Archive for the ‘Access’ Category
I have often heard it said that not much happens in Roanoke.
We have a lot of very cool clients who prove that wrong every day. For example, Scott Sexton of Gentry Locke just got a settlement on behalf of a client — $75 million dollars – that will protect a region’s drinking water. Medeco is preparing the rollout of a significant new security product. And we live vicariously through Michael Newman of OCC as he trots the globe as a disciple of the finest tight-buffer fiber optic cables ever made.
We think the spirit of innovation that grows in our Valley is exemplified by PixelOptics, an absolutely thrilling client. Pixel is the company that makes the world’s first electronic composite lens….well, all technospeak aside, they have invented magic glasses. It’s big news for people who wear bifocals or progressive lenses and it has happened right here in the Roanoke Valley. The product called emPower!™ electronically focuses as fast as you can blink your eye and doesn’t have the “bifocal line.” They look cool. They work cool. And they are coming to an optical store near you in the next year or so. It’s a real product evolution…and it really happened right here.
When people visit Access, they often look at our awards and say what a cool job we have. They are right. But it’s only because we have such cool clients.
Sometimes we don’t blog enough. Heaven knows we write plenty, but a lot of times we don’t keep our blog constantly updated enough.
We find ourselves hurdling down 64 leaving Williamsburg so we are going to use this as an opportunity to create a blog…and to let you learn a little more about the folks who are in this van.
Randomly, each person has been asked to answer one of the following questions.
What is your favorite movie of all time? Why?
Laura Wood: Remember The Titans. I like to watch the football players singing as they walk onto the field.
What ad has inspired you?
Tony Pearman: The first ad that I remembered as an ad and really was blown away was Apple’s 1984. It was, for me, transformational. I had seen ads before. But never understood what they did till then.
People always compliment me about this:
Todd Marcum: That is easy. My wife. And that I’m a pretty good athlete considering how old and slow I am.
What was the first concert you ever went to? What do you remember about it?
Rachel Spencer: Alanis Morrisette…I think she was angry about something.
What is your favorite fast food?
Kris Bailey: Chipotle’s Black Bean Burrito
What was your favorite toy as a kid?
Tracie Hoprich: Legos, whoever does not love Legos is not American!
Name one of your pet peeves.
Dawn Stein: Putting the toilet paper roll on backwards. It has to go over, not under.
This is something almost no one knows about me:
Melissa Gibson: Loved rap music in high school
Favorite sport and why:
Karenna Glover: Gymnastics because it’s amazing and fun.
My favorite ride at Busch Gardens was:
Jessica Malave: Griffon. Oh. My. God.
This is an important issue that really concerns me?
Gary Gilmore: Hunger. There are many factors in this issue. And there are many people, young and old, that face this issue. For those in need, no matter what the issue is nobody should be without a meal. Eating healthy is important. Eating is also important.
It was a God-kissed morning in Southwest Virginia. The sun was shining and the redbuds splashed color along treelines of the streets of Roanoke. Birds chirped and squirrels frolicked. Volunteers gathered at the Virginia Western Community Arboretum push pinwheels into the ground.
It was part of an effort to call attention to the positive impact of Children’s Trust during April, which is Child Abuse Prevention month. While most of the Access crew was there, this is not about us. This is about the pinwheels and what they represent. Over the last year, Children’s Trust has helped more than 1,100 children and families through services to improve parenting skills, educate kids, and strengthen our community as a good place to grow up. That’s what the pinwheels represent as they dance in the sunlight just off Colonial Avenue.
Lee Hipp, who is in charge of The Community Arboretum, did a wonderful job of organizing the effort and volunteers. The process was pretty simple. Pick a row. Get a handful of pinwheels. Poke a hole in the ground with a screwdriver (the pinwheel stems are wimpy). Place pinwheel. Position to face Colonial Avenue. Measure 10 inches in a straight row. Repeat 1,099 times.
The Community Arboretum at Virginia Western Community College along Colonial Avenue was chosen because it is a main thoroughfare between the city and county. Hundreds of cars pass by each hour and thousands attend the neighboring college.
The pinwheel is a symbol for child abuse prevention and reflects childhood hope, health, and happiness. Children’s Trust, which is comprised of both the Children’s Advocacy Center and CASA, adopted that same symbol a couple of years ago.
On Tuesday, April 13, 2010 at 10:00 am, a press conference will be held at the “Pinwheel Garden” for Dr. Kees from Carilion Clinic to announce the creation of the Southwest Virginia Alliance for Safe Babies (the new name for the Shaken Baby Syndrome Task force). This will be another opportunity to highlight Child Prevention Month and further promote Children’s Trust. All are welcome to attend.
Please drive by the Arboretum and check out the display…and think about the work of Children’s Trust and how you might help make our community a better place to be a kid. As for the pinwheels, they were all set in just a little over an hour. And I’d bet that each of the volunteers will tell you they didn’t mind a bit getting their hands dirty for a cause they believe in.
Find out more at www.roact.org.
