The winners will be chosen by votes from the public from among five finalists in each category. Readers may vote in public libraries or online at the Library of Virginia’s Web site, http://www.lva.virginia.gov/vote. Voting for the People’s Choice Awards runs from May 14 through June 29, 2012.

This year’s fiction finalists for the People’s Choice Awards are:
• Washed in the Blood by Lisa Alther
• The Sixth Man by David Baldacci
• A Nose for Justice by Rita Mae Brown
• The Scrapbook of Frankie Pratt by Caroline Preston
• The Reservoir by John Milliken Thompson

The nonfiction finalists are:
• The Good Daughter by Jasmin Darznik
• Virginia at War, 1865 by William C. Davis and James I. Robertson, Jr.
• Lost Communities of Virginia by Terri Fisher and Kirsten Sparenborg
• Midnight Rising: John Brown and the Raid that Sparked the Civil War by Tony Horwitz
• Seeing Trees: Discover the Extraordinary Secrets of Everyday Trees by Nancy Ross Hugo

Winners will be announced on October 20, 2012, at the 15th Annual Library of Virginia Literary Awards Celebration presented by Dominion and the Richmond Times-Dispatch.

Ribbon Cutting Business Opportunity Fair 2011

By T. Jeffery Conley and Sylvia B. Thomas

Nationally-recognized business experts from a range of sectors will descend upon Richmond for the 2012 Virginia Business Opportunity Fair (VBOF), the premier Mid-Atlantic, business-to-business event hosted by the Virginia Minority Supplier Development Council (VMSDC) May 6-8.

Virginia native Cameron Johnson will be the keynote speaker for the May 8th breakfast. Cameron Johnson has delivered his message of entrepreneurism in Japan and Australia, and hosted a television show in the U.K. This 27 year-old started his first business at his family’s home here in the Commonwealth at the age of 12 he netted $50,000-that year alone. He will offer global business insight that he gained as advisory board member for a Tokyo-based company-a post he took at age 15. By the time he graduated high school, this Virginia-based businessman had assets worth more than $1million. Johnson will share his insights and strategies for growing a business. “Put yourself out there,” he told Forbes in an interview. “Don’t be afraid of rejection. Don’t be afraid to ask for anything.”

Also on May 8th, headlining the luncheon, Andrés Tapia, president of Chicago-based Diversity Best Practices, will share his years of expertise in encouraging innovative approaches to building inclusive work environments. The former chief diversity officer at Hewitt is also author of “The Inclusion Paradox: The Obama Era and the Transformation of Global Diversity.”

Tracey Jeter, president and chief executive officer of VMSDC, is eager to bring in business experts to share their broad range of experiences. “Our corporate members and minority business executives are most interested in hearing global insights, as our participants have a national and international base of clients and partners,” Jeter said.

Ying McGuire and Lisa Whaley Morris of VMSDC-certified minority firm Technology Integration Group (TIG) will lead the workshop “Going Presidential,” a primer on taking businesses to the international marketplace.

Keith Middleton and Rich Reinecke, will discuss one of the most important business topics: money. Both from Fahrenheit Financial, their workshop “Exploratory Committee” will focus on mastering the fundamentals.

Doña Storey will tell attendees what to do when “In the Hot Seat,” as they build brands and manage crises. Storey, president of govtips.biz and Quality Technical Services Inc. has decades of experience in working with federal government agencies.

Moses Foster, president and chief executive officer of West Cary Group will lead an informative and action-oriented session designed to help small business crystallize, refine, and articulate their corporate identity. Foster will discuss how to properly build a value proposition statement, provide techniques to enhance differentiation from the competitive set, and guide creation of marketing one-pagers that consistently outshine the competition.

Also as a part of the conference the Minority Business Enterprise Input Committee (MBEIC) will be hosting their statewide meeting. Guest speakers include:

Mark Cartwright, recently appointed by Virginia Governor Robert McDonnell to the post of Director of Supplier Diversity for the Commonwealth of Virginia. Cartwright is the first to hold this newly created position and comes to the Governor’s office five years after building and managing the supplier diversity program at Virginia Tech.

Kyle Kondik, Director of Communications for the Center for Politics. Kyle closely follows congressional and gubernatorial races and contributes to Sabato’s Crystal Ball, a political analysis website and newsletter created by Center for Politics Director Larry Sabato. He also responds to media inquiries and promotes Center for Politics events.

