Tuesday, August 31, 2010

Charlottesville Woman Announces 4 Under 40 Contest

Charlottesville is nearly bursting at the seams with successful, inspiring women. Charlottesville Woman magazine enjoys profiling these ladies in our quarterly publication and on our blog (http://cwmag.dailiyprogress.com), but we’ve decided to take the next step to recognize the efforts of Charlottesville-area women with our first-ever contest: 4 Under 40 Awards.

Charlottesville Woman’s 4 Under 40 Awards is designed to honor young professional women who have made innovative strides in their professions and are making a positive impact on the Charlottesville community as a whole.

Do you know a woman under the age of 40 (by Dec. 31, 2010) who has done something new, something innovative, something that moves the Charlottesville area toward a bright and shiny future? We want to hear about them! They can be of any vocation, but must live in our area and be at least 21 years old as of the end of this year. All nominations must be submitted no later than Dec. 15, 2010. We are going to present the awards at the Quadruplicity women’s conference next year—a really big thank you goes to the organizers of the conference and the Charlottesville Regional Chamber of Commerce, CBS19, WINA and Z95 for partnering with us on this inaugural adventure. We will also profile the winners in our spring issue of Charlottesville Woman magazine.

There’s a bit of housekeeping we should mention here:
•  All nominations must be submitted on the online 4 Under 40 Nomination Form (only available online at http://www.dailyprogress.com Keyword: Awards).
•  You can nominate yourself, sister, mother, daughter or local female professional.
•  You may nominate as many inspirational Charlottesville area women as you wish, but nominating someone more than once will not help their chances of winning.  It is the quality of the nomination, rather than the number of nominations, that will determine the winner.
•  You may attach a resume, but it is not a substitute for completed responses on the nomination form.
•  Answer all questions as fully as possible.

Who should you nominate? The woman must have shown innovation and achievement in their vocation; must show exceptional service commitment to our community; she must have shown vision and leadership in professional and/or charitable works; and she must have demonstrated her ability to juggle work/family/self.

We cannot wait to read about these inspiring ladies and celebrate the fabulous Charlottesville-area women!

Monday, August 30, 2010

Women We Love: Ginger Germani

Cute. Adorable. Supportive. Energetic. Happy. Fun. These are the words that immediately come to mind when you hear the name Ginger Germani. Germani, the Treasury Management officer at Virginia National Bank (VNB), is a wife, the mother of four, and involved in many activities in town she finds dear to her heart: such as Charlottesville Albemarle SPCA and helping to organize Quadruplicity, the women’s conference.

Germani followed her passion and earned a bachelor’s degree in economics from Randolph-Macon College. “My degree in economics was no accident,” she says. “I’m an economics dork. I love spending time looking at how people are operating their businesses and how I can help make a positive impact on that. Banking relationships are very crucial to the success of a business. It’s just a great fit.”

Germani is a dynamo—giving back to her family and her community. She carves out at least 30 minutes a day to just talk to her husband. “It doesn’t sound like much and most times it’s an hour, but our alone time to talk is really important,” Germani says.

And she tries to lead her life by her beliefs.

“My greatest strength is probably my conviction. I enjoy being able to speak so genuinely about the people and organizations I associate myself with. I only spend my time and effort on things that I truly believe in,” she says. “I believe that VNB offers the best possible banking relationships. I believe that our chamber can make a difference for businesses and professionals in our community. I believe that pets are valuable to people’s lives and should be given every chance to have a home because they will give back. I believe that my children are paying attention to everything that I do so it’s important for me to pay attention to them.

“My work with the chamber and the CASPCA can also be part of my day,” she adds. “VNB is very supportive of our community.”

And it’s her job at Virginia National Bank that Germani credits with helping her lead a balanced life.

“I has taken me a long time to figure out the secret to living a balanced life. I would attribute it to surrounding yourself with the right people and letting them know how much they mean to you: my husband, my boss and my friends,” Germani says. “My husband is a true life partner; he understands the importance of my family to me and of my career. My boss understands the same two things and a person spends most of their week working, so this is important. Both of them support me in those endeavors and I appreciate it so I try to tell them often. I don’t think I could have better friends. Most of them have begun as professional relationships and are such positive influences on my life.”

