The Arlington Chamber of Commerce will be taking over the Arlington-based professional networking group Awesome Women (AWE) starting in 2021, the chamber announced Thursday.
During the transition period, the new Arlington Chamber Chapter of AWE will begin offering will begin offering AWE-branded women’s-only networking events this fall.
Founded in 2014 by Karen Bate and Evelyn Powers, AWE spun off five additional chapters across the greater Washington, D.C., metro region. All of these will be invited to join the chamber and consolidate into the Arlington Chamber Chapter of AWE in January 2021, Bate says.
Memberships and monthly events for current AWE members will continue through 2020. Bate and Powers will continue to serve as ambassadors to the new AWE when it transitions to the Arlington Chamber later this year.
“We are thrilled to take what feels like a natural step in AWE’s evolution,” Bate and Powers said in a statement. “Women-only networking events have grown and flourished since we began AWE six years ago, and we believe the chamber is the perfect place to carry on this popular offering for women business owners and business leaders.”
Though Bate and Powers will no longer be managing the day to day running of AWE, they will continue to retain the rights to the AWE brand and will continue holding the annual AWE summit conference, Bate said. They will also continue hosting “The Awesome Women” podcast but will no longer air their live weekly radio show on WERA 96.7 FM in Arlington.
“Karen and Evelyn are amazing leaders who have built an authentic space for women business owners to deeply connect,” said Arlington Chamber President and CEO Kate Bates. “I’m honored they selected the Arlington Chamber as the home for the Arlington chapter of AWE, and look forward to the valuable opportunities this collaboration brings to AWE’s existing members and to the women business owners in the Chamber.”
“We are so grateful to our members and chapter leaders who have shared our passion for supporting one another since 2014,” Bate added. “We look forward to continuing to advocate for all of the awesome women entrepreneurs in our community and throughout the D.C. area. Being part of leading AWE has been, and will continue to be, one of my and Evelyn’s proudest accomplishments.”
A Chicago developer has purchased a 5.3-acre plot of land in Henrico County for $3.75 million from Temple Beth El synagogue in Richmond. The land will be developed into a senior living facility.
CA Ventures’ CA Senior Living division will be building a senior living facility, featuring assisted and independent living options and memory care, on the parcel at 601 N. Parham Road, a mile north of River Road.
David M. Smith, CCIM of Cushman & Wakefield | Thalhimer handled the sale negotiations on behalf of the purchaser.
Founded in 2004 as Campus Acquisitions, CA Ventures has divisions specializing in student housing, senior living, multifamily residential and office. CA Senior Living invests in and develops senior living communities across the United States.
Metro will be reducing Metrorail trains to every 12 minutes on each line, Monday through Friday, and operate normal hours, opening at 5 a.m. Trains will be running on Saturday every 12 minutes from 7 a.m. to 1 a.m. and Sunday the trains will run every 15 minutes, with service from 8 a.m. to 11 p.m.
Weekday bus service will operate on a Saturday supplemental schedule and Sunday service will remain the same.
MetroAccess service paratransit service will operate during the same hours as rail and bus, but Metro emphasizes that, out of concern for the safety of Metro drivers and other passengers, patients must not use Metro Access if they are showing signs of illness. Paratransit customers who are ill should call their health provider and make alternate transportation arrangements that do not involve public transit, Metro said.
Metro is also initiating mandatory telework for its administrative employees and is implementing remote work assignments for select, nonessential employees not needed to operate trains and buses.
After Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam declared a state of emergency in Virginia and closed schools for the next two weeks, businesses are understandably seeking guidance as they navigate how to continue working during the pandemic. Virginia Business spoke on Friday with Dr. Rebekah A. Sensenig, infectious disease specialist and system epidemiologist for Newport News-based Riverside Health System, and asked her what businesses should be doing to help curb the spread of COVID-19. Here’s some of what she had to say:
Virginia Business: Can you speak to the value of social distancing as it relates to companies teleworking?
