The percentage of workers living in each jurisdiction who commute to Lynchburg:

Amherst County- 37%

Appomattox County-28%

Bedford County-25%

Campbell County-47%

20: The average commute time, in minutes, for Region 2000 workers.

10%: The percentage of Region 2000 commuters who carpooled to work, according to the 2010 Census. Ride Solutions, a regional transportation program dedicated to providing commuting options to residents and businesses in Region 2000, Roanoke and New River Valley areas, aims to help increase that number.

According to the 2010 Census, RIDE Solutions can offer a financial savings through a carpool matching service to approximately:

• 10,107 commuting between Lynchburg MSA (metropolitan statistical area) and Roanoke MSA
• 5,166 people who commute from Bedford County to Roanoke City
• 11,954 Campbell County commuters working in Lynchburg City
• 5,436 Amherst County commuters working in Lynchburg City
• 8,418 Bedford County commuters working in Lynchburg City

$700: The estimated amount saved per year by city commuters who carpool to work.

$3,000: The estimated amount saved per year by those with longer commutes.

*Source: RIDE Solutions

Time for a little counseling: For any marriage to work, you need to be fully committed and also include a few more elements to further your happiness. Here are some components that need to be in your “Engagement Ring” with our friend, the Internet:

Search Engine Optimization (SEO)

Quite simply, SEO is the practice of giving your website the best chance of being found by a potential customer using a search engine to find a service or a product. Do you have this?

Social Media

Facebook, Twitter, FourSquare, Instagram, Pinterest, LinkedIn and more. All of these social mediums are proven to increase your online presence and help you engage your target audience in a direct conversation.

Blogging

Studies show that this is the most important component of any online engagement campaign. Blogging is an essential tool for attracting customers. Compelling stories draw customers to your brand, engage them in conversation, inspire them to share content and attract inbound links that draw new traffic to your site.

Email Marketing

If you’ve been gathering an extensive email list from existing or potential customers, but you’re not sure what to do with them, email marketing is a great next step.

Landing Page

Landing pages are a great way to promote a specific product, service or event. Plus, they’ll help you track the results of your other efforts through targeted analytics.

In this digital age, to make a marriage work it’s essential to establish an online presence that directly ties to your company’s growth strategy and then ensure you keep it fresh, relevant and targeted to your desired audience.

My final advice to you, after the walk down the aisle, is to wake up every day committed to your partner. It takes two to make it work and trust me when I say that a bad break-up can be rough and put you out of business quickly. Stop putting it off and get on bended knee, look into the screen and slip that “Engagement Ring” on the virtual hand that will guide you to success.

For more information on improving the marketing for your business, call Prototype Advertising for a free marketing assessment at (434) 846-2333.  

Some options exist, though, for homeowners in this situation. Understanding the choices they have is the first step a homeowner should take before determining how to best solve the problem.

Abandon Ship and Walk Away

Although tempting, simply ceasing payments on a home mortgage in Virginia and walking away from the property is not typically a good idea. Under such a scenario, the home would ultimately be sold by the lender at foreclosure, and the mortgage borrower would be left owing whatever deficiency remained on the mortgage loan after the proceeds from the sale were applied to the outstanding debt. While in some states such deficiency claims may not be asserted against and collected from the homeowner and borrower, Virginians are not so lucky. If you walk away from your home and mortgage, expect to be sued for the deficiency after foreclosure.

Weather the Storm and Stick it Out

Although this choice provides the least immediate relief to the homeowner, staying in the property and remaining current on the mortgage loans will minimize the negative impact on your credit. If the property suits a homeowner and his or her family’s needs, it is often best to stick it out and wait for property values to eventually recover, if such an option is financially feasible.

