Princess Clark, the owner of accounting and tax agency Jasmine Rose Financial, is now among 41 Comcast RISE award recipients in Virginia.

The Comcast RISE program was launched in 2020 and is part of a $100 million initiative to promote diversity, equity, and inclusion. RISE, which stands for Representation, Investment, Strength, and Empowerment, was developed to support, strengthen and empower black, indigenous, and people of color small businesses.

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Area residents will have to find somewhere else to exercise, as the Prince William Medical Center is closing its onsite fitness center.

“It wasn’t a decision we came to easily,” said Dr. Stephen Smith, President of Novant/UVA Health System for Prince William and Haymarket Medical Centers. “We want to be able to provide resources to the community. We’ve been struggling relative to other alternatives people have with other fitness centers. Post COVID-19, we had to re-evaluate whether the resources we were continuing to put into the gym were able to balance out the greater needs of other services we provide at the hospital that you cannot get elsewhere.”

The closure of the gym in Manassas is due to the hospital’s focus on treating the coronavirus, according to Smith, who emphasized the need for the hospital to be able to provide appropriate levels of acute care services.

“We want to make sure the hospital is prepared and continued readiness during the pandemic is our front of mind issue,” said Smith.

It is unknown if the fitness center will ever reopen to the public, but programs such as occupational therapy, physical therapy, and cardiac therapy will continue to keep it in use. 

“If we have the appropriate amount of resources, we can revisit the gym reopening, but I don’t see it in the short run. I think COVID-19 is going to be with us for quite some time. The new norm is yet to be established,” said Smith

As we move beyond the pandemic, Smith said Novant plans to develop outreach programs around healthy habits along with education on dietary needs and lifestyle modification to keep people in top health conditions.

“If we have the appropriate amount of resources, we can revisit the gym reopening, but I don’t see it in the short run. I think COVID-19 is going to be with us for quite some time. The new norm is yet to be established,” said Smith

Smith said community members have voiced their concerns over the gym closure, but overall, have been very supportive.

“The painful thing is asking the community to be understanding because we want to be able to provide that service. It’s not a lack of desire but rather a lack of feasibility to do it in an efficient manner while we have competing interests of making sure other service lines are robust enough to address the needs of our community,” said Smith. 

While the gym is closed, Novant is open for patients, despite any anxiety people may feel about entering a hospital during the current global pandemic. One option Smith recommends for those that feel anxious about in-person care is telemedicine.

“I fear people have this anxiety about COVID-19 and it’s making them reluctant to seek medical needs. We’re finding that people are coming to the hospital but they’ve delayed seeking care and their conditions are getting worse,” said Smith.

“If you have reservations about coming to the hospital, you can still interface with a provider in the health system. Telemedicine doesn’t address all needs. Sometimes you will need to be seen,” said Smith

Novant Health/UVA Health System Prince William Medical Center is located at 8700 Sudley Road in Manassas.

The Unity Church, at 14747 Arizona Avenue in Woodbridge, hosted a surprise ceremony and homecoming parade to honor its high school seniors on Saturday, June 6.

Senior Pastor Dr. Nelson K. Williams and his wife, First Lady Lillian Williams, chose to host this event for their high school seniors because they were not able to have a traditional graduation ceremony due to the coronavirus pandemic.

Unity Church has high school seniors from high schools in Fairfax, Prince William and, Stafford county public schools. Lilian Williams said the entire event was hosted through their youth ministry.

“We contacted each of the seniors’ parents and got the names of their favorite restaurants and things they liked so that the congregation could purchase gifts for them,” she said.

The church was able to lure the students to the church by telling them they were having a photoshoot outside the church so that everyone arrived in their cap and gown.

Each student had their own table set up outside of the church where they could host their family for the event.

Pastor Williams said the church hosted a brief ceremony for the seniors prior to the surprise parade.

“During the senior recognition ceremony, the pastor gave remarks and then corded each senior,” said First Lady Williams.

The cords the seniors received resembled an honor cord from high school, except it had the church’s colors of purple and gold. During the ceremony, each student received a certificate from Unity Church in addition to their cord.

“The address was given by Lt. General Leslie Smith, an army Inspector General,” said Pastor Williams.

Eight seniors from Unity Church were honored during this ceremony. After each senior was awarded their certificate and corded, the ceremony concluded in prayer by Pastor Williams.

Immediately following the event, members of the church drove by and gifted each of the seniors.

First Lady Williams said their reaction was amazed, shocked, and thankful. Each student had a bin at their table and all seniors went home with their bins full.

First Lady Williams expressed her gratitude and credited church member, Sabrina Morris, for taking the lead in organizing the event.

About 75 people came to the event to support the eight seniors.

“The atmosphere was celebratory,” said First Lady Williams, “We played inspirational music. It was a joyful time.”

First Lady Williams said the youth-led the parade of cars around the parking lot.

“We wanted to focus our attention on the future and not what was lost,” said Pastor Williams.

