“At Thrive, we believe standards for senior living have been too low for too long,” said Les Strech, President of Thrive, in a press release. “The benchmark of ‘providing great care’ causes residents to feel like objects in need of care -- rather than individuals with a purpose and a great deal to offer others.  Thrive creates an environment where older adults can build new and meaningful relationships, and ‘great care’ follows as a natural result. Our new campaign intentionally crosses a line and illustrates our non-traditional approach. While we can grow gardenias and bake a killer cupcake with the best of them, this campaign illustrates our commitment to our residents’ greater wellbeing and sense of purpose.”

“When I first got involved with the senior living industry, I was honestly mortified, and I started looking into what our competitors were like. There was no life in the building, there was no energy, there was no excitement, you could tell there wasn’t a lot of thought put into the design. With that very first community I vowed, I’m going to do this differently,” said Jeremy Ragsdale, president and founder, in an interview on the company’s YouTube channel.

Thrive Senior Living provides assisted living and memory care communities that are disrupting the industry of elder care. Rather than simply providing a care facility, they are creating communities where seniors can thrive instead of just surviving. Seniors enjoy amenities like cocktail hours and fine dining. They promote independence and assist their members 24 hours a day.  

From the University of Mary Washington: 

We have been actively monitoring the path of Hurricane Florence. In a conference call this evening, education officials across the state agreed that a storm of this magnitude – which is likely to produce severe flooding, high winds, and widespread power outages – can present a danger to many locations, including our campus community. 

As a result, the University of Mary Washington will close all of its campuses at 5 p.m. Wednesday, Sept. 12. All classes and University events will be canceled, and academic buildings will be locked. Only essential personnel should report to work. More information will be forthcoming, but the University is slated to reopen on schedule Monday morning, Sept. 17.

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From Novant Health/UVA Health System in Manassas and Haymarket: 

Novant Health UVA Health System has a thorough emergency operations plan and practices the plan via drills held multiple times each year. We activated our Emergency Operations Plan on Monday, Sept. 10 for planning in preparation for the potential impact from Tropical Storm Florence in the Virginia market.

Critical systems and infrastructures have been assessed and steps taken to ensure have continued operations throughout the impact. Emergency Power generation at the hospitals is in place and has redundancy.

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From Prince William County Pubilc Schools: 

We have not made any plans to cancel school at this point. However, we will continually monitor the weather forecast and frequently communicate with the Prince William Office of Emergency Management for updates. We also have an agreement with the Office of Emergency Management to provide schools as emergency shelters, if needed.

As far as preparations, please see below:

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MANASSAS — (Press Release) On September 22 from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m., the Manassas City Police Department will be hosting its 3rd annual Open House event.

The day’s events will include police demonstrations, static displays, a tour of the public safety communications center, dunk the Chief, plenty of activities for kids, and much more. Food will also be served courtesy of the Manassas City Police Association. The event is family-friendly and admission is free. All members of the public are invited to come and meet local officers, and learn about the Manassas City Police Department.

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OCCOQUAN -- Town officials in Occoquan are not being caught off guard ahead of Hurricane Florence. 

Mayor Earnie Porta tells us sandbags are being filled at the Vulcan Quarry next to the town along the Occoquan River in Prince William County. 

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MANASSAS -- Organizers have canceled this year's Arts Alive festival ahead of Hurricane Florence. 

From an email: 

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Family members fought in WWI and WWII

DALE CITY -- The National Museum of Americans in Wartime took another step toward completion. On July 2, the Museum appointed its first CEO – Kraig Butrum, who, with close to 25 years of experience working with nonprofits., Under his leadership, supporters hope they can finally bring the much-talked-about museum to Prince William County.

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