Chart a New Course with a Loan Modification

The buzz words in home lending and mortgage servicing for the last several years have been “loan modifications.” A loan modification is simply an agreement whereby the mortgage lender changes the terms of the loan typically to reduce the monthly payment amount, interest rate, principal balance or any combination of the above. Unfortunately, the reality is that few homeowners successfully negotiate and finalize loan modifications with their mortgage lenders.  The promise of generous and widespread loan modifications simply has not become a reality. With that said, interested homeowners should certainly consider the option.

The process is started by contacting the mortgage lender and requesting a loan modification application. Be prepared to spend a great deal of time preparing and submitting such an application as careful documentation of every aspect of the transaction is key. Also be prepared to deal with the frustrations of the loan modification review process. No doubt, you will have to submit and resubmit your application and supporting documents several times as the mortgage companies have become notorious for losing entire client files during the process. Nonetheless, homeowners should treat the process like a full-time job, stay organized and patient, and they will have the best chance at successfully negotiating a loan modification.

Navigate to Safe Harbors with Short Sales and Deeds in Lieu of Foreclosure

Two other popular options are a short sale or a deed in lieu of foreclosure. From the homeowner’s perspective, these are similar options in that the end result of each is the loss of the home. In a short sale, the home is sold to a third party for less than the balance due under the mortgage loans. In order to pass a clear title to the new buyer, though, the mortgage lender must agree to release its lien for less than the full payoff of the loan. Therefore, the mortgage lender is an important party to the transaction. A deed in lieu is the transfer of the home directly to the mortgage lender who will thereafter resell the property to a third party without ever completing the foreclosure process. In both of these transactions, the key for the homeowner is to negotiate with the lender as to whether the remaining balance of the mortgage loan will be forgiven and to document the same by some written agreement.

Decommission the Ship with the Planned Surrender of the Home in a Bankruptcy

Surrendering a home through a bankruptcy provides protection to the homeowner from the potential deficiency claim that might otherwise be collected from him or her after the foreclosure of the property is completed. Depending on the homeowner’s income and assets, such a bankruptcy might take the form of either a Chapter 7 liquidation or Chapter 13 reorganization, but either form of bankruptcy will provide the ultimate relief for the client. Another benefit of surrendering a home in a bankruptcy is that the homeowner may continue to reside in the property without making any mortgage payments until the ultimate foreclosure sale, often months or even years before the final sale is completed.

Lighten the Load and Eliminate Second Mortgages and Equity Lines

For those homeowners with multiple mortgages who want to remain in their homes but cannot afford their mortgage payments, a Chapter 13 bankruptcy permits a homeowner to void and remove second mortgages and equity lines to the extent that they are completely unsecured.  In other words, if the balance of the first mortgage exceeds the value of the home, then the homeowner may use the Chapter 13 process to strip off and void the remaining inferior mortgage liens against the property.

Second mortgages and equity lines were heavily marketed by some lenders in the early 2000′s as property values soared but these loans have choked the finances of many homeowners during the recession of the last several years. The ability to completely eliminate such a mortgage payment from a homeowner’s budget is a unique and powerful tool in bankruptcy that will often make the difference in whether the home may be saved.

Right the Ship and Get Back on Course through a Chapter 13 Bankruptcy

Another important use of a Chapter 13 bankruptcy is to help a homeowner stop the foreclosure process and catch up any missed mortgage payments through a court approved repayment plan.  Although such a scenario would not permit the homeowner to reduce his or her mortgage payment or otherwise modify its terms, a Chapter 13 bankruptcy may offer the struggling borrower the second chance necessary to save the home and recover from some temporary personal financial setback, like a job loss, demotion or unforeseen medical complication.

A family’s largest single investment is typically their home. Trying to keep a home that is significantly underwater can, in some cases, prolong a bad investment and lead to financial pressures in the family. Options are available to such homeowners but they should always seek out professional legal advice to guide them through the process in order to navigate the smoothest course out of the financial storm.

An outcome of the Affordable Care Act, this new model of primary care is known as the Patient Centered Medical Home (PCMH). As part of the national healthcare trend toward accountable care, the PCMH shifts the delivery of primary care from symptom treatment to a larger focus on wellness and prevention.

