Commonwealth Council on Aging Recognizes Senior Center

(Richmond) The Commonwealth Council on Aging is pleased to announce the 2008 Best Practices Award winners for organizations serving older Virginians and their families.

As organizations and agencies struggle to meet the challenges of serving a rapidly aging population during a time of budget cuts and growing demand, we need to share our best practices and applaud our successes. This Best Practices Award program does both.

The Legal Aid Justice Center and its project, the Partnership for Improved Long-term Care, was given the Best Practices Award in the Community Partnership Category. The Partnership was launched by the Legal Aid Justice Center in October 2003 in response to residents' family members and others who were frustrated about not being able to secure satisfactory nursing home care for their loved ones.

Legal Aid Justice Center attorney Claire Curry, who is the coordinator of the Partnership effort, sees this award as a recognition of the remarkable coalition of legal, medical, and community volunteers who use advocacy, expertise, and activism to achieve results.

"This Partnership works because we listen to each other, we identify problems and act on them with a belief that we can make a difference. This award is shared by all who have worked to make the Partnership an ongoing, effective organization."

Legal Aid Justice Center will celebrate the Partnership and its award from the Commonwealth Council on the aging with an event this fall. The Commonwealth Council on Aging is composed of 19 citizens from all walks of life who are appointed by the Governor and the General Assembly to represent all geographic areas of Virginia.

The Council helps state government meet the needs of older Virginians in the most efficient and effective manner. The Council wishes to recognize and encourage model aging programs throughout the Commonwealth.

These programs may be sponsored by local governments, municipalities, community organizations, aging services providers, universities, faith organizations, and public private partnerships. Programs will be judged for their innovation, cost- effectiveness, ease of replication, and their impact on the quality of life of older Virginians, their families, and their caregivers. The Council will help to disseminate information about these programs throughout the Commonwealth.

The award categories are designed to include a broad and diverse range of creative community programs. The categories for the 2008 awards are:
· Community Partnerships,
· Education,
· Healthy Aging (Physical/Mental/Nutrition/Wellness/or Prevention),
· Long-Term Care,
· Senior Safety,
· Seniors as Volunteers, and
· Transportation.

The Other 2008 Award winners are:
* Transportation Category
The Mountain Empire Older Citizens Transportation Program
Big Stone Gap, VA
* Long-term Care Category
The Korean Senior Center Personal Care Aides Program
Vienna, VA
* Seniors as Volunteers Category
The Williamsburg Area Faith in Action Program
Williamsburg, VA
* Senior Safety Category
Communities Against Senior Exploitation (CASE) Department of Human Services
Virginia Beach, VA
* Education Category
The Workplace Partners Program
SeniorConnections: the Capital Area Agency on Aging
Richmond, VA
* Healthy Aging Category
The Senior Center of Charlottesville
Charlottesville, VA
* Community Partnerships Category
The Students & Seniors Program
Shenandoah Area Agency on Aging
Front Royal, VA

First Night Virginia Announces its 2009 Board of Directors

First Night Virginia announced Wednesday, June 18, 2008, the completion and expansion of its Board of Directors for the 2008-09 First Night event, including the addition of eight new members.

"We are extremely pleased to welcome to our Board - Ms. Bruce Costabile, Mr. Jay Crawford, Ms. Karen Davis, Ms. Billie Dietz, Mr. Matt Rohdie, Mr. Marc Turner, Mr. Drake Van de Castle and Ms. Patricia Wolfgram," says Joan Horn, 2009 FNV President. "Their experience and knowledge will be an invaluable asset as our Board and the First Night event continues to grow. Joining our existing Board members, these individuals provide a great deal of depth to our abilities and talents, which, in turn, enables us to improve and expand nearly every aspect of the First Night experience - for our thousands of guests, for our hundreds of performers and for our community of volunteers."

Longstanding members include VP Jennifer McCune, Secretary Andrea Bledsoe, Treasurer Mike Griffin, Annick Salomon, Chauncey Hutter, Judy Malone, Bob Mosolgo, and Carrie Taylor. Two part-time staff members include Executive Director Barbara Lundgren and Booking/Production Manager Chris Munson.

First Night Virginia enters its 27th year by celebrating a "Night of Possibility" on the Historic Downtown Mall, and remains a family-friendly, alcohol-free event that is fun for all ages.

Tuel Jewelers Donates American Cut: The First 100 Years to Jefferson Madison Regional Library

(Carlsbad, CA) The Gemological Institute of America graduate Mary Loose DeViney, of Tuel Jewelers in Downtown Charlottesville has announced the recent donation of the book, American Cut: the First 100 Years, to the Jefferson Madison Regional Library in Downtown Charlottesville, Virginia.

