She always knew what she wanted to do…. And she got it. Becky Brittain, originally of Southwest County, always dreamed of working in the news, but not just at any news station. Her ultimate goal was to cover news for the White House and that’s exactly what she’s doing. She is a CNN White House Producer, where she covers the daily movements and events of the White House and the entire administration as well as traveling alongside the President in motorcades and Air Force One. She was named to the position in August 2005 but has worked at CNN since 1998. “I knew what I wanted to do early in life. I know that’s not the norm, but it happened in my life,” said Becky.

Becky graduated from Cave Spring High School in 1994, attended Virginia Tech and graduated in 1997 with a double major in Communications and Political Science. Since graduating, Becky has accomplished a lot, but back in February, Becky was asked to do something she’d never done before. She was asked to be the commencement speaker for the Communications Department at Virginia Tech for their graduation on Friday, May 17.  “I’m really honored to go back there and give the speech. I’m looking forward to it… it’s definitely an honor,” said Becky.

I was able to speak to Becky over the phone on Thursday, May 16 before the commencement. I asked her several questions pertaining to her career. You can read the questions and answers below:

Q: Tell me a little bit about how you got started in your career:

A: I interned at CNN while I was in college, my junior year. After college, I moved up here without a job, but then the Monica Lewinsky scandal broke. I was at Fox for six weeks or so and worked as a freelancer. Then, I was given the opportunity to work at CNN. I worked with Larry King as a production assistant and then moved on from there. I worked as an associate producer for Inside Politics. Then started working at the White House in 2005.

Q: What are your various responsibilities in your position as a producer?

A: I follow the President wherever he goes. We are responsible for coordinating the network’s coverage of President Obama by reporting behind the scenes, giving CNN editorial guidance, and coordinating live video shots for CNN’s White House correspondents.

Q: What is it like working alongside the President?

A: It’s a high pressure situation. I’ve done it long enough now that the intensity isn’t as overwhelming. It’s definitely high pressure but I’m used to it now. It’s just kind of normal. It’s certainly a lot of hours and a lot of travel… my life just goes along with what’s going on in the news.

Becky Brittain lives in Alexandria and in her spare time, she is active in her church at First Baptist Church of Alexandria where she serves in various capacities in leadership. She also served as a mentor and tutor through the program Community Club to a DC public school student throughout his high school career from 2001-2007. She was named “Outstanding Recent Alumni” for 2007-2008 from the College of Liberal Arts and Science at Virginia Tech.

Cave Spring Knights Drill Team Presents Summer Dance Camp 2013

Featuring the UVA DANCE TEAM

Open to rising 9th – 12th grade girls

Friday June 21, 2013 9 am-4 pm

Penn Forest Worship Center Gym

3735 Chaparral Dr

Price per dancer $75

Bring a sack Lunch!

Drinks provided!

Learn dance technique with the UVA DANCE TEAM!

For more information and to register email: csdrillteam@yahoo.com or call: 892-1179

Submitted by Prina McTigue 

– Submitted by Joan Bugbee

M-I-C-K-E-Y M-O-U-S-E

This summer four FBLA (Future Business Leaders of America) students from the Roanoke Valley will be traveling to the National FBLA conference in Anaheim, California. In addition to the competitions, students will also visit some popular sites including Disneyland. The students, three of whom are Cave Spring High School and Burton Center students, will be competing for top spots amongst tough competition as the top two from each state is represented. There will be around 7000 students from across the Nation in attendance. Each event is sponsored and monetary prizes in the amount of $1000.00 are given to 1st place winners. We wish all the students the best of luck.

1st Place-Networking Concepts-Ben Culkin (Northside and Burton Center for Arts and Technology)

2nd Place-Management Decision Making Team-Dylan Brucki, Adam Foutz, Evan Gill (Cave Spring High School and Burton Center for Arts and Technology)

From the FBLA website, here is a more information about the organization:

Future Business Leaders of America-Phi Beta Lambda is a nonprofit 501(c)(3) education association with a quarter million students preparing for careers in business and business-related fields. The association has four divisions:

1.Future Business Leaders of America (FBLA) for high school students;

2.FBLA-Middle Level for junior high, middle, and intermediate school students;

3.Phi Beta Lambda (PBL) for postsecondary students; and

4.Professional Division for businesspeople, FBLA-PBL alumni, educators, and parents who support the goals of the association.

You can read more here.