A PCMH is built on five underlying qualities designed to create a closer partnership between primary care physicians and patients. A medical home is:

1. Patient-centered. Primary healthcare is relationship-based and oriented toward the whole person. Patients are fully informed partners and given the information they need to participate in their care.

2. Comprehensive. A team of care providers is accountable for meeting the patient’s physical and mental health needs, including prevention and wellness, acute care and chronic care. The team may include physicians, nurse practitioners, care navigators, nurses, social workers and nutritionists.

3. Coordinated. The medical home coordinates care across all elements of the broader healthcare system, including specialty care, hospitals, home health, community services and resources. This enables the primary care physician to stay “in the loop” of the patient’s follow-up care.

4. Accessible. Patients can access services through shorter wait times, enhanced office hours and 24/7 telephone or electronic access.

5. Committed to quality and safety. The medical home uses evidence-based medicine to guide patients and families in making informed decisions, engages in performance measurement and improvement and practices population health management.

The PCMH strengthens the relationship between primary care clinicians and patients because of the increased focus on prevention. This also means at-risk patients, particularly those with chronic conditions, may spend less time in emergency departments and hospitals. When primary care clinicians engage in preventative care, at-risk patients cost Medicare less and a percentage of that savings is returned to the patient-centered medical home—a financial incentive for keeping patients well. Instead of payment for only treating the sick, this move toward at-risk payment fees offers a solid reason for physicians to engage in preventative care.

Another objective of a PCMH is for healthcare providers to work at the top of their license—encouraging medical practices to examine if primary care physicians are performing tasks that could be done by nurses or nurse practitioners. Under a PCMH, physicians are encouraged to manage high-risk patients more closely, leaving more routine medical care to the rest of the team.

In Central Virginia, Centra primary care practices and independently operated practices are working together in a group forum to assess the PCMH model and how it could impact and meet the challenges of the healthcare reform. Three Centra Medical Group practices—Lynchburg Internal Medicine, Lynchburg Family Practice Residency and Altavista Medical Center—are working toward certification as patient centered medical homes from the National Committee for Quality Assurance (NCQA), a nonprofit organization that has been a central figure in driving improvement throughout the nation’s healthcare system.

For more information about Centra, visit www.CentraHealth.com. For more information about patient centered medical homes, visit www.ncqa.org.

In mid-April, Cheree Taylor, the city’s project manager and acting construction manager, said work was a “little behind schedule.” When Lynchburg City Council accelerated funding for the project so it could be finished sooner than the original five-to-six-year projection, she explained, it meant Phase 2 would happen sooner than expected.

“We added some work to prepare for Phase 2,” Taylor said. “We added underground utilities. That wasn’t part of Phase 1. … Nothing changed from the original master plan. It didn’t change the scope of work, meaning we didn’t change any of the design from the original intent of the master plan.”

The Lower Bluffwalk’s pedestrian walkway is currently delineated by a line of fencing that can be seen perched high on the bluff overlooking Jefferson Street, Riverfront Festival Park and beyond that, the James River.

When it’s all said and done, the 10-foot-wide walkway will be paved in brick, accented with granite pavers. The plans also include ornamental lighting, hardscaping, landscaping, overlooks, two staircases, an ADA-accessible ramp and an elevator.

“It changes the whole nature of the area significantly,” Taylor said.

Taylor envisions the Lower Bluffwalk as something akin to Charlottesville’s Downtown Mall, with shops, art exhibits and outdoor cafes.

“I think we realize it will be some time before it will be as active as the Charlottesville pedestrian mall,” she said, “but it does have the potential to be a very active space with the same kind of activities that occur in Charlottesville.”

Phase 2 of the project should begin in the next couple of months, Taylor said, and includes, among other things, a staircase at 13th Street. Taylor described it as a “grand staircase” with “steel and wood, ornamental lighting [and] metal railings,” and said it would “meander down the rock bluff” and into the Waterstone Pizza parking lot.

