Dan Jordan to step down as Monticello’s president in November 2008

Daniel P. Jordan, president of the Thomas Jefferson Foundation since 1985, will leave his position as Monticello’s chief executive effective Nov. 1, 2008. Mr. Jordan, 69, said that he and his wife, Lou, made the decision after consultation with members of the foundation’s board and that the announcement was being made more than a year in advance in the best interests of Monticello.

“This time frame will allow the board and the foundation to conduct a proper search for a successor,” said Mr. Jordan, “and it should make for a smooth transition for a tremendous organization that – thanks to the efforts and contributions of so many dedicated people – it has been a privilege to serve for more than two decades.”

The news release from the Thomas Jefferson Foundation notes that during Mr. Jordan’s tenure as president Monticello has realized a number of accomplishments, among them the founding of the Robert H. Smith International Center for Jefferson Studies, the Thomas Jefferson Center for Historic Plants, and the Monticello Education Department; the establishment in 1993 of an endowment that now stands at more than $100 million; the development of the Thomas Jefferson Parkway (including Kemper Park, Saunders Bridge, and the Saunders-Monticello Trail); the opening of the Jefferson Library; the 1993 observance of the 250th anniversary of Jefferson’s birth; the 2003 commemoration of the bicentennial of the Lewis and Clark expedition; the start of editorial work on and the publication of the first volumes of The Papers of Thomas Jefferson: Retirement Series; the publication of more than 30 other books; the launch of Monticello’s Web site; the purchase of Montalto; the constant expansion in both depth and scope of numerous interpretive, research, education, and restoration programs; and inclusion on the United Nations’ World Heritage List.

Mr. Jordan said he plans to “finish strong” and remain deeply involved in Monticello’s operations and projects, especially the construction of and fund-raising for the Thomas Jefferson Visitor Center and Smith History Center, which is scheduled for completion in the fall of 2008.

The foundation has formed a search committee consisting of Jeffrey C. Walker, chairman of the foundation’s Board of Trustees, board Vice Chairman and Treasurer Alice W. Handy, Trustees H. Eugene Lockhart, Jr., and Howard P. Milstein, and Emeritus Trustee Rebecca W. Rimel, and will retain an executive search firm to assist in the process of hiring a new president.

Chamber to host session on emergency preparedness

The Charlottesville Regional Chamber of Commerce is hosting its second educational session on business emergency preparedness. Focusing on the coordinated work of the City of Charlottesville, County of Albemarle and the University of Virginia, the workshop, notes the Chamber, offers an opportunity to learn what businesses of any size need to do (and the role they need to assume) in order to help ensure a well-planned and unified response to a regional disaster or emergency.

Speakers at the session include:

Marge Thomas, Emergency Management Coordinator for UVA, City & County
Marge Sidebottom, UVA Emergency Preparedness Director
Charles Werner, Fire Chief, Charlottesville VA Fire Department
Jason Nauman, Captain, Albemarle County Department of Fire Rescue
Wayne Napier, Underwriter for State Farm
Rhonda Edmunds, Thomas Jefferson Planning District Commission

The program is scheduled for Tuesday, October 16, 1:00 PM at the Comfort Inn Monticello. For more information and to register you can visit cvillechamber.com.

Timothy Hulbert, Chamber president, noted the following regarding business emergency preparedness and the Chamber’s role in supporting such educational initiatives, “The Chamber is going to keep beating the drum to help businesses get and stay prepared for an emergency. Fire, Storm, Hurricane, Tornado, Break-in, Burglary, Influenza, Attack – we’re going to keep asking: Is Your Business Prepared to safeguard its employees, its customers, its data, its records, its equipment, our families and our community to stay in business?”

For more information: Charlottesville-Albemarle-UVA Emergency Communications Center

CATEC highlights career opportunities with guest lecture series

On September 25th & 26th the Charlottesville Albemarle Technical Education Center (CATEC) will begin its second season of producing the Guest Lecture Series for high school students and community members. The September lectures focus on Communications and Audio/Video Technology. Featured speakers include Andy Huffmyer and Tom La from CBS 19; Cass Cannon from Charlottesville City Schools; Denny King and Kent Williamson from Paladin Pictures; and Jeffery Hanna from UVA Public Affairs.

CATEC began sponsoring these programs last year as an opportunity to expose students to career opportunities. CATEC students, along with other Albemarle and Charlottesville students who register with their counselors, can attend the sessions which will take place in the Charlottesville Public Access studio from 1:30 – 3:15 p.m. The shows, which are aired on Charlottesville Public Access TV, are filmed, edited and produced by CATEC TV Video Production students.

