Chamber Member Introduces Video Product

VM Direct affiliate Quinton D. Harrell has introduced to the Charlottesville marketplace a unique and "in-demand" product that empowers businesses and individuals with the ability to promote, market, and communicate via "video" online.

The product is an affordable, user-friendly digital communications and social networking platform that enables users to create, transcode, store, manage, and publish all their digital assets all in one secure, web-based location. The end-user can easily send video email instead of text, conduct live video broadcasts and live video web conferencing, as well as other powerful collaborative solutions with the ease and simplicity of sending a traditional e-mail.

Rust Reviews Announces New Version of Website

Rust Reviews, LLC, announces the launch of a new version of its website, www.RustReviews.com, with a new, more user-friendly home page and more powerful search functions.

The new website also provides a National Search feature designed to bring more customers to local businesses with a regional or national customer base. Rust Reviews helps member businesses collect customer reviews and posts them with a web listing for each member. Members can update their business information and post replies to their reviews 24/7.

Increasing numbers of consumers are using the web to search for local businesses, and Rust Reviews helps them find businesses with good customer reputations.

Albemarle County Schools Recognized as High?Performance

Albemarle County Public Schools was among a select group of 19 school systems earning the Virginia Index of Performance (VIP) Governor's Award for Educational Excellence.

Governor Timothy M. Kaine in mid-January announced the awards that recognize schools and school divisions where student academic performance has jumped beyond the Virginia benchmarks. In addition to the Division honor, Murray Elementary and Western Albemarle High Schools were among 89 that received the Governor's Award for Educational Excellence, the highest honor in the new incentive program for schools and school divisions created by the Board of Education to advance Governor Kaine's "competence to excellence" agenda.

Thirteen more Albemarle County schools were among 475 earning the Board of Education's VIP Excellence Award. Local schools receiving the distinction include: Albemarle and Murray High Schools; Baker?Butler, Broadus Wood, Crozet, Hollymead, Meriwether Lewis, Cale, Red Hill, Scottsville, Stone?Robinson, Stony Point and Woodbrook Elementary Schools.

The VIP program awards point to schools and divisions based on the percentage of students achieving at the advanced level on Standards of Learning (SOL) assessments and progress made toward educational goals advocated by Governor Kaine and adopted by the Board as part of its comprehensive plan for further strengthening public education in the Commonwealth.

To qualify for the Governor's Award for Educational Excellence, schools and school divisions must meet all state and federal achievement benchmarks for at least two consecutive years and meet Governor Kaine's goals for achievement in elementary reading; enrollment in Algebra I by grade 8; enrollment in college?level courses; attainment of advanced diplomas and career and industry certifications; and participation, if eligible, in the Virginia Preschool Initiative. Schools and school divisions also earn bonus points for other performance measures, including the Governor's Nutrition and Physical Activity Scorecard.

Schools earning the Board of Education's VIP Excellence Award also have met all state and federal accountability benchmarks for at least two consecutive years and have made significant progress toward goals for increased student achievement and expanded educational opportunity set by Governor Kaine and the Board of Education.

"The criteria for all of these awards are rigorous," said Board of Education President Mark E. Emblidge. "That so many schools and school divisions qualified reflects the commitment of educators across the Commonwealth to excellence and high standards."

The Board of Education approved the Virginia Index of Performance in July 2007 in response to Governor Kaine's call for a formal system to recognize schools and school divisions that exceed minimum state and federal accountability standards. The multi?tiered VIP program provides incentives for improved performance and opportunities for recognition regardless of where a school or school division happens to be on the journey from competence to excellence.

"Minimum standards are not enough to prepare young people for the competition that awaits them in a global economy," said Virginia Superintendent of Public Instruction Billy K. Cannaday, Jr. "The VIP program provides incentives for schools to challenge students to ever?higher levels of learning and achievement."

There is a third award, the VIP Competence to Excellence Award. A fourth VIP award, the Board of Education's Rising Star Award, will be added next fall to recognize schools and school divisions for improved performance with student achievement during 2007?2008 as the baseline from which progress is measured.

