Congratulations to our
2008 Annual Award Winners
Click on the awardees below to learn about their contributions to the community. Click here to learn more about the service awards.

Business of the Year
The Burdette Smith Group, P.C
(accepted by Robert Stemetzki)

The Burdette Smith Group, P.C. is a midsize firm of Certified Public Accountants and Management Consultants serving the Washington Metropolitan area. The firm was founded in 1978 by Thomas Burdette, who currently practices with Jeffrey Smith,
Joseph English, and Robert Stemetzki.

The Burdette Smith Group is proud to be considered the ‘CPAs of Choice’ by the business community of Northern Virginia. Its unique focus is two -fold— first,
building a team concept within the firm. It is management’s belief that it is easier to get a new client than it is to find a good team member. By providing a pleasant and comfortable work environment, the firm has been able to develop and retain highly qualified professional staff which in turn makes it easier to attract new clients.

The firm is organized to provide a personalized approach to each engagement, with responsiveness to client needs its highest priority. Thus our second focus is to our clients. For the past 30 years, The Burdette Smith Group has built long-lasting business relationships by following three principles when dealing with our client needs: Trust, Commitment and Service. Our experienced staff provides accounting tax, financial reporting and management consulting services to our valued clients with these three principles in mind.

The Burdette Smith Group is also proud of its support of the local business community
through participation in the Vienna-Tysons Regional and Central Fairfax Chambers of Commerce, Fairfax and Burke Rotary clubs and other civic organizations. It is a patron firm of the George Mason University Accounting Department and an active member of the GMU Patriot Club. To date, it has awarded over $85,000 in scholarships.

Bob Stemetzki joined BSG in 2000 with over 26 years of public accounting experience. His practice is concentrated in business and succession planning for closely held
corporations and their shareholders, tax planning and compliance, and estate and
trust administration. Bob was voted one of Virginia Business magazine’s Top Virginia
CPA’s in 2005, 2006 and 2007.

Business Person of the Year
Karin Arnette, Karin’s Custom Images

Karin’s Custom Images provides the best in advertising specialties for a diverse clientele. Headquartered in Great Falls, VA, KCI has developed a reputation for top quality products and responsive service.

Karin Arnette is a native of the Washington D.C. area. She has more than 30 years of experience in sales and customer service with 18 years in the ad specialty industry. Karin grew up working at Karin’s Florist, the family business, and graduated from George Mason University with a degree in Business Administration.

In 2002, VTRCC named Karin as Entrepreneur of the Year. She is a 2003 graduate of Leadership Fairfax, one of the founders and the treasurer of Professional Networkers Alliance, and a founding
member of The Networking Community. Karin is a member in good standing of several networking organizations in the Washington DC Metro area. If there’s a networking event, you probably will see her there. She has recently joined the board of Homestretch and is a member of the VTRCC Marketing Committee.

Karin resides in Great Falls with her husband Jeff Arnette (WAVA 105.1) who she met through VTRCC and other networking events. She is very proud of her two sons: Peter, a Virginia Tech honors graduate who currently works at Orbital as a Sr. Electrical Engineer; and Bill, a Shenandoah University honors graduate who is currently employed with Freeman & Sherburne Insurance as a Personal Lines Manager.

Entrepreneur of the Year
Joan Fletcher, Winning Ways, Inc.

The founder of Winning Ways, Inc., Joan Fletcher has 20 years of in-depth experience in performance improvement. She opened her own company in 1987, so her leadership, sales and speaking experience comes first-hand as well as from working with clients in a variety of industries.

She has conducted hundreds of training sessions for groups throughout the DC area in focusing on improved performance, goal setting and goal achievement and is recognized as an excellent motivational speaker.

Joan’s enthusiasm, energy and experience are evident from the first meeting to the last training session. She is passionate about her work, and loves to see her clients’ increased satisfaction and effectiveness after identifying their core goals and
values. Her belief in the Winning Ways processes is apparent in how she conducts business day-to-day. She is creative and able to tailor her approach to a particular company’s needs, and she is willing to take risks to help you achieve your goals. Those who have gone through her training programs enjoy her facilitation skills and her ability to make each participant feel valued and listened to. The corner piece of her skill is her ability to get results.

Joan is an active board member in the Vienna-Tysons Regional Chamber of Commerce and the chairman of the board of directors. She also was the chairman of the 57th, 58th and 59th annual Halloween Parade which draws 35,000 people. She is an active member of the Fairfax INOVA Children’s Hospital Development Committee and is an honorary ambassador in northern Virginia for Business Networking International. She spends her
personal time with her husband and two children. She also devotes a significant
amount of time working with families living in poverty.

