Living Towns Workshop

Published in the Star Exponent Monday, September 20, 2010:


The Living Towns workshop held in Culpeper last Thursday was a world class program. The speakers were very well credentialed in their respective fields. The topics covered were very timely and will have a lasting impact on our community.

The topics covered by the first panel began with Recreation, Tourism, and Area Identity. Greg Kelly, Town Manager delivered and impressive presentation about the development of the arts in Abington Virginia. One of their marketing identities is that they are within driving distance of 7 major cities, which supports a significant part of their tourism during the year.

The next 2 presentations were about trail development, recreation, and economic development. This was especially interesting considering the large number of cycling athletes and enthusiasts in Culpeper. One recommendation was to connect trails to the town in order to facilitate easy access for the community. Trails can be a great way of encouraging healthier lifestyles as well as an economic boost to the communities that have embraced the concept.

The second panel discussion was focused on the Arts with a discussion about the importance and impact of the arts on a community. Theresa Cameron, Director of Membership, Americans for the Arts provided a rich detail of statics, showing the positive impact of the arts on economic development. The following two speakers also commented that the Americans for the Arts is one of the best resources regarding the creative community.

Mary Beth Aungier, The General Manager for the Paramount Theater in Charlottesville was moving in her descriptions. She has a passion for educating the youth about theatre. The Paramount is more than a theatre run by a non-profit organization. It is a part of history in Charlottesville. As we say in Culpeper, “it is still making history” by inspiring the youth of today toward being our leaders of tomorrow. All of this, in addition to bringing world class artists to the theatre, interesting to youth of all ages…

Susan Jennings introduced us to what is going on in Roanoke City. The project is called Creative Roanoke and has a well defined process to develop and sustain the arts. Susan made it sound so inviting to travel to Roanoke to experience the arts. We can learn much from their success.

The speakers in the afternoon panel 3 continued the discussion about arts with presentation by Maggie Guggenheimer, the Executive Director of the Piedmont Council for the Arts. She described their support of the arts in Charlottesville and offered suggestions about bringing together the art community in collaborative ways.

One of the final speakers was Carrie Beach, an urban planner with the City of Alexandria. She discussed the recent Wayfinding and Signage plan being adopted by the City of Alexandria. The challenge was to find a balance with form and function amidst the variety of unique places. Ultimately, communicating to motorists and pedestrians paths to their destination in a consistent “Alexandria” signage to provide a more attractive community.

Thank you to RRRC Director, Jeff Walker and his staff for making this important workshop possible and especially for bringing this 100 person workshop to Culpeper.

Best Regards

Jim Charapich
President / CEO

Career Expo for Culpeper County Students

Published in the Star Exponent Monday, September 13, 2010:

The Career Expo for the Culpeper County School system will be held on September 23rd. This year will be the largest Career Expo ever for the Culpeper County School students. The Culpeper Chamber of Commerce, Career Partners, Inc, and the Career & Technical Department of the School System are working together to bring 40 businesses to talk with 2400 students this year.

Each business will talk with approximately 300 students in small groups of 10-20 during the full day of career discussions. The day is so busy for the businesses that we are providing a box lunch and no lunch break. There will be a 10 minute break between groups which will allow for a quick bite to eat.

We moved the Career Expo from spring to September. This allows the students to connect the career opportunities with academic requirements. Having this early in the year provides the students with additional motivation to excel academically.

Another new aspect of the Career Expo this year is that we have included the 8th grade students from both middle schools. The career counselors from the middle schools are interested in helping the students to understand the career options as they approach high school. F. T. Binns held a career expo last spring for the rising 8th graders and the response was excellent. We wanted to include the 8th grade students as a part of the main Career Expo early in the school year this year.

This is also a significant commitment from the business community. Their donation of time and resources to help the students is exceptional. The business professionals are well received by the students. The students know some of the business leaders that come to the Career Expo – requesting them year after year. Yes, this is a sacrifice for each business. However, I have seen how much the business professionals receive out of the program as well. There are no regrets when the day is over, everyone wins… evidence of our outstanding community.

The areas of business that we cover are manufacturing, retail, technology, agribusiness, automotive, accounting, aviation, banking, child care, engineering, entrepreneurship, government, health care, human resources, law enforcement, marketing, media, non-profit, real estate, veterinary, and a few others. If you are a business and interested in helping – please contact JCharapich@CulpeperVAChamber.com. We have most areas of business filled. However, there are a few opportunities still open to participate.

