Autumn in Culpeper

Culpeper Chamber of Commerce

Culpeper Star Exponent

September 15, 2014

Debbie Stohlman, Acting President/CEO

I absolutely treasure the autumn season.  The crisp, cool air, the changing color of the landscape and football are heralded in with the turn of the calendar to September.  It also signals the beginning of many community events.

CRI will hold the season’s final Third Thursday Concert on September 18th with  the foot-tapping beats of Groove Train. Guests won’t be able to resist dancing to a popular blend of well-known disco songs. Groove Train also offers plenty of entertainment with groovy costumes, big hairstyles and outrageous showmanship. Concertgoers are sure to enjoy this fantastic voyage back in time.  www.downtownculpeper.com/3rd-thursday-concerts

This coming Friday, September 19th the Culpeper Fiesta returns to celebrate Latino Culture.  The festival is held in the streets in front of the Train Depot at 109 S Commerce Street from 6-10pm. The event is free and open to the public.  Music, dancing and authentic food are hallmarks of this celebration. For details and up to the minute information follow the event on FaceBook - www.facebook.com/culpeperfiesta

The State Theatre continues the celebration of Hispanic Heritage by offering an afternoon of free exhibits and performances on Sunday, September 21st.  Photography exhibit by David Cea, World Drums by Mark Sawasky, Traditional Dancers, Guadalupanas and the showing of the film Cantinflas will round out the weekend of celebration. www.culpepertheatre.org/events/culpeper-fiesta/

The Chamber of Commerce hosts the 12th Annual Pepper Open on Monday,September 22nd at the Country Club of Culpeper.  The tournament’s popularity has grown over the years making it necessary to have two flights - a morning and afternoon.  Opportunities for golfers, sponsorships and donations to our golfer goodie bags are available. Contact Martha Snider for more information - marthas@culpeperchamber.com

As the calendar turns to October, the weekend of the 4th and 5th, Culpeper Department of Economic Development showcases the rich agricultural heritage of Culpeper with the 17th Annual Harvest Days Farm Tour.  Details on this family friendly event can be found onwww.culpeperfarmtour.com.  

The skies over Culpeper will be filled with vintage and historic aircraft on Saturday, October 11th as the community opens it doors for “The Best Little Airshow in the East”.  Culpeper Regional Airport will have the world's only privately owned Harrier, aerobatic aircraft and vintage warbirds. This is a chance to see exciting stunts performed by some of the best pilots in the airshow community while enjoying the many static displays, airplane rides, model airplanes, games for kids and more!  For more information, check out www.culpeperairfest.com

On Sunday, October 12th, Culpeper Renaissance fills the streets of the Depot District with vendors offering tastings of wine and specialty foods along with unique artisans and quality crafters for the Annual Taste of Culpeper.  It is always a fun-filled afternoon - for more information visit www.downtownculpeper.com/taste-of-culpeper

If you've been waiting for a special occasion to explore the robust and diverse mix of downtown Culpeper restaurants, you now have one: Culpeper Renaissance's 6th Annual Restaurant Week.  Savor Culpeper and Take a Culinary Cruise During Culpeper Downtown Restaurant Week October 13-19. www.culpeperdowntown.com/restaurant-week

CRI continues the tradition of downtown Trick or Treating on Halloween evening. From 5 - 6pm, the many businesses along E Davis Street hand out candy and treats to crowds of costumed children.  

The Chamber of Commerce rounds out the autumn events with its 100th Annual Meeting and Awards Banquet on November 6th.  This special celebration will tell the story of this business organization - its history and the people that helped make it possible.   We continue to ask for nominations for our business and individual awards.  To submit a nomination go to www.tinyurl.com/CulpeperAwards

And then we entered the Holiday Season - start planning now to spend your holiday budget dollars with local businesses.   More on that subject later……..

100th Annual Meeting and Awards Banquet

Culpeper Chamber of Commerce

Culpeper Star Exponent

September 8, 2014

Debbie Stohlman

The Annual Meeting and Awards Banquet is a highlight on the Culpeper Chamber of Commerce calendar.  Annually our members gather to celebrate the accomplishments of the past 12 months while looking ahead to the new year.  This November 6th, the Chamber will celebrate its 100th year.

We have a robust committee working to formally recognize this milestone.  Our celebration will focus on the story of the Chamber.  We managed to find quite a few interesting facts in the Local History Room at the Culpeper County Library.  Of particular interest was an article written in July 1949 by Newman Bailey.  At the time he was the organization’s secretary.  As I was reading his article and others contained in the Bicentennial Edition of The Virginia Star, it occurred to me that not much has changed with this Chamber’s mission.  A few tweaks of names, places and dates and you would never know the articles had been written 65 years ago.  The one obvious commonality - it’s the people that made the difference.

