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Vol. 1: Issue 5 August 20, 2009
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Nothing but net (working)
The lights blazed and the music roared into the rafters of the cavernous Verizon Center as the women of the Washington Mystics burst onto the court for a July 21 faceoff with the Indiana Fever. Etched in each player's face, the focus and determination was hard to miss. Somewhere in the crowd, dozens of area businesswomen cheered, feeling the excitement of a night of great basketball but perhaps also some kinship with the players out on the floor.
Before the game these businesswomen had met for a Mystics Networking Night, with a few words from speakers like Mystics owner Sheila Johnson and Barbara Lang, president and CEO of the DC Chamber of Commerce. Lang spoke of the parallels between sports and business, describing the hard work and passion it takes to succeed in either endeavor. Johnson talked about her efforts to link her talents at business and her personal passion for women's sports.
"I'm the Mystic's biggest fan and biggest cheerleader," Johnson told the 200 women gathered in the Verizon Center's Dewar's Club. "It's the hardest job, but it's also the most satisfying." She added that when she sees her team run out onto the court, "I get tears in my eyes, and I get goosebumps."
Kristina Bouweiri, president and CEO of Reston Limousine and another speaker at the event, has been a Mystics corporate partner since 2007. "You can draw an analogy between a successful business and a successful sports team," she commented later. "They have similar challenges. It's valid that women would be inspired."
Bouweiri is a firm believer in the power of women's networking, and it didn't take much convincing to get her involved in the Mystics' efforts. "It was the fact that Sheila invited me to her house for lunch in 2005 - me and a bunch of other women," Bouweiri remembered. "She explained why she bought the team, and how difficult it can be to promote women's sports. That was all it took for me. I believe, as a businesswoman, it's important to support other women."
An active networking partner, Bouweiri has employed her resources to great effect. For the July 21 Networking Night, she provided a free bus from her fleet and brought more than 50 women to Washington. The networking has practical benefits for Dulles-based Reston Limousine as well. "Fifty percent of my business is in DC," Bouweiri explained. "It is important to stay involved in DC."
Another Loudoun businesswoman, Ellen Goldberg, owner of the lovely Briar Patch Bed and Breakfast in Middleburg, came out to enjoy herself and make some new contacts. "I'm really into networking," she said. "I find it personally inspiring to meet other women business owners in my position." Beyond the social aspect, her goal is to bring in business during the week with meetings and other events. "I try to find other businesswomen looking for locales," she added. Goldberg brought along her two visiting sisters-in-law and in fact, they made a whole night of it, heading out afterward for a nice dinner at a DC restaurant.
The night's attendees represented a wide range of business concerns, from corporations to home-based businesses, like that of Ashburn resident, Tracie Rosales. Makeup Artistry by Tracie Rosales provides make-up services for photo sessions, weddings, proms and other occasions. Last year, it was honored by the Loudoun County Chamber of Commerce as the Home-Based Business of the Year.
Rosales travels a lot - all over Virginia, Maryland and the District - and she is interested in meeting other businesswomen, especially those in high-profile positions. "These are people who are speakers, who get head shot photos. I like to see what kinds of businesses are out there. The networking group is the best thing I've ever done to get clients. I like to hear speakers at each event, talk to women and see what has worked for them. If you go to an event, and you get one thing out of it, then it's successful."
Greg Bibb, the Mystics' chief operating officer, offered a larger perspective on the networking events. "They really tie nicely to the core of what we're all about - affordability, accessibility and most important, (the connection) to women," he said. He noted the Mystics' position as a women's sports team that is owned by a woman and has a predominantly female front office.
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 A Pilot's Flight - Lands at Notaviva
A warm morning breeze drifts among the rows of Ed Reeve's cabernet sauvignon vines. He holds a cluster of grapes, testing the heft of the fruit now turning from pale green to light red. His eye traces the vine for signs of powdery mildew. Finding nothing out of the ordinary he moves on. To watch him, and hear him talk as he does, leaves no doubt: this is a labor of love.
Twelve hours earlier, on the tarmac at San Juan, Puerto Rico, Ed had been applying the same power of observation and attention to detail. At that time, the object of his inspection was the United Airlines Airbus 320 that he flies - his day job, so to speak.
How does someone become equally at home on the high-tech flight deck of an Airbus and the fertile soil of a Loudoun grape vineyard, the fast moving world of an industry in flux and the ancient art of bringing fruit from the soil? While Ed's journey may not be typical it points to yearnings shared by many. He wanted stability and to have an income he could count on to put his children through college.
 His journey began that day so much changed.
"On 9-11 we were watching it live. At home. We saw that plane come into the picture. I said, 'He doesn't belong there.' It was devastating. I had just brought a flight back to Washington the night before.
"Then nothing was flying. You could see that changes were coming and know that the airline business would never be the same." Some of those changes were financial - concessions by the airline employees over salary, benefits and pensions. Others cut even deeper.
