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Upcoming events for the week of March 6, 2022

Upcoming events for the week of March 6, 2022

(Virtual) Franklin County Connects

This event provides a structured and supportive networking environment for chamber members. Each month a guest speaker presents vital info regarding the Franklin County business community. Attendees receive chamber updates, meet and network with other members and have an opportunity to share information about their business. Meeting ID and password available at business.visitsmithmountainlake.com/events.

Contact: info@visitsmithmountainlake.com, 540-721-1203

Eventacular: Businesses, Towns and Events Partnering for Profit

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Local events are a mainstay of towns across the country, especially now as we coax our customers through the path of the pandemic and try to re-accustom them to enjoying their downtowns as community gathering places and shopping destinations. Business owners, aspiring entrepreneurs, event planners, town and county personnel, tourism office and chamber of commerce staff are all encouraged to attend this virtual workshop! Join our presenter, Marc Willson, Virginia SBDC, Small Town & Merchant Program, to learn how everyone can benefit from the extra exposure to new and current customers before, during and after events. Pre-registration is required.

Contact: Link to register — https://www.roanokesmallbusiness.org/

Eggs & Issues: How Broadband is Expanding to Serve Our Community

Register by noon March 8! Montgomery County Chamber of Commerce invites you to this month’s breakfast and networking program, featuring a panel discussion with local experts. Program starts promptly at 8 a.m. Space is limited, so advance registration is required. Go to https://www.montgomerycc.org.

Where: Warm Hearth Village, 2387 Warm Hearth Drive, Blacksburg

Cost: $25 chamber members, $35 nonmembers

Contact: marketing@montgomerycc.org

Gentry Locke Labor & Employment Symposium: Don’t Leave HR to Luck!

Topics include: The New Virginia Employment Law Landscape; Gaslighting in the Workplace; Implicit Bias and its Effect on Company Culture, Recruitment and Retention; Workplace Investigations and Reducing Liability Risk; FMLA & ADA, DOL, EEOC and NLRB; Cybersecurity; and more! Continuing education credits available. Register at www.gentrylocke.com/hr2022.

Where: Hotel Roanoke & Conference Center

When: 7:45 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.

Contact: Kathleen Lordan, glrm@gentrylocke.com

Virginia’s Blue Ridge Series: The State of Innovation

You don’t want to miss this distinguished panel discussion about the technology and medical advancements helping drive our region forward! Presenters will be Amy White, dean of the School of STEM at Virginia Western Community College; Troy Keyser, director of innovation for Carilion Clinic; and Dr. Hal Irvin, Ph.D., associate vice president for health sciences and technology outreach at Fralin Biomedical Research Institute at VTC. Erin Burcham, president of Verge and executive director of Roanoke-Blacksburg Technology Council, will moderate. The Virginia’s Blue Ridge Series is geared toward business owners, C-suite executives and junior to senior-level management professionals. Purchase tickets in advance at the Roanoke Regional Chamber of Commerce website: https://roanokechamber.org.

Where: Vinton War Memorial, 814 E. Washington St., Vinton

Cost: $50 members, $100 future members (includes breakfast)

Contact: Valerie Brannan, vbrannan@roanokechamber.org

Salem-Roanoke County Chamber Check-in

Start your week with networking, finding solutions to challenges, and connecting to additional resources. If you have expertise to share in support of other members or would like 10-15 minutes to share your current programs and offerings, we’d love to have you speak during a check-in; please reach out to Beth Bell, director@s-rcchamber.org. After hearing from our local expert/member speaker, stick around for networking and chamber updates. Members and future members may attend, however only members can present. Takes place every other Tuesday.

Contact: Beth Bell, director@s-rcchamber.org

American Business Women’s Association Luncheon Meeting

RSVP by March 14! Join us for our monthly luncheon featuring guest speaker Janay Reece, reporter on WDBJ7’s Mornin’ Show. Come learn ways to promote your business so you get noticed.

Where: Holiday Inn Christiansburg-Blacksburg, 99 Bradley Drive, Christiansburg

When: 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m.

Contact: Terri Welch at christiansburg@wineanddesign.com

Beer & Biotech: The Future of Biotech in the Region

Beer & Biotech is an ecosystem-building series that will bring together investors, physicians, academics, inventors, startups and state and regional leaders who are influential in the biotechnology industry. Each event in the yearlong series will feature a local, regional or national speaker and include plenty of time for networking and beverages at the host brewery. For this installment, John Newby, chief executive officer of Virginia Bio, will share his vision for the future of biotechnology.

Where: Big Lick Brewing Co., 409 Salem Ave. SW, Roanoke (back room)

Contact: Register at https://rbtc.tech/rbtc-events

SBDC Ag Day 2022: Expected Market Trends for Farmers’ Markets, Farm Stores, and Local Food

Our speaker will be Rose Jeter, Agricultural Technology Program, Virginia Tech. Topics include: what is a market analysis and why do I need one; how to find market size, potential and trends; and an overview of current trends in local and regional food systems. This session is geared toward owners of small business who are producers, growers, farmers market managers and vendors, manufacturers and retailers in the agriculture industry. Pre-registration is required. A confirmation email with the Zoom login information will be sent after registration.