Our story and that of Culpeper could not be told if not for the tenacity, determination and dedication of many business owners, residents, volunteers and visionary leaders.  The Culpeper Chamber recognizes the importance of these individuals and values their contributions.  The most anticipated portion of our Annual Meeting is the recognition of individuals and businesses through various awards - Small Business of the Year, Large Business of the Year, Young Professional of the Year, Non-profit of the Year, Entrepreneur of the Year and the LB Henretty Outstanding Citizen of the Year.  It is a joyous occasion for all recipients - there have been big smiles, tears, disbelief and standing ovations.  

The time has come to gather nominees for these prestigious awards.  We have streamlined the nomination process by accessing the forms at www.culpeperchamber.com.   Membership in the Culpeper Chamber of Commerce is not a requirement for either the nominee or the person making the nomination.  The awards are reflective of the contributions made to the community as a whole.  The criteria for each award, as well as the selection process,  is outlined on the forms.

We invite you to take some time to nominate a deserving person or business.  What better way to recognize their accomplishments and contributions!  Submit your nomination soon, the deadline is October 15, 2014.  The Selection Committee stands ready for some difficult decisions.  

We Did It!

Culpeper Chamber of Commerce

Culpeper Star Exponent

September 1, 2014

Debbie Stohlman, Acting President/CEO

We did it!  Our move to 629 Sperryville Pike is complete.   Staff has been busy unpacking, arranging and re-arranging furniture while managing business as usual.  It is exciting to have a new address with room for our members to gather and committees to meet.  

We didn’t get to this point without ordinary folks doing extraordinary things.  The Chamber is fortunate to have a base of members willing to give their time and talents.   It always amazes me how prevalent the culture of volunteerism is in Culpeper.  Thank you to the House Committee for having the vision to purchase and renovate this property; thank you to the Town of Culpeper and the Public Works Department for helping make this a smooth transition from the Depot; thank you to Sheriff Scott Jenkins for his Trustee Workforce Initiative and supplying the manpower we needed to move furniture and boxes; thank you to Andrew Morgan of Andrew Morgan Photography, for the many pieces of furniture he moved numerous times;  and thank you to the many members that stopped by to lend us a hand throughout the day. 

It seems the Chamber is once again in the midst of an area of revitalization, growth and renewal.  In 2000, the Chamber moved to the Depot at the east end of Davis Street during the early phase of CRI’s Downtown Revitalization program. We were witness to the positive growth and changes in Downtown Culpeper.  The view from our new front porch shows the construction progress on the town’s inner loop.  Judging by the number of cars traveling in front of our office, further commercial development can’t be far behind.   We are eager to watch the changing landscape.

During our 14 years at the Depot, the Chamber managed the Visitors Center while continuing to build an organization of business leaders committed to the economic vitality of Culpeper.  As we pass the Visitors Center ‘baton’ off to the Culpeper Department of Tourism, we look forward to continuing our partnership with them.    

 

As the chamber enters its second century of service,  the organization remains committed to being “The voice of the business community working to promote, build and support the most effective climate for economic development. “  We invite you to stop in for a visit; our front door is open and the coffee pot is on.

A Busy Week for the Business Community

Culpeper Star Exponent

Business Monday

August 18, 2014

Jim Charapich

The Culpeper Chamber of Commerce has had a busy week. We have hosted the LEAD Culpeper Session on Economic Development as a part of our leadership development program. We participated in an Amtrak update from the Amtrak Director of Government Affairs for our region. We also collaborated with Culpeper County Public Schools for the 44th Annual (BIE) Business, Industry, & Education Day. These milestone events were included in our normal course of operations serving the daily needs of our members and the business community in Culpeper. Finally, the Chamber has worked to finalize plans to move from the Depot to the new location on Sperryville Pike later this week and weather permitting.

LEAD Culpeper contributes significantly to the mission of the Culpeper Chamber of Commerce, “To be the voice of the business community working to promote, build, and support the most effective climate for economic development.” The program is developed and deployed by members and staff that have participated in the program. The Economic Development session was led by Chris Pearson, CPA and Principal at Yount, Hyde, & Barbour, P.C. and Lori Loy from the Culpeper County Department of Economic Development. The sessions included presentations from Patrick Mulhern, Director, Town of Culpeper Planning Department and Carl Sachs, Director, Culpeper County Economic Development. In addition, We were very fortunate to have Sara Dunnigan, of SJ Dunnigan Consulting from Richmond to provide special data analytics about the Culpeper workforce. MS. Dunnigan's mastery of the data and clarity of application to Culpeper and the region were exceptional. We also took a slightly different approach to Economic Development and asked Pam Fitzgerald, Managing Partner, The Ivy Group to discuss libraries as engines of economic development. This was another world class presentation given that the Ivy Group works with large library clients globally. We are also appreciative of the open doors from Hardwood Artisans and Semper Green for the tours of their facilities.