Bridget Bean will be the keynote speaker for the SBA 8(a) Update. Bean is the Acting Regional Administrator for the United States Small Business Administration and District Director of the Washington Metro Area District Office. As Regional Administrator for the Region 3, Bean is responsible for the delivery and management of SBA’s small business programs, financial assistance and business development program initiatives throughout the region.

This year’s VBOF, which returns to the city of Richmond for the first time since 2005 will be held at the newly-renovated Richmond Marriott, in revitalized downtown. This year’s VBOF theme, “Using Campaign Strategy to Grow Your Business and Build Supplier Relationships” focuses on a non-partisan approach to boosting businesses’ bottom line by increasing votes from customers. Serving as honorary chairman is city of Richmond Mayor, Dwight C. Jones.

“VMSDC members strongly and positively impact the city of Richmond and play a huge role in our efforts to Build a Better Richmond,” said Mayor Jones, a former member of the Virginia House of Delegates.

“This is more than simply a symbolic post, “said Mayor Jones. If we are to truly excel in building a Tier One city, continue to have the city’s bond ratings upgraded by Wall Street and continue to invest in capital projects, we need to involve all segments of the community-major corporations, our minority-owned businesses, our universities and of course the government agencies. I’m thrilled to be a part of this synergy.”

A Black Tie Gala will celebrate VMSDC’s 35th anniversary by honoring the organization’s past presidents and supporters.

Entrepreneurs, corporate executives and government officials will form new alliances at VBOF, which features plenary sessions, one-on-one appointments with key decision makers at major corporations, best-practices workshops and match-maker activities to pair minority firms with larger corporations.

For info: Call 804-788-6490
What: Virginia Business Opportunity Fair
When: May 6-8, 2012
Website: www.vmsdc.org
Where: Richmond Marriott
Twitter: @VMSDC, Follow us for real-time updates
Facebook: Like VMSDC on Facebook for detailed event info

Dr. Kim Evans is a member of Good Shepherd Baptist Church, and the Assistant Superintendent of Mecklenburg County Public Schools. She received the award on behalf of the church.

Good Shepherd Baptist Church, Petersburg, Virginia was the FIRST faith based organization to be recognized with the Flame Bearer of Education Award for their continued support of the United Negro College Fund. It was the 18th Annual Flame Bearer of Education Awards Ceremony held on Thursday, March 29th at the Hippodrome Theater, Richmond, Virginia. Dr. Kim Evans accepted the award on behalf of the church. Other award winners recognized for their outstanding support included: Dr. Marilyn West, CEO of the MH West & Co. Inc. Consulting Company and Virginia Dominion Power. Radio personality, Ben Miles was the Master of Ceremonies for the event.

Good Shepherd Baptist Church was founded in 1933 as a mission and established as a church in 1936. Serving the Petersburg community for nearly eighty years, she has experienced phenomenal growth by the grace of God and our commitment to serve. We are seeking as a faith community to “Build a Church, Develop a Community, Expand our Services and IMPACT lives.” Supporting the United Negro College Fund gives us an opportunity to fulfill our mission while supporting students who seek to attain an education at a Historically Black College or University. Our mission must be accomplished and so helping students reach their goals, in the process, makes sense.

Dr. Marcus Newsome, Chesterfield County Public Schools Superintendent, has identified the need for mentors in the school system. Mega Mentors was formed in response. The committee recruits mentors and has them trained by the Virginia Mentoring Partnership. Working that evening to meet their commitment to being youth role models were, Delesia Watson – Miss Chesterfield 2012, Olivia Fletcher – Miss Chesterfield’s Outstanding Teen, and Princesses Angelina Anderson, Peyton Plummer & Abigail Powell.

In addition, the artists will discuss their work on Friday, January 27, from 6 p.m. to 7p.m. in the Pine Camp Theater. Both events are open and free to the public.

The works on display will include Thaddeus LaCrette’s life-sized beaded sculptures and ceramic sculptures by Dawn Cherry Miles. Dawn Cherry Miles is a Richmond native, while Thaddeus LaCrette is originally from Grenada and has lived in Brooklyn, NY, and Atlanta.
The exhibit will be on display through March 2 in Pine Camp’s Spotlight Gallery. Gallery hours are from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. Monday through Friday, and 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Saturdays.

