Chamber Hosts Patch User Forum

The Greater Springfield Chamber hosts a free brown bag seminar on Tuesday, July 17.

The Greater Springfield Chamber of Commerce and Patch invite area businesses and nonprofits to a one-hour brown bag seminar where you'll learn how to use Patch.com to market your company and events to our local community, free of charge. Local editors will demonstrate how to post events on the calendar, submit a press release, blog and stay up-to-date with community news. The Patch User Forum will be held on Tuesday, July 17, from noon to 1 p.m. at Interstate, 5801 Rolling Road, Springfield.  Attendees are encouraged to bring a laptop for a more robust, interactive session. Chamber membership is not required to attend this free event.  A second User Forum is scheduled for Tuesday, August 21, 2012.

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Nancy-jo Manney

4:19 pm on Tuesday, July 17, 2012

Great seminar. Thank you to everyone who attended. For those who could not make it today please plan now to attend in August.   more ›

Cuccinelli: Fraud and Elder Abuse Major Problems

A fraud prevention summit was held at Greenspring in Springfield.

When Pamela Glasner's mother died, she and her brother contacted the nursing home to transfer power of attorney for their father to themselves. That's when they learned that their father had signed everything over to a man they did not know. The person had presented their father a paper in the nursing home and said, "sign here." It was considered legal, and even after her father's death, Glasner is living with the consequences. Glasner produced the documentary “Last Will and Embezzlement” to educate Americans about the prevalancy of financial exploitation of the elderly. "I did this because no one should have to live through what I've lived through and am still living through," she told more than 100 residents of Greenspring retirement …

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Tech Trends

Tonji, the Music Ambassador, New iPad App for Kids

Burke mom Karina Garcia Neff introduces her musical app for kids.

Burke mother and entrepreneur Karina Garcia Neff, a native of Peru, has created an iPad application for kids. “I wanted to teach my children to embrace who they are and become connected to their heritage,” Neff wrote on her website, Mommy Americana. The result is Tonji, the Music Ambassador, an app for Apple's iPad, developed in conjunction with Neff's multilingual music album of the same name. Both aim to present culture and language through nursery rhymes. The app is available at the iTunes Store for $2.99.  It currently features three songs, but will eventually include "the vast majority" of the album's 25 songs in nine languages, according to the website. Users will be notified by updates in the app store when additional songs are …

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Greater Springfield Chamber Events

Networking, marketing, golf and more.

Networking Mixer - June 21 NEW LOCATION - Walker's Grille. Join fellow Chamber members and guests for after-hours networking at Walker's Grille in Metro Park. Networking Mixers are free for all employees of Chamber member companies as well as first and second time visitors. read more   Marketing to the Federal Government - June 27 Sign up today for Community Business Partnership's second of four 2012 symposiums. You'll learn from industry experts what type of certification you need to work with the federal government and large prime contractors, and how to leverage this certification. read more Governor's Bowl Continues through July 4 The Greater Springfield Chamber has accepted the challenge to collect food for those in need in our …

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Susan Larson

3:02 pm on Sunday, June 17, 2012

Thank you for the added information, Nancy-jo!   more ›

Google Gains Patents and More with Motorola Mobility Purchase

Flip Phone to RAZR to Google

Growing up, I knew Motorola for its television sets. From those dark ages, Motorola pursued mobile phones as well as cable modems and video boxes. It developed two iconic mobile phones. First the flip phone in the mid-1990s; then the RAZR. It also treated the public to several memorable commercials on both products. Who could resist the sleek, thin RAZR? Google cleared the final hurdle in its pursuit of a merger with Motorola Mobility. Trading commissions nationally and internationally were required to approve the merger, which began almost a year ago. The last country, the People’s Republic of China, approved it on May 19. By May 22, the $12.5 billion merger’s worldwide regulatory review was complete. The stated plan is for Motorola to …

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Little League Comes with a Big Price Tag

Poll: What do you think? Is the cost of kids' sports out of hand?

Have you purchased a baseball glove for your Little Leaguer lately? Did you pay more than $100? How about a $250 bat? Baseball and softball equipment, including cleats and uniforms, accounted for over $1 billion in sales in 2010, reported the New York Times. "Youth equipment represents the highest percentage of sales, particularly bat sales, as the parent willing to buy a $200, 28-inch bat for a 9-year-old is likely to pay the same price for a 30-inch bat for a 10-year-old the next season," wrote Mike Tanier in "Big Price Tags Attached to Even the Littlest Leagues." The cost of joining a league and outfitting a player can overwhelm families, and may even prevent some kids from playing. So what do you think? Has the cost of bats and gloves …

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VRE Invites Riders to Take Their Children to Work Free

Virginia Railway Express provides free rides for students in support of Take Our Daughters and Sons to Work Day .

Virginia Railway Express (VRE) will once again support Take Our Daughters and Sons to Work Day on Thursday, April 26. School-age children between the ages of 11 and 18 may ride free when accompanied by a paying adult. Children 10 and under already can ride free every day. "Build Opportunity: 20 Years of Education, Empowerment, Experience" is the theme for the 20th anniversary year of the program.  "Take Our Daughters And Sons To Work® encourages girls and boys across the country to dream without gender limitations and to think imaginatively about their family, work and community lives," says the website. "This national, public education program connects what children learn at school with the actual working world."

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VRE Operations Board Meets to Discuss Fares

Board meeting scheduled for Friday, April 20.

The Virginia Railway Express (VRE) Operations Board meets Friday, and their agenda includes a vote on whether to approve a proposed 3 percent fare increase.  If adopted, the increase would take effect the first week of July 2012, to coincide with the start of FY2013. Normal and discounted (advance-purchase) fares proposed for the 2013 fiscal year are outlined in the document attached to this article.  The new per-trip increase for both monthly and single-trip Burke riders would be, for example: VRE is a transportation partnership of: The commuter rail service operates 29 trains from 18 stations serving the Northern Virginia suburbs to Alexandria, Crystal City and downtown Washington, D.C., along the I-66 and I-95 corridors. Services began …

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Last Chance: Comment on VRE's Proposed Fare Hike

Public comment period closes Friday, April 6.

Friday is the last chance for commuters to comment on the Virginia Railway Express (VRE) proposed 3 percent fare increase.  If adopted, the increase would take effect the first week of July 2012, to coincide with the start of FY2013. Written comments may be: The PDF attached to this article shows normal and discounted (advance-purchase) fares proposed for the 2013 fiscal year. "The Virginia Railway Express Operations Board has asked its member localities to examine a proposed $88.7 million Fiscal Year 2013 budget that anticipates fewer dollars from the state and federal governments and an increase in fuel prices," VRE spokesman Mark Roeber told the Washington Post.

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Fairfax County Equestrians Seek Common Goals

There still exists a significant market for equestrian activities in Fairfax County.

This is the fourth and final artilce in a multi-part series from Patch about the economic and other impacts of the declining equestrian industry in Fairfax County.  Part 1: Fairfax County Losing Equestrian-Related Revenue Due to Lack of Planning was published Tuesday, Feb. 21. Part 2: Richmond Highway Development May Spare Woodlawn Stables was published Wednesday, Feb. 22. Part 3: Laurel Hill Equestrian Facility Moves Forward was published Thursday, Feb. 23. ______ There still exists a market for equestrian activities in Fairfax County, despite challenges to local horse-related infrastructure from housing, business and transportation development. Though a relatively small portion of the population, equestrians in the county drive a …

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Virginia Colin

10:54 pm on Sunday, February 26, 2012

Thanks for this set of articles. Very informative.   more ›