Dr. Rebekah A. Sensenig: So the whole idea of social distancing is really to try to decrease the peak of the outbreak and o we’ve seen that social distancing really does help create a more stable outbreak as opposed to a huge surge in the beginning. The studies that we have from this really came from the 1918 flu pandemic. And so if you look at the different ways that communities did it, if you look at Philadelphia, who did not do any social distancing, vs. St. Louis, who did do social distancing, Philadelphia had a much higher mortality rate and it was believed to be due to the surge overwhelming the hospital system. And so that’s really the purpose of social distancing — to decrease the rate of infection within the community. It’s an effective way to help minimize the spread.
VB: What else should companies be doing to reduce risk of contracting or spreading the virus?
Dr. Sensenig: They should be allowing employees to stay home if it’s possible. That’s No. 1. No. 2, you need to make sure that anyone who is sick is able to stay home. If they’re sick, for sure they need to stay home. They also need to have an environment that really focuses on cleanliness, on hand washing, making sure that everybody is washing their hands frequently [and] that there’s Purel available for them if they can’t wash their hands.
And then making sure that people are distant. So we don’t want people to be 10 people in a small cubby. We would like them to be at least 6 feet away because that seems to be the distance where there’s [the] most spread [of the virus] — within 6 feet. As opposed to having a big group in one small area, if people in the workplace can be more spread out, that can help as well.
VB: We keep seeing a lot of retail businesses send out messaging saying they’re disinfecting their stores and washing doorknobs, etc. Is this something other businesses should be doing too?
Dr. Sensenig: Yes. I definitely think that should be being done. COVID-19 seems to last on surfaces much longer than other viruses and so this is a big way that it’s being spread. And so when somebody touches a doorknob that has COVID-19 on it and then touches their face, that is a way that it’s getting people infected. The more that we can wipe down these handles and wipe down these surfaces and get rid of the virus on those surfaces, the less spread we’ll have.
Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam has ordered all K-12 schools in Virginia to close for a minimum of two weeks, due to the spread of COVID-19 in the commonwealth.
Schools will close starting on Monday, March 16, through at least March 27. Localities will be able to make their own staffing decisions to ensure students continue receiving instruction, while protecting the health of school faculty members and staff. Northam declared a state of emergency in the commonwealth Thursday. Confirmed coronavirus cases in Virginia jumped to 30 on Friday, up from 17 the day before.
“We are taking this action to keep Virginians as safe and healthy as possible, and to minimize exposure to COVID-19,” Northam said in a statement. “I recognize this will pose a hardship on many families, but closing our schools for two weeks will not only give our staff time to clean and disinfect school facilities, it will help slow the spread of this virus. This is a fluid and fast-changing situation. We will do everything possible to ensure that students who rely on school nutrition programs continue to have access to meals, and that the disruption to academics is as minimal as possible.”
Virginia Department of Education officials are working with local school systems and the Department of Social Services to make sure that qualifying students can continue to access free or reduced lunch programs during the closures.
“We recognize this decision places burdens on many of our parents and families, especially for those who rely on school nutrition programs for access to healthy food for their children,” said Virginia Secretary of Education Atif Qarni. “However, we believe closing Virginia schools is in the Commonwealth’s best interest as we seek to stop the spread of COVID-19. Virginia will continue to explore and implement innovative approaches to provide meals to students who qualify for free and reduced lunch during this closure.”
State Superintendent of Public Instruction Dr. James Lane said the Department of Education will also be working to minimize disruptions to student instruction.
“The Department of Education is working closely with divisions to minimize disruptions to our students’ academic development by encouraging schools to provide students and families with educational resources throughout this time,” Lane said. “We are committed to help divisions address all the implications of these closures and will seek to provide each division with maximum flexibility to address local needs as they arise, especially as it relates to make-up days.”
The number of confirmed COVID-19 cases in Virginia jumped to 30 Friday — up from 17 confirmed cases on Thursday, according to the Virginia Department of Health. Ten patients are hospitalized and there have been coronavirus-related deaths in Virginia.
There are now seven cases in James City County, six cases in Fairfax County, five cases in Arlington County, three cases in Loudoun County and two cases each in Prince William County and Virginia Beach. There is one confirmed case in each of the following localities: Alexandria, Fredericksburg, Harrisonburg and the counties of Hanover and Prince Edward.
