My interns, Amelia Breeden and Madina Habib of Osbourn High School and Jacqueline Vontersch of Elon University, a Woodbridge native, joined me at the ribbon cutting of RapidFlight. The firm uses 3-D printers to make unmanned aerial drones and announced a $5 million expansion, adding more than 100 new employees.
The student interns spoke with the governor, who encouraged them to pursue their studies in school and in local journalism. More than 200 people attended the event, which allowed the interns to photograph and meet other business leaders and elected officials from their community.
Our interns conducted themselves with professionalism and grace and served as shining examples of our work here at PLN and in their respective schools. Breeden and Habib joined PLN in February as part of the Manassas City Public Schools Word-based Learning Program.
Vontersch joined PLN this month as a meeting reporter.
PLN works with students and members of our community in multiple ways.
Work-based learning Program: Students learn web publishing tools, copy editing, deadlines, and time management and are responsible for posting community news to our website.
Interested college and high school students may apply here for this unpaid internship.
Meeting Reporters Program: Our meeting “documenters” are trained and paid to attend, photograph, and take notes (document) public meetings in Prince William and Stafford counties, Manassas, Manassas Park, and Fredericksburg sites.
Interested residents may apply here to participate in this program
Thank you to our interns and meeting reporters who shine a light on news and events happening in our communities, continuously working to hold our elected leaders accountable.
And thank you for being a PLN member who ensures we may continue training the next generation of local news reports while continuing to bring you the local news and information you trust.
Please click here and become a member today and thank you.
The 2023 program was sponsored by Mary Washington Healthcare, Atlantic Builders, Ltd., Atlantic Union Bank., Flatter, Inc., LifeCare Medical Transports, Germanna Community College, SimVentions, and Stafford County.
At the ceremony, 2014 Leadership graduate, Joe DiStefano, was the keynote speaker sharing five lessons he learned as a leader. The 2023 Class President, Monica Hailey with Atlantic Builders, also shared a message recounting the 2023 class’s experiences.
This years class was led by six faculty: Dr. David Corderman (Academy Leadership Associates), Dr. J.R. Flatter (Flatter, Inc.), Susan Spears (FRCC), Janel Donohue (Rappahannock United Way), Cory McGookin (Sapient Training, Coaching, & Consulting), and Kimberly Young (University of Mary Washington).
Over the nine months, the class met in different business locations where they learned leadership content and took assessments. They also met with community, business, nonprofit, and educational leaders. Each fellow was paired with a trained mentor who supported them throughout the program.
Leadership Fredericksburg 2023 Fellows:
- Michelle Allen, RN Case Management Director – Spotsylvania Regional Medical Center
- George Barnick, President – Fredericksburg Technology
- Latasha Brooks, CEO – A&B Creative Events
- Frank A. Cirioni, Dean of Student Development – Germanna Community College
- Shannon Eubanks, Community Engagement Manager – Stafford County
- Matt Fox, Deputy Fire Chief – City of Fredericksburg Fire Department
- Margo Frazier, Senior Vice President, Commercial Banking – Atlantic Union Bank
- Geoffrey Greene, Project Manager II, SimVentions, Inc.
- Monica Hailey, Permits Coordinator – Atlantic Builders
- Abigail Hamilton, Program Manager, Performance Improvement – Mary Washington Healthcare
- Mahogany Hart, Director, Health Link Call Center – Mary Washington Healthcare
- Diana Hill, Owner – USA Allstars
- Tameaka Hood, Controller – Flatter, Inc.
- Melodie Jennings, Program Director – Healthy Families Rappahannock Area
- Jacque Kobuchi, General Manager – Molly Maid of Stafford/Fredericksburg
- Josh McDonald, Metering Foreman – Rappahannock Electric Cooperative
- Tracy McPeck, Adult Services Coordinator – Central Rappahannock Regional Library
- Johnny Puckett, Owner – Rogers Ford Farm Winery
- Kathy Roscoe, Business Lender – Topside Federal Credit Union
- Judy Steadman, Housing Stabilization Navigator/Case Manager – Micah Ecumenical Ministries
- John Stroffolino, Interim Dean of Arts and Sciences – Germanna Community College
- Jeremy Vaughn, Development Officer – University of Mary Washington
- Jessica Weber, Comprehensive One-Stop Manager – Rappahannock Goodwill Industries
- Donnie Williams, Director of Operations – HDT Expeditionary System
Applications for the 2024 class are available now at the Chamber’s website online. The deadline is Monday, July 17, 2023.
Kona Ice, a shaved ice company, is expanding into Bristow, Nokesville, and Quantico and will feature entertainment, frozen treats, and new fundraising opportunities in the area.
