News Briefs for Jan. 7

The Greater Williamsburg Chamber of Commerce’s Military Affairs Committee said it was able to send 43 active duty service members stationed at the U.S. Coast Guard Training Center and U.S. Navy Naval Weapons Station in Yorktown home this year through its Home for the Holidays fundraising campaign.

The committee said thanks to the generosity of a number of supporters, it was able to send home a new record number of service members who come from across the country and need assistance to make the trip home for the holidays.

WJCC School Board Appointments

The Williamsburg-James City County Public Schools (WJCC) 2024 school board held its first meeting on Thursday, Jan. 5, and made the following appointments:

Sarah Ortego, Chair
District: Jamestown
Policy Committee
School Liaison Committee

Andrea Donnor, Vice Chair
District: City of Williamsburg
Policy Committee
School Liaison Committee

Kimberley Hundley, Parliamentarian
District: Powhatan
WJCC Schools Foundation Board

James City County Residents Invited to Jan. 31 Community Conversations

James City County residents are invited to the first Community Conversations event of 2024 on Jan. 31 at Legacy Hall. Community Conversations is a series of public meetings to give citizens a chance to discuss important topics with local government representatives.

County Administrator Scott Stevens will host a discussion and Q&A on the following topics:

• Public safety update from Chief of Police
• Williamsburg Regional Sports Complex
• James City County Trash Consolidation
• James City County Government Center

Registration is encouraged but not required. Light refreshments will be served.  For more information, contact latara.rouse@jamescitycountyva.gov or call 757-253-6826.

CVBIA installs 2024 officers, directors

Brian McLellon was installed Tuesday, Dec. 12, as 2024 president of Coastal Virginia Building Industry Association. Formerly two separate home builders associations, the Tidewater Builders Association and Peninsula Housing & Builders Association joined forces in early 2020 as one regional organization.

A resident of Poquoson, McLellon is co-owner of Marquee Homes, Inc., a family-owned business that has been providing custom homes and remodeling to families throughout Hampton Roads since 1984.  A graduate of Hampden-Sydney College, Brian has years of experience in the housing industry, starting out as a real estate finance officer at TowneBank, CVBIA said.

For a full list of CVBIA board members, visit cvbia.com/officers-board/

Atlantic Union Bank Offers 30 Paid Internship Grants for Community-Based Organizations

Atlantic Union Bank opened its Future Community Impact Makers grant application process to nonprofits and community-based organizations to support 2024 summer paid internship programs. Thirty grants of $4,000 will be awarded across the bank’s service area.

Atlantic Union Bank will award up to 30 organizations $4,000 in grant funds for each organization to support an intern, with the majority of the funding intended to go directly to intern wages.

Organizations must be community-based, located in an Atlantic Union Bank service area, and commit to hosting an undergraduate or graduate level student in an eight-week, direct-permanent hire, paid internship program. Grant recipients will have full discretion on the intern’s job description and hiring decision. All intern positions are expected to begin no later than June 15  and end no later than Aug. 15.

Grant applications are due by 11:59 p.m. on Feb. 1. Awards will be announced by email no later than Feb. 15. Interested organizations can find more information and apply here.

St. Mark Lutheran Church and Sine Nomine presents… Trio Niche

St. Mark Lutheran Church and Sine Nomine presents… brings Trio Niche, specializing in historically-informed performance of music from the Classical period, with guest tenor Joel Kumro on Saturday, Feb. 3 at 7 p.m.

Trio Niche — Susan Via, Tom Marshall, and Sarah Glosson — is a fortepiano trio formed to bring “a historical sensibility to repertoire from the turn of the nineteenth century.” Using a fortepiano that is a modern replica of an 1805 Walther instrument built by Paul McNulte, and both nineteenth-century violin and cello played with reproduction “transitional” classical bows by Eitan Hoffer, the ensemble “brings to life the sounds of the salons of Jane Austen’s Bath and Thomas Jefferson’s White House,” according to organizers.

The concert will feature the music of Haydn, Mozart, and Breval, in addition to vocal sections from the Classical period by Joel Kumro, Choirmaster and Organist at Saint Benedict Catholic Church in Richmond, where he also coordinates the parish concert series and is the instructor of Liturgical Music at Saint Benedict Catholic School.

St. Mark Lutheran Church is located at 118 Old York-Hampton Highway, Yorktown. The program is free and open to the public.  A reception following the program will provide an opportunity to meet and talk with the musicians. For more information, visit Sine Nomine Presents | St Mark Online.

York County’s Free Christmas Tree Collection
Begins Jan. 8

York County’s free Christmas tree curbside collection program begins Monday, Jan. 8, and continues through Friday, Jan. 12.

Residents must place their trees at the roadside by 7 a.m. on Monday, Jan. 8, for collection during the week. The program is available to all county communities, including those that do not subscribe to the county’s curbside collection programs.

To provide the service to communities not on a curbside collection program, the county’s Waste Management division requires:

• Approval from the Homeowners Association or community management group
• A designated drop-off site within your community where residents can bring their trees. The designated site needs to be in a location with access to the large knuckle boom truck used for collections.

All York County residents, including non-subscribers, may also deliver their trees to the VPPSA Compost Facility, 145 Goodwin Neck Road, from Monday through Saturday, 8 a.m. to 4 p.m.

For curbside collection AND drop-off:

• trees must not be placed in tree bags
• all lights, tinsel, and ornaments must be removed
• trees must be placed without a tree stand
• trees larger than 6’ should be cut in half

For more information or to schedule pickup in your neighborhood, call the York County Waste Management Center at 757-890-3780 or send an email to waste@yorkcounty.gov.

Bank of America ‘Student Leaders’ Program Application Deadline is Jan. 17 

For two decades, Student Leaders has been part of Bank of America’s ongoing investment in youth employment and economic mobility, with a goal to help prepare a network of young students who are successful in impacting their communities.

Through a leadership summit and eight-week paid internships at a local nonprofit, this program develops essential and applicable skills for ambitious high school juniors and seniors. Through the program, Bank of America said it annually connects more than 300 civic-minded high school juniors and seniors from nearly 100 communities throughout the United States to employment, skills development, and service. Those selected for this program gain practical work, networking, and life experiences to prepare them for entering university and/or the workforce.

The program is open to current juniors or seniors in high school who have a passion for improving the community. More information about the program can be found on the Bank of America website to learn if a student is eligible for the program and to review the FAQs. To apply for Student Leaders online, students can click here.