New Member of the Year
Vienna Tech Help, James Orsinger

A native of Washington DC, James Orsinger married his wife Denis and moved to Vienna in 1978. Their three children, Rachel, Brendan and Gabe, were all born at home on Plum Street SW. The Orsingers know most of Vienna through the many great kids’ activities our town is famous for: VTC, VYI, VLL, Madison Baseball and the Robotics Team. Go Warhawks!

James took a COBOL programming class in 1969, and his obsession with knowing how everything works has kept him learning ever since. While running a small metal fabricating company in his day job, his hobby was computers. His wife Denis learned programming on the family’s TRS-80 computer. The IBM PC Junior arrived next. The first of many Mac computers arrived in 1992, and James
terrified his wife by installing additional VRAM and voiding the warranty. The VRAM was an expensive birthday present and Denis was thrilled to have millions of colors and higher screen resolution for her many Pagemaker 1.0 projects: Rosters for sports teams, school and theatre company programs and fliers.

Denis and the kids were James’ premier technical support clients for many years. James kept buying broken computers and laser printers at swap meets and yard sales and fixing them for Denis, the kids and the growing home network. He sold his interest in the welding shop, finished his engineering degree in 2000, became CompTIA certified and started Vienna Tech Help in 2002.

James mentored the Madison H.S. Robotics team from 2001 to 2006. He is vice president of the BNI chapter that meets at Anita’s every Wednesday morning at 7 AM. He joined the Chamber at the end of 2007, when he realized the networking opportunities he was missing. He has not missed a casino night, mixer or golf tournament since.

Citizen of the Year
Jeannemarie Devolites Davis

Jeannemarie Devolites Davis served three terms in the Virginia House of Delegates from 1997-2002, before being elected to the State Senate in 2003, where she served for four years. In her first term in the House of Delegates, she was elected as her Republican Freshman Class President and her peers elected her Majority Whip in her third term – the only Republican woman ever elected to a leadership position in the General Assembly. Similarly, she represented the 34th Senatorial District as the only Republican Woman in the Virginia State Senate.

Jeannemarie has been active in the Northern Virginia area for over 20 years, 10 of which she has devoted to political service, sponsoring over 146 bills that have become law and spending much of her time with local organizations that focus on improving lives and strengthening the community. Senator Davis served on 5 prestigious committees during her Senate term including Transportation, Rules, General Laws & Technology, Privileges & Elections, and Rehabilitation & Social Services.

As an active member in the community, the former senator is a member of several prominent boards and civic organizations and she enjoys donating her free time to a variety of community service activities. Jeannemarie has served on and worked with many local organizations and boards.

Jeannemarie is a partner with ICG Government, a technology consulting group, based in Richmond and serves on the corporate Board of Directors of Lattice, Inc. Jeannemarie graduated from Yorktown High School, in Arlington, VA, and earned a BA in Mathematics from the University of Virginia, in 1978. She is the mother of four daughters and resides in Vienna, VA, with her husband, Congressman Tom Davis.

Non Profit of the Year
PRS, Inc.(accepted by Wendy Gradison)

PRS, Inc. (Psychiatric Rehabilitation Services) is a 501(c)(3) private non-profit that provides a full range of rehabilitation services for persons in Northern Virginia working toward recovery from mental illness. Established in 1963, PRS is a leader and innovator in the “recovery” model of rehabilitation, which tailors services to each individual’s needs, strengths and goals. PRS is dedicated to helping people with serious mental illness develop the skills and resources they need to recover and lead satisfying and more self-sufficient lives in the community.

PRS is based in Falls Church, with additional centers in South County/Alexandria and Reston and residential sites throughout the region. Services available include Day Programs, Employment Services, Residential Programs and Home-based Services. In recent years, PRS has provided services annually to 700 individuals recovering from schizophrenia, mood disorders, personality disorders, anxiety disorders and some with a dual diagnosis of mental illness and substance abuse.

For the past ten years, Wendy Gradison has served as President and CEO of PRS. Prior to joining PRS, Wendy served as program manager for Vocational Services for the Prince William County Community Services Board. A trained family therapist and facilitator, Wendy received her Masters in Social Work from Catholic University in 1981 and her Bachelor of Arts in Psychology from Williams College in 1975.

