpeper High School students. The program is called E Squared, or Entrepreneurial Energy. As they put it so well, Entrepreneurial Energy is what Drives America. Regardless of the area of interest that a student may excel in… music, science, technology, engineering, math, etc…learning how to take an idea or a talent and turn it into wealth supports life-long success. In fact, it is through wealth creation that individuals are able to support the community they serve in exponential ways. Needless to say – our leadership class was very impressed with the E Squared Program, volunteering to help as the program rolls out in January of 2013.

At the end of the day I polled the class, “So, What are our opportunities in Education?” Hands went up with a variety of thoughts. Success…. An engaged group of thought leaders are emerging, built on the foundation laid by such great leaders as Dr. Johnson, George Dasher, Dr. Sam, Jean Wesley, Kim Rodenberg, Chuck Gyory, Mike Dale, and so many others in our community.

The Northern Virginia Economic Forecast

Culpeper Star Exponent

Business Monday

September 17, 2012

Jim Charapich

We are adopted by different areas of Virginia as part of their economic picture. Depending on the agency, data source, or perspective of the reporter, Culpeper may be a part of Charlottesville, Fredericksburg, or Northern Virginia at any givien time. I was able to attend the Northern Virginia Employer Advisory Committee luncheon last week to hear “The Northern Virginia Economic Forecast.”

The panelists were in my opinion “Rock Stars” of economic development. They included Dr. Gerry Gordon, President & CEO, Fairfax Economic Development Agency, Stephanie Landrum, SVP & CFO, Alexandria Economic Development Partnership, Jennifer Ives, Deputy Director, Arlington Economic Development Office, Tom Flynn, Director, Loudoun Department of Economic Development, and Jeffrey Kaczmarek, Executive Director, Prince William Department of Economic Development. The panel was moderated by the highly regarded Dr. Fuller, Director, Center for Regional Analysis at George Mason University.

My objective in accepting the invitation to attend was to understand the outlook from the experts in Northern Virginia regarding how they see Sequestration and the affect that it may have on the Northern Virginia economy. Sequestration relates to a mandated reduction of Federal dollars spent. In a previous presentation to the Virginia Chamber of Commerce, I heard Dr. Fuller present information showing that Virginia is the largest beneficiary of Federal spending among the States. Thus, any substantial cuts would result in an uncomfortable impact to the Virginia economy, especially the economies of NOVA and Tidewater.

The panelists were not asked directly to address this question and yet as the “elephant in the room” several of them made reference to the issue in their presentation. Though each of the jurisdictions has slightly different attributes, there is no doubt that the federal government is a contributor to the economies. How large a contributor, emerged as the question being addressed in the presentations. The focus of the discussion pivoted from my expectation, that Sequestration will create the proverbial “economic cliff” in January 2013, to the diversity and strength of the private sector in Northern Virginia.

As a satellite of NOVA in this regard, we often feel the ripple effect of the Northern Virginia economy in Culpeper… eventually. I was encouraged by the strength of the outlook by each of the jurisdictions.Actually, I was very impressed with the focus on our competitive position in the global economy.

Dr. Fuller asked a final question, “Who is your competition?” – The answers tell the story…. London, New York, Silicon Valley, Tel Aviv, Taipei, and other global cities were on their lists. Given that the Town of Culpeper was originally called Fairfax and according to Dr. Gordon, Silicon Valley is now saying that they are “The Next Fairfax”, Culpeper appears to be on the global radar in very positive ways.  

Leadership Training For Everyone

Culpeper Star Exponent       

Business Monday

September 10, 2012

Jim Charapich

Skip and Lou Price have lived in Culpeper now for over 20 years. They are well known for running one of the finest Frame Shops in Virginia – Village Frameworks & Gallery. They are active in the community contributing to so many organizations with their time and resources. They have served the Chamber of Commerce for over a decade in helping at CulpeperFest as well as Skip serving in leadership at the Chamber as the Small Business Committee Chairman. 

One of the benefits of serving at the Chamber is being able to refine leadership skills through working with other local leaders to bring positive change to the community. Skip is one of those that I have learned a great deal from. His leadership, family focus, and track record are a real asset to the Culpeper community.

 It was no surprise when Skip called to tell me about a program that he was facilitating to help cultivate leadership in the community. The program is aimed at providing fellow businesses with tools to enable healthy and successful habits like time management, financial planning, customer service, and goal setting. These are some of the basics in business and yet they are often set aside in the urgency of the moment.

 Together with the resources of the Culpeper Baptist Church, Skip has been able to bring “Leadership Training for Everyone” to the Culpeper Baptist Church as part of the Dave Ramsey – EntreLeadership Simulcast on Friday September 21st from 9:45 AM – 5 PM at Culpeper Baptist Church.  The program description reads “If you are ready to take your leadership to the next level, join Dave Ramsey for this live broadcast of his one-day event based on his number-one New York Times best-seller EntreLeadership.”

In speaking with Lou Price regarding her experience in listening to Dave Ramsey she said “Who would have thought that talking about financial health could be fun?” Apparently Dave Ramsey’s organization, based in Nashville and has been recognized as one of “The Best Places to Work” for several years. There must be a reason for his success. Having these principles delivered here in Culpeper live is a real treat. 

Consider taking a day to tune up your business with the fun and dynamic presentation on September 21st. Go to www.CulpeperBaptist.org to register or call540-825-8192 for more information. This is a rare opportunity for only $39. 

Thanks Skip, Lou, and the Leadership of the Culpeper Baptist Church for advancing leadership principles for our business community.http://www2.starexponent.com/lifestyles/2012/sep/10/leadership-training-everyone-sept-21-ar-2192327/