“There’s a lot of activity at that location,” she said, adding that it is a “great place to pool some of the energy and interest up to the Lower Bluffwalk” from the already active riverfront.

The top of this staircase will be located behind Estates Revisited, a revival of the old Estate Specialists store, which closed this past winter. Art Dodd, longtime Estate Specialists manager, opened his store this month at the same Commerce Street location customers are familiar with.

Dodd said he foresees Estates Revisited as being the “anchor store” for the Lower Bluffwalk, assuming he and other area businesses can survive the construction. Citing problems business owners have had on Fifth Street during what has been a long construction process there, Dodd said the Lower Bluffwalk “will bring people down [there] eventually, but whether it will deter people while the construction is going on, that’s going to be one of those things we’re just going to have to wait and see.”

Another thing business owners will have to wait and see about is how the Lower Bluffwalk and the loft apartments and business springing up in the area will impact the parking situation. City officials say the 11th Street stairway and ADA-accessible ramp—part of Phase 1 and slated to be finished by mid-May—should help matters.

“When Friday Cheers starts, the 11th Street ramp will be opened there,” City Manager Kimball Payne said in mid-April. “So people can park [and] come down the 11th Street ramp now, and that will really help.”

Despite that, downtown parking has been a hot topic of discussion lately, and it was reportedly the overriding concern at a meeting city officials held in May to update citizens and other stakeholders on the Lower Bluffwalk project.

“What happened was a couple of folks started fussing about parking,” Payne said.

One of those folks was Depot Grill owner Dave Poole, who later admitted, “I was really putting myself into a fray that I didn’t intend to.”

Poole said the parking situation is just something everyone will “just have to figure out” and that visitors in other places—Baltimore’s Inner Harbor, for example—plunk down $25 for parking without much thought.

“It’s the evolution of what happens when you breathe life into downtown,” he said. “We all want to hoot and holler about a free parking space outside our door, but it’s just not practical.”

Poole said Lynchburg has become a destination, with visitors staying in the city’s hotels and bed and breakfasts, kayaking and fishing on the river, taking their kids to Amazement Square and using the city as a basecamp for the Blue Ridge Parkway and area breweries and wineries.

“The city really has done a phenomenal job,” he said, adding that when everyone starts “yakking” about parking, “we miss the bigger picture of the Lower Bluffwalk as one more piece of the ongoing revitalization of downtown. The city has really done a masterful job of engaging the public-private partnership to get private investment, and from that get tax revenues in a downtown that we can all be proud of.”

The commute, be it an hour or 15 minutes, is life lost. Perhaps at the Pearly Gates there will be a special dispensation for commuters, but the odds aren’t promising. RIDE Solutions, a new agency of the Region 2000 Local Government Council (LGC), is bird-dogging the concept that commuting does not have to be a solitary, lonely, unfulfilling endeavor.

RIDE Solutions, funded through a combination of private donations and government grants, opened its doors in April. Region 2000 joined Roanoke’s and the New River Valley’s already existing RIDE Solutions organizations. Roanoke’s RIDE Solutions was created in 2001 and the NRV’s took root in 2009.

Kelly Hitchcock, the Senior Planner and Program Coordinator of Region 2000’s RIDE Solutions, says a paradigm shift in the Great American commute is the goal of her organization. She stressed that alternatives to the one occupant/one car commute can be found and have compelling benefits.

Hitchcock said RIDE Solutions champions ridesharing, including public transit, biking and walking, as the inverse of the asocial commute.

“RIDE Solutions is not anti-car, far from it,” she said. “But we are challenging individuals to see if they can find options to their standard drive.”

While commuters in Lynchburg and the surrounding areas do not face the stroke-inducing commutes of bigger city counterparts, the time, energy and finances expended are still significant. Tens of thousands of Central Virginians commute to work every day in Region 2000 (which encompasses Amherst, Appomattox, Bedford and Campbell counties, the cities of Bedford and Lynchburg and the towns of Altavista, Amherst, Appomattox and Brookneal).

