College receives largest gift in its history

In recognition of his longtime service and outstanding contributions, Virginia State Police (VSP) Lt. W. Roger Rector Jr. (right) has been honored with a Lifetime Membership in the Virginia chapter of the Virginia Association of Special Investigation Units (VAIASIU), a nonprofit organization dedicated to combating insurance fraud. Frank Dunton, vice president of investigations with Virginia Farm Bureau, presented the award. Rector has been with the VSP almost 40 years, beginning his career as a trooper and working in areas of arson and bomb, narcotics, white-collar crime and conspiracy investigations. He transferred to insurance fraud in 1999, where he worked until a new assignment took him to a different division in the department. Photo courtesy of Pamela Jewel The Reginald F. Lewis Foundation has committed a grant of $1.5 million to Virginia State University (VSU), which will be placed in an endowment. Earnings will be used to support student scholarships; student travel related to academic pursuits; faculty travel and supplemental sabbatical support; and a prize to be given to a student who demonstrates the highest level of academic achievement from sophomore through senior years.

Six-year-old Darren Vanderpool meets Banks, Village Bank’s mascot, during the bank’s 10th anniversary celebration last month. The event was held at the bank’s headquarters at the Watkins Centre and included a visit from McGruff the Crime Dog, children’s activities, free paper shredding and a flag pole dedication. Lisa Billings/Chesterfield Observer In recognition of the largest gift the college has received in its history, VSU will name its business school the Reginald F. Lewis School of Business. Through federal matching funds and additional fundraising over the next few years, which will be led by recently retired President Emeritus Eddie N. Moore Jr., the value of the endowment is expected to be in excess of $3 million.

Reginald F. Lewis was a VSU graduate who went on to become a lawyer, entrepreneur, philanthropist, CEO and devoted family man. He passed away in 1993, at age 50, following a brief illness.

Business

On Saturday, July 17, Books-A-Million locations, including the one at 15701 Westchester Commons Main St., will donate 15 percent of all net sales to the 11th Annual MDA Car Show presented by Southern Knights Cruisers Car Club. The donations will directly benefit MDA.

Commonwealth Hearing Center, 5950 Harbour Park Drive in Midlothian, will offer free hearing screenings and Bluetooth accessory demonstrations on July 21 and 22, from 10 a.m.-4 p.m. There will be demonstrations of invisible extended-wear hearing aids, and personnel will be available to answer questions. Seating is limited; reservations are required. For more information or to register, call 639-9008.

 A free document shredding event will be held at the Chester branch of Virginia Credit Union, 13025 Jefferson Davis Highway, on Friday, July 23, from 3-6 p.m. Consumers may reduce the risk of identity theft by shredding old documents containing personal and financial information. Cintas Shredding, a document-destruction company, will shred up to three full grocery bags of paper per person on a first-come, first-served basis. The credit union will also collect non-perishable foods during the event for the Central Virginia Foodbank. Visit www.vacu.org for more details.

Don Pepe Mexican Restaurant has opened its second Chesterfield location in the Midlothian Festival Shopping Center on Midlothian Turnpike. The new location features the same menu as its Hull Street Road location with a few additions.

 Chesterfield-based Ortho On-Call has opened a second location in the Westbury Shopping Center in Henrico. The centers specialize in the diagnosis and treatment of urgent care situations such as sports injuries, sprains and strains, slips, trips and falls, hand and wrist injuries, knee injuries, cuts and lacerations, broken bones and work-related injuries. For more information, call 440-4878 or visit www.tripsslipsandfalls.com.

Midlothian resident Georgia Cole has started an online shop, Barkers Dog Boutique, at www.barkersdogboutique.com. The shop specializes in products for medium to extra large dogs, including toys, treats, leads, beds, bowls, travel accessories and lifetimeguaranteed ID tags.

Spencer’s Express at 5144 Centralia Road in Chesterfield recently made news when it was the place of purchase for a $120 Million Cash Blowout lottery ticket, which was a $1 million winner for Rick Reynolds of Disputanta. That was Reynolds’ second big win in six weeks. The store received a $10,000 bonus from the Virginia Lottery.

CJW Medical Center’s Chippenham Hospital is the first in the area to offer the Hansen Sensei® X Robotic Catheter System for heart procedures, which provides physicians advanced catheter navigation within the heart during electrophysiologic procedures.