Best Regards

Jim Charapich

President / CEO
Culpeper Chamber of Commerce

CSE

Published in the Star Exponent Monday, July 26, 2010:

CSI - Culpeper took place on Tuesday, July 20th 2010. A little known group of Crime Scene Investigators were in action in Culpeper on this day. The stage was set and the crime scene investigators of Culpeper were assisted by 12 specialists who may shape the future of investigations in significant ways. Who were these 12 specialists? Why were they recruited? How will they shape the future?

The 12 specialists were recruited from the youth of Culpeper for the Annual Culpeper County Sheriff’s Youth Academy. Many at the Sheriff’s Department invested last week in the career development possibilities for participant’s of the academy ranging in age from 13 – 17 years old. The students arrived every day at 8 AM and spent the day until 3 PM learning the coolest things on these hot summer days….

The students were exposed to basic crime scene investigation. They were exposed to firearms safety while gaining experience with firearms at a live firing range (thank you Cedar Mountain Range). They were shown the effects of alcohol and drugs using special simulated vision goggles while trying to drive golf carts (accompanied by an adult). They learned crime scene processing and fingerprinting skills. They were shown law enforcement patrol procedures, basic First Aid, and a variety of crime prevention concepts. The students also attended several demonstrations by specialized units such as the K-9 Unit, Motorcycle Officers, and S.W.A.T. Finally, the students took fields trips to the Culpeper County Jail and the Culpeper Joint Communications Center. Wow, what a week!!!

The students graduated from the C.C.S.O Youth Academy on Friday with a ceremony that demonstrated the military etiquette drill and ceremony skills that they had learned and obviously practiced. All of the students were proficient in their maneuvers and focused on the required discipline, a very impressive display after only one week of instruction.

According to the literature, the program is rooted in the Citizen’s Law Enforcement Academy that began in England in 1977. The first program of its kind was introduced in the United States in Orlando Florida in 1985. The original intent of the program was designed to provide better understanding between police and citizens thru education and exposure to the Department. Adding the youth component provides an important opportunity for our local youth to see first-hand what they see on television and in the movies.

There are few things more important than educating our youth. We have opportunities to facilitate excellence in youth programs. The Sheriff’s Department has taken the lead in offering this type of program. Career Development can start early, strengthen our community, and offer creative pathways for our young minds.

There are many programs in Culpeper with similar ongoing benefits such as the Boy Scouts, Girl Scouts, Verdun Adventure Bound, and The Civil Air Patrol Youth Program (meeting at Culpeper Airport), to name a few.

Thank you, Sheriff Branch, for your commitment to the youth of Culpeper. The Youth Academy is an example of excellence in community development. We can only imagine what the future will bear from the seeds planted in the hearts and minds at the Youth Academy.





Best Regards


Jim Charapich
President / CEO
Culpeper Chamber of Commerce

Culpeper Chamber of Commerce in the Lead

Published in the Star Exponent Monday, July 18, 2010:

Culpeper Chamber of Commerce leads the country in “Hot Deals” according to Jill Schmoyer an Internet Marketing Consultant for ChamberMaster. Ms. Schmoyer reported this at a recent meeting of the Culpeper Chamber of Commerce Board of Directors. The Hot Deals section of the Chamber Website is just one of the many cutting edge opportunities for our community to take advantage of. Our businesses offer these as a way to encourage both businesses and everyone in Culpeper to buy locally. Any Chamber member can post Hot Deals with printable coupons free as part of their membership on CulpeperChamber.com.

In addition, the Culpeper Chamber has offered “Chamber Cash” for anyone to buy as gifts. We offer them in $10 increments. The Chamber Cash is redeemable locally at many Chamber Member locations – encouraging local spending. A commonly published statistic suggests that $68 of every $100 stays in the local economy. We are offering a special promotion this month at ChamberCash.com.

To further encourage local awareness of business, the Culpeper Chamber was one of the first in the Country to have a Smart Phone App referencing our Chamber members. Try downloading MyChamberApp to your IPhone or Blackberry free. You will find a directory of “Local” Culpeper Chamber of Commerce members. MyChamberApp allows the business location to be pinpointed on an easy to navigate map. The App allows one touch dialing to call each member business. I have used this and it works…. When I need to find a Chamber member to do business with, now, I just touch the MyChamberApp icon on my IPhone, find the business, and press the phone number… “Hello, this is Jim with the Chamber, I need to schedule an Oil Change…. how many miles were on my vehicle at the last change….” So easy and no need to have the numbers in my phone directory…. Now, in addition to the Chamber Member Directory on our website, we have an easy to use mobile app.

One of the new Chamber acronyms is RAVE – meaning Resources, Access, Visibility, and Energy. We have taken strides to bring visibility to the Chamber members both physically and virtually. Physically… we have begun a new Wednesday Evening Leadshare group for members to meet at a new time – after work - to share leads and network – spaces are limited and first come first served – contact the Chamber office for details.