In the update from Amtrak, it is clear that the impact of the Depot Amtrak Station contributes to our local economy in many ways. Amtrak is very proactive in promoting Amtrak stations and thus destinations like Culpeper via social media. We can support the effort as Amtrak travelers by posting our photos and positive comments about the Culpeper rail experience to Facebook.com/Amtrak, Twitter.com/Amtrak, YouTube (send video to social@amtrak.com), and Instagram #Amtrak.

Finally, The 44th Annual BIE Day was another big success. The collaboration with business and our school system is unique. Our business community is interested in ways to support our educators in a time when their resources are stretched. Our educators are a major influence on the future of our workforce. As business, we are thankful to have the opportunity to provide an annual thank you to our educators and school administrators. In turn, having our teachers and administrators interested in supporting local business strengthens the close community network.

 

Thank you to the Culpeper County educators and administration for your great work and dedication. We wish you the best in the 2014 - 2015 school year. Thank you to our many BIE Day business sponsors and contributors, making the event possible.

Potomac Flight, “An Historic Flight Over Washington D.C. Honoring Our Nation’s Veterans”

Culpeper Star Exponent

BUSINESS MONDAY

AUGUST 11, 2014

Jim Charapich

 

The 15^th Annual Culpeper Air Fest is only two months away!  Kicking off this year’s “Best Little Airshow in the East” on the day prior to the airshow is the ground-breaking Potomac Flight-“ An Historic Flight Over Washington D.C. Honoring Our Nation’s Veterans” on Friday-October 10^th.  

 

This once-in-a-lifetime flight will feature the North American T-6 Texans - a 2 seat aircraft used as the advanced trainer for World War II pilots. Designed by North American Aviation, Inc., and first flown in 1938, the “Texan” quickly became the most popular trainer aircraft for the U.S. Military in the 1940’s and 1950’s.

 

In its day, the Texan represented the cutting edge of aviation technology, a mere 35 years after the Wright brothers' first flight on a North Carolina beach. Over 15,000 “Texans” were built between 1938 and 1947, and approximately 400 are still flying today.  On October 10 close to twenty-five of these “Texans” will launch from Culpeper Regional Airport and will soar in formation down the Potomac River.

 

The flyover in the skies over the Pentagon and Arlington National Cemetery will be in honor of Disabled American Veterans as a visible and fitting tribute to the services and sacrifices veterans have made for our freedom.  This ceremonial formation flight will soar at around 1,500 feet and will be visible from Alexandria, Arlington and Rosslyn, VA at approximately 12:30PM.

 

An extremely limited number of opportunities to fly in the formation as a backseat passenger for a unique view of Washington DC and be part of living history in a World War II formation that will provide you with lifetime memories of a great experience are still available to event sponsors.  B-25 “Panchito” and a T-28 will serve as photo and videoships in order to capture footage from this special event.

 

The idea for the flight started during a brainstorming session of a way for T-6 owners to commemorate the 75^th Anniversary for the T-6 Texan in 2013.  Doctor Tom Malone (T-6 owner) suggested the monumental idea of flying over the Pentagon.  Potomac Flight Lead and organizer, Mike Ginter and his team worked diligently for three months with the FAA and TSA who he states have been extremely supportive and eager to assist.

 

Skilled T-6 Texan formation pilots will be coming together from across North America to support the Potomac Flight which will culminate with the 15^th annual Culpeper AirFest free airshow on Saturday, Oct 11, 2014.  This is sure to be one for the books!

 

The Culpeper Air Fest is funded by the Culpeper Air Fest Foundation - a 501c(3) non-profit charitable organization chartered to promote aviation education, awareness and support in Culpeper. It is our goal to help you celebrate with us a great aviation heritage and experience. The show is locally produced, free to the public and draws top performers from around the nation.

 

The 1.3 million-member Disabled American Veterans, a non-profit organization founded in 1920 and chartered by the U.S. Congress in 1932, represents this nation’s disabled veterans. It is dedicated to a single purpose: building better lives for our nation’s disabled veterans and their families. More information about DAV can be found atwww.DAV.org.

 

 

For more information about the Culpeper Air Fest and the Potomac Flight please visit www.CulpeperAirFest.com.  If your organization would like to gain strategic prominence at the event, the Culpeper Air Fest Foundation is accepting sponsorship commitments. For the latest updates and news be sure to follow Culpeper Air Fest 2014 on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram with hashtag  

#CulpeperAirFest and #PotomacFlight. (Contributed on behalf of the Culpeper Air Fest Foundation).