Kona’s truck, which began serving the community in March, offers a self-service dispensing system allowing for full customization. Guests have the option to choose from the 20-plus flavors and four different sizing options; child size (nine ounces), classic (12 ounces), large (16 ounces), and what the company calls a Kowabunga size (22 ounces).
“Before joining Kona, I was in the Navy for more than two decades and later worked in communications and management,” said Ronny Howard, owner of Kona Ice of Bristow, Nokesville, and Quantico.
The company aims to make a difference in local areas, raising $135 million in total donations nationwide since 2007. Howard continues the tradition of donating thousands of dollars each year to local school groups, teams, and community organizations.
Beyond fundraisers, popular spots for the food truck franchise include stops at fairs, festivals, and other community events.
To learn more about Kona Ice of Bristow, Nokesville, and Quantico, you can call at 201-281-6298.
Prince William County Circuit Court Clerk Jacqueline Smith held her third annual Law Day Awards Ceremony on May 3, 2023.
Clerk Smith’s art contest had close to 1,000 votes received both online and in-person. There were three categories: high school, middle school, and elementary school.
Based on votes, the top awards went to the following first-place winners:
- Denise K. for high school, artwork titled “the Aftermath”
- Emily T. for middle, artwork titled “The Law is Forever”
- Noah C. for elementary, artwork titled “the Hat of Freedom”
All art pieces in the contest were illustrations of the Law Day theme: “Cornerstones of Democracy; Civics, Civility, and Collaboration.”
Local businesses, such as the ARTfactory, awarded many participants different awards.
The artwork will be exhibited at Senior Centers at the Prince William County Bar Association’s Law Day events throughout May.
In July, Prince William County Arts Council will showcase the student’s artwork at the Open Space Arts Gallery in Stonebridge at Potomac Town Center. The gallery can be found at 15000 Potomac Town Place, Woodbridge.
U.S. Naval Academy Midshipman 1st Class (senior) Alex Romano, 22, of Dumfries, Virginia, was recently named a 2023 Knight-Hennessy Scholar. The Knight-Hennessy Scholars program provides full funding for students to pursue a graduate degree at Stanford University.
Romano is one of 85 scholars selected for the program’s sixth cohort of students. More than 7,000 candidates competed for one of the 85 scholarships awarded. He intends to pursue a master’s degree in aeronautics and astronautics at Stanford School of Engineering.
Romano is an aerospace engineering major who is scheduled to commission later this month as a surface warfare officer. As a midshipman, he conducted independent research on the Distance Simulation Method, which aims to create a variable method to conduct long-range testing of laser wireless power transfer systems on Earth in a vacuum environment.
Romano has been invited to present his research to multiple boards and conferences, including the DoD Space Experiment Review Board, where his project ranked higher than several multimillion-dollar projects from professional military laboratories. His project has been offered two launches to space by NASA and the U.S. Space Force and will be tested on the International Space Station.
Outside the classroom, Romano is a Navy Men’s Lightweight Crew team member and served as the 2nd Battalion Public Affairs Officer. In 2022, Romano had the opportunity to travel to Japan and interact with Admiral Hideki Yuasa of the Japanese Maritime Self-Defense Force, as well as students and leaders from the Japanese Self-Defense Academy and other Japanese universities.
Founded in 1845, the U.S. Naval Academy today is a four-year service academy that prepares midshipmen morally, mentally and physically to be professional officers in the naval service. More than 4,400 men and women representing every state in the U.S. and several foreign countries comprise the student body, known as the Brigade of Midshipmen.
U.S. News and World Reports have recognized the Naval Academy as a top five undergraduate engineering school and a top-25 best liberal arts college. Midshipmen learn from military and civilian instructors and participate in intercollegiate varsity sports and extracurricular activities. They also study subjects such as leadership, ethics, small arms, drill, seamanship and navigation, tactics, naval engineering and weapons, cyber security, and military law.
Upon graduation, midshipmen earn a Bachelor of Science degree in a choice of 25 different subject majors and go on to serve at least five years of service as commissioned officers in the U.S. Navy or U.S. Marine Corps.
For more information on the Knight-Hennessy Scholars, click here.
For more information about the Naval Academy, please visit usna.edu.
— Press release
Daniel Mendoza, a 17-year-old Osbourn High School senior and resident of the East End Mobile Home Park, has received a $1,000 scholarship from the Virginia Manufactured and Modular Housing Association (VMMHA).
The award was presented by CFH Executive Director George Davies, whose Dumfries, Va.-based nonprofit took ownership of East End in 2018 and continues to upgrade and add events and programs at the Centreville Road park.
The scholarship provides Daniel with $500 each fall and spring semester to attend Northern Virginia Community College, where he plans to pursue nursing.
In addition to the VMMHA award, Daniel was also awarded a $1000 Jennie Dean CTE Vocational Scholarship from the Rotary Club of Manassas.