Virtually, we are in the process of upgrading our SEO… Search Engine Optimization. Our members are currently connected to one of the largest business networks virtually thru our ChamberMaster affiliation. The new SEO partnership with ChamberMaster will bring more search visibility for online searches. When it comes to online visibility, large networks matter. Our members can further improve their results thru their personal login and access to tweak their key words.

Our Virtual Visibility continues with our Facebook, Twitter, and Blog posts. Look us up as Culpeper Chamber and “like” our page to have access to our up to date local business 411…..

Growing local business since 1915 …. Join us….

Best Regards

Jim Charapich
President / CEO
Culpeper Chamber of Commerce

CulpeperFest Update

This is a major THANKS!!! to all of our Sponsor's by Level for CulpeperFest 2009

Sponsor Level Company Name

Grand Champion
Culpeper Star-Exponent
Champion
Your Community Phonebook
Piedmont Communications - WJMA
Patron
Battle Park Farm
Cedar Mountain Stone
Continental Automotive Systems
Found and Sons Funeral Chapels - Cremation Service
Updike Industries
Wachovia

Patron - Silver - All Event Sponsors
CFC Farm & Home Center
Powell Wellness Center
Virginia Community Bank

Supporter
Best Western - Culpeper Inn
CopyRight, Inc.
Davies, Barrell, Will, Lewellyn & Edwards
Delegate Edward T. Scott
Euro-Composites
Full Circle Thrift
Inn at Kelly's Ford
It's About Thyme
Merchants Grocery Company, Inc.
Pepsi Cola Bottling Company
Precision Machine Works, Inc.
Senator Edd Houck
SWIFT
Town of Culpeper
WINC

Supporter - Bronze - All Event Sponsors
K Art & Design

Contributor
Appleton Campbell, Inc.

CulpeperFest

CulpeperFest is coming up soon - Buy tickets now for the June 4th event. Tickets are on sale now at a number of locations. Early Bird prices are available for tickets and booth space thru May 11th. Take advantage of the early pricing now.
Ticket Locations are:
The Depot in Downtown Culpeper
CFC Farm & Home Center
Pepperberries
Petersen Jewelers
Powell Wellness Center
The Frenchman's Corner
Germanna's Daniel Technology Center
StellarOne - Main Street Culpeper and Locust Grove at the Entrance to Lake of the Woods
Suntrust - Meadowbrook Shopping Center
Virginia Community Bank
Wachovia - Downtown Culpeper
Online at http://www.culpeperchamber.com/ & http://www.culpeperfest.com/

Sponsored by the Culpeper Chamber of Commerce

PUBLIC HEARING NOTICE

HELP SHAPE VIRGINIA’S TRANSPORTATION FUTURE
Revised FY2009-2014 Six-Year Improvement ProgramWorking Draft Public Hearings*
The Commonwealth Transportation Board (CTB) invites your comments about essential rail, transit, transportation demand management, bicycle, pedestrian and highway projects in the Working Draft Revised Fiscal Year 2009-2014 Six-Year Improvement Program (SYIP) to be approved by the CTB in January 2009.
*(Public hearings for local/secondary/municipality-maintained roads are held in other forums.)

All projects in the SYIP that are eligible for federal funding will be included in the Statewide Transportation Improvement Program, which documents how Virginia will be obligate its share of federal funds.

Lists of specific projects and changes from the current program will be available at each public hearing, on VDOT’s web site at http://www.virginiadot.org/, and at VDOT District and Residency Offices prior to the hearing.
THERE WILL BE FIVE HEARINGS STATEWIDE. EXCEPT WHERE NOTED, EACH HEARING BEGINS AT 6P.M. Please attend the hearing that is most convenient for you.

Tuesday,
January 6, 2009
VDOT Culpeper District Auditorium
1601 Orange Road, Culpeper, VA 22701
Culpeper/Staunton

*If you can not attend a hearing, you may send your comments to:
Public Information Office, VA Dept. of Rail and Public Transportation, 1313 East Main St., Suite 300, Richmond, VA 23218-0590, drptpr@drpt.virginia.gov or to Programming Director, VA Dept of Transportation, 1401 East Broad St., Richmond, VA 23219 or Six-YearProgram@VDOT.Virginia.gov.

The Secretary of Transportation’s Office ensures nondiscrimination and equal employment in all programs and activities in accordance with Title VI and Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. If you need more information or special assistance for persons with disabilities or limited English proficiency, call 1-866-835-6070 (TTY users, call 711).