Future Guest Lecture Series presentations include the following career areas:

October 30 & 31 – Science & Engineering
November 27 & 28 – Health & Medical Science
January 29 & 30 – Health & Medical Science
February 26 & 27 – Architecture & Construction
March 25 & 26 – Entrepreneurship
April 29 & 30 – Information Technology

Abrahamson, “A Perfect Mess,” to be featured speaker at VABook Business Breakfast

The youngest-ever full professor of management at Columbia University’s School of Business and co-author of A Perfect Mess: The Hidden Benefits of Disorder - How Crammed Closets, Cluttered Offices and On-the-Fly Planning Make the World a Better Place, Eric Abrahamson, is set to speak at the Virginia Festival of the Book’s annual Business Breakfast, March 26th.

Mr. Abrahamson also authored Change Without Pain: How Managers Can Overcome Initiative Overload, Organization Chaos and Employee Burnout. A Perfect Mess was co-authored by David H. Freedman.

The Business Breakfast will be held at 7:30 a.m. March 26 at the Omni Hotel. The breakfast is part of the 2008 Virginia Festival of the Book held annually in Charlottesville. Starting Thursday, tickets may be purchased at www.vabook.org or by phone at 434-924-6890. Tickets for the Business Breakfast are $25.00.

City reports positively on renewed relationship with SBDC

In their August edition of “ED News,” a monthly pub of the City’s Office of Economic Development, the City of Charlottesville expresses all good feelings in regards to their renewed relationship with the Central Virginia Small Business Development Center (CVSBDC). The City reinstituted financial support for the local SBDC in January of this year (2007). At one time fiscally managed by Piedmont Virginia Community College, the local SBDC lost most of its local funding and was temporarily managed out of James Madison University at the start of 2003. It was re-established with a local office under the direction of Nora Gillespie in August of that year.

The City shared the following results thus far for 2007, “24 City based prospective and established entrepreneurs have received direct one-on-one counseling from the Center. In addition, 13 more have attended a training session during that period.” The hoped for outcome of the City’s funding relationship with the local SBDC is that by helping these businesses become viable and successful in the long term, the SBDC can facilitate economic development within the City of Charlottesville.

For many years the City’s Office of Economic Development provided free business seminars of their own. But those offerings ended with the retirement of Economic Development Specialist William Harvey in June of this year.

“ED News” also notes that in the Fall the CVSBDC will be launching a new initiative to help spur entrepreneurial success in the Charlottesville Region, the Business Advantage Circle Program. The new program “aims to bring together professionally facilitated peer advisory groups composed of business owners in non-competing businesses. The groups are designed to provide a forum for problem solving, sharing best practices and ultimately creating successful businesses.”

For more information or to seek assistance from the CVSBDC visit www.avenue.org/sbdc or call 434-295-8198.

Tom Thompson named Executive Director of VPTC+CVG

The Virginia Piedmont Technology Council + Charlottesville Venture Group (VPTC+CVG) announced recently the selection of W.D. Tom Thompson as its new Executive Director. Mr. Thompson has a business, sales management, and consulting background spanning over 30 years. He has worked for Boise Cascade, Homecraft, MCI, Adelphia Business Solutions and most recently was on contract to Sperry Marine.

Dave Keller, chairman of the VPTC+CVG board of directors, notes, “We sought a candidate possessing knowledge of our organization and the leadership experience to help us execute our vision.” Mr. Thompson, who served on the VPTC+CVG board through June of 2007, also served on both VPTC and CVG boards in past years, and was president of CVG in 2002.

The Virginia Piedmont Technology Council (VPTC) and the Charlottesville Venture Group (CVG) combined their organizations in February 2007.

Looking for a career change?

The University of Virginia Darden School of Business hosts a Career Transitions Workshop annually for individuals looking to “clarify their mission in life.” Darden’s Alumni Career Services Center shares the following information on the 2007 workshop:

Darden’s Career Transitions workshop has been expanded and revised to focus on both life and career transition issues. Whether you are in your 30’s and facing today’s changing job market, in your 40’s or 50’s and facing mid-career (and mid-life) decisions, or older and simply challenged by what to do with the second half of your life, this workshop offers you a time, a place and a process to tackle these issues.

The fourteenth Career Transitions workshop is scheduled for November 12-14, 2007 at the Darden School in Charlottesville, VA. All University of Virginia alumni and their spouses/partners are invited to attend. All participants must have at least 10 years of work experience. The workshop fee is $1,795 ($1,595 for registrations before October 1), which includes tuition, room, board and all workshop materials.

If you are attempting to define or clarify your mission in life, you will benefit from this workshop. Sessions will include a number of topics, including the following:

• Use of self-assessment for life and career plans
• Your life story and lesson
• Personal styles
• Defining life themes and what’s next
• Translating life themes into career objectives
• Strategies for the current job market
• Generating your marketing materials: resumes, cover letters and profiles
• Networking
• Interviewing, offers and contracts and
• Creating a game plan to achieve your objectives.

Additional information, including recent testimonials and the registration form, may be viewed by visiting Darden’s Web site at http://www.darden.virginia.edu/acs/careertransitions. For more information, contact Darden’s Alumni Career Services office at (434) 924-4876 or alumnicareerservices@darden.virginia.edu.