Information from Ginger Cromer

Center in the Square celebrated its grand re-opening on Saturday with a black tie event. Our paparazzi photo crew was there and here are the Southwest Roanoke County people who stepped onto the red carpet.

* Glenn and Sandra Neighbors
* Paula and Sam English
* Mike and Theresa Mercier, and Linda and Jack Siar
* Burman and Karen Clark
* Rachel Witt
* Hetal Vora
* Ben and Missy Chapman
* Ron Cronise, Megan Cronise and Chad Cronise
* John and Katrina Ford
* Chris and Mary Beth Venable
* Amanda Young and Gary Gilmore y
* Bridgett Martin
* Craig Balzer, Jr., Crystal and Becky Balzer, and Craig Balzer, Sr.
* Shea and John Jessee
* Robyn Thomas and Brian Pitts
* Sally and Walt Scott
* Rick and Rebekah Allred
* Barry and Bethanie Polakowski
* David and Rhonda Maddox
* Kristi Sutherland
* Tyler, Mary and John Carlin, Jr.
* Marie and Steve Dracko
* Gini and Tony Lefkowicz
* Joyce Waugh
* Joseph and Katharine Wells
* Skip and Ulita Taliaferro
* Juliet and Donald Vile
* Jeff English and Marie Shockley
* Jonathan Carlin and Beth McGee
* Ashley Ingle
* Gregory and Maureen House

Click through to see the photos one at a time or click here to see them all at once as thumbnails.

Divine Dance Center completed their 2013 Regional Competition Season and is headed to the Showstopper National Competition in Myrtle Beach, S.C., on July 1-6.  Regional Season Highlights:

Christina Lauria (Hidden Valley High School), Sarah Wilkie (Salem High School), and Canyon Carroll (Glenvar Middle School) were all scholarship winners at the Dance Makers Inc. Regional Event in Richmond, VA.  Christina and Sarah were accepted into summer programs in California while Canyon was awarded a scholarship to attend the Dance Makers Inc Workshop next year for free.

Also at Dance Makers, Hannah Mixon (Oak Grove Elementary) was the Miss Preteen 3^rd Runner up with her solo “The Kite Song”.  Natalie Hamilton (Cave Spring High School) was the Miss Teen 1^st Runner up with her solo “How to be Loved”.  Lexie Simpson (William Byrd High School) was named the Miss Senior 3^rd Runner up with her solo “In My Arms” and Joey d’Alelio (Cave Spring High School) was named Mr. Senior High Score with his solo “Lovestoned”.

Dancers also fared well at the Showstopper Regional Event in Lenoir, N.C.  Highlights include:

Mary Alex Noftsinger (Penn Forest Elementary) and Annie Slemp (Penn Forest Elementary) received 1^st place Mini Advanced Duo/Trio Division with their duo “Marry the Night”.  The Petite Jazz Company received 1^st place Mini Advanced Small Group with their dance, “Pre-Historic”.  Hannah Mixon (Oak Grove Elementary) and Cathleen Turner (Hidden Valley Middle School) received 5^th place Junior Competitive Duo/Trio with their duo, “Pop, Drop, & Roll”.  The Junior Small Lyrical Company received 6^th place Junior Competitive Small Group with their dance, “Firework”.  The Junior Small/Large Jazz Company received 8^th place Junior Competitive Large Group with their dance, “Meeting in the Ladies Room”.  Natalie Hamilton (Cave Spring High School) received 8^th place Teen Competitive Solo with her dance, “Boom”.  Natalie Hamilton (Cave Spring High School) and Joey d’Alelio (Cave Spring High School) received 5^th place in the Teen Competitive Duo/Trios with their dance, “Only Girl in the World”.  Lexie Simpson (William Byrd High School) received 5^th place Senior Competitive Solo with her dance, “In My Arms”.  Mallory Stephenson (Lord Botetourt High School), Elizabeth Brown (Calvary Christian Academy), and Joey d’Alelio (Cave Spring High School) received 3^rd place Senior Competitive Duo/Trio with their dance, “Look at me Now” which tied with Christina Lauria (Hidden Valley High School), Sarah Wilkie (Salem High School), and Allie Perfater (Blacksburg High School) with their dance, “Hey Big Spender”.  The Senior Contemporary Company placed 3^rd in the Senior Competitive Small Group division with their dance, “Never Again”.

At Revolution Talent in Greensboro, N.C., Divine Dance Center once again brought home many awards:

The following dancers were awarded a Power Pak invitation which is an exclusive summer dance intensive:  Julianna Stephenson (Botetourt County), Cathleen Turner (Hidden Valley Middle School), Austin Bratton (Northside Middle School), Natalie Hamilton (Cave Spring High School), and Joey d’Alelio (Cave Spring High School).