This donation is in participation with the GIA Richard T. Liddicoat Library and Information Center that provided 1,000 copies to be made available to libraries across the nation through the local GIA Alumni Chapters.

American Cut: The First 100 Years, written by Al Gilbertson, a well-regarded GIA research associate, and published by GIA, follows the history and chronology of American diamond cutting. It describes the early stages of the European diamond cutting industry, and how American ideas and inventions influenced diamond cutting eventually changing diamond cutting around the world.

"I am pleased to make this book accessible to our local community," said Mary Loose DeViney of Tuel Jewelers "This book is an important resource on diamond cutting that will educate readers on the history."

American Cut: The First 100 Years, is now available at Jefferson Madison Regional Library.

For additional information or to get a copy of the American Cut, visit www.gia.edu and click on "Instruments and Books."

An independent nonprofit organization, the Gemological Institute of America (GIA) is recognized as the world's foremost authority in gemology. Established in 1931, GIA has translated its expert knowledge into the most respected gemological education available. Early in the 1950s, GIA invented the famous Four Cs of Color, Cut, Clarity and Carat Weight.

In 1953, the Institute created the International Diamond Grading System which, today, is recognized by virtually every professional jeweler in the world. Through research, education, gemological laboratory services, and instrument development, the Institute is dedicated to ensuring the public trust in gems and jewelry by upholding the highest standards of integrity, academics, science, and professionalism. GIA can be found on the web at www.gia.edu.

CYFS Receives $10,000 from FACT to Support Parenting Classes

Children, Youth & Family Services (CYFS) is pleased to announce a grant of $10,000 from the Family and Children's trust Fund (FACT) of Virginia.

The Family and Children's Trust Fund supports local programs in Virginia that provide support and education services to prevent and treat violence in families. This grant will be used to offer our parenting class series called "Surviving the Teen Years-It Can Be Done," a six-week course that uses the nationally recognized STEP curriculum to help families adapt to living with teenagers.

Both parents and teens participate in these classes where they develop new methods for communicating with each other, resolving conflicts, and managing stress and anger. The program provides help to families at-risk for violence or other problems, and many parents are referred by the court system, social services, counselors and schools. Others learn about the classes in newspapers, newsletters, or through word-of- mouth.

"Surviving the Teen Years" has helped many families find a more positive and effective way to grow together through the teen years. 100% of teen participants have said they have seen their parents trying to apply what they learned in the classes, and 90% of participants say they have seen an improvement in relationships as a result of the classes.

The Family and Children's Trust fund is administered by a Board of Trustees appointed by the Governor to raise and distribute funds to local communities for family violence prevention, treatment and public awareness throughout the Commonwealth of Virginia.

CYFS is one of the oldest nonprofits in Charlottesville. For 86 years we have been opening doors to brighter futures for kids.

For more information, visit our website at www.cyfs.org.

Children, Youth & Family Services Receives $5,000 Grant

Children, Youth & Family Services' Play Partners Program received a generous grant of $5,000 from the Community Endowment Fund in the Charlottesville Area Community Foundation.

Play Partners sends pairs of trained volunteers into home-based child care settings and child care centers that serve low-income families to expose children ages 2-5 to early literacy activities. The program increases their enthusiasm for reading and builds skills that will help them succeed in school.

Children who participate in the program greatly increase their school-readiness skills. Every week, more than 150 preschoolers in Charlottesville's low-income neighborhoods get a visit from their Play Partners volunteers. These volunteers read to them, lead hands-on activities relating to the themes in the books, and ultimately, present the children with their own copies of the books to take home and share with their families. By the end of the year, each child has added nine books to his home library.

Charlottesville City Schools have the state's highest achievement gap between low-income students and their peers. The gap in the surrounding counties is also of great concern.

Website for more details: http://www.cyfs.org/pp.shtml.

LiveArts.org Launched

Birch Studio announces the launch of LiveArts.org, a website for one of the most original organizations in our region.

Live Arts Theater is a supreme work in progress - educating, evolving and entertaining thousands of people a year. With a dozen distinct shows per season, numerous classes, behind-the- scenes events and legendary galas, the theater is a community institution.

As a branding firm, Birch Studio looks for ways to more clearly represent a client's identity. When they said their modus operandi is handmade, we took that literally.

LiveArts.org reflects the hand-made and time-honored craft embodied by the theater. Panels of wood, layers of tape and nostalgic iconography were applied in a layered manner. For good measure, we built the site using the least pretentious typeface of them all: Courier.