Hitchcock pointed out the financial ripple is considerable when studies indicate commuters can save anywhere from $700 to $3,000 per year by carpooling. There are other benefits to riding to work in the back seat, she added.

“You can read, listen to music, even get ahead on backed up emails,” she said.

And just when the jaded commuter is wondering about the price tag, good news abounds. RIDE Solutions offers a bevy of services gratis—free of charge. But what can be had for free?

Hitchcock explained the organization offers its services to both employees and businesses. Those services include:

• Carpool ride-matching
• Commuter information
• Guaranteed ride home service
• Information support for pedestrians and cyclists
• Collaboration with area employers to create alternative transportation programs at the worksite

Hitchcock explained that RIDE Solutions uses computer mapping software to match commuters and simplify carpool information. Matching origins, destinations, schedules and lifestyles gets like-minded souls to work on time for less, she said.

But piling folks into cars and minivans isn’t the only bulls-eye for RIDE Solutions. The agency is spending May promoting bicycling in Region 2000 by sponsoring the Clean Commute Challenge during Lynchburg’s Bike Month activities. The promotion culminates on May 17, which is National Bike to Work Day.

Hitchcock said bicycling is an integral part of the RIDE Solutions blueprint. While bikes are at the mercy of the weather, motor vehicles and their rider’s thigh muscles, she stressed that the environmental, health and financial impacts lend a tremendous upside to two-wheelers.

“With gas prices being what they are, people can understand what that means to their pocketbooks,” she said.

The May 17 shindig also features a morning commute convoy for bikers. The convoy originates at Riverside Park and provides two routes for participants. One route will head down Rivermont Avenue into downtown Lynchburg while the other gets riders back to nature along the James River Heritage/Blackwater Bikeway. Hitchcock explained that riders can bring their own bikes or rentals will be available.

Region 2000 Bike to Work Day activities also include the Commute Clean Celebration Breakfast beginning at 7:30 a.m. hosted by the Depot Grill. The Greater Lynchburg Transit Company and Altavista Community Transit Service will offer free bus rides all day. Bedford City gets into the action at 1 p.m. when Chief of Police Jim Day hosts “Ride with the Chief,” starting at Bedford City Hall.

The day winds up at Friday Cheers at Lynchburg’s Riverfront Festival Park where bicyclists can partake of valet bike parking, admission specials and prizes. For complete information about Bike Week, visit www.lynchburgbikemonth.com.

The Clean Commute Challenge features an entire range of bike activities during the last weeks of May. On consecutive Tuesdays, May 13 and 20, bikers can meet at Riverfront Park for a lunch ride on the James River Heritage Trail. The ride begins at 11 a.m.

The Ride of Silence, a national observance, is set for Wednesday, May 15 at the Kroger on Boonsboro Road.

To get more information or register for RIDE Solutions, visit http://ridesolutions.org. See Page – for more statistics on commuting and RIDE Solutions’ benefits to Region 2000.

Founded in Roanoke in 1948, the practice moved to the Lynchburg area in 2007 after experiencing success in multiple Central Virginia cities. Asthma and Allergy Center of Lynchburg specializes in treating and caring for seasonal allergies, perennial allergies, food allergies, skin-related allergies and more, as well as asthma, sinusitis and various other hypersensitive conditions. Patients can seek allergy tests, scans for drug sensitivity, allergy avoidance education, asthma control, sinusitis alleviation and other services at the center.

Roger Bohon, Practice Administrator at Asthma and Allergy Center of Roanoke, explains that the Lynchburg Center is dedicated to helping patrons excel in their everyday activities without being preoccupied by their health conditions.

“Asthma is really one of the diseases that costs the United States public more than anything else,” Bohon explains. “When someone goes to the emergency room for an asthma attack, it will cost them more than us treating them for a whole year.”