Ashleigh Deeds (Hidden Valley High School) received 2^nd place in the Senior Intermediate Solos.  Hannah Mixon (Oak Grove Elementary) and Cathleen Turner (Hidden Valley Middle School) received 1^st place Junior Competitive Duo/Trio with their duo, “Pop, Drop, & Roll”.  Christina Lauria (Hidden Valley High School) and Natalie Hamilton (Cave Spring High School) received 4^th place Teen Competitive Duo/Trio with their duo, “We Hate Boys”.  The Senior Contemporary Company placed 2^nd overall in the Senior Competitive Small Groups with their dance, “Never Again”.  The Senior Contemporary Large Group Company placed 3^rd overall in the Senior Competitive Large Groups with their dance, “Youth”.

At Tremaine in Greensboro, N.C.: Christina Lauria was awarded a yearlong scholarship.  This entitles her to attend any Tremaine convention for free during the 2013-14 convention season!  She was one of two dancers selected from the Senior Convention Room.

Auditions for the 2013-2014 Divine Dance Center Performing Company are June 3-6.  Dancers ages 7 and up are invited to audition.  Please contact Riley Fitzgerald at Divine Dance Center for more information at 774-0296.

– Submitted by Riley Fitzgerald, Divine Dance Center

– Submitted by Roanoke County

It’s a juggling act. Being a mother of three young kids is a lot of work, but throw running a successful interior design business in the mix and you’ve got more than just a juggling act… you’ve got a super woman. That’s Theresa Dorlini. She’s a hard-working mom to Dotti, Luca and Tyson, ages 5 and under. “I like to think of myself as a stay-at-home working mom,” said Theresa. She continued, “My first love was design, but nothing prepared me for the love I would have for my kids! I am extremely fortunate to be in a profession I love, and have the flexibility to be a mom. I knew that if I couldn’t make the two passions work together I wouldn’t be happy. ” And Theresa certainly is making it work. Her business, which she co-owns with her husband John, is called CIRCLE Design Studio. “When I tell some people I operate from a home office they kind of give me that ‘I feel sorry for you’ look or don’t take me seriously… but then they see our work and it speaks for itself,” she said. “In the end, being able to have lunch with my kids everyday makes it all worth it.”

Theresa and her husband live in Southwest County and make it their business to design beautiful spaces. Both are Certified Interior Designers (CID), and John also holds a Masters degree in Architecture. “There are definitely days that I feel like ‘I’m not going to make it,’” said Theresa. “But I am blessed because John and I are in the same profession. He is more than willing to help me pick up the slack. If we have to, we take the kids to our jobs with us. We have to go with the flow and most people respect that.”

Theresa jokes that the kids and chaos have made their work better. Since having their first child in 2007, they have consistently won awards for both residential and commercial design. In fact, The Roanoker Magazine just awarded CIRCLE Design Studio “Platinum” for Best of Roanoke for 2013. They said it is the first time in the history of the awards that an unranked company has gone straight to Platinum.

Theresa and her husband have been in practice for 15 years, working for several different architecture/design firms nationwide, but they started CIRCLE Design Studio together in 2005. The Studio began in Staunton, but once the economy took a down turn, the couple realized they needed to be in a bigger market and moved down to Roanoke three years ago. Theresa’s background is originally in corporate design, but her company does about 80 percent residential work now. Theresa describes her style as modernist, but also likes classical forms and therefore likes to mix the two. “We believe great design is timeless,” she said, “and should be attainable even on a modest budget.”

Being the owner of a small business and a mom is hard work but in Theresa’s case it’s her passion. “You’ve got to have a love for what you do and a love for the people you are serving…clients and kids.” said Theresa. It’s just this kind of dedication and passion that consistently wins Circle Design Studio awards and makes them a great addition to Southwest County and the Roanoke Valley.

You can see some of CIRCLE’s award-winning work at www.circledesignstudio.com

It was a night to remember at Penn Forest Elementary School on Tuesday, May 7.  It was the school’s annual Spring Fling and even though the weather didn’t allow the event to be outside, the festivities were still just as fun.  The Spring Fling featured inflatables, a photo booth, a petting zoo, games, Homestead Creamery Ice Cream, food from Hometown Family Restaurant, prizes, and even glitter tattoos.

