It was a special day to support Southwest County’s Loren Wright in her fight with cancer.  On Saturday, May 18 in the parking lot of Penn Forest Worship Center, Loren’s friends held a fundraiser to help take some financial pressure off of Loren and her husband.  You can read more about Loren and her fight with cancer here.  “Knowing that people are out there and they care… knowing that you have the community support makes a big difference,” said Loren. The fundraiser organized by Lisa Carleno, Stacey Beard and Kellie Mirasola was a big success and featured a Silent Auction, Zumba class, car wash, various vendors, hair chalking and mini mani’s from the CSHS Cheerleaders, as well as lawn games and face painting.

Loren Wright, along with her husband Craig and son Aidan, sat in a rocking chair outside and enjoyed speaking to everyone who came to support her. She said when she first arrived and everything was being set up, she had tears streaming down her face… “I was very emotional,” she said.  Seeing all the love and support from those around her in the community overwhelmed her.  Loren quickly recovered and in her usual happy manner embraced those who came to see her.  And of course, in true Loren fashion she pulled out her camera and started snapping pictures of the memorable day.  You can see Loren’s beautiful pictures here.

Amanda Codispoti, who writes The Storefront blog.

Tanglewood Mall management is working with a new commercial real estate company to bring retailers to the shopping center.

Business writer Amanda Codispoti has more details on her retail blog, The Storefront.

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.

Keagy Village

Business writer Amanda Codispoti has details on her retail blog, The Storefront.

Food writer Lindsey Nair has details on her Fridge Magnet food blog.

Primary Residential Mortgage, Inc. celebrates their grand opening with a ribbon cutting.

The Salem-Roanoke County Chamber of Commerce held a ribbon cutting for Primary Residential Mortgage, Inc. on Thursday, May 2, 2013. They are located at 3922 Electric Road, Suite 1B, Roanoke, VA.  Members of the community, the Chamber of Commerce, friends and family joined Brian Rotenberry, Jason Poland and staff to celebrate their new location in Roanoke.  The Salem-Roanoke County Chamber would like to thank Primary Residential Mortgage, Inc. for their membership and support.

Submitted by Salem-Roanoke County Chamber of Commerce

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!”

Prior to joining the Roanoke-based advertising and public relations firm, Surber was Marketing Manager for LewisGale Regional Health System, which comprised of four hospitals, six outpatient centers, two cancer centers and nearly 700 physicians. Previously, she worked for the marketing department for Student Programs at Virginia Tech.

Surber brings a great deal of interpersonal skills, organizational management, and communications expertise to the team. She holds a B.S. in Journalism from Radford University.

For more information about Access Advertising & Public Relations, visit www.visitaccess.com.

Access Advertising & Public Relations, based in Roanoke and founded in 1996, provides advertising, design and public relations services and has served hundreds of regional, national and international clients ranging from healthcare to higher education to technology.  The firm has won more than 450 advertising, design, and public relations awards, as well as international awards for exhibit design and CASE awards for work with higher education, and has been recognized as a featured workspace in HOW Magazine and in PRINT Magazine’s Regional Design Issue.  Learn more about Access at www.visitaccess.com.

Submitted by Access

Local Chiropractor, Dr. Nancy Meyer and her children volunteered at the local March of Dimes event last Sunday, May 5, 2013 at the Salem Civic Center. Dr. Meyer, with her daughter and son made balloon art, while Lynsey and her friend’s did face painting. They all joined in the fun and wore their balloon art (see picture). Dr. Meyer, a Board member of the March of Dimes, said, “It is a great organization that is celebrating 75 years of working to help moms have healthier babies!”

If you want more information about the March of Dimes email Division Director Tina Cannon at mcannon@marchofdimes.com, or facebook.com/marchofdimes, or call at 540.427.7020

If you would like to schedule an appointment to see how chiropractic care can help you have a better quality of life, contact Dr. Nancy Meyer and Chiropractic Wellness at: 777-5556, www.drnancymeyer.com, or www.facebook.com/chiropracticwellnessva

Submitted by Dr. Nancy Meyer