All American Insurers, 10175 Hull Street Road, has hired Greg Gibson as an agent. He is the third generation in his family to be involved in daily operations of the agency.

Barry E. Roper, M.D., is the new president of the Virginia Society of Eye Physicians and Surgeons. His office is located at 10800 Midlothian Turnpike.

Chesterfield resident Mark Maloney is part of Compound Profit, a Texas-based company specializing in cash flow services.

Sheltering Arms Hospital South, located at St. Francis Medical Center in Midlothian, received a disease-specific care certification in stroke rehabilitation, signifying the hospital’s stroke rehabilitation program complies with the highest national standards for safety and quality of care.

Associated Estates Realty held a ribboncutting ceremony to celebrate the completion of 60 additional units at the River Forest apartment community, located at 5701 Quiet Pine Circle in Chester.

C&F Bank provided financial literacy to students at Manchester, L.C. Bird and Thomas Dale high schools in a program where students role-play the job of a bank lender, analyzing loan applications, reviewing credit reports and calculating disposable income. The “How to Do Your Banking” program also allows students to practice checking account management, develop savings strategies and create personal budgets.

Education

Fall 2010 registration at John Tyler Community College has begun and will continue through Aug. 20. A complete list of classes may be found online at www.jtcc.edu/schedule. Students already enrolled at the college are encouraged to register online using the Student Information System found at www.jtcc.edu/myTyler. Registration will also take place at both campuses as follows: Chester campus, 13101 Jefferson Davis Highway, Mondays, 8 a.m-7 p.m., Tuesdays- Fridays, 8 a.m.-5 p.m.; Midlothian campus, 800 Charter Colony Parkway, Mondays-Wednesdays, 8 a.m.-5 p.m., Thursdays, 8 a.m.-7 p.m. and Fridays, 8 a.m.-5 p.m.; and extended hours at both campuses, Aug. 16-19 and 23-26, 8 a.m.-7 p.m.

SHARE! is seeking volunteer host families in Chesterfield to host two teen ambassadors, a girl from France and a boy from Slovakia, for the upcoming 2010-11 academic school year. For details or to be connected with a local program coordinator, visit www.sharenortheast.org, call toll free (866) 900-3738 or e-mail erdt@ptd.net.

Zackon Gabrielle Moore has been named Millwood School’s second Distinguished Alumnus in its 21-year history.

Brent J. Zackon is the recipient of the 2010 Pamplin Leader Award at Cosby High School. The Pamplin Leader is a one-year, $1,000 scholarship to Virginia Tech presented annually to a top student from each public high school in Virginia.Beaman

Nina Beaman, director of nursing at Bryant & Stratton College, has been elected to the board of directors of the American Psychiatric Nurse’s Association’s newly formed Virginia chapter.

Primrose School of Swift Creek raised more than $600 during its Spring Fling 2010 fundraising event for Camp Comfort Zone, a Virginia-based bereavement camp for children. Students also honored their fathers at an annual Father’s Day event.

Chesterfield schools on Newsweek’s 2010 list of the best high schools in the country include James River High at No. 316, Midlothian High at No. 343, Clover Hill High at No. 910, Monacan High at No. 995 and Cosby High at No. 1,016. Schools are chosen based on advanced placement collegelevel courses and tests. Only 6 percent of all U.S. public schools – just over 1,600 – made the list.

Alderman Leslie Alderman is the top school bus driver in Virginia. She won first place in the conventional bus category during a state competition. In addition to driving bus routes to schools in Chester and Matoaca, she helps train bus drivers for Chesterfield County Public Schools.

Manchester High School students collected $2,300 during homeroom over a two-week period to help alumnus Joseph Roberts, a 2008 graduate of the school, who needs a lung transplant because of damage from cystic fibrosis. Teachers at the school contributed by paying $5 each to wear jeans one day.

L.C. Bird High School graduates Richard Fitzke and Kenya Wilson, and Manchester High graduate Kelsey Vermaaten received Have It Your Way® Foundation scholarships for college in the Burger King® Scholars program.

Jake Brady, a recent graduate of Cosby High School, has been awarded a college scholarship from the Johnson Controls Foundation. She is the daughter of Edward Brady, and will attend the University of Virginia in the fall.

Announcements can be e-mailed to news@chesterfieldobserver.com, faxed to 744-3269 or mailed to Chesterfield Observer, Attn: Announcements, P.O. Box 1616,Midlothian, VA 23113.