Contact: https://www.roanokesmall business.org/training/agday-markettrends

SBDC Ag Day 2022 : Are you Market Ready? Tips and Best Practices for Producers to Sell to Consumers at Farmers’ Markets

Our speaker will be Dr. Theresa Nartea, associate professor and Extension specialist, Marketing & Agribusiness. This session is geared toward helping participants: increase their knowledge of effective, attractive and safe product display at a farmers market; increase awareness of consumer preferences in purchasing direct to consumer; increase confidence in creating a farmers market display that enhances product value to the end consumer. Pre-registration is required. A confirmation email with the Zoom login information will be sent after registration.

Contact: https://www.roanokesmallbusiness.org/training/agday-markettrends

Preparing for IRONMAN 2022: Tips and Tools for Small Businesses to Capitalize for Increased Sales

The Carilion Clinic IRONMAN 70.3 Virginia’s Blue Ridge is coming to the region June 3-5. Is your business ready? Join the SBDC for a virtual workshop that will provide tips and tools for your business to capitalize on increased activity before and during race weekend. We will be joined by special guests from The IRONMAN Group and Visit Virginia’s Blue Ridge. Pre-registration is required. A confirmation email with the Zoom login will be sent.

Contact: Register by going to https://www.roanokesmallbusiness.org/

Understanding Intellectual Property and the Patent Process

Protecting your product and maintaining a competitive advantage is the basis for patent law. The goals of this workshop are to help current small business owners in all industries understand the different types of intellectual property (IP); identify the IP assets of their business; and determine the next steps to protect their IP. Our speaker will be Timothy J. Bechen, Of Counsel, Intellectual Property Practice, Woods Rogers. Pre-registration is required. A confirmation email with the Zoom login will be sent.

Contact: Register by going to https://www.roanokesmallbusiness.org/

Clean Valley Council’s Star City Sustainability Society Series: Driving Down Emissions

This month’s speaker will be Andrea Garland, director of RIDE Solutions, who will talk about a report by Transportation For America and Smart Growth America that explores how our land-use and transportation decisions are inextricably connected, and proposes strategies to reduce emissions while building a more equitable society. These free lectures are being held on the fourth Thursday of each month, and will feature different sustainability professionals who will speak on topics related to their expertise. More information available at https://cleanvalley.org/scss.

Where: Humble Hustle (community room), 601 11th St. NW, Suite 102

Contact: info@cleanvalley.org

The Botetourt Young Professionals Group is for anyone who works, lives or wants to connect in Botetourt County. We strive to bring together young professionals so we may learn, grow and reach our full potentials as future leaders in our area, as well as give back to our community through acts of service. Individuals of all professions and ages are welcome to attend our events and activities. More info at https://botetourtchamber.com/.

Where: 1772 Rooftop on Main, Fincastle

Cost: No fee; Dutch treat

Contact: Kaleigh Duffy, kmd.pga@gmail.com

Join us for coffee and refreshments, courtesy of our host, Smith Mountain Lake Association. This event provides a structured and supportive networking environment for Chamber members.

Where: SMLA, 400 Scruggs Road, Suite 2100, Moneta

Contact: info@visitsmithmountainlake.com

Information on public events of interest to businesspeople can be emailed to upcoming@roanoke.com. Deadline for submissions is two weeks before the event.

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Hog Market Update

Hog Market Update

Forward hog contract prices have been experiencing volatility.

Tyler Fulton is director of risk management with Hams Marketing Services.

“Forward markets have seen similar volatility as what a lot of other markets have been experiencing,” he said. “The influence of the invasion in Ukraine from Russia has really kind of thrown a lot of market factors up in the air and there’s just a ton of uncertainty associated with trade flows. Less so related to meat protein, but more so related to feed grains.”

Fulton commented on the U.S. cash markets.

“Some uncertainty there. I think one of the driving factors of the market is just the degree to which the supply has shrunk in the U.S. compared to last year. Our year-to-date hog slaughter in the United States is down about eight per cent, which is a very large number, in particular for the first quarter of 2022.”

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UPDATE: Sunflower shines over Vernon peace event – Vernon Morning Star

UPDATE: Sunflower shines over Vernon peace event - Vernon Morning Star

The sunflower, says Vernon artist Michelle Loughery, is food. It’s medicine.

Nine years ago, Loughery painted a sunflower mural on the side of a local real estate building at 30th Street and Highway 6. It was an internment mural, about what happened to people of Ukrainian and Austrian descent in the First World War. It was the first such mural in Canada.

On Sunday, Feb. 27, Loughery and a handful of fellow artists gathered at the mural to paint sunflowers as a show of peace.