Monticello Names Ann H. Taylor Executive Vice President

Ann H. Taylor, executive vice president of the Thomas Jefferson Foundation in the late 1990s, will return to Monticello with the same title but new responsibilities, effective Feb. 15.

Taylor most recently was executive director of the Darden School Foundation at the University of Virginia, a position she held from 2004 through August 2007. There, she was responsible for all financial, operational, development, alumni, and external relations for the foundation, which supports the Darden School of Business Administration. Prior to that, she was chief operating officer of Gold Violin, Inc., a Charlottesville-based online, catalog, and television specialty retailer that she co-founded with her sister, Connie Hallquist.

The holder of a bachelor's degree from UVa and an M.B.A. from the Darden School, Taylor worked as a media planner at Ogilvy & Mather Advertising in New York and as a financial projects manager at James River Corp. in Richmond before joining the staff at Monticello in August 1987 as business manager. She later was named director of finance and personnel, then executive vice president, the position she held when she left the foundation in December 1999.

"Ann served with great distinction here for almost 13 years, and her contributions were truly consequential," foundation President Daniel P. Jordan said. "Recalling her many talents and her genuine passion for Monticello, we are thrilled by her return."

Upon her arrival at Monticello, Taylor's priority responsibilities will be overseeing completion of the under-construction Thomas Jefferson Visitor Center.

McClung Captures 20 Printing Awards

(Waynesboro) The McClung Companies of Waynesboro captured 20 awards in the 2007 Virginia's Best in Print Competition held recently in Williamsburg.

It was the 48th year of this annual event sponsored by the Printing Industries of Virginia (PIVA). McClung earned seven first-place awards and 13 Awards of Excellence in several categories. McClung's winning pieces were chosen from more than 1,100 pieces entered in the contest by printers from all across the Commonwealth.

"We are proud of our winning team," said McClung President and CEO Tom Trevillian. "It's always an honor to be recognized by PIVA as a quality printer. These awards are a tribute to our employees, who do prize-winning work in all phases of our operation."

McClung also was notified recently that it has earned National Association for Printing Leadership's prestigious "Management Plus" award for its excellence in management performance. It was one of 18 printing and graphics companies nationwide to receive the 2007 award.

The award measures performance in key areas such as human resources, business planning, environmental/safety concerns and financial performance. For almost 30 years, the NAPL Management Plus program has helped companies identify their strengths and weaknesses, and judge their management performance against accepted industry standards.

For more than 60 years, the award-winning McClung Companies have served the graphic communication needs of central and northern Virginia with the latest technology and with highly-skilled and motivated employee owners.

Local Businessman Recognized in Who's Who

Morris G. Sahr, a long-time resident of Charlottesville, has been acknowledged by Marquis' Who's Who in America for the 15th consecutive year in the recently released 2008 edition of Who's Who. Dr. Sahr, a certified financial planner, is president of his firm, Deposit Management Services (DMS Inc.).

He has been active as past president of his Rotary chapter, the American Red Cross, chairman of the Fairfax Planning Commission, commissioner for its Industrial Development Authority, and the American Arbitration Association. He is a Korean War Navy Veteran.

Sahr received degrees from the University of Oregon. DMS has specialized in guaranteed retirement income through international financial institutions, some of which go back more than 75 years.

PVCC Announces New VP for Instruction and Student Services

Piedmont Virginia Community College announces the appointment of Dr. Kathleen Hudson as interim vice president for instruction and student services.

Hudson received a Bachelor of Arts degree in Social Sciences from the University of California, a Bachelor of Science degree in nursing from State University of New York, Albany, and a Master of Science in nursing and a Doctorate degree from the University of Virginia.

She came to PVCC in 1992 as an adjunct professor of nursing. In her new role at PVCC, Hudson will oversee three academic divisions, the division of workforce services, the Jessup Library and Center for Excellence in Instruction staff, as well as all offices providing student services.

