Grow Waynesboro Announces 2016 Business Competition
$20,000 in Grants for Waynesboro Entrepreneurs
WAYNESBORO, VA- The City of Waynesboro Economic Development Department is announcing a new flagship program designed to support small business development, called Grow Waynesboro. Focused this year on finding and funding new and robust local businesses, it will award more than $20,000 to select entrepreneurs in the form of grants and training opportunities.
Grow Waynesboro is launching with a two-part community engagement strategy. In its initial phase, the initiative is focused on engaging students, residents and business leaders in a community-wide conversation on the types of locally owned businesses that have the potential to most impact Waynesboro's long-term economic health. With the help of the Waynesboro High School's Advanced Marketing Class, both economic development staff and local students are interviewing area residents about the entrepreneurship projects they would most like to see launch in Waynesboro. Videos of these conversations will be posted online throughout the coming weeks at GrowWaynesboro.com
"We're excited to have an entrepreneurship program that touches not only the small businesses it seeks to assist, but also the broader community," says Courtney Cranor, Assistant Director of Economic Development for the City of Waynesboro. "By engaging the broader community, we hope to build a stronger culture of entrepreneurship, encouraging not only direct grants and incentives for entrepreneurs, but also broad-based excitement and awareness of new businesses opening in Waynesboro."
Buoyed by the enthusiasm of local residents, Grow Waynesboro will also seek to identify and cultivate entrepreneurs who have or are seeking to open new 2016 locally owned and located small businesses. These entrepreneurs are invited to submit their business concepts on the GrowWaynesboro.com site, where local judges will compare their viability and benefits for the City. Later this spring, on April 21st, approved projects will have the opportunity to present their plans to a live audience, where final grant winners will be announced.
"We look forward to seeing what proposals surface in the coming weeks," says Greg Hitchin, Economic Development Director for the City of Waynesboro. "We know there are many more entrepreneurial projects started every year in Waynesboro than are generally recognized, and we're pleased to work this year to help better identify them, invest in them, and celebrate them with the broader community."
Waynesboro High School is also excited to be a local partner. "We want our students to know that there are opportunities for them in the local economy," says Waynesboro High School marketing teacher Dave Hennel. "Not only are they developing skills in interviewing, video editing, and marketing, but they are also meeting business leaders in the local community and building important relationships between the school and the local economy."
Entrepreneurs interested in the initiative are encouraged to begin applying online now, with a final deadline for all written applications on April 4th. (http://www.growwaynesboro.com/)
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 BizBlitz 2016
March 18-20, Ice House, Downtown Harrisonburg
During this 49-hour high-energy weekend, attendees bring their ideas and join efforts in a fast-paced workshop. We will build prototypes, form teams & start companies. Mentors will provide valuable feedback. Cash prizes will be awarded!
The Shenandoah Valley Innovation Coalition's
weekend starts with open-to-all pitches on Friday evening -- attendees bring their best ideas and inspire others to join their team. Over Saturday and Sunday teams focus on customer development, validating ideas, and building a minimal viable product. This is hands-on. Take advantage of early-bird pricing until March 4 ($75).
Who should attend? People with technical or design backgrounds, or business backgrounds. Developers, marketers, designers, product managers, startup enthusiasts, aspiring entrepreneurs.
Together with MENTORS the weekend is spent in market research, product development, and business plan creation. Sunday evening ends with a final presentation in front of the judges, and everyone wins valuable feedback.
[pre-registration required] [meals included] [early bird pricing until 3.4.16]
[BizBlitz is hosted by the Shenandoah Valley Innovation Coalition, SVIC. SVIC's mission is to accelerate innovation, creativity, and economic development across the Shenandoah Valley through the active collaboration of business, government, community, and academic organizations.
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 SVTC's Bits and Grits
February 16, 8-9am;
Mrs. Rowes, Staunton, VA
Come get together for great breakfast and to talk some tech. Dutch treat. No reservations required.
This is where our technology users and creators get together to connect about various topics (while eating some good food!). This occurs on the 3rd Tuesday of every month. Look for Kurt Plowman.
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Member News:
Shenandoah Valley Partnership Update | December 2015
Learn about 2015 SVP events, recently launched initiatives and regional announcements and good news.
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| Shenandoah Valley Partnership Update | December 2015 |
The Shenandoah Valley Partnership (SVP) works with public and private partners at the local, regional, and state level to develop an economic climate for business success throughout the Shenandoah Valley. Through regional cooperation the SVP brings together business, government, and education leaders to attract new business to the area, help existing businesses expand, and guide strategic workforce development to grow and sustain a healthy economic future for our region.
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Member News:
CIT AWARDED SUBCONTRACT TO SUPPORT OCEAN RESEARCH, RESILIENCY
Award supports continued MARACOOS scientific ocean research, monitor rising sea levels
February 8, 2016 (HERNDON, Va.) - The Center for Innovative Technology (CIT) announced today a $60,000 subcontract with Rutgers University to provide site support for six high frequency (HF) radar systems along the Virginia-Maryland coast, as part of the Mid-Atlantic Regional Association Coastal Ocean Observing System (MARACOOS) project. With this award, CIT begins its ninth year supporting a Mid-Atlantic partnership of academia, industry and government to advance coastal ocean observing, data management and forecasting capacities.
Funded by a National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) grant and as part of the U.S. Integrated Ocean Observing System (IOOS), MARACOOS' mission is to seek, discover and apply new knowledge and understanding of the coastal ocean, ranging from Cape Cod, Massachusetts to Cape Hatteras, North Carolina. The project supports educational activities across five regional themes: 1) Maritime Safety, 2) Ecosystem Based Management, 3) Water Quality, 4) Coastal Inundation and 5) Energy.
CIT President and CEO Ed Albrigo said, "It is an honor to be part of this regional project. This new contract allows us to apply technology for additional research in important areas, including storm surge and maritime safety, and to expand from observation to forecasts."
CIT is one of ten institutions supporting this work, providing site maintenance for five CIT-owned HF radars and one NOAA-owned HF radar located along the coast from Assateague Island National Seashore in Maryland to Virginia Beach. The radars are used by ocean researchers to measure surface current velocity fields near the coast. The United States Coast Guard uses this surface current information approximately thirty times per week in their search and rescue missions. The measurements are also used to help control the path of underwater robots that are searching for endangered Atlantic sturgeon. The HF radar data supports MARACOOS' efforts to discover the sturgeon's distribution in the coastal ocean in order to limit its bycatch. Additionally, MARACOOS is developing a product derived from the radar measurements that can provide a forecast of storm surge during storms.
Between 2011 and 2016, MARACOOS plans to maintain and expand the existing observing, data management and forecasting systems focused on the transition from observation to forecasts and to expand the suite of information products that target multiple users across all five regional themes.
The subcontract's period of performance is from June 1, 2015 through May 31, 2016.
About the Center for Innovative Technology,
www.cit.org
Since 1985, CIT, a nonprofit corporation, has been the Commonwealth's primary driver in of innovation, technology and entrepreneurship. CIT accelerates the next generation of technology and technology companies through research, research commercialization, capital formation, market development and revenue generation services. To facilitate national innovation leadership and accelerate the rate of technology adoption, CIT creates partnerships between innovative technology startup companies and advanced technology consumers, and develops and deploys broadband strategies. Its CAGE code is 1UP71.
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Contact Us
Shenandoah Valley Technology Council
800 S. Main Street MSC 4901
Harrisonburg, Virginia 22807
540-568-7882
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