Marketing Your Community

Culpeper Star Exponent

Business Monday

August 4, 2015

Jim Charapich

When the Town Council initiates discussions about an economic development strategy for Culpeper, there are many areas to consider. A friend recently took a week-long course at a major university school of government where the following topics were part of the curriculum: Trends in Economic Development, Ethical Dilemmas in Economic Development, Strategic Planning for Economic Development, Business Attraction: Marketing Your Community, the Site Selection Process, Business Retention and Expansion, Financing Economic Development Projects, Real Estate Development and Reuse, Community Development, Workforce Development, Entrepreneurship and Business Creation, and Managing Economic Development Organizations.

The term Economic Development can take on many meanings. There has been discussion recently about laying the groundwork for Culpeper to be a Certified Retirement Community. The initiative led by the Town Manager has seemingly been supported in every discussion that I have heard and for good reason. It makes a lot of sense given our proximity to the major metro areas of NOVA, Washington DC, Fredericksburg, Charlottesville, and even Richmond. Our rural environment and economic vitality are attractive, while delivering access to the high quality health care of the Culpeper Regional Hospital (University of Virginia Health System). We also have world class entertainment at the State Theatre of Culpeper and the Library of Congress Packard Theater,  These are but a few of the many outstanding attributes of Culpeper that line up with attracting retirees.

One area of promotional effort that I do not hear much about has potential additional opportunity for Culpeper. As is stated in the list above, one of the areas of economic development is “Marketing Your Community,” This is generally considered in two ways. One is to attract new business and the other is to attract visitors. The latter is typically confined to the hospitality industry such as hotels, restaurants, and retail venues. However, in speaking with many of our professional service businesses, there is an opportunity to attract a complimentary visitor to those traditionally driven by hospitality visits.

When a hair salon has developed a reputation for quality, booking services from Georgetown to Charlottesville, this is as powerful a draw as a restaurant or a retail shop. In fact, the clients often shop and eat while in Culpeper as part of the spa-like experience here. In addition, our CPAs, Attorneys, Wealth Management Professionals, and many other professional services provide similar draws from the affluent major metro areas proximate to Culpeper. Thus, promoting these services can and should be equally considered as we develop our economic development strategies. They pay the same unfair BPOL taxes and should see similar investment in promoting their business growth.                                               

UVA-CRH Merger Essential for Community Health

Culpeper Star Exponent

Business Monday

July 21, 2014

Jim charapich

As Americans we are in the midst of a significant shift in health care reform. Federal laws have mandated much of the change. Regardless of one’s view of these changes, our healthcare system was moving in an unsustainable direction. Health Care costs were increasing for employers and individuals. Healthcare facilities faced lower revenues from reductions in Federal reimbursements.

The result of this confluence produced almost crisis conditions in resolving the healthcare options on both the patient and the provider side of the equation. In order to survive, independent health systems are forced to look for strategic partnerships to survive. In some cases, survival is not possible and hospitals are forced to close. The failure of the Virginia General Assembly to support Medicaid Expansions placed many hospitals in Virginia at risk of closing. This is especially devastating to communities that are just hanging on economically. The loss of a hospital significantly reduces the recruitment possibilities for new business.

When the Culpeper Regional Hospital initiated the partnership with the University of Virginia Health System in 2009, Culpeper gained access to resources that have proven essential for community health. The announcement last Monday by Dr. Shannon, Vice President of Health Affairs for the University of Virginia Health System, that the CRH and UVA partnership would expand making the University of Virginia Health System majority owner of the Culpeper Hospital, our community was invited to come to the meeting for comment.

The questions ranged from help with specific appointments to clear support from the community for the expanded partnership. One speaker pointed out that this was a decision for survival. During the hour long presentation there were several goals described by the joint Health System leadership. The leadership of Dr. Shannon was evident in his vision for the health system to deliver the “Right care to the right patient at the right place, on time and without defect”.

An excerpt from Robert Frost’s “The Road Not Taken” came to mind as Dr. Shannon described his visions for the health system. “Two roads diverged in a wood, and I took the one less traveled by, and that has made all the difference.” There is a temptation to try to cut our way to future success, however, rather than cut the way to profitability, the commitment to the region is to focus on quality of health outcomes, preventative care, and eliminating waste. A road perhaps less traveled, and yet, a road more noble in securing our community health.

Our quality of life in the region, combined with the University of Virginia brand and resources, will be a magnet for healthcare professionals in choosing Culpeper as a place to build their careers. Congratulations to the leadership teams at the Culpeper Regional Hospital and the University of Virginia Health System. We look forward to your continued leadership enhancing health care and quality of life in our community.