A resident of East End Mobile Home Park for the past nine years, Daniel will be the first person in his family to attend college. He was introduced to nursing as a career as part of the Nursing Assistant Program at Osbourn High School.
“I decided after I installed myself into the program at Osbourn that I really enjoyed the course, and I wanted to further my scope of practice by becoming a registered nurse,” he said.
In 2018, CFH and its partners stepped in to purchase the East End Mobile Home Park in Manassas, stopping its pending condemnation due to ongoing water and sewer issues. In the years since CFH was purchased, progress and improvements have continued, and the community is thriving.
Ongoing physical upgrades include roadwork and paving, lighting, a new resource center with a playground and outdoor learning center, and a new storage facility. CFH continues to expand educational, social, and recreational programs for East End residents.
Based in Dumfries, Va., CFH has worked for more than four decades to help individuals and families along a path of self-sufficiency, providing assistance to individuals and families all along the continuum of housing needs. More about CFH can be found at cfhva.org.
ARTfactory is pleased to present “Painted Musings,a” an exhibition featuring a series of paintings by American-Kurdish artist Lukman Ahmad.
Ahmad’s exhibit dates are from April 28 to June 10, 2023.
His Live Painting Demonstration is on June 2, from 6 p.m.d-9 p.m.
The artist reception is on May 20, from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m., and includes live music by Oud player Radd Alghalibi and refreshments.
You can RSVP for Ahmad’s reception here.
Lukman Ahmad is an American-Kurdish artist living in Manassas Park, Virginia. Ahmad first came to the United States in 2010 as a refugee. He began creating art in 1986 while still living in Syria.
Ahmad’s art expresses the history and culture of the Kurds and adds a new experience to American art and culture. Ahmad has exhibited in over 100 exhibits in various countries, such as Syria, Turkey, Iraqi Kurdistan, and Switzerland.
The paintings in this exhibit were inspired by classic Kurdish folkloric singing or Kurdish “epics”. Kurdish music is a central part of Kurdish culture, and epics are considered unique to Kurdistan. Traditionally, Kurdish folk songs are passed down orally, from generation to generation to preserve cultural history.
Kurdish songs range from historical stories to epic tales, from lyrical poems to literary works. Most epic songs are associated with action, adventure, love stories, and even heroic themes, such as the Kurdish uprisings for independence. Epic singing is a continuation of two decades of research on the process of transforming the sung story (epic) into a visual story.
Continuing this tradition of preserving history, each brush stroke within Ahmad’s work represents a piece of a Kurdish-sung story.
Ahmad’s muse for this exhibit is a Kurdish singer named Ezzeddin, or in Kurdish, “Ezzedino.” Ezzeddin was born in 1933 in the village of Harmshad in the Kurdish city of Mardin, Turkey. Ezzeddin was famous for his strong vocals and harmonious melodies. He recorded 8 tapes, most of which were recorded in the Kurdish city of Qamishlo in Syria and in the Lebanese capital, Beirut.
The tapes include the following: BavĂŞ NĂ»rĂ®, Derwêþê EvdĂ®, KalĂŞ Se’dĂ»n, Kor ElĂ® Beg, Wey Lo, MemĂŞ Alan, and BavĂŞ Lalo.
The ARTfactory Gallery Hours are Monday-Saturday, from 10 a.m. – 5 p.m.
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Dizzy Pig BBQ Company is relocating its store after six years in its current location, near Manassas.
With a decline in brick-and-mortar retail, the company decided to downsize to a seasoning company by June of 2023, according to a company statement.
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This May, GirlTrek is hosting “Mamathon 2023,” starting on May 1 and lasting through May 31.
The Mamathon is a walking challenge where women pledge to walk 52.4 miles (about 2.5 miles a day), during the month of May to honor their mother or a caregiver in their lives.
In the Mamathon women are encouraged to walk in their community or in locations around the Washington D.C. area. Information about going on group walks can be found in a Facebook group online.
The length of the Mamathon (52.4 miles) is determined by multiplying the length of the traditional marathon (26.2 miles) by two.
“Walk in honor of a woman in your life. Walk because you are a mom and want to honor your motherhood by doing something healthy for yourself. Invite your friends and family to participate with you. This is how we grow the movement and spread joy and healing to the Black women we love.” said T. Morgan Dixon, GirlTrek cofounder.
Once the women complete their 52.4 miles, they can claim GirlTrek’s coveted golden shoelaces online. The shoelaces are a golden ticket for all future GirlTrek events.
When the Mamathon concludes, a new season of GirlTrek’s walking podcast, Black History Bootcamp, will start June 1, 2023.
GirlTrek is a national nonprofit that was inspired by the statistics of 137 Black women dying from heart disease every day. Also, Black women are dying younger and at higher rates than any other group of women in the country: 82% of Black women are currently overweight, and 53% are morbidly obese (CDC, 2020).