Educator of the Year
Kurt Mills, Kilmer Middle School

Kurt Mills is a Vienna native and a 1988 graduate of James Madison High School. He attended George Mason University where he played Rugby and served his country as an infantry sergeant in the Virginia Army National Guard.

He has spent 14 years as a Physical Education Teacher and an Adapted Physical Education Teacher in Vienna schools such as Thoreau Middle School, Marshall High School, and Stenwood Elementary School and has worked with other Vienna students as an athletic coach and a FCPS Drivers’ Education Instructor.

Kurt has earned a Masters Degree in Special Education and an Ed.S degree in School Administration and Supervision from the University of Virginia.

In August of 2007, Kurt began his administrative career at Kilmer Middle School as the school’s After School Programs Specialist. In this position he enjoys planning and administrating, clubs, programs, and activities that link the students’ classroom education to the challenges of the real world.

Lifetime Service Award
Navy Federal Credit Union, Louise Foreman

Founded in 1933, Navy Federal Credit Union is the world’s largest credit union. Navy Federal has over $35 billion in assets and provides a full spectrum of financial services and products to over three million members.

More than 7,500 employees serve the membership from the Vienna, Virginia, headquarters, call centers in Winchester, Virginia, and Pensacola, Florida, and from over 150 branch offices worldwide. Service is also available 24/7 through telephone and online access.

The credit union serves all Department of Defense (DoD) military and civilian personnel and their families. In 2008, Navy Federal was named to the FORTUNE Magazine’s 100 Best Places to Work For- #78, the first time a credit union has made the list.

The credit union philosophy of “People Helping People” is demonstrated by Navy Federal’s long-standing commitment to their membership, employees, and the communities in which they are located.

Chairman’s Award
Rich Irons, First Citizens Bank

Rich Irons has been in banking his entire career to date, totaling 18 years in the Northern Virginia market. His banking career includes concentrations in Retail Banking, Banking Technology and Commercial Services. Currently, Rich serves as the Vice President and Financial Services Manager for Citizens Bank’s newest location in Tysons Corner.

Since 2003 Rich has served on the VTRCC Casino Night Committee and has been a regular supporter of the chamber and its mission to serve the business community. Rich lives in Falls Church with his wife Lisa (also a banker) and his three daughters, Kaitlyn, Julia and Megan. Both Rich and Lisa grew up in Arlington, Virginia graduating from Radford University and George Mason University respectively. In addition to spending time with his family, Rich enjoys mountain biking, golf and racquetball.

About the Service Awards

Each year, the Vienna-Tysons Regional Chamber of Commerce presents awards to companies and individuals in our area who exemplify exceptional commitment to the betterment of the Chamber and its goals while improving the quality of life for members in our community. Your help is needed to identify those candidates deserving of special recognition. The winners will be given special recognition in Vienna’s 61st Annual Halloween Parade. It is not necessary to nominate in each category.

General Qualifications for Nominees:

• Must be nominated by a member of the VTRCC
• Must have been a member of the VTRCC for specified number of years as stipulated under each category
• Nominee must have made outstanding contributions to the Chamber
• Nominee must demonstrate an active involvement in the community above and beyond what one would normally expect
• Nominee must have a good reputation in the business community
• Nominations must be submitted by June 15, 2007.

Specific Qualifications for Nominees:

• BUSINESS OF THE YEAR - Nominee must be a visible, on-going business which has maintained stability over its business life. Must have been a member of VTRCC for at least five (5) years.
• BUSINESS PERSON OF THE YEAR - Nominee must be a viable business person in our area. Nominee must have been a member of VTRCC for at least three (3) years.
• ENTREPRENEUR OF THE YEAR - Nominee must be an owner of a small-business in our area and must have been a member of VTRCC for at least two (2) years.
• NEW MEMBER OF THE YEAR - Nominee must be a current member of the Chamber and have been a member of VTRCC for no more than two (2) years.
• CITIZEN OF THE YEAR - Nominee must be a member or non-member active in the community. Efforts must be sustained over a long period of time and/or result from an outstanding one-time contribution in the last 13 months (May 2007 to June 2008).
• NON-PROFIT OF THE YEAR - Nominee is to have been a member of VTRCC for at least one (1) year. Non-profit must be a feasible organization within our area.
• LIFETIME SERVICE AWARD - Nominee must have been member of VTRCC for at least twenty (20) years. Nominee shows extraordinary community service over a long period of time.