Hudson succeeds Dr. Barbara Howard, who held the position since July 2006 and announced her resignation in November citing personal matters.

In other staff appointments: Ann Smith will serve as interim dean for the division of math, science and human services and Amy Gillespie will serve as interim program head for nursing at the College. Smith holds a Bachelor of Science degree in nursing and a Master of Science degree in nursing from UVa. She has been a faculty member since Aug. 2001. Gillespie received a Bachelor of Arts degree and Master of Arts degree from State University of New York at Binghamton, a Bachelor of Science degree in nursing from Duke University and a Master of Science degree in nursing from UVa. She is an associate professor of nursing at PVCC.

The appointments became effective Jan. 2, 2008.

Diffusion Pharmaceuticals Advisor Honored

Diffusion Pharmaceuticals LLC, a clinical stage drug- development company commercializing first-in-class drugs utilizing a novel mechanism of action that enhances oxygen diffusion, today announced that one of its key advisors, Mr. Thomas Byrne, was recently recognized as a co-inventor of the underlying technology of Amgen's blockbuster drug Aranesp® (darbepoietin alpha), a erythropoiesis stimulating agent (US Patent No. 7,217,689).

Mr. Byrne, who is an Officer of Diffusion Pharmaceuticals and a member of its Board of Directors, has directed the worldwide intellectual property strategy of the Company since its inception in February 2001. His experience includes in-house counsel positions within both Genentech and Amgen.

"We are exceptionally fortunate to have such an experienced pharmaceutical development executive with scientific acumen and expertise in related intellectual property law leading our worldwide patent strategy and helping to guide the company," said David G. Kalergis, Diffusion Pharmaceuticals' Chief Executive Officer.

Diffusion Pharmaceuticals LLC is a clinical-stage drug-development company commercializing a family of first-in-class drug candidates to treat serious or life- threatening medical conditions. These proprietary small molecules use a novel method of action to enhance oxygen diffusion to oxygen deprived (hypoxic) tissue. Potential clinical applications include critical care uses such as trauma, hemorrhage, stroke and heart attack, and cancer as well as chronic conditions such as cardiovascular disease, respiratory disorders, anemia and peripheral vascular disease.

Enhanced diffusion of oxygen into hypoxic tissue has an important application in oncology by improving the efficacy of radiation therapy in cancerous tumors. The Company's first Phase I clinical trial for its lead molecule, trans sodium crocetinate (TSC), shows the drug is well-tolerated in healthy human subjects at doses significantly higher than the estimated efficacious human dose. Clinical trials will begin in 2008 in peripheral vascular disease patients suffering from intermittent claudication and in cancer patients undergoing radiation therapy.

Diffusion Pharmaceuticals, which is privately held, is located in Charlottesville, Virginia. For more information, visit http://www.diffusionpharma.com.

Target Media Announces New Magazine: The Next50 to be Launched in April 2008

Target Media, Inc, the Charlottesville based regional magazine publisher has announced its newest magazine venture. The company will publish a new full color glossy bimonthly magazine called The Next50 with a debut issue in April 2008. The Next50 is intended as lifestyle magazine targeting the increasingly influential Baby Boomer 50+ population in Central Virginia. (target reader age: 45-65).

Target Media launched its first magazine, Charlottesville House & Home in March of 2007. Target Media president and The Next50 publisher Eric Lund defines this new publication as less a magazine about getting older as a celebration of the new active lifestyles being pursued in the second half of life.

Lund noted, "One only needs to take a look at the recent onslaught of advertising from Madison Avenue to see how influential and dynamic this consumer group is being viewed by marketers across America."

The Next50 will focus on topics of interest to today's active boomers including second careers, second homes, health & fitness, travel, financial planning, home & garden design, community volunteering etc. Distribution for the magazine will be free on over 200 area newsstand locations in a nine county region of Central Va.

More information can be found at the new magazines website www.TheNext50.net Target Media: 434-293-3231 or sales@thenext50.net.