Her days at work are not “typical,” she notes, and she finds that exciting. “I could be analyzing bank statements to create service proposals or meeting with customers to learn about their daily operations and what they are trying to achieve to determine is there are Treasuring Management solutions that can help them.”

While she loves the day-to-day differences, and the strong relationships it affords, it’s her boss who has given her most rewarding professional experience.

“I get a tremendous warm and fuzzy feeling when one of my customers calls me because they want to bring me additional business because they enjoy and appreciate working with me. And as strange as it sounds, I get as excited over an exceptional service proposal as I do over a new pair of shoes,” she says. “But, none of that tops my last review. My boss has spent his entire career in banking. I have listened and learned very intently every time he has spoken. I couldn’t have a better mentor. So for someone that I regard so highly to tell me how pleased he has been with my work, well it doesn’t get any better than that. It’s sort of like Peyton Manning telling you what a great spiral you’ve got. I’m smiling just typing about it.”

As for other women thinking of going into banking, Germani offers this advice:
“Banking is a relationship-driven career. You are selling a relationship with yourself first and your organization second,” she says. “Join an organization that you can believe in so that you will always be genuine to your customers. Keep the dialogue about your career path open. Ask what opportunities will be available and what you need to demonstrate to be given those opportunities.”

8 Things You Might Not Know about Ginger Germani

1)  Who is your favorite author and why? I would love to have something profound to offer up here. However, I raise four kids and three dogs. My reading consists of periodicals that relate to my profession because I can get through an article at a time and blogs because blog posts do not tend to be too long either. I love to read Marijean Jaggers’ blog and Amy Eastlack’s Suzy Has More To Say and her other blog, Finding Amy…Again . Both of these ladies provide a comfortable place for me when I read their blogs. I am reminded that so many others experience all the same things I do. Some better—some worse. But when I have a few moments, I go to my Google reader and catch up on their blogs.

2)  Favorite thing about Charlottesville? My favorite thing about Charlottesville is the beautiful scenery. I come from Richmond, where I never noticed how flat everything was until I moved here. I look around everyday and appreciate the view that I have living in Charlottesville.

3)  What is your favorite hobby/pastime? My favorite hobby or past time is playing softball. I played it all my life until I went to a college that did not have a softball program. I missed it tremendously. I have coach my sons’ baseball teams when they were younger and my stepdaughter’s first softball team. I managed to form a co-ed team a few springs back but didn’t have the time to be in charge of it after that season. I look forward to playing again. I’m not so girly once I step onto that field.

4)  What is one of your hidden talents/skills? Hidden talent other than softball is cooking. I’m no five-star chef, but I have some pretty impressive dishes. Just no actual recipes. I never write anything down when I create it.

5)  What is your guilty pleasure? My guilty pleasure is my favorite consignment shop in Richmond. There are labels in that store that you can not find in this state! When my husband asked what I wanted for my birthday, I said I wanted to go there. It’s a good thing I moved. I would have a completely ridiculous wardrobe if I could still go every week.

6)  What is your favorite movie and why? I would have to pick two movies to be my favorites. The first being “The Notebook.” Love that is that strong is so moving. It’s so refreshing to see a story about two people who aren’t perfect but are perfect for each other. People whose strengths and weakness compensate or compliment each others. My other favorite movie would be “The Blind Side.” I think that knowing that it was a true story made me buy in to every moment of it. I was also so impressed with Leigh Anne Tuohy’s conviction and character. She’s a woman to admire.

7)  Where did you grow up? I grew up in Mechanicsville, a suburb of Richmond. A lot of farmland.

8)  What is the greatest invention of your lifetime and why? The greatest invention of my time. That has to be the Internet. There is an endless list of how the Internet has changed the way we do business and carry out our personal relationships as well.

