Vienna-Tysons Regional Chamber of Commerce

The Fairfax County EDA is offering two new monthly services to area businesses from our offices here in Tysons Corner.

Click here for more information.

Calendar Updates

Bookmark this site for the latest on December and January events, and save these dates for February...

Feb. 13 Valentine breakfast

Feb. 17 OFFICE CLOSED for President’s Day

Feb. 20 Mixer

December Business Spotlight
UNITED BANK

January Business Spotlight
MAGRI & ASSOCIATES, INC.

Click here for more information about these members or to find out how your business can be "Member of the Month".

Message from the President

December 2002

Dear Vienna-Tysons Regional Chamber Members,

On behalf of the board of directors for the Vienna-Tysons Regional Chamber of Commerce, I would like to thank our members for their continued support. We would like to extend a warm Holiday greeting to all of our friends and extended family. Have a safe Holiday season.

During the month of December, the VTRCC will host its annual Holiday Luncheon sponsored by Goodman & Company on Thursday December 12 at the Tysons Corner Marriott. The Madison Madrigals will perform some holiday caroling for our enjoyment. As an added bonus for those members that attend, there will be a door prize from Boone & Sons Jewelers valued at $500. This is a great gift for that special someone so don't delay, make your reservations today!

On Tuesday, December 17 there will be a FREE seminar entitled, "Monopolize Your Marketplace" from 9:00 am - 1:00 pm. at the Hilton Alexandria Mark Center (5000 Seminary Rd., Alexandria, VA). Separate Your Business From The Competition. Then Eliminate Them. Whether your company relies on a sales force, advertising or marketing (or a combination), this seminar will show you how to systematize your marketing so that it produces very predictable, extremely profitable results. The cost ($290 value) is FREE to the first 50 people who call (800) 892-0095 and use the code: 3673 to register.

On Thursday, December 19 there will be a FREE Sales Training seminar from
8:30 am - 4:30 pm at the Washington Hilton (1919 Connecticut Avenue NW).
Three of the world's top motivational and sales trainers, Tom Hopkins, Zig Ziglar, and Laura Laaman are donating their time for a FREE one-day sales training event to help rebuild America's economy. There is no cost to attend. For more information, please visit www.freesalesseminar.com. Seating is limited and advance registration is required.

Remember that on Friday, December 20 the office will close at 12:00 noon for the Holidays and will reopen on January 2.

In order to grow our Chamber and implement programs of interest for our members, area businesses, and the community, I need your help. If you have any questions, suggestions, or ideas that you think the VTRCC should consider or if you would like to schedule a time to meet with me, please call (703) 281-1333 or email me at gpowersjr@vtrcc.org.

I am looking forward to hearing from area businesses and community members so that we can continue to improve the chamber. Additional information about the Vienna-Tysons Regional Chamber of Commerce can be found online at www.vtrcc.org. Please remember to call the Chamber to RSVP for our events and activities.

I look forward to seeing you at our upcoming events.

Very truly yours,

Francis G. Powers, Jr.

News from the Committees

Membership Development Committee Meeting - Wednesday, December 4, 8-9 a.m. at HQ Global Workplaces, RSVP to Mark Chernisky, (703) 790-0600 mchernisky@fceda.org

Tysons Technology Committee Meeting - Thursday, December 16, 8 - 9 a.m. at Fairfax County EDA Offices, RSVP to Michelle Fisher, Angles Software Solutions Inc. angles@net-bizz.com

Membership News and Newsmakers

The Fairfax County Economic Development Authority (FCEDA) in partnership with the Virginia Department of Business Assistance and the U.S. Small Business Administration, will conduct monthly workshops for those persons that are interested in starting a business in Fairfax County. Highlights of the workshop will include start up information (licenses and permits), Virginia Department of Business Assistance workforce service programs and training information, and an overview of the U.S. Small Business Administration’s resources (financing and certification). The workshops will be held the first Tuesday of each month. There is no cost to attend the workshops however pre-registration is required. In addition to the “Doing Business in Fairfax County” workshops, the FCEDA will provide small business counseling services through an arrangement with the Service Corps of Retired Executives (SCORE), a U.S. Small Business Administration initiative. A SCORE counselor will be available the first Friday of every month at the FCEDA office in Vienna, Virginia. You must schedule an appointment in order to meet with a score representative. For more information, to register for the workshop or to schedule an appointment with a SCORE counselor please call (703) 790-0600 or email – info@fceda.org.