Asthma and Allergy Center focuses on preventative care for their patients, consistently treating and managing their asthma and allergies so that costly, damaging and sometimes fatal attacks and reactions are less likely to happen. Bohon says the physicians at Asthma and Allergy Center are specifically trained to focus on fixing the root of the problem, as opposed to simply masking the symptoms.

“The majority of people we can keep under control,” Bohon says. “A lot of it is about allergies—if we can control the allergies, then we can help the asthma.”

As Bohon mentioned, these conditions can be costly. The center emphasizes not only alleviating physical discomfort, but lessening some of their patients’ financial burden as well.

“Studies show that one of the most cost-saving things patients can do is control their asthma,” Bohon says, adding that at Asthma and Allergy Center, affordable yet consistent care allows patients to monitor their conditions and avoid future emergencies.

There are several medications and treatments that sufferers of asthma and allergies can procure at any primary care physician, but Bohon says the employees at Asthma and Allergy center go beyond patient care and really seek to understand the frustrating limitations that these conditions can supply.

“If you go to work with allergies, you don’t perform as well. A lot of people even miss time at work and school because of it,” he explained.

Bohon and his contemporaries seek not only to lessen the symptoms of asthma and allergies, but to send their patients back to their jobs, families and lives feeling like they can perform at 100 percent.

As a privately-run practice, Asthma and Allergy Center of Lynchburg operates by their own standard of giving patients the full-time attention that they need. Every new patient is asked for an extensive history of medical ailments and symptoms, and physicians spend time studying those symptoms and speaking with the patient to determine what tests, treatments or next steps are necessary.

“One of the things that we’re noted for is the time that our doctors and physician’s assistants spend with people explaining to them what the problems are and what the course of action will be,” Bohon said. “They know that they’re number one with the doctor or the nurse practitioner. The time spent with them, whether it’s 15 minutes or an hour and 15 minutes, they’re going to be taken care of.”

All doctors, physician’s assistants and nurse practitioners at Asthma and Allergy Center of Lynchburg are board certified, and some are even certified pediatricians. Patients of all ages experiencing any number of allergy and asthma-related symptoms can visit the center for treatment, allergy tests or a simple consultation.

To learn more about Asthma and Allergy Center, or to schedule a consultation, visit www.asthmaandallergycenter.net. 

Then there’s also the phenomenon of things you think you know. For example, if I were to ask you to name the capital of Missouri, what would you say? (Okay, not you social studies teachers.) I’ll bet you think it’s either St. Louis or Springfield. Nope. Or maybe Columbia? Also wrong. If I haven’t lost you to Google yet, I’ll tell you. The answer is Jefferson City. Did you know that?

My point is this: There are things we think everyone knows, but they don’t. On the other hand, there are things we think we know, but don’t. And in the world of real estate, this can happen when we start talking about the various values placed on a home. Did you know your home has several different values? It does—four, in fact. There’s the Assessed Value, Appraised Value, Insured Value and Market Value.

Let’s start with the Assessed Value. This is the value your city or locality “assigns” your home. The main purpose is to tax the property and it’s one way governments generate revenue.  Now, I’m not an assessor, so I’m certainly no expert at explaining how or why the assessment ends up being what it is. I can tell you a few things, though:

1. The assessment does not take into account your new granite counters. The assessor doesn’t know if you’ve refinished your hardwood floors, tiled your shower or just got new stainless steel appliances. They will, however, take into account if you’ve added any bedrooms, bathrooms or a new deck. The focus is less on the specific and more on the big ticket items.
2. The assessment doesn’t change as rapidly as the other values. Most localities reassess every two years, although at the time of the reassessment, a property’s value could be kept the same. So one home could have the same assessment for four or even six years.
3. The locality in which you live is not going to buy your home. Remember this for later.

The bottom line on Assessed Value is that it’s tied to the localities.