“Today, with everything happening in the world, we as artists – led by (Vernon artist) Brenda Ellis – said ‘Let’s come together, let’s do a painting and let’s show what we’re standing for is peace on this planet,” said Loughery, whose three-year-old granddaughter, Eili Kette, was among those out painting sunflowers on canvasses.

Ukraine, of course, has been front and centre in world news following an invasion by Russia. Okanagan communities – there are approximately 20,000 people in the Okanagan who identify as Ukrainian-Canadian – have held rallies since the invasion on Thursday, Feb. 24, to show support and love for the people of Ukraine.

“This wall is so poignant and everything came together to stand here right now about the sunflower,” said Loughery.

The sunflower is the national flower of Ukraine and the country is one of the world’s leaders in producing sunflowers and sunflower oil.

Ellis, who was painting fence pickets blue with yellow sunflowers – blue and yellow are the colours of Ukraine’s flag – also had a bowl of sunflower seeds on her table. Loughery told an important tale about the seeds and a Ukrainian immigrant who came to Canada starving.

“She had sewn sunflower seeds in her skirt so she could have the flower and the food to survive in Canada,” said Loughery. “The heart of the sunflower seed is in all of us as humanity.”

Loughery and her fellow artists are excited to bring the sunflower to the forefront locally.

“It’s beautiful,” she smiled. “It’s the people, place and planet, guys. We’re all in it together.”

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Current Events: Update on Missoula road changes, housing projects

Current Events: Update on Missoula road changes, housing projects

MISSOULA – A much talked about change two a pair of downtown Missoula streets and progress on housing are the topics of this edition of Current Events.

We talked with Missoula Current founding editor Martin Kidston to find out what could be happening on Main and Front streets in the near future.

“Yeah, that project is actually creeping along. It has come back on the books the last couple weeks. A little bit of history on that. Back in 2015 the city did a feasibility study on the potential for conversion of Front and Main Street into two-way traffic and the feasibility study actually found that the possibility was actually feasible,” Kidston explained.

A few years ago, they put that project up to bid for engineering and design and that project is at 30% design right now and that is expected to come to 90% design this spring, which shows some progress there. With that, they begin to search for a funding source. It’s a good time to tackle a project like that with the Infrastructure Bill that passed.”

“Some of the things that the project will do is obviously turn Front and Main Streets back into two-way traffic. And that impacts a number of intersections in the downtown area, including the intersections of Front and Main with Van Buren Street, the one intersection there with Front and Main where they come together with Orange Street, and also where Front and Main cross Higgins Avenue. All those intersections need to be reconfigured since traffic will be moving in both directions,” Kidston continued.

“The businesses are behind it, it’s supposed to be good for commerce. Their working with neighborhoods downtown to alleviate their concerns. We’ll see what the 90% design comes up with this spring for that project.

Meanwhile, a new subdivision might be in the works for the River Road area in Missoula.

“Last week the Consolidated Planning Board heard and approved on an 8-1 vote a small subdivision of 19 units and that’s off River Road on the south side. It’s spaced on 2.3 acres of property. That project is represented by IMEG,” Kidston explained.

“There is concern among the neighbors about the impact that the residential housing units will have on traffic, congestion. The infrastructure on River Road is in horrendous shape to use a phrase put by one person. There is concern about the impact. The rezoning request for that project now goes before city council. They will ultimately decide whether this project gets rezoned and permitted to move forward.

There has also been some movement on a housing project on Missoula’s scott Ctreet.

“That project is moving forward as well, and they plan to start laying foundations this fall which is a pretty quick timeline. They’re still trying to work on some details around parking and right of way. The price points are becoming clearer on what the town homes and condos and what the affordable part of the project will sell for. That’s really starting to jell, we may actually be tarting to see something yet this fall,” Kidston concluded.

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UPDATE 1-Spotify chief content officer calls Joe Rogan events a ‘learning experience’

UPDATE 1-Spotify chief content officer calls Joe Rogan events a 'learning experience'

(Adds Ostroff quote, details on Rogan backlash)

By Elizabeth Culliford

Feb 9 (Reuters) – Spotify’s chief content officer Dawn Ostroff told advertisers at a conference on Wednesday that the backlash around popular U.S. podcaster Joe Rogan’s podcast had been a “real learning experience” for the streaming service.

“We do feel that we have a responsibility to support creator expression, but also balance that creator expression with safety for our users and for our advertisers,” said Ostroff, who has been a key driver in Spotify’s work to turn the platform into a top podcast hub, speaking at an Interactive Advertising Bureau annual conference in New York.

The streaming giant has been under fire after Rogan, who signed a $100-million deal with Spotify in 2020, aired controversial COVID-19 views on his show and drew protests from artists Neil Young, Joni Mitchell and India Arie. Young said Spotify had “become the home of life threatening COVID misinformation.”

Last week, Rogan apologized and Spotify said it would add a content advisory to any podcast episodes on its platform with discussion of the virus. On Saturday, Rogan apologized again for using racial slurs after a montage video surfaced showing him repeatedly saying the N-word. (Reporting by Elizabeth Culliford Editing by Nick Zieminski)