HISTORIC TRIANGLE — Catch up on news and notes in brief from in and around the Historic Triangle.
Williamsburg Girl Scouts Lay Wreaths for Fallen Soldiers at Yorktown National Cemetery
On Saturday, Dec. 16, Girl Scouts of the Colonial Coast volunteer Rachel Resto and the Girl Scouts of Troop 1445 took part in laying wreaths at Yorktown National Cemetery in collaboration with Wreaths Across America.
By taking part in this project, the girls learned to “remember, honor, and teach the value of freedom,” the 2023 Wreaths Across America initiative theme, according to the organization.
Troop 1445 is a multi-level Williamsburg Girl Scout troop with 50 girl members who make the world a better place through acts of service.
Visit wreathsacrossamerica.org
James Maloney Foundation and Williamsburg Pottery Host Donation Ceremony
Last week, the James Maloney Foundation and the Williamsburg Pottery, through its owners Peter Kao and Kimberly Maloney, hosted an annual donation ceremony.
Donations were awarded to James City County Police, James City County Bruton Volunteer Fire Department, York-Poquoson Sheriff’s Office, York-Poquoson Fire & Life Safety, and the Heritage Humane Society.
The James Maloney Foundation and Williamsburg Pottery thanked each for their service to the community, “along with the safety and help they are giving selflessly and effortlessly.”
Norfolk International Airport Reports on November 2023 Activity
Norfolk International Airport (ORF) reported a 16.2% increase in passenger activity for the month of November with 384,763 passengers compared to a November 2022 passenger count of 331,111. It is the tenth month in a row, the airport has set a new monthly record for total passengers.
The January to November total passenger count has increased 10%, according to the Norfolk Airport Authority, representing 4,172,646 passengers compared to 3,791,866 passengers during the same period in 2022.
In other activities, 3,748,121 pounds of cargo were shipped in and out of the airport during November. This represents a 29.6% decrease compared to November 2022, which saw 5,326,951 pounds of cargo shipped. January to November cargo pounds shipped has decreased 10.5% percent, representing 51,738,144 cargo pounds compared to 57,777,716 cargo pounds during the same period in 2022, according to the authority.
Norfolk International Airport is serviced by Allegiant, American, Breeze, Delta, Frontier, Southwest, Spirit and United airlines and their regional airline partners, as well as charter airlines. All-cargo carriers include Federal Express and UPS.
James City County 2023 Chairman’s Awards Honor Jacqueline Williams and The Village Initiative, Colton Thompson
James City County Board of Supervisors Chairman Michael Hipple presented his 2023 Chairman’s Awards during the Dec. 12 Board of Supervisors meeting.
The Chairman’s Award for a County individual, department or program went to Firefighter Colton Thompson. Thompson has been with James City County Fire Department since August 2015 and serves as a member of the Marine Incident Response Team and the Peer Fitness Team.
“In June 2022, Thompson’s dedication to the community and saving lives extended to giving life through living kidney donation to his fiancés’ mother,” the county said. “The noble acts of living kidney donors do not end after donation; their gift represents more than one life saved. Their actions live on to inspire the community to give back in bigger and bolder ways.”
The Citizen’s Award went to Jacqueline Bridgeforth-Williams and The Village Initiative. Bridgeforth-Williams is the founder and executive director of The Village Initiative, a grassroots, 501(c)(3) organization dedicated to equity and justice in the Williamsburg-James City County Schools and surrounding community.
According to the county, the Village Initiative takes a four-pronged approach to social change, focusing on advocacy, school programming, community outreach and early literacy, and preservation of local Black histories. Since its founding in 2016, The Village Initiative has engaged in sustained policy advocacy, and its school programming has included tutoring, mentoring, and leadership programs for K-12 schools and partnerships to integrate local Black histories and members of the Black descendant community into the classroom.
Gloucester Launches Innovative Software to Help During Emergencies
Candice Smith, a GIS Specialist with Gloucester’s GIS (Geographic Information Systems) Department, recently developed GloCoEOC, an interactive mapping and dashboard system that the county said will be instrumental to assist in workflow needs during an emergency within the County.
When the County activates its Emergency Operations Center (EOC) during an emergency, the new system will allow each person with a critical role to know what others are doing within the EOC, the county said.
The county expects GloCoEOC will improve the workflow between the call center, which is the communications hub during an emergency, and the EOC. The software is fully customizable and completely digital, so there will be no need for multiple pieces of paper that would oftentimes get lost as they got shuffled from table to table. It is also dynamic and will always stay up to date with the latest GIS technology.
Liz Moore & Associates Selected for Membership in Leading Real Estate Companies of the World
Liz Moore & Associates, a real estate company serving the Virginia Peninsula, Williamsburg, Richmond, Kilmarnock, and the Southside, has been selected for membership in Chicago-based Leading Real Estate Companies of the World, Liz Moore, President, announced recently.
Leading Real Estate Companies of the World (LeadingRE) is a global real estate community comprised of 550 real estate companies awarded membership based on rigorous standards for service and performance with 4,900 offices and 138,000 sales associates in over 70 countries, according to Liz Moore & Associates.
To learn more about LeadingRE, visit LeadingRE.com. For more information on Liz Moore & Associates, visit lizmoore.com, or call 757-645-4106.