VDH’s Central Shenandoah Health District confirmed Thursday that the first case in their region was a person in their 60s living in Harrisonburg. “The resident developed upper respiratory symptoms that progressed over a few days to a pneumonia with high fever. The patient was tested for the novel coronavirus by a commercial lab. The patient is currently doing well and is in isolation,” according to a state news release.
The Peninsula Health District, which includes Newport News, Poquoson, Williamsburg, James City County and York County, also announced its first two cases Thursday. Health officials believe that the two were infected during international travel but did not release any other details.
“Given the nature of the current outbreak, discovering COVID-19 in our community does not come as a surprise and we expect to see more cases in the coming weeks. Fortunately, at this time we have not seen community-wide spread of the virus,” said Peninsula Health District Director Dr. Thomas Franck in a statement. “The health department continues to conduct surveillance and investigation of any future potential cases. This is a continually evolving situation in Virginia and nationwide, and the health department will continue to keep people informed.”
Gov. Ralph Northam announced a state of emergency Thursday afternoon as the number of COVID-19 cases from Virginia reached 17, including two Virginians who have tested positive in Texas and are currently there, State Epidemiologist Lilian Peake said.
Meanwhile, nearly 20 colleges and universities across the state have canceled in-person classes and moved instruction online. And the Henrico County and Richmond city public school systems have closed schools for at least the next two weeks. Fairfax County is closing Monday to prepare for potentially moving classes online and other systems, such as Loudoun County and Fredericksburg city schools, are closed for at least the next week. Virginia Beach and Norfolk schools are closed on Monday, as they consider closing and moving to online and remote instruction.
State agencies are preparing for telecommuting, the governor said during his news conference Thursday, although he did not announce any statewide orders. According to a news release, Northam has directed the secretary of administration to phase in teleworking for state employees, and the Department of Human Resources Management will work with the health department’s Equity Workgroup to support employees who can’t work from home, including janitorial, food and grounds staff.
The human resources department also is ensuring that all state agencies have updated emergency operations and paid leave policies, including for part-time employees, particularly those who have been exposed to the virus or traveled to a high-risk area.
Northam said that the situation surrounding the coronavirus is “fluid and changing rapidly,” announcing four new actions he will take in response to its spread:
Canceling all state conferences in the next 30 days and encouraging localities and private event organizers to cancel or postpone their events as well;
Banning all out-of-state travel by state employees for the next 30 days, with exceptions in areas bordering other states;
Developing testing kits for use in the state;
Declaring a state of emergency to allow greater budget flexibility to ease emergency procurement.
Peake added Thursday that there are now 10 confirmed COVID-19 cases in Northern Virginia and two in Central Virginia, an increase of six cases since Wednesday’s news conference. She offered less information on patients compared with earlier cases, in which the Virginia Department of Health gave age ranges and counties of residence.
Peake said at Thursday’s press conference that the six new cases confirmed Thursday were people who had contact with earlier identified cases. “We have not seen signs of community spread,” she said. The four earlier cases connected to Nile River cruises — two in Fairfax and two in Virginia Beach — are under investigation by the CDC, she added. The two newly identified Virginia patients are in Texas, and the VDH is working with them about a return date.
The governor also directed Attorney General Mark Herring to provide legal information to elected bodies — such as boards of supervisors — about public meeting protocol during the emergency while maintaining transparency. Northam also asked the state’s economic development officials to determine the economic fallout from the pandemic.
“Our goal is to get everybody back to work as soon as possible,” he said, while maintaining safety. Northam encouraged public school systems to make their own decisions about closing schools, noting that many have snow days available because of the mild winter.
“Right now we believe we have enough test kits in Virginia,” Northam said, noting that the state has between 500 and 600 tests available, which would be used for one individual apiece. But universities and private labs are also working on producing their own testing kits, said Denise M. Toney, director of the state’s Department of General Services’ Division of Consolidated Laboratory Services, which is managing the state’s testing for the virus.
Dr. Norman Oliver, the state health commissioner, is leading the state’s emergency response.