Our creative and programming team worked with the Live Arts staff to develop a wish list of aesthetics and functions that would both give them an updated identity and as well as a website they could update often. They are able to add shows, classes, sponsors, links of interest, cost for each show, even photos and videos. We built into the site a simple shopping cart and donation option that allowed them to consolidate services pieced together by outside vendors.

Visitors to the site can also comment on events, continuing the experience beyond the theater.

McClung Recognizes Employees of the Quarter

(Waynesboro) John Britt, bindery operator, was recently chosen Employees of the Quarter at McClung Companies.

Established in 1992, the award is based on recommendations from fellow workers and recognizes McClung employees who display extraordinary dedication to their jobs.

"John is patient, versatile and dependable," noted Dave Perkins, McClung Vice President. "He is quite experienced and can operate just about any piece of equipment in the bindery. We particularly appreciate his ability to work through challenging folder setups."

Britt has worked seven years at McClung and lives in Bridgewater with his wife and three sons.

For 60 plus years the award-winning McClung Companies continues to serve the graphic communication needs of central and northern Virginia with the latest technology and with highly skilled and motivated employee owners.

City of Charlottesville Given AAA Bond Rating

The City of Charlottesville announced today that during the Bond sale process Charlottesville again received the highest rating from both Standard & Poor's Rating Services and Moody's Investors Services.

Standard & Poor's issued its highest rating of "AAA" and Moody's also issued its highest rating of "Aaa". Moody's and Standard & Poor's Bond Ratings reflect an independent and unbiased assessment of the credit worthiness of debt obligation in the public financial market. The higher the rating, the stronger the borrowing power and the lower the interest rates available to municipalities.

Four key factors are used by Moody's and Standard & Poor's to rate the cities debt issues which are the Economy which includes demographics; employment base; property values; taxpayer composition. Another major factor is Management which includes policies and procedures; strategic planning; ability to achieve budget targets and management experience and continuity. The third major factor is Financial which includes budgeting practices, investments & fund balances. The final major factor is Debt which includes debt ratios such as debt per capita; debt to real estate values; capital needs planning and legal debt limits.

"The City of Charlottesville continues to be at the forefront of the best managed localities in the Nation. The City's conservative financial practices and its ongoing economic development initiatives have enabled the City to grow and prosper despite a slowing economy," said Kevin Rotty of Morgan Keegan & Company.

The rating agencies in the most recent review noted the following in their reports on Charlottesville's rating:
* Healthy growth in the property tax base.
* Consistently strong financial performance.
* Low debt burden.
* Strong management practices.

Charlottesville City Manager Gary O'Connell noted that a rating such as this is unique and particularly helpful during these harder national economic times.

"The health of our city can be measured in many ways, and our ability to keep this high rating for so many years demonstrates our strong fiscal stability that is so crucial to have in times likes these. Our great fiscal health is truly unique among cities our size nationwide."

With the new rating Moody's has rated Charlottesville Aaa since 1973 and Standard and Poor's has rated AAA since 1964. There are only two Virginia cities rated AAA by both Moody's and Standard & Poor's.

Credit Union Awards $16,500 in Scholarships to Local Seniors

With the enthusiastic support of the members in attendance at their 53rd annual meeting on May 28, UVA Community Credit Union presented a tuition scholarship of $1,500 to an outstanding high school senior from each of the eleven public high schools in the credit union field of membership, which includes Charlottesville and the counties of Albemarle, Fluvanna, Greene, Louisa, Madison, Nelson, and Orange.

"We consider these scholarships an investment in the future of these young people and in their communities," said Jeffrey Moscicki, the chair of the Credit Union Board of Directors, as he distributed the awards.

UVA Community Credit Union is one of the oldest financial institutions in our area, and its mission is to improve the well-being of our members and to strengthen the communities in which they live.

The credit union's emphasis on education -- through community education seminars and through its high school scholarship program -- is an important way that it accomplishes these goals.

Scholarship winners are Alycia McDonald (Albemarle High School), Michael T. Rafaly (Charlottesville High School), Melanie Suzanne Bianco (Fluvanna County High School), Ian Thomas Wendell (Louisa County High School), Stephanie Jordan O¡¦Connell (Madison County High School), Arthur Malik Conley (Monticello High School), Chessie R. Pardue (Murray High School), Cassidy Sickman (Nelson County High School), Danielle R. Estes (Orange County High School), Holly Albertson (Western Albemarle High School), and Brittaney Shifflett (William Monroe High School).

UVA Community Credit Union is a not-for-profit, member-owned cooperative that provides a wide range of convenient and professionally managed financial services to its more than 50,000 members. Credit union membership is available to those who live or work in the City of Charlottesville or the counties of Albemarle, Fluvanna, Greene, Louisa, Madison, Nelson, and Orange.