TML Copiers & Digital Solutions, a locally owned and operated Office Technology Dealer in Manassas, Virginia, is proud to announce congratulations to the 2001-2002 Circle of Excellence Winners: Kathy Holster, Laura Watts, Linda Morrow, Ish Prieto, Colleen Haynes, Pam Thompson, Mark Grey, Jeremy Eller, George Neal, and Thomas Grant.

Cardinal Bank, N.A. continues to bolster its position as a premier community bank with the formation of its Government Contract Lending Group targeted toward small to mid-sized government contractors. The group provides a full-range of services to help government contractor companies expand their business and better manage their cash flow Cardinal Bank is one of the only community banks in the region with the ability to lend up to $5 million to any one government contractor. For more information, visit www.cardinalbank.com.

Historic Vienna, Inc. will sell the sixth in a series of hand painted Christmas ornaments, depicting historic sites in town, a model of Vienna’s red caboose for $16 at the Freeman Store, 131 Church Street, NE, Vienna. The 2002 Christmas card is a pen and ink drawing of the Freeman House and Church Street. D. Marshall Elliott, a member of the Vienna Arts Society, designed the card. The cards will be sold exclusively at the Freeman Store in packages of 10 for $5. The Freeman Store will have extra holiday hours of operation on Fridays from noon to 4 p.m. A 50% off sale of Christmas items will be held December 27-29.

bikes@vienna will continue with its store tradition, the "Guilt Reduction" Ride on Thanksgiving morning. Enjoy hot cider and oatmeal cookies at 8:00 a.m. At 8:30 a.m. cyclists head out the W&OD Trail to Herndon and back. In the spirit of the day, John Brunow asks that you bring a donation for the Committee Helping Others (CHO) Food Drive. They collect canned goods, dry goods, and money to help needy families. For those who are preparing for Thanksgiving and cannot make it, a second "Guilt Reduction" Ride will occur on Friday morning. Arrive for hot cider and oatmeal cookies at 9:00 a.m. and the ride will start at 9:30 a.m.. Please bring a donation for the CHO Food Drive.

Renaissance Grounds, Inc. is the area’s leading holiday lighting decorating specialist. Make your home the envy of your neighborhood this holiday season. Visit their website at www.Renaissancegrounds.com or call 1-800-331-5318 ext 8613 to set up a free decorating consultation.

The Commonwealth Chamber Summit, a one day conference to identify Virginia’s chief challenges for business and the ways in which chambers across Virginia can collectively address them, will be held at The Jefferson Hotel in Richmond on Thursday, December 12. The program will run from 9:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. The inclusive cost for Virginia Chamber members is $60.00. For additional information visit: www.vachamber.com.

The Shepherd's Center of Oakton-Vienna announces the debut of a brand new service for older adults in our local community. The Center and students at Oakton High School and Madison High School will offer a leaf raking service for those older adults who may need assistance with this task. This will provide an opportunity for meaningful contact between generations and a wonderful service to our community. For more information, call the Shepherd's Center office at (703) 281-0538.

4R Digital Solutions (4RDS) is an information technology (IT) company that specializes in providing Disaster Recovery/Business Continuity services to commercial clients. Utilizing over 20 years of experience providing this type of service to the federal marketplace, 4RDS will remotely monitor your network and backup your critical data to our location. Please consider these facts when determining your need for our service.

Fact:	Over 40% of companies that lose their data in a disaster NEVER REOPEN their doors.
Fact:	It takes 19 days and costs $17,000 to re-enter just 20 megabytes of sales and marketing data (most companies have gigabytes of data). Retrieving accounting records requires 21 days at an average cost of $19,000.
Fact:	94% of companies that experience a catastrophic data loss go out of business within 2 years.
Fact:	90% of data losses occur because of power failure, leaks, loose cables, user mistakes, other hardware/software and Human Error.