Dr. Norman Oliver, the state health commissioner, said the health department is focused on vulnerable people, such as nursing home residents and frontline responders at the state’s hospitals. “We have had pandemic procurement plans in place for many years,” he said, and he is communicating with hospitals about their needs for specific equipment like N95 masks and ventilators. The state has allocated $10 million for emergency purchases, and Congress released $13.6 million to Virginia for virus response.
Oliver said that the governor can only cancel state-sponsored events, such as the Women in Innovation Conference, which has been canceled next week in Richmond. Large gatherings like Virginia Beach’s Something in the Water festival, scheduled for the end of April, do not fall under his authority, Oliver added.
“Pharrell Williams will have to think about what he wants to do.”
Here are the coronavirus cases that have been reported so far in Virginia:
Case 1: A Marine assigned to Fort Belvoir in Fairfax County who had recently returned home from international travel on “official business,” was reported Saturday.
Case 2: A Fairfax resident in their 80s who had traveled on a Nile River cruise was reported Sunday.
Case 3: An Arlington County resident in their 60s who had traveled internationally was reported Monday.
Case 4: The spouse of the Fairfax resident was reported positive for the disease on Monday.
Case 5: A Spotsylvania County resident in their 50s who had a fever, cough and shortness of breath was reported Monday.
Case 6: A Virginia Beach man in his 60s who had gone on a Nile River cruise where other cases had been reported was reported as positive on Tuesday.
Case 7: A Virginia Beach woman in her 50s and the spouse of the Virginia Beach man. She had also gone on the Nile River cruise and was announced positive on Tuesday.
Case 8: A Loudoun County resident in their 40s who is believed to have come in contact with another coronavirus patient at Christ Church, Georgetown in Washington, D.C., was reported as positive on Tuesday.
Case 9: A teenage patient in the Chickahominy Medical Health District in Hanover County is believed to have contracted the virus in international travel and was reported as positive on Wednesday.
Case 10: Late Wednesday, Longwood University President Taylor Reveley IV posted a message on the university’s website that a student there tested presumptively positive, the state’s 10th case of COVID-19.
Case 11: Late Wednesday, the Alexandria Health Department announced a resident had tested positive after exposure at their church in Washington, D.C.
Cases 12-15: Identified as people in Northern Virginia who have been in contact with earlier patients.
Cases 16 and 17: Identified as Virginians who tested presumptively positive in Texas and are currently there.
Samuel Derieux, a Richmond-based certified public accountant and past president of the Virginia Society of CPAs (VSCPA), died on March 8. He was the only person to ever serve as both the president and chairman of the board of directors for the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA).
A World War II veteran who served in the U.S. Navy, Derieux retired as the managing partner of Richmond-based Derieux, Baker, Thompson and Whitt, which later absorbed into Deloitte, one of the “Big Four” global accounting firms. A graduate of the University of Virginia’s McIntire School of Commerce, he was later a member of the school’s advisory board and taught accounting as a visiting professor at U.Va. and as an adjunct professor at Richmond Professional Institute (now Virginia Commonwealth University).
Derieux joined the VSCPA in 1953 and became a lifetime member in 1993. He served as VSCPA president from 1962 to 1963 and was president of AICPA and chairman of its board of directors from 1973 to 1974. Known for penning poems, jingles and limericks, Derieux wrote a history of the VSCPA covering the decades from 1950 to 2000, as a companion piece to the 1900-1950 history written by the society’s first president, W.P. Hilton.
VSCPA is starting the Samuel A. Derieux, CPA, Memorial Scholarship in his honor.
“We have lost a true gift to the CPA profession,” said VSCPA President and CEO Stephanie Peters in a statement. “It’s impossible to quantify how much Sam has meant to the Society and its members over the last 60 years. Even after retirement, Sam was always interested in how the profession was changing and evolving, and he always maintained tremendous influence with the profession’s leaders across the country. He could see the humorous side of any situation, but above all, he treated everyone with dignity and respect.”