Okay, so what about Appraised Value? This number is based on an appraisal, which is done when a buyer is looking to finance a purchase or a home owner is refinancing the home they own. There is both art and science to arriving at an Assessed Value, and while I’m not an appraiser either, I can tell you the following:

1. An appraisal is based on recently sold properties, preferably ones that are as close in age, size and proximity to the “subject” property (the one you’re buying or refinancing). Also ideally, the property will have sold within the past six months or so.
2. An appraiser will look closely at the subject home, taking note of the features and amenities, and then make adjustments for the differences between that home and the comparable sales. This one gets much more specific than the Assessed Value.
3. Appraised Values are tied to the recent sales in an area, so they can change often based on which homes have sold and for how much.

Bottom line here is that the Appraised Value is going to determine how much a bank will lend you to buy that new home (or how much they will give you to refinance the home you’re in).

Insured Value is pretty much what an insurance company will tell you it’s going to take to replace your home if it experiences some type of catastrophic damage. For example, I live in a 75-year-old Cape Cod. What my locality assesses me for and what my recent Appraised Value came in at has no bearing on what it would cost to rebuild this home if it burned to the ground or got hit by a meteorite.

Finally, what about Market Value? You might think your real estate agent determines this number, or that maybe you as the home owner get to decide it. Actually, it’s the buying public who will ultimately decide the Market Value of a property. Essentially, it is what a “ready, willing and able buyer” is agreeable to pay for a home on the open market.

The key phrase here is “ready, willing and able.” So, not what someone says they could pay you in a year or two—that’s not ready. Not what your uncle says he would pay you if he could, but can’t. That’s not able. And willing is pretty self-explanatory.

On the open market: If one guy sells his home to another guy without telling anyone else it’s for sale, how does either one of them know they got a fair deal? Maybe the guy selling it could have gotten more. Maybe the guy buying it could have bought it for less. When a home is exposed to the open market of buyers, those buyers collectively will determine how much the house is worth. Either they will buy it for the listed price, or the seller will reduce until they do.

Hopefully what you’re starting to see here is that each of these values is relatively independent of the others. The assessor isn’t buying your home, so he’s not concerned with what a buyer will pay for it. The appraiser doesn’t think about what happens if your home is destroyed, so he’s not concerned with insuring it. And buyers shouldn’t focus on the Assessed Value, because its purpose is for revenue, not what the market is willing to pay.

Actually, there is one more value: Sentimental Value. Maybe you spent five or six years working on a home that needed lots of updating. Or maybe you took out a loan to add that garage or finish the basement. Maybe you brought each of your kids home from the hospital and through that front door. Maybe it’s the home where you spent the last days with the love of your life.

Graduation parties in the back yard, Christmases by the fireplace, prom photos on the front steps … there’s little confusion about Sentimental Value. And everyone knows that.

Carrington’s family was returning home from a beach vacation when his father, Jason Witt, noticed his first symptom—over the five-hour drive, they needed to stop for Carrington to use the restroom more than seven times. Witt and his wife got Carrington to the local pediatrician as soon as possible where he was diagnosed with T1D, and their journey began.

“One day, we were on vacation, enjoying the beach and relaxing, and the next we were processing how to care for a two-year-old with Type 1 diabetes,” Jason said. “At first, we just wondered how we could get through the insulin injections. Imagine giving your child around six shots a day, not to mention pricking his finger constantly.  That, in and of itself, was overwhelming.”

Devastated by the diagnosis and scared for their son, the Witts needed support beyond what doctors and specialists could provide. They found that support through T1DE (www.T1DE.org), a group of local families who have been affected by T1D. Only a few years old, T1DE reaches out to people of all ages living with T1D. Members meet once a month and provide support, share thoughts and ideas, feature guest speakers and keep up with research and advocacy.

