2011 Top Ten Highlights of Chamber of Commerce

A quick look back at 2011 is a good review of some of the accomplishments of the
chamber of commerce and our local business community. Here are the top ten highlights of 2011:

Great Volunteer Leaders The business men and women who volunteer their time to serve on the chamber Board are a great group of people. Tim Sargeant has been the chairman for 2011 and he is someone who has had a significant impact on our community through his service in the chamber, on the Fairfax County Planning Commission, planning for Laurel Hills, and more. He is a kind and genial man who wins friends through his soft humor and accomplishes much good through his ceaseless community service. Tim does state and local affairs for Dominion Virginia and has been a great leader for our organization.

Membership Increase Signals a Better Economy Thanks to a strong effort by the Board and members to share the chamber story, more than 120 businesses joined the chamber of commerce in 2011. This is a good sign that businesses are feeling comfortable investing a little more in their business. It also shows that businesses recognize the value of being part of their local chamber of commerce. Thanks to Mike Gailliot, Hilltop Golf Club, for his leadership on this event.

Chamber Golf Classic Raises Scholarship Money This annual golf tournament is completely organized and run by volunteers who donate their time and means to put together this event whose sole purpose is to raise money for the chamber’s Scholarship Fund. Thanks to Rick Genuario, Genuario Construction Co. and George Ksenics, Belvoir Federal Credit Union, for leading this effort and to our consistent sponsors Fort Belvoir Residential Communities and Hilltop Golf Club. Without the Chamber Golf Classic there would be no scholarship fund.

Education Partnership Gives Scholarships Through the chamber’s Education Partnership, $12,000 in scholarships were awarded to graduating high school students from Edison HS, West Potomac HS, Mount Vernon HS, Hayfield, Bryant HS and South County. Reviewing the scholarship applications is a re-affirmation that there are outstanding young people in our community and the future is in good hands. Over the past 15 years, the chamber of commerce has awarded more than $96,000 in scholarships to local students. Thanks to Dan Rinzel, Redmon, Peyton & Braswell LLP for doing the legal work to set up the Education Partnership.  Scholarship recipients in 2011 were Lauren Wilmot, West Potomac High School; Joseph Drumgold, Mount Vernon High School; Callie Jacobs, West Potomac High School; Johnny Tang, Hayfield Secondary School; Zachary
Kiszka, Hayfield Secondary School.

Summer Earthquake It was while making a courtesy call on the new Super Wal-mart at Kings Crossing that the earthquake hit. I grabbed hold of the store manager and hung on while the lights swayed and the floor rocked. None of our local businesses sustained any serious damage. After the shaking it was business as usual.

Stars & Stripes Tribute Honors Police and Fire Fighters More than 200 people gathered at the Belle Haven Country Club to honor local police and fire fighters – the men and women who keep us safe every day. The chamber works hard to provide a nice evening for our public servants and their families while recognizing outstanding officers from the Mount Vernon and Franconia police stations and firefighters from throughout our region. This year’s event was the same night as the record rain and flooding – what a crazy night. Thanks to event chair Barbara Sullivan, Mount Vernon at Home, and Jane Gandee, ServiceMaster of Alexandria for her support of this important community event, along with Ourisman Automotive, Burke & Herbert Bank, Weichert Realtors, Inova Mount Vernon Hospital, Paul Spring Retirement Community, Dominion Virginia, Occasionally Cake, Sunflower Florist, Grant & Ruth McIntosh, Dan & Anne Rinzel, and Diane & JP Moery.

Jeff Todd, in Memoriam While we lost Jeff in 2011, we celebrate his life and are secure in remembering his example of a generous heart. Jeff was on the Board of the chamber of commerce and served as an officer for many years. He took time away from his business and personal interests to serve in the community. He was a friend to all who knew him and always wanted to do more to help meet community needs.

Army Community Covenant Renewal with Fort Belvoir Five years of intensive planning and labor has transformed Fort Belvoir adding a new Fort Belvoir Hospital, the National Geospatial Agency, the Missile Defense Agency and more. Fort Belvoir is the largest employer in Fairfax County and unique military installation. It is home to more than 140 DOD agencies that support our military operations around the world.  Thanks to Cong. Jim Moran and Supervisor Gerry
Hyland for joining the chamber of commerce to renew this covenant with the Fort
Belvoir Command Group.

Business Expo Highlights Businesses  The Chamber’s PrimeTime Biz Expo showcased more than 40 local businesses.  It was an energetic evening full of
networking, door prizes, and good food from many local restaurants.  Thanks to the Hampton Inn & Suites for hosting and to Ashley McNeff, United States Homeland Investigations, and Sabrina Campbell, Occasionally Cake, for co-chairing this event.

THE BEST Business Awards December gave the chamber an opportunity to
recognize some of the outstanding businesses that are models of good business
practices and take that extra step of giving back to the community. Businesses
recognized were Cox Communications, Mount Vernon Athletic Club, Commercial
Lynks Inc., and Walker’s Grille. Tom Harvey, owner of Hollin Hall Automotive
was the Chamber Citizen of 2011. If you haven’t eaten at Walker’s Grille you
should. The food is delicious and the service is great. The building is new and
trendy with an outdoor patio that even has heaters and fireplaces.

2011 was a good year for the chamber of commerce and we hope, a good year for you. We look forward to 2012 and the start of several large retail projects, the
completion of others, and more planning to improve the greater Richmond Highway business corridor.  

Make a New Year's Resolution to support local businesses and strengthen the local
economy.