Traditionally, Unity Church takes an entire Sunday to honor the seniors in their congregation, allowing them to march in on ceremonial music in their robes while they are presented with scholarships.

Pastor Williams said the church is holding virtual services due to the coronavirus but they are working on a process to bring their congregation together in smaller groups in the near future.

Pastor Williams and First Lady Williams said the event was a great success.

“One graduate’s mother is in Afghanistan and she was able to video call during the entire ceremony which was special,” said Pastor Williams, “We didn’t want them to feel left out due to the circumstances of COVID.”

Pastor Williams was pleased with the feedback he received from the seniors who attended.

“One of the seniors told me that it was better than a traditional ceremony,” he said, “It was more personalized and the focus was directly on them.”

Schools across Virginia closed their doors in mid-March, at the onset of the coronavirus pandemic, by order of Gov. Ralph Northam, to stop the spread of the virus.

It's race week in Manassas Park, and even during the pandemic, runners from all 50 states have pledged to participate.

This week, one of Manassas Park City Schools' most successful events -- its annual Cougar Literacy Run -- is being held remotely in this age of social distancing due to the coronavirus.

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Every afternoon along Fairview Avenue, past the Manassas Police Department headquarters, and into Downtown, Sandy O’Bannon walks her dog, Indiana while wearing a pink bunny suit.

In the wake of the coronavirus outbreak, O’Bannon said she continued to walk her dog daily. She added the pink bunny suit to bring cheer to passersby.

“I chose a bunny costume because it’s close to Easter,” she said.

O’Bannon starts her route early in the morning between 7 and 7:45 am and repeats it again in the afternoon after 4 o’clock.

She always gets positive feedback from people during her walk.

“Some have even told me that I’ve made their day,” says O’Bannon.

O’Bannon started wearing the bunny suit after St. Patrick’s Day when communities began social distancing due to the spread of the coronavirus. There are five cases of the disease in Manassas, one in Manassas Park, and 56 in Prince William County of today.

Two days ago, the disease claimed the life of a hospitalized man in his 70s who lived in Prince William County.

O’Bannon has lived in Manassas for over 30 years and has worked for the Prince William County Department of Mental Health Services since 1988. She is also the secretary of Manassas Therapy Dogs, whose mission is to offer pet therapy to residents of Manassas and surrounding areas.

Over 50 therapy dog teams serve the community.

“Our partners are trying to come up with creative ways to spread smiles and joy during this time,” says O’Bannon.

O’Bannon said she and her four-year-old English Shepherd, Indiana (named after the main character in the Indiana Jones films) work as a team to bring joy and comfort to others. Indiana is registered through the Alliance of Therapy Dogs, and a partner to Manassas Therapy Dogs.

The Alliance of Therapy Dogs is the international registry of certified therapy dog teams.

“We attend libraries, police stations, assisted living facilities and schools with our therapy dogs but due to social distancing, we can’t perform our normal visits,” said O’Bannon. “I thought what can I do to bring joy and smiles to our neighborhood? I love dogs and encouraging people.”

O’Bannon said she dresses in the suit to build a sense of community and joy. A fluffy bunny and a bow break down all types of barriers, allowing people to instantly feel more comfortable around her, she said.

O’Bannon said she wanted to figure out a way to use her therapy dog to perform social distancing in an appropriate way.

“There’s a lot of things we don’t have control over, but there are some things that we do,” she said, “We should have gratitude for the people out on the front lines – this is my contribution.”

O’Bannon lives in the Oakenshaw neighborhood of Manassas where she has been since 1982 with her husband, Randy. She has raised her three adult kids in this home and will be celebrating her 60th birthday on Sunday, March 29.

“We’re having a driveby birthday party,” she said, “Family and friends will just drive and walk by and wave.”

O’Bannon said she has always enjoyed dressing up in costume.

“I also do races like 5Ks and half marathons,” O’Bannon said, “I’ve dressed like Han Solo to tribute Star Wars in past races. With all the races canceled, I still wanted to dress up.”

O’Bannon said she is wearing the bunny suit now but plans to transition to other costumes as the weather gets warmer.

“If I can bring a smile to someone’s face, I’ll dress up in a bunny suit any day,” said O’Bannon.

The owner of the region’s newest The Goddard School, Rebecca Chen, celebrated the opening of her new school in February with a ribbon-cutting ceremony.

While she’s now celebrating, the school opened its doors back in December.

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Don’t toss it. Fix it. That’s the concept for a new “fix-it fair” that could take place this summer in Prince William County.

The idea: have residents bring their slightly damaged or unworking items to the fair, have them repaired, resulting in fewer items being tossed into the county landfill.

Deborah Campbell, with the Prince William County Solid Waste Division, says she’s seen this type of event held in other communities, mostly along the U.S. west coast. In Virginia, Campbell says a similar fair was held recently in Reston. A similar event could be replicated in Prince William County, she adds.

“We thought this was a great thing to do in this area to promote, re-use and repair,” said Campbell. When an item is fixed by one of their fixers, it can be reused by the owner or donated.