Encouragement provided through T1DE has proved monumental for the Witts. The influence has also grown hope for a cure, and while T1DE fills a sustenance void in the Lynchburg community, it is not a research organization. However, Witt has reached out to the leading nonprofit global research organization in the hunt for a T1D cure, The Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation (JDRF). For more than 40 years JDRF has worked collectively with a plethora of organizations to treat, prevent and cure T1D.

“JDRF is a national organization broken into multiple chapters, the closest being Roanoke,” Witt explained. “They are doing great things for those living with the disease, but there hasn’t been a presence in Lynchburg for around five years.”

As T1DE becomes more established in the Lynchburg area, the Witts and other like-minded families would love to reintroduce JDRF to the area to promote awareness and help raise support funds to continue research for a cure. To achieve this goal, Jason has partnered with the Lynchburg Road Runners, a local chapter of the Road Runners Club of America, which organizes races, runs and other events to promote fitness. Together, they are orchestrating the Memorial Day 10k & Two-Mile Walk for JDRF.

“Brenda Gray, who does a lot of volunteer work with Lynchburg Road Runners, approached me about a year ago about the race. A friend of hers held a nonprofit race for the past 15 years and they were looking for another worthy cause to take it over. She thought of JDRF and me,” Witt said.

Monday, May 27, at Riverfront Park in downtown Lynchburg, the 10k will begin at 8 a.m. and the Two-Mile Walk will begin at 10 a.m., with proceeds benefitting T1D research conducted by JRDF.

“This race is a great opportunity for the JDRF to re-enter the Lynchburg market. We have been working hard on the details and the big day is just about here. We are really excited to bring them back to the Lynchburg community,” Witt said.

Witt and Carrington, along with T1DE members and other Lynchburg supporters, say they will proudly attend the race, walking or running for a T1D cure. While this race is primarily to raise funds for research, it will also be a strong demonstration that there is hope after diagnosis.

To register for the race, visit www.RiversideRunners.com (preferred) or www.Lynchburgroadrunners.org.

It’s no secret that retro, vintage and antique items have become en vogue once again and now the little community of Bedford is capitalizing on this trend with the new Centertown Flea Market at the Bedford Farmer’s Market. Opened in April, the flea market is a collaboration between The Bedford Area Chamber of Commerce and Bedford Main Street, created to bring even more vitality to a growing artist and antiquer’s area in the heart of Bedford. Learn more about the flea market’s offerings and hours, under the Retail section of this site.

In downtown Lynchburg, the push for revitalization continues as Phase 2 of the Lower Bluffwalk development draws closer to completion. An update on the progress, what the city’s project manager envisions the project looking like when finished and why parking concerns are making headlines in the Architecture, Engineering and Construction section.

Closer to the Forest area, a much smaller development is in the works, but it’s one that will make all the difference to business owner, Jeff Conner.  As owner of the local franchise of Play It Again Sports, a retail shop known for selling new and used sports and fitness equipment, Conner is now in the process of building a new 13,000-square-foot store just a mile from his current store’s location. Why he’s making the leap after 15 years in business and what he says the new building will offer both his business and customers that the current space doesn’t allow for, under the Business Profiles tab.

Newness is also springing up from the ground this time of year, giving the Bedford Area Master Gardeners the perfect opportunity to plant the seed of knowledge to nearby novice green thumbs through their computer-based training program. How they combine their technology-based classes with hands-on labs to transform local seed killers into gardening mavens in the Education section.

From old-turned-new-again products, events and businesses, to brand new ones just getting off the ground—like the first ever International DJ Festival coming to downtown Lynchburg in June, featured in the Transportation & Tourism section or relaunching in the area (read about the newly reformed Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation, a support group for families living with Type 1 Diabetes in the Lynchburg area in the Nonprofit section), this issue of Lynchburg Business is dedicated to just a few of the innovators and renovators in our area. Thanks to their vision, “old” doesn’t necessarily mean “over,” but perhaps just the beginning of a new enterprise.

Best,

Prototype Media

info@lynchburgbusinessmag.com