Manassas City Councilman and longtime friend of the orchestra, Ken Elston, will present the American Prize in Orchestral Performance by a Community Orchestra to the Manassas Symphony at their concert on March 5, 2016. The concert will be held at Merchant Hall of the Hylton Performing Arts Center at 7:30 pm, and will feature music by British composers.
The American Prize is a series of non-profit national competitions in the performing arts providing cash awards, professional adjudication and regional, national and international recognition for the best recorded performances by ensembles and individuals each year in the United States at the professional, college/university, church, community and secondary school levels. The prize was first awarded in 2009, and is now awarded annually. The MSO was previously a semi-finalist for this same award in 2010, and a finalist in 2013.
Mr. Elston has, on several occasions, narrated children’s books set to music commissioned by the MSO for their annual family concerts held each December. His wife Molly has also served in this role. He was recently elected to the City Council, and is also the Director of the School of Theatre at George Mason University. Mr. Elston said, “I’ve greatly enjoyed working the MSO in past, as has my wife. The symphony plays a vital role in the community by providing the classical music component to the Hylton’s presentation of the arts. This award shows how well the orchestra performs that role.”
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On the evening of February 25, the Prince William Chamber of Commerce honored the nominees and recipients of their annual Business Awards at the Hylton Performing Arts Center in Manassas. Winners of the 2016 Agnes L. Colgan Community Service Awards, who each receive a $1,000 check to continue their work, were also announced along with the recipient of the inaugural Charles J. Colgan Visionary Award.
Nominees included businesses large and small from a variety of industries, showcasing the diverse organizations that blend to make the Prince William region a national leader for jobs creation and economic growth. Northern Virginia Community College was the Presenting Sponsor of the event. Bernie Niemeier, Publisher of Virginia Business was Master of Ceremonies.
Chamber President & CEO Debbie Jones congratulated all of the nominees and winners on their business excellence and work in the community. She went on to say, “The best part of the awards ceremony is hearing about how the various winners are working together on strategic partnerships, helping one another to be successful and giving back. I’m proud to be a part of a business community that truly understands the value of collaboration.”
While the sizes and industries of the nearly 80 nominated businesses varied greatly, a commitment to giving back was a common thread. Each of the nominees regularly steps outside of their organization to make a difference in the community they serve, whether through the Chamber or one of hundreds of local not-for-profit organizations.Â
This year the Chamber added a new legacy award to their Business Award categories. Named for recently-retired Virginia State Senator Charles Colgan and sponsored by Vanderpool, Frostick & Nishanian, PC, the Charles J. Colgan Visionary Award is meant to be awarded to an individual who has demonstrated extraordinary leadership, including but not limited to their own organization. Just like Senator Colgan who was a long-time member of the Chamber with Colgan Air and a Past Chairman of the Chamber’s Board of Directors. This individual should be known as an innovator, a great partner, a visionary and an advocate for his or her community and beyond. This year the award went to Rex Parr, the recently-retired long-time President of Didlake, Inc.
Additional sponsors of the event included: Whitlock Wealth Management; NOVEC-Northern Virginia Electric Cooperative; The Fauquier Bank and Prince William Today. Cardinal Bank sponsored the Agnes L. Colgan Community Service Awards.Â
Pictures from the 2016 Business Awards are available at facebook.com/pwchamber, and a full list of nominees and sponsors can be found under the “EVENTS” tab at www.pwchamber.org. Following are descriptions of each winner, as they were announced during the 2016 Prince William Chamber of Commerce Business Awards.
A Woodbridge man is charged with burglary, eluding police, driving under the influence, and unreasonable refusal.Â
He is accused of taking an acquaintances vehicle without her permission while intoxicated and fleeing from the police.Â
Here is more in a press release: Read More
Indecent Liberties by Custodian – On February 22, detectives from the Special Victims Unit responded to investigate a sexual assault which was reported to have occurred at a residence located in the 8200 block of Humphrey Ln in Manassas (20109). The investigation revealed that the accused had an inappropriate relationship with the victim, a 16 year old female juvenile of Gainesville, since January of 2016. Detectives further learned that the accused sent inappropriate text messages to the victim. A search warrant was subsequently executed at the residence of the accused on February 22. Following the investigation, the accused responded to the Western District Station where he was arrested without incident. The victim is a student of the Highland School in Warrenton and the accused is a coach at the school.Arrested on February 23:
George LOGAN III, 43, of 8286 Humphrey Ln in Manassas
Charged with indecent liberties, contributing to the delinquency of a minor, use of a communications device to facilitate certain offenses, and  contributing to the delinquency of a minor
Court Date: Pending | Bond: Held WITHOUT BondThis article is FREE to read. Please Sign In or Create a FREE Account. Thank you.
As we pass the mid-point of this General Assembly session, many bills are moving.
After a 30-minute debate, the Senate approved my bill prohibiting the use of electronic textbooks in public schools without a plan to provide school broadband and digital devices to every student required to use an electronic textbook.
Virginia’s constitution requires that every child receive a free textbook. On the floor, I argued that without home computers, electronic textbooks create a two-tiered education system for the haves and the have-nots. Senators Adam Ebbin and George Barker joined me in stressing that even Northern Virginia’s schools have significant low-income student populations who face disadvantages in the classroom without their own devices. The bill now moves to the House of Delegates.
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One of the 12 Centennial Challenge grants has been awarded to Manassas National Battlefield Park.
The Centennial Challenge is a nation-wide effort of the National Park Service to provide funding for park projects and programs in conjunction with park partner organizations, explained the chief of interpretation and cultural resources management Ray Brown.
Partnering organizations have given nine million dollars to match the two million dollar federal investment, this leaves a total of $11 million for the 12 area grant winners.