Monday, August 30, 2010

Donate for a Good Cause

In an effort to ensure that job seekers in our community have professional interview clothing, the Charlottesville Community Job Fair is sponsoring a Career Clothes for Job Seekers clothing drive. The goal is to provide all women and men job seekers in need of a professional clothing at least one outfit that they can wear when they attend the 2010 Charlottesville Community Fall Job Fair on Wednesday, Sept. 29 from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. at John Paul Jones Arena.

Donations of gently used career apparel are needed now. Check your closets for “interview appropriate” items that you have not worn in the last year and ask your friends and neighbors to do the same.

Clothing can be dropped off on hangers at the Virginia Workforce Center, 2211 Hydraulic Road beginning today-Sept. 24 from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. Monday through Friday. The donations will be given to job seekers at the Workforce Center during the weeks leading up to the fair and there will be an image room available at the arena on the day of the job fair.

Wish List
Women’s Apparel Needs:
Skirt and pant suits
Separates—jackets, skirts and pants in all sizes
Dress shoes—black pumps, 1-3 inch heels (all sizes—clothes toe, no sling back)
Dress scarves; business appropriate jewelry

Men’s apparel needs:
Dress suits—dark neutrals for all sizes
Sport coats—dark neutrals for all sizes
Khakis and dress pants—neutrals for all sizes
Dress shirts—long sleeves, no print for all sizes
Dress ties—conservative stripe
Dress belts—black or brown in all sizes
Dress shoes—black or brown in all sizes

For more information, contact Bonnie Rogers, Image Investment Institute at (434) 326-1115 or or Holly Lee, city of Charlottesville/Economic Development at (434) 970-3117 or .

Thursday, August 26, 2010

Good Eats!

Better World Betty hosts a community picnic to celebrate earth-friendliness in the community on Sunday, Sept. 12 from 3-5 p.m. at Riverview Park.

Environmentally minded residents of all ages are invited to enjoy face-painting, food, music, eco-games, raffle prizes, an herb walk and conservation tips to use in their daily lives. Bring a picnic basket packed with a reusable beverage bottle, utensils and a side dish to share among friends near our precious local water resource, the Rivanna River. There will also be a book/CD/media exchange for anyone interested in swapping those items. The event is free and open to the public. Raffle tickets are $5, or 4 for $20. 

Local sponsors, Whole Foods, Harvesting Rain, Blue Ridge Eco Shop, Eco Dry Cleaners, Relay Foods and Trees on Fire, have donated raffle goodies to support Betty’s local action-oriented environmental initiatives.

, founder and director of Better World Betty says, “The picnic a great chance to gather as a community, support each other’s green habits and start new ones!” This picnic will have a water focus so organizers will give away a dozen water kits and are raffling off rain barrel, a Brita filter, a dual flush converter kit and more.

Better World Betty is a local grassroots organization dedicated to providing local solutions for a more sustainable life. Kent and her advisory board of dynamic, environmentally conscious business owners, activists and Charlottesville’s own Mayor Dave Norris have worked for more than two years to bring environmental awareness and action to the community. Every month Betty reaches more than 80,000 people with her website, community outreach programs, local column, and 106.1 The Corner radio show.

Why the name Betty? “Betty is a modernized 50’s mother, who tends the larger kitchen – the Earth kitchen—by giving us tools to green our lives in a fast, fun and friendly way.”

Tuesday, August 17, 2010

Women We Love: Amy Eastlack

Amy Eastlack has managed to find a way to be a full-time mom, wife and business woman by becoming a best gal pal to the Charlottesville-area community as managing editor of SuzySaid Charlottesville. Eastlack is married to Courtney and is the mother of two daughters, Maggie, 9, and Katie, 7, as well as two “adorable but menacing dogs,” Miley and Scout, and one “fat cat,” Belle. Becoming a social media guru, Eastlack has propelled SuzySaid into the minds and hearts of her neighbors—all from her home, and “pretty much anywhere else I can find free Wi-Fi. This summer it will be from the Fairview Swim and Tennis Club pool.”

Eastlack graduated from the University of Denver with a bachelor degree in biology and psychology. So how did she end up a writer?

