ANNOUNCEMENTS
Board of Supervisors clerk leaves for VCU position

Lisa Elko is leaving her job as the Chesterfield clerk to the board of supervisors after eight years to become executive assistant to Don Gehring, vice president of government relations at Virginia Commonwealth University (VCU). At her new job, Elko will provide support in the planning, coordination and execution of all government relations programming for VCU including its health system. The office serves as a liaison between the governor's office, the General Assembly, agencies of the commonwealth, Richmond City Council and local boards of supervisors. Elko starts her job at VCU on Oct. 8 after 19 years with the county.

Shamin Hotels has named Mark Yardis as vice president of operations. He joins the eight-member executive team that includes founders, PC Amin and BN Shah. Yardis has 35 years of experience in the hospitality field and most recently was the regional director of operations for the Procaccianti Group.

Friends of the Lower Appomattox River has received a $20,000 donation from Philip Morris USA for the Battersea Bridge Project. The foot-bridge project will link the dam at Lake Chesdin to the mouth of the Appomattox River at Hopewell with a trail system and includes two spans linking opposite shorelines via an island. The spans - the longest is nearly 80-feet - are already in place and accessible to the public on a riverside trail just west of Petersburg's Campbell's bridge.

The Chester Rotary Club is giving dictionaries to third-grade students at seven Chesterfield schools for the second year. The elementary schools are Curtis, Wells, Ecoff, Marguerite Christian, Elizabeth Scott, Harrowgate and Enon.

Woodmen of the World presented a set of American and Virginia auditorium flags to Dr. Brenda Mayo, principal of Cosby High School, and Nick Newman, Student Council Association president, on Sept. 14. The life insurance organization will also present flags to two new elementary schools that are scheduled to open in November and two new middle schools opening in 2008.

Dunkin' Donuts celebrated the grand opening of its new store, located inside the Shell gas station at 11440 W. Huguenot Rd., on Sept. 21. This is the company's second location in the Richmond market. A third location will open in Colonial Heights in mid-October and a fourth is planned in Petersburg in December. Dunkin' Donuts plans to open 25 stores in the Richmond area by the end of 2012.

PostNet will celebrate the grand opening of its new location at 13926 Hull Street Rd. on Sept. 27. The Chesterfield County Chamber of Commerce will hold a ribbon cutting ceremony at 10 a.m. to welcome owners Ned Armstrong and Crista Tyler to the county's business community. PostNet is a full-service business center that has over 900 locations worldwide, offering digital, print and copy, pack and ship, and other services.

Cardiac Science recently donated a defibrillator to Bailey Bridge Middle School in memory of 18-year-old Jayme Espinoza. Jayme passed away after going into sudden cardiac arrest while running track at his high school in January 2004. He attended Bailey Bridge as a middle school student. Since Jayme's death, his mother, Marchetta Tench, has worked to bring awareness to the incidence of sudden cardiac arrest among young people.