The second iteration of the “Workshop at Macy’s” program, which targets up-and-coming minority and women business owners, is a four-and-a-half day program that will be held in May of next year. A press release from Macy’s says “The specially designed business development curriculum is aimed at minority and women-owned retail businesses that are poised to succeed on a larger scale, but need real-world business practice information and perspective on large-scale vendor relationships, to move to the next level and sustain growth.”

The specially designed business development curriculum is aimed at minority and women-owned retail business

The first workshop, held last spring, included 22 businesses from all over the retail map, from makeup/skincare companies to confectionary designers. According to those who participated in the course, the experience was well worth it.

“The Workshop at Macy’s challenged us to examine our business on an elevated level,” said Michelle Tunno Buelow, founder of participant Bello Tunno. “It encouraged us to realistically look at our current infrastructure and strategy, dream bigger, then bridge the gap.”

“The opportunity changed my perspective and gave my business the retail insider information it needed to succeed even my own limits,” said Kim Roxie, founder and CEO of LAMIK Beauty, also a previous participant. “The relationships I was able to build within a week will span a lifetime. Cheers to the Magic of Macy’s!”

“The incredible success of our first Workshop this Spring paves the way for a new set of entrepreneurs who are hungry to learn from our stable of experts about the ways they can grow their ventures,” said Shawn Outler, Macy’s group vice-president of Multicultural Merchandising and Vendor Development. “The support and information made available to Workshop participants is invaluable in taking these businesses to the next phase of growth.”

Macy’s is now accepting applicants for next year’s program. To be eligible to participate, applicants must be a majority owner, co-owner, or primary decision-maker of their company, which is required to have been in business for at least two years. Applications will also include a 250-word biographical statement, portfolio of products and their costs, resumes of all owners involved, and financial statements for the past two years. For more information, visit www.macysinc.com/workshop.

Puritan Cleaners is tipping off its 24th Coats For Kids Campaign with a special partnership event with Coach Shaka Smart and the VCU Men’s Basketball team. The opening game for VCU this season on November 3rd will be Puritan Cleaners Coats For Kids Night at the Seigel Center. All Ram fans are encouraged to bring coats to donate when they enter the game. There will be free NCAA 2011 Final Four Tournament Posters for the first 300 people who donate a coat that evening.

During the week of October 17 through 21, Puritan will be giving away pairs of tickets (one pair per day, 10 total) for the November 3rd game to some of their lucky fans on Facebook. To be eligible to win the tickets, you must visit the Puritan Cleaners page on Facebook (http://www.facebook.com/puritancleaners), where you can enter to win.

“We’re excited to get the season started,” said Coach Smart. “And, to be able to help Puritan collect coats for our community at the same time is a real win-win situation. I know the Ram Nation will come through, as they always do.”

“We are delighted to be partnering with Coach Smart and VCU for this event,” said Gary Glover, President of Puritan Cleaners. “We’re big fans and loved following their run to the Final Four last spring. They’re very generous to offer us this opportunity to really start this year’s Coats For Kids program in a big way. I think that a sellout of the game is expected, and I know it will be a great night for VCU and Coats For Kids.”

This will be the 24th year that Puritan Cleaners is collecting new and used coats, as well as monetary donations, for its Coats For Kids program. Since 1988, Puritan has collected over 300,000 coats of all sizes, cleaned and repaired them, and then partnered with the Salvation Army to distribute them to Central Virginia’s families in need. As always, Coats For Kids starts November 1st, and continues through the entire month. Coats and monetary donations can be dropped off at any Puritan location any time during the month. Home delivery route managers are also collecting coats on their runs throughout November.

For more info, go to http://www.puritancleaners.com/puritancleanerscoatsforkids.php.

Google has worked with local partners to design the program, which will help drive economic growth by giving Virginia businesses the tools and resources to establish a website, find new customers, and grow their business.

Virginia Get Your Business Online is an easy and fast way for Virginia businesses to get a website. Google is partnering with Intuit to provide its popular Intuit Websites offerings for free including an easy-to-build website, a customized domain name and web-hosting for one year. Participating Virginia businesses also receive a local business listing on Google Places and free tools, training and resources to succeed online.