If your critical data is not currently being backed up to a remote location, it should be. Please call us to discuss 4RDS’ low cost solution before a disaster strikes your company. Please make sure you mention that you are a Vienna-Tysons Regional Chamber of Commerce member. 4RDSS is a new member and the VTRCC has an affiliates program with them where 10% of what they collect goes to the VTRCC. For more information contact: Tom Coll, Director of Business Development, 4R Digital Solutions, and (703) 758-0531 ext. 130

Business/Community News

Office of Advocacy of the U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) - Reports small business continues to embrace Internet technology, and smaller niche businesses are covering their web site costs with increased revenues. These are just two of the trends in small business e-commerce cited in “E-Biz.com: Strategies for Small Business Success,” released today by the Office of Advocacy of the U.S. Small Business Administration. The report, authored by Joanne H. Pratt, documents current trends in small business e-commerce, and generates new statistics based on interviews conducted by the executive interviewing group of the Gallup Organization. For more information and the complete report, visit the Office of Advocacy website at www.sba.gov/advo.

U.S. Small Business Administration has extended the application deadline for disaster loans to January 31, 2003. For more information call: 1-800-659-2955.

Military Reservist Economic Injury Disaster Loan (MREIDL) - Small businesses that employ military reservists who are called to active duty, and are interested in applying for a Military Reservist Economic Injury Disaster Loan (MREIDL) may now download the application from the U.S. Small Business Administration’s Web site. The MREIDL program provides loans to eligible small businesses to cover operating expenses that would have been met, but cannot be met because an essential employee was called to active duty during a period of military conflict in his or her role as a military reservist. To download the application, visit the Web site at www.sba.gov/disaster

Free Sales Training Event - Three of the world's top motivational and sales trainers, Tom Hopkins, Zig Ziglar and Laura Laaman are donating their time for a FREE one-day sales training event in Washington, D.C. to help rebuild America's economy. The program is on Thursday, December 19th at the Washington Hilton. For more information, please visit www.freesalesseminar.com. Seating is limited and advance registration is required. For more information contact: Molly Niewiadomski 1-888-SELL-MORE or e-mail molly@lauralaaman.com.

EscapeMaker.com the leading online guide to weekend getaways from New York City, has now added Virginia to our site! We would love to promote the Vienna area as a getaway destination for New Yorkers. EscapeMaker.com has promoted hundreds of areas throughout the Northeast and we are looking forward to sending New York's tourism dollars to Virginia! Some of our features include: We receive over 3,000 New York metro visitors per day (over 750,000 per year) Profiles in NY1 News, Fine Living Television and Crain's NY Magazine We were recently featured in an article in Business Week Magazine on the trend in local travel. We would love to promote the Vienna area in the NY Market!

The Town of Vienna would like cooperation in respecting sign ordinances to keep Vienna from a cluttered look. The Town of Vienna does not allow signs within the public street right-of-way. Every weekend a Planning and Zoning inspector removes all signs that violate this ordinance. The Town Code allows one unlighted sign placed on the property not to exceed six square feet to advertise for the sale or lease. Real estate “open houses” are permitted on “broker’s day” (Tuesday), Saturday, Sunday or a holiday only, for a period not to exceed 5 hours. A maximum of two directional signs not to exceed an area of 1 ½ square feet nor three feet in height may be placed upon private property only with a further limitation of one to a major intersection. These signs are permitted for a maximum time period of five hours. All such signs shall be positioned so that they are located outside the public street right-of-way, or at a minimum distance of ten feet from the street curb. It is unlawful to tack or attach any advertising matter to any telephone, telegraph or electric transmission pole or to any tree within the Town. It is unlawful for any person or organization to place any sign, notice or advertisement in or on any public right-of-way or other public property in the Town. A complete copy of Town’s Sign Ordinance may be obtained from the Town Clerk’s Office.