Organizers aim to fix broken jewelry, torn clothing, and repair small furniture, small electronics, umbrellas, and eyeglasses at the fair. One caveat, warns Campbell, is not everything can be fixed. “We want to set reasonable expectations,” she told Potomac Local News.

Organizers are still in the early planning stages of this event, and their primary goal right now is finding seven to 12 “fixers” with a wide variety of skills who will perform repairs. Afterward, they’ll identify the types of supplies they’ll need to fix each item at one of about eight workstations that will be set up at the fair.

“In a perfect world, we’ll be able to match a fixer’s expertise with a specific need. For example, a fixer with expertise in fixing clothing would be able to replace a zipper,” said Campbell.

Pope said the accommodations they are considering for this event can hold seven to eight workstations.

No date or venue has been announced for the potential fix-it-fair, although organizers would like to see the event take place this summer. If successful, a fix-it-fair could happen two to three times per year, said Campbell.

Organizers are also seeking sponsors for the event, hoping to net companies that market to the do-it-yourself community. Whether or not the event is free to attend will depend upon whether or not a corporate sponsor is secured.

“We are looking for companies who market to the DIY community,” says Pope, “We would like this event to be free, but that is dependent upon sponsorship.”

The Prince William County Solid Waste Division is working with the nonprofit Keep Prince William Beautiful to organize the event. The division also hosts an annual Recycles Day and paper shredding events.

Spotsylvania Town Center announced the winner of its Small Shop Showdown.

Soapmaker, Lilly Bloom, owned by Margo Frazier and her children Sierra and Dakota Frazier will be the recipients of six months free rent from the shopping mall, starting April 1.

Frazier credits her children, daughter Sierra, 22, and son Dakota, 16, who will be the owners and operators of the business while she works in the background making the products to sell.

“We make bath and body products,” says Margo, “We try to strip it down to the most natural, wholesome ingredients. We use cocoa butter and shea butter, void of toxins. A lot of times you use deodorant and it will have aluminum in it and you’re putting that in your body. We try to strip away all of the toxins and bad ingredients and make something that you can feel confident using and makes your skin feel smooth and fresh.”

Margo said she got the idea to start Lilly Bloom four years ago from watching a YouTube video.

“I said, ok, I’ve got to learn how to do this,” says Margo,” Four years later, I’m self-taught and network with sixty other soapmakers around the country.”

Margo said that the small network of soapmakers shares recipes, ideas, and research.

“We’re able to fast track what we do because we’re a collective mind.”

Margo manufactures all of the products for the business and sells them to her children, Sierra and Dakota.

“We move products and sell them as fast as we can,” says Dakota, “Our product is very dynamic. It can be sold to anybody and it grabs the attention of people walking by.”

Sierra said they will use social media platforms such as Instagram to promote their products.

“All these things are natural and made out of premium ingredients but they’re also very cute,” says Sierra, “Most natural ingredient products are very plain.”

Margo said their top-selling products are their bath bombs, soap and body butter.

Sierra said she has previous experience working in retail to add to her experience as a shop owner. She is doing general studies at Germanna Community College.

“It is a great opportunity to learn behind the scenes of a business,” she says.

Margo said they will hire an employee to manage the store, and expense they’ve already accounted for in their existing budget.

“Sierra has classes and Dakota has after school activities and I’m making the products and working full time,” Margo said.

Margo works in banking when she is not making products.

Margo said they are talking to the mall about the location of their new store. She said they are contemplating three locations. “It’s all about foot traffic,” Sierra says.

“Our products are interactive so we want to demo our products in the windows to attract people as they walk by,” says Margo, “One of our main competitors is Lush. Our products are whimsical and designed to make you smile. Lush uses more natural ingredients but maybe not in a whimsical way.”

Margo said their interactive experience may include customers trying their hand at making some of the products in addition to trying them out.

“You have to feel it, touch it and experience it,” Margo says, “That’s why retail is so important to us because we’ve done the pop-up shops and the craft shows.”

Sierra said word of mouth has worked best to promote their business.

“Craft shows are great,” Sierra says, “but you have to contend with the weather.”

Sierra said she learned about the Small Shop Showdown contest when she saw an advertisement on a windowpane in the mall. She said she took a picture and sent it to her mom.

“I thought we have nothing to lose if we do this,” she said, “It’s a long shot but we should go for it.”

Margo said she has always known retail was the way to go for their business to thrive, but the challenge of maintaining rent was a deterrent.

“We even talked about getting a space and making it mercantile, where we sublet it to antique dealers, just to cover the rent,” Margo said, “To make that leap from a craft show to a mall was huge. We see this as an opportunity of a lifetime. We can’t thank Spotsylvania Towne Center enough. It’s phenomenal that they’re doing this for the community.”

Spotsylvania Town Center is hosting its first-ever, "Small Shop Showdown."

To encourage creativity and entrepreneurialism, the competition invites new or existing small businesses to submit their ideas for a chance to win a free six-month lease for retail space inside the mall. Applicants can enter the competition through January 20 and the winner will be announced February 3.

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