Small businesses need to be online because that’s where their customers are. While 97% of Americans look online for local products and services, 44% of Virginia small businesses do not have a website or online presence. The perception that getting online is complex, costly and time-consuming has prevented many small businesses from taking the first step.

“Small businesses are missing out on a huge opportunity to reach new customers in Virginia and beyond,” said Scott Levitan, Marketing Director for Google. “Virginia Get Your Business Online will help make it fast, easy and free for Virginia businesses to get online.”

“Small businesses drive our economy and their success is crucial to ensuring the sustained and robust recovery our nation needs,” said Governor Bob McDonnell. “This initiative will provide many small businesses in the Commonwealth with the opportunity to grow their sales, expand their operations and, most importantly, use that growth to employ more of our citizens,” Governor McDonnell continued. “I look forward to joining with Google to help kick off their “Virginia Get Your Business Online” partnership with small businesses in the Commonwealth to help increase their visibility online and make them more competitive and successful in the years ahead.”

“As a leading provider of small business solutions, we have witnessed the growth small businesses have seen from getting online,” said Ralph Matlack, Group Product Manager at Intuit. “We are excited to offer Intuit Websites for free to all the wonderful small businesses in Virginia and to help them create a customized presence that represents their unique brands.”

“Every day we see more and more people realize that meeting face-to-face to collaborate is by far the best way to get things done,” said Mary Telesco, VP of Meetup. “There are thousands of Small Business Meetup members helping each other succeed every day by connecting with one another, in person. That is exactly why we are thrilled to partner with Google on this initiative — small business owners getting online together better than going at it alone!”

“An effective online presence is necessary for small businesses to thrive in the digital age. It not only helps business reach new customers but continue to reach out to existing ones,” said Jody Keenan, State Director of the Virginia Small Business Development Centers. “The Virginia Small Business Development Centers Network is excited to be partnering with Google to help Virginia companies both get online and strengthen their online presence.”

Businesses can either get online through www.Virginiagetonline.com, or in person through a series of Google-hosted events throughout the state.

The next event will be held on Friday, September 23 and Saturday, September 24 in Richmond at Richmond Centerstage 600 East Grace Street Richmond, VA. Businesses across Virginia who cannot attend the events can visit www.Virginiagetonline.com to quickly and easily get online today. The program will be available online for a year.

Virginia Get Your Business Online
Friday and Saturday, September 23 and 24
Richmond Centerstage
600 East Grace Street
Richmond, VA 23219-1891

Richmond jumped five places to No. 27 (a two-way tie) in the annual ranking of national liberal arts colleges.

The magazine also named Richmond to three special lists in its category — best value schools (No. 9), up-and-comers having the most promising and innovative programs (No. 3), and high school counselors’ picks (tied for No. 24).

The overall ranking is Richmond’s highest since moving into the national liberal arts category seven years ago, when it debuted at No. 34.

“This is our highest-ever ranking in the national liberal arts category, and everyone at Richmond is gratified by the recognition of the good work going on here,” said university President Edward L. Ayers. “We’ve been in the category only seven years and have seen a steady ascent. Our rapid increase in applications for admission to record levels and our continuing commitment to meeting 100 percent of students’ demonstrated financial need probably have a lot to do with the positive perception of the university”.

“It’s great that others recognize the work Richmond is doing in terms of educating students. For example, the fact that U.S. News surveyed 2,400 high school counselors at public and private high schools in all 50 states is very important. The magazine acknowledges counselors’ insight into how well colleges and universities meet the needs and expectations of their students,” said Ayers.

“The best value tag is critical recognition of Richmond’s commitment to ensuring access to a high quality education by providing outstanding financial aid packages. And, being named to a very short list of up-and-comers by presidents, provosts and deans shows us that educators from across the country recognize the great work we’re doing to provide an exceptional undergraduate education,” Ayers said.

Other recently released college guides that have ranked or selected Richmond include “The Fiske Guide to Colleges” (2012 edition), Princeton Review’s “The Best 376 Colleges: 2012 Edition,” and Forbes.com’s America’s Best Colleges list. The university consistently ranks as a top-tier liberal arts college and best value by U.S. News, Kiplinger’s Personal Finance and SmartMoney magazine. Bankrate.com recently named Richmond one of the “10 best colleges for the money.”