VSCPA Past President Stephanie Saunders, CPA, a shareholder at Saunders & Saunders PC in Virginia Beach, said, “Sam was a true Virginia gentleman and lived a full and well-respected life. When I was on AICPA Council, Sam was a mentor to all who had the opportunity to serve on Council. AICPA leadership and staff knew Sam well and when he had something to say, everyone listened! He also had a quick wit and many of his ‘poems’ were shared among his colleagues.”
Tysons-based information technology company Applied Insight announced Wednesday several executive appointments including a new executive chairman, CEO, chief product officer, chief technology officer and chief financial officer.
Former CEO John Hynes has taken on the role of executive chairman.
“As executive chairman, I’ll be providing strategic counsel to the leadership and working to enhance our senior-level relationships with customers and partners,” Hynes said in a statement. “I’m proud to have played a role in shaping such an outstanding team and delighted to be working with them on the next stage of our development.”
Former Chief Technology Officer Dede Dascalu has been promoted to CEO. He joined Applied Insight in 2018 when his software engineering consulting company, Stratus Solutions, was acquired by Applied Insight. As Applied Insight’s CTO, he led development and rollout of cloud management technology. He also established aiLabs, the company’s research and development program.
Benjamin Laibson, former CEO of Digital Age Experts LLC, which Applied Insight recently acquired, will become the company’s chief product officer. He has worked on Amazon Web Services (AWS) on cloud migration projects in the national security community.
Adam Gruber, formerly the director of engineering for aiLabs, will become chief technology officer. He joined the company when it acquired Stratus Solutions and has led the development of Altitude, the company’s cloud management technology. Gruber is also an AWS ambassador with the AWS Partner network.
Josh Tambor was promoted to chief financial officer. He was previously the senior director of transaction advisory services and director of government contract consulting at RSM US.
Applied Insight provides information technology services under government contracts. The company employs more than 550 people (55 of which are AWS certified specialists) and has more than 20 government agency customers.
As the coronavirus continues its march into Virginia, some businesses and agencies are asking employees to telework as a precautionary measure.
McLean-headquartered Capital One has encouraged its employees and contractors to work from home starting Thursday, according to an internal memo obtained by the Richmond Times-Dispatch. Its founder and CEO, Richard Fairbank, noted that although the financial services company doesn’t have any known cases of COVID-19 among its employees, the company was enacting precautionary measures to slow the spread of the virus.
In a Richmond news conference Wednesday, Gov. Ralph Northam said that state agencies are examining telework options. Federal government agencies also are encouraging workers to telecommute, including some with Virginia operations. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration plans a “telework test” Thursday for employees who can do their work remotely, and NASA — including its Langley location in Hampton Roads — had a similar test last week to assess its telecommuting capabilities.
The Securities and Exchange Commission was the first federal agency in Washington, D.C., to close its office Monday after discovering an employee may have the virus. The U.S. Office of Personnel Management also encouraged heads of federal agencies to prepare their employees to telework. Many federal workers in the Northern Virginia area already telecommute a day or two a week to alleviate traffic.
The Department of Defense released a memo Sunday outlining its plans for minimizing risk among its military and civilian workforce, including those who work at the Pentagon. The DOD made a policy exception through the end of the year for its civilian employees, who can work from home if they have a child or other person requiring care. They still must take paid or unpaid leave to account for any time spent away from work, the memo said.
U.S. Sen. Mark Warner wrote a letter Wednesday to U.S. Department of Labor Secretary Eugene Scalia, asking his agency to collect information about gig and contingent workers’ access to benefits in light of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s recommendation that people work remotely and stay home when ill. Warner called these workers, who number about 15 million nationwide and make up about 10% of the labor force, “likely the most vulnerable workers to a potential spread of the coronavirus. They may be working without access to a health care plan or paid sick leave.”
Meanwhile, as more colleges and universities decide to move their classes online, most Virginia institutions still remained open for employees as of Wednesday afternoon. The University of Virginia, for instance, recommends its staff and faculty to “continue reporting to work as usual” while taking safety precautions.
The Virginia Department of Rail and Public Transportation, which runs the free Telework!VA program to help companies start or expand their telecommute plans, is encouraging Virginia companies to use its services as part of coronavirus precautions.
As more information comes in, Virginia Business will update this story.
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