In the post 9-11era TSA checks, anxiety, prohibitions on carrying more than a few ounces of sun screen, longs lines of shoe-less travelers, and paying for a meal that was fairly priced when free have tarnished the shine of air travel.
"It was an awakening," Ed told us. "I realized that I had become too dependent upon one industry, one way of making a living. A lot of us in the airlines had the same thoughts."
Some pilots Ed knew turned their hobbies into side jobs in cabinetry, real estate, farming. One became a gunsmith. Over the years since the tragedy in 2001 some have left the airlines and made complete career shifts.
 Ed's first shot at diversification took him into real estate. "I've got my license and tried that. But the long periods of time away from home made that pretty tough. I didn't think I could give clients my best with the demands of a flight schedule."
Shortly after Ed moved from Leesburg with his wife Betsy and daughters Katie and Alli, 14 and 11 years old, a buddy down the road suggested that Ed plant some grape vines. When Ed took us onto the deck of his house we understood the word "vineyard." Ed's vines are quite literally in five acres of his yard in the rolling countryside just outside Waterford.
With a smile - a common feature - Ed said, "When I started this, how much did I know about grapes? A big fat zero!" But he learned quickly about the county's support for agricultural activities, the help and guidance available from Virginia Tech, and the camaraderie of others involved with vineyards. "It's a community of people with a common interest. We share what we learn - at get togethers and over the Internet. There is a lot of help available out there, and you just have to ask."
Within a few months he had put in about 1,800 vines and a fence to turn the deer into spectators, not consumers. Thus began Down the Road Vineyards, Ed's home business, aptly named by a close friend of their girls, Dominic Gavan. His earliest vines were chambourcin and cabernet sauvignon. This year he's added about 1,100 vines of the somewhat rarer petit verdot which remains in high demand locally.
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 Military to Middle Grove
Vicki Moore was attending a military conference while she and her husband, Bob, who were both members of the U.S. Air Force, were stationed in Okinawa, Japan, in 1995. And that's when a simple sentence Vicki Moore blurted out determined the future for the couple.
"The moderator asked everyone to stand up and say where they were from and what their dreams are. I was glad I was at the end of the room, because I didn't know what I was going to say. When my turn came what popped out ... I said I wanted to open a Christian retreat center," Vicki Moore said. "I feel the Lord led us to this."
That inspiration led to the creation of the Middle Grove Inn bed and breakfast in the village of Philomont, just outside Purcellville. While not the Christian retreat the couple had originally planned, county zoning codes got in the way ... the Moores advertise Middle Grove as a Christian B & B, meaning they hold to basic Christian values. Patrick Henry College, a Christian college in Purcellville, includes a link to the inn's Web site on its Web page and several people visiting the university have chosen to stay at Middle Grove.
That doesn't mean they only cater to those who share their beliefs or offer prayer services and other activities one might associate with a Christian retreat. The Moores, instead offer, "a calm, quiet, relaxed atmosphere ... to renew your mind, body and spirit" according to their brochure.
"We're not in it to make money," Bob Moore said. "This is a place for people to relax and refresh themselves and see the beauty in Loudoun County."
 The Moores fell in love with the county when they were living in Springfield while Vicki Moore was stationed at the Pentagon and Bob Moore at Bolling Air Force Base. The Moores, who met when both were in Texas, have been stationed in Italy, Japan and locations throughout the U.S., among others. Vicki Moore retired from active duty in 1996 after 30 years and Bob Moore followed in 2000 after 37 years.
"As soon as I retired we began looking for a house. We both love Loudoun County," Bob Moore said. "When we were still on active duty, we'd love driving around, eating at Red Fox Inn ...."
The pair looked at between 30-40 houses before settling on the two-story house situated on 3-plus acres in 2000. They spent the first year in their new home doing construction to convert the private home to a bed and breakfast. The house features four guest rooms on the second floor, a studio bedroom on the lower level and five common-area rooms where guests can watch television, read or play games. The bedrooms do not have telephones, televisions or computer jacks to promote relaxation. Wireless Internet access is available and each room does have a radio with a CD and tape player. In addition, guests can use the Jacuzzi and swimming pool, play billiards, roam the grounds or explore Loudoun County. The Moores have brochures for county attractions and are more than willing to make recommendations when it comes to their favorite restaurants. "We tell people to make themselves at home," Bob Moore said.
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Coming in September: Our First Rendezvous Destination
Take 3 - Six times per year Talk will dedicate an entire Rendezvous or Total Health issue to a related destination getaway within 3 hours of Loudoun County: 3 hours by plane, train, Bolt Bus or car!
Promote Your Community Event:
We're happy to help get the word out! Check out the Local Events on Talk's website, and post yours following the listed guidelines.
Execs & Their Pets:
Know an exec who adores/can't do without his or her pet(s)? Let us know at info@TalkLoudoun.com.
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