“I’ve always loved to write but hadn’t found a way to turn it into a career until now,” she says. “After being urged by many people—from my husband to the ladies in my mom’s bridge group (who love my Christmas letters!)—I finally decided to really work at it. SuzySaid actually fell into my lap when I reconnected with a childhood friend on Facebook, believe it or not. Fate? Divine intervention? Luck? I don’t care—I’m just so happy it happened.”

Being her own boss—and working from home—has a lot of positive aspects for Eastlack, but also some challenging ones. Her days are often long, but afford her the flexibility to be the mom she wishes to be.

“During the school year I typically work from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. and from 9 p.m. to midnight,” she says. “Sounds kind of crazy, but it allows me to avoid child care costs, be at the bus stop every day when the girls get home—as well as sneak in a workout and dog walk in the middle of the day.

“Typically I start the day with 15 minutes of social marketing on Facebook and Twitter (I actually had to start using an egg timer to limit social media time!) and then buckling down with writing and researching for a few hours,” she adds. “Most days I will have at least one interview or committee meeting out of the house. At 2 p.m. the computer goes off so I can walk the dogs and pick up the girls. I bring my phone while I walk the dogs so I can add in another 15 minutes of social marketing time and then listen to podcasts about sales and marketing.”

The writing and personal interaction comes pretty easy to Eastlack, but the sales aspect is a challenge.

“First I don’t love sales, yet it’s paramount to my success. Second, the economy has put a pinch on a lot of companies and often one of the first things to go is the advertising budget,” she notes. Eastlack says she’s facing it “head on by pushing myself to get over my fear of sales, looking to hire a fabulous part-time sales person and making SuzySaid so good that people would be out of their mind not to advertise with us!”

Eastlack has a prescription for leading a balanced life that has worked for her.

“I surround myself with amazing people: my husband, my friends and my family—I am so fortunate,” she says. “Two, I’ve learned to ask for help when needed. Three, I make time for fun.”

She takes care of herself, mentally and physically, by exercising, sleeping well and scheduling an “Amy Day” or at least a few “Amy Hours.” “Sometimes a good pedicure is all I need,” she says.

For others considering following in a similar career, Eastlack offers the following advice:

“Have fun, never stop learning and always be networking. Things are constantly changing in this field—and you need to have your finger on the pulse of what is happening to make sure that you are marketable.”

8 Things You Might Not Know About Amy Eastlack…

1.  Who is your favorite author and why? Right now, Sue Monk Kidd. “The Secret Life of Bees”—awesome. Then Marijean Jaggers gave me “Traveling with Pomegranates”…beautiful and meaningful, especially as a mother of daughters. She is a lot deeper than I am—and does a type of writing that I do not do—maybe that’s why I love it so much?

2.  Favorite thing about Charlottesville? Small town feel with big city opportunities (i.e. sports, culture, etc).

3.  What is your favorite hobby/pastime? Being with my family, especially traveling and day-tripping to local vineyards and other beautiful spots in our area.

4.  What is one of your hidden talents/skills? I’m really good at cannonballs off the diving board, but my husband said that was dorky to say so how about—interior design, especially on a budget.

5.  What is your guilty pleasure? Playing silly word games like Text Twist and Pathwords on my phone and Facebook.

6.  What is your favorite movie and why? “National Lampoon’s Vacation”—love totally corny movies, especially if they have old school Chevy Chase in them. Close second is “Slapshot,” which I blame on Paul Newman and my upbringing in Minnesota.

7.  Where did you grow up? White Bear Lake, MN—Go Bears!

8.  What is the greatest invention of your lifetime and why? At the risk of sounding typical I will have to say that given my occupation and lifestyle—the Mac and iPhone. Can’t imagine my life without them! I work from them, schedule from them, talk to my friends all over the world from them and play Text Twist—how cool is that?  (And truthfully, my life would not be the same if Sara Blakely hadn’t invention Spanx back in 2002—though that may be too shallow to print!)
Take it from me, Amy, it’s right on the money!

Page 2 of 2 pages  <  1 2