City looks to boost tourism sector with new marketing, website efforts

Chris Graham

Good news: The Waynesboro tourism sector brought in $27 million to the local economy in 2009 and contributed $4 million in taxes to the city. Sobering news: We’ll have to wonder how we would have done if we’d been trying. The city, for instance, doesn’t even have a tourism website, the tourism department’s presence on…

Free business seminar, assessment will tell it like it is

Chris Graham

Marc Wilson isn’t in the business of sugarcoating. “I’m not related to you, and I’m not necessarily your friend. So when I leave, you’re going to get the truth, but you might not like hearing it,” said Wilson, a retail industry consultant at the Virginia Small Business Development Corp. and 35-year veteran of the retail…

Back to school: Adults hitting the books in search of new opportunity

Contributors

For Sabrina Almarode, who was, admittedly, “scared” after learning that she was being laid off from Invista in 2009, the chance to go back to school under a federal education program was a lifeline. And the Fishersville woman is taking full advantage, working toward a degree in business at Blue Ridge Community College in Weyers…

Local private schools faring well in tough economy

Contributors

You might think at first glance that private schools like Fishburne Military School in Waynesboro and Stuart Hall in Staunton would be struggling through this still-cool economy, but they’re not. Fishburne is expecting to start the 2010-2011 school year around 155 students, about 35 more than began the 2009-2010 school year there, and Stuart Hall…

Grant will help Smart Beginnings with ‘Getting Ready’

Smart Beginnings Shenandoah Valley, a local collaborative coalition working to improve the quality of early education and care in the cities of Harrisonburg, Staunton and Waynesboro, as well as in Augusta, Page, Rockingham and Shenandoah counties, has received a significant grant of $125,000 from the Virginia Early Childhood Foundation, a public-private partnership headquartered in Richmond….

Busy season for the Artisans Center of Virginia

Chris Graham

The Artisans Center of Virginia is having a busy August, announcing this week several initiatives and programs aimed at promoting the work of Virginia artisans. The Waynesboro-based Artisans Center will be collaborating with the Lynne Goldman Studio located in Barracks Road Shopping Center in Charlottesville. Lynne Goldman Studio is celebrating 18 years of being at…

Going on at Stone Soup

Contributors

Every Friday night is music night at Stone Soup Books and Cafe in Downtown Waynesboro. “All the music is local roots music from this area. We have everything from celtic and bluegrass to oldtime music,” said owner Mary Katharine Froehlich. This Saturday, August 14, will feature the first Saturday music jam at the bookstore/cafe. “It…