Newsplex's Burchett Leaving for Alabama Affiliate

Bob Prather, president and COO of Gray Television, today announced that Roger Burchett has been named vice president and general manager of WTVYTV, the CBS affiliate in Dothan, Alabama.

Burchett most recently has served as vice president and general manager for Gray¡¦s Charlottesville cluster which includes WCAV- TV, WVAW-LP, WAHU-CA and its associated digital sub channels. Burchett has been with the stations since just after their launch in the fall of 2004.

In making this announcement today, Gray President and COO Bob Prather said, "Roger's hard work and community involvement in the Charlottesville area has a direct correlation to the success we have seen for our stations in that market. Roger has laid the foundation for long-term success in both news and new media ventures in Charlottesville and I am confident he will continue to grow the same business for us in Dothan."

Burchett's promotion is effective immediately; however, the transition period may take up to a month.

Gray currently operates 36 television stations serving 30 markets. Each of the stations are affiliated with either CBS (17 stations), NBC (10 stations), ABC (8 stations) or FOX (1 station). In addition, Gray currently operates 40 digital second channels including 1 ABC, 5 Fox, 8 CW and 16 MyNetworkTV affiliates plus 8 local news/weather channels and 2 "independent" channels in certain of its existing markets.

JABA's Charlottesville Center Honors Local Volunteers

JABA's 584 volunteers in Ablemarle County and the city of Charlottesville can usually be found working with seniors in one of JABA's five community centers or tutoring students. On Thursday, May 15, however, they were recognized for the contributions during garden party at JABA's Adult Activity and Health Center on Hillsdale Drive.

A highlight of the event was the presentation of a poster size check representing the monetary value of the volunteers' combined hours by Dick Gibson, Jr. Chair of JABA's Board of Directors and Gordon Walker, JABA's CEO .

"The US Department of Labor puts a cash value of $20.08 on every hour of volunteer work," said Gibson. "Based on that figure, the 44,791 hours of time contributed by our volunteers in Albemarle County is worth $899,093.24."

Accepting the check on behalf of the city and county were County Supervisor Ann Mallek, County Supervisor Sally Thomas, Holly Edwards, City Council Member, Charlottesville City Council member Satyendra Huja, and Delegate David Toscano.

Angell Husted hosted the afternoon's festivities. The Pantops Trio provided the music.

JABA places volunteers of all ages with a wide range of local nonprofits throughout the counties of Albemarle, Fluvanna, Greene, Louisa, Nelson, and the city of Charlottesville. Volunteers have a variety of choices, with time commitments starting from as little as one hour a week.

Volunteers who are 55 and older are part of the Retired and Senior Volunteer Program (RSVP) that JABA sponsors locally. JABA's Friends in School Helping (FISH) intergenerational program matches volunteers of all ages with opportunities in public schools. Trained JABA volunteers with Volunteer Insurance Counseling and Advocacy Program (VICAP) provide help with insurance issues and claims, while those with JABA's Ombudsman Program act as advocates for resident in Long-Term Care facilities.

Those wishing more information on volunteering with JABA should call (434) 817-5222.

Computers4Kids Wins Two Awards in One Week

Computers4Kids is pleased to announce that it was the recipient of two competitive awards in one week.

On May 22, the Charlottesville Business Innovation Council (CBIC) presented Computers4Kids with the 2008 Community Innovation Award. This award is given to that enterprise that has demonstrated the greatest commitment to improving the quality of life in Central Virginia through community involvement. After the nominating process and a site visit, Computers4Kids was chosen by CBIC for the award from among a number of other nominees, including additional finalists Charlottesville Tomorrow and Dominion Digital.

Computers4Kids is also pleased to announce that it was the winner of the Cvillain.com Space Party contest. After a heated race to be voted Charlottesville's best nonprofit organization, Computers4Kids won enough community votes to beat out other finalists (Boys and Girls Club and Relay for Life-American Cancer Society). Voting was held online at http://cvillain.com throughout May and concluded at their 2nd Annual Space Party, held at the X Lounge on May 25.

These awards clearly demonstrate that Computers4Kids has significant support from the community and they serve as an inspiration to the organization and its many volunteers to keep up the good work.

Established in 1999, Computers4Kids is a Charlottesville non-profit organization whose goal is to improve low income youths' computer and learning skills through caring mentorship, structured training, a vibrant learning environment, and access to a computer at home.

Students are paired with a volunteer mentor and together they creatively explore various aspects of the computer and technology. The mentor/student interaction is as much about friendship and support as it is about education.

For additional information, call Computers4Kids at 817-1121 or visit www.computers4kids.net.