Everything was a big success, but the petting zoo seemed to be most everyone’s favorite.  A representative from Blue Ridge Wildlife Management was there to show the kids several different types of… snakes.  You can just imagine the excitement that this brought forth from the kids.  Boys, girls and even some parents got in on holding the slithery reptiles.  There were even some brave kids who allowed the snakes to crawl up their arms!

The event not only featured all the fun activities listed above.  There was also a dance floor on the stage in the cafeteria of the school, complete with a disco ball and some great music.  The kids had a great time dancing and, hopefully for their parents, wore off some of their extra energy!  This was a fun, family-filled night and according to the Penn Forest Elementary School’s PTA: “was a huge success!”

Photo Courtesy of Stefanie Weber

It was meant to be. That’s how Jennifer Thiers, owner of Toad’ly Kids, describes her decision to move the children’s boutique store from the Forum to a free standing building on Colonial Avenue. “Once I knew I wanted to add a photography studio and combine it with the store, I was trying to think of a free standing building that had two levels. It seemed like a great location too,” said Jennifer. Fortunately, everything seemed to work out perfectly and Jennifer moved the store to the Colonial Avenue location and re-opened in February.

In August of 2012, Nancy Leggett, the long-time owner of Toad’ly Kids decided she wanted to retire. She had been the owner for 25 years. The initial plan was to simply close, not to sell. Fortunately, Jennifer was able to convince her once she told Nancy she was going to buy the store on Colonial Avenue and combine the boutique and photography studio together. “We had been acquaintances for years… but she’s become a second mother to me now… she’s an awesome advisor. Her wealth of knowledge about the industry is amazing,” said Jennifer. She continued, “we have a lot of the same lines as Nancy, but we also have a lot of lines that are more budget friendly. There’s a need for well-priced quality baby and children’s clothes in Roanoke.”

Even though Jennifer has a background in photography and is very talented herself, she knew she couldn’t run the boutique and the photography studio at the same time. “The holiday season came and I realized I couldn’t do it by myself… I didn’t feel like photography could sustain itself alone, but I knew 100 percent that the store and studio combined would be a perfect match.” After making the decision to find a photographer to help her run the studio, Jennifer kept looking for someone to bring in, but she had a hard time finding the right fit. Until, she found Stefanie Weber, a very talented, artistic photographer. “I begged and pleaded for her to take a leap of faith and join me,” said Jennifer. Stefanie had been running her own businesses and doing photography on the side, but photography had always been her passion and she was thrilled to join Jennifer. “I still come in every day thinking how lucky I am, and how cool this is… I get to do what I love in this environment,” said Stefanie. “One of the things we feel strongly about: we’re a boutique clothing store and we are offering a boutique photography session. We are really passionate about crafting every session so that it is representative of that family.”

Now, the two run the store and studio together and say they wouldn’t want it any other way. “It all fell into place so well. I wanted to find someone who shared my vision. I don’t have to ask Stefanie… she just knows. We are on the same page completely. Our photography style is so much the same.” Said Jennifer. Not only do the two feel content about their business, they also feel content about running a business in Roanoke. “Roanoke, in general, is a very tight knit community of people. Our kids grow up together, play sports together; people in this area are really good about supporting local, small businesses. Small business is what drives our community. When a grandmother comes in, and I know her granddaughter, it’s huge because I can help her find just the right thing,” said Jennifer.

It’s not all about shopping at Toad’ly Kids though. Jennifer and Stefanie are both committed to volunteering. “I love it that there are kids who can come and shop at our store. But there are a lot of kids who don’t have that opportunity. It’s important for people to know that they are out there.” So each month, Toad’ly Kids is partnering with non-profits that benefit children. Every month, each featured non-profit organization can design the display in the front window. “This will help those organizations promote any events they have coming up. We’ll put any printed materials in our customer’s bags. At the end of the month, a portion of the sales from that month will go towards the non-profit,” explained Jennifer.

So, with volunteering, running a store and a photography studio, as well as hosting events, Jennifer and Stefanie are remaining very busy. Not only that, but both women are mothers and therefore stay constantly occupied. They may stay busy, but the two women are certainly committed to making the store and studio a success. “We like to watch our clients grow up. We want to see them when they’re born, on their second birthday… we want to see when they have kids,” said Stefanie. And the two can certainly do that because the store offers not only a baby registry, but also a first birthday cake smash photo session. You can read more about that here. All in all, Toad’ly Kids is bound to be a success just as it’s always been, here in the Roanoke Valley.