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Talk Loudoun won the 2009 - 2010 Town of Leesburg 'New Business' Award. Thanks for honoring us for doing what we do!
Talk takes time off! Just a heads up to our loyal readers, we'll be taking the month of August off so our entire team can enjoy family travel time, trips to the pool, barbeques and preparation for the 2010 - 2011 school year without deadlines, photo shoots, proofing and editing. We'll see you after Labor Day. Enjoy!
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Oliver's angel
By Betsy Allen
 Rev. Oliver Johnson of Washington, D.C., is a man who embraces life.
A 62-year-old ordained minister, Oliver -- or OJ, as he's known -- grew up in poverty and has worked hard as an adult to avoid ever being poor again. He's a guy who finds it hard to pass up a sharp suit, a distinctive pair of shoes or a necktie (any necktie - at one time he had 7,000, though he's given many away). While he harbored early ambitions of making it big as a comedian, he became a government employee and managed D.C.'s Department of Employment Services. In his role as a community activist in the late '60s, he fought against the unfair practices of the District's slumlords. And in his own ministry, "More Than Amazing Grace," he's guided adults and mentored young people in his faith.
But when one of his kidneys started to fail in 2001, he stuck to dialysis for three years. "Because I'm a minister," OJ explains, "at first I didn't want to get a transplant. It's my time, I thought. Should I fight to stay here if I think there's something better on the other side?"
Eventually his two daughters, Ayanna and Omni, were able to talk him into putting himself on the transplant list. "If I stay around, that's God's purpose," he remembers thinking. Even so, he lingered on the list for seven years, waiting for a cadaver kidney. Most kidney transplants involving non-family members are done through donations of organs from deceased individuals. Four times he was short-listed for a kidney, but each time it went to someone else. |
Finally in February, OJ got his chance -- this time from a live donor. He knew only that she was a woman from Loudoun County. "I started a sermon," OJ says, "called 'God Sends Angels to Deliver His Blessings.' And I wrote my angel (a letter)."
 Over in Purcellville, the angel in question was living with her husband, Jimmy, and two teenage children from her first marriage. Rosemary DeButts, a realtor and a housing analyst, was happy with her family but feeling the toll taken from Northern Virginia's waning housing market over the last several years.
"By the summer of 2009, I had so much time on my hands, I didn't know what to do," Rosemary says. "With the loss of work came a loss of my sense of well-being. I wasn't feeling like I was contributing. I was interested in doing something for somebody else."
A year ago, she read an article in The New Yorker magazine titled "The Kindest Cut" by reporter Larissa MacFarquhar. The piece profiled several people who donated kidneys to strangers. "I learned that kidney donor has little or no change in their life, but it completely changes the life of the recipient," Rosemary says.
She called the Washington Regional Transplant Center (WRTC) in Arlington and told them that she would like to be considered as a donor. Rosemary admits her husband struggled a bit with the idea of taking such a major step without knowing the recipient. "But he didn't do anything to hamper the process. I sort of had to do it anyway." Rosemary hastens to add that Jimmy never hesitated in his support of his wife. On the other hand, her son and daughter were on board from the get-go: "The kids thought it was great."
In the organ donation community, live, altruistic (giving to an unknown recipient) donors are rare. The WRTC sees perhaps two to three a year, according to WRTC representative John Ogden. He added that there are more than 1,500 people on the kidney transplant waiting list in the DC area -- a number that is growing every day. |
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Of course, the WRTC was happy to get her call. They pay for donors' tests and surgeries, but Rosemary had some work to do, too. "First, I had to get a clean bill of health from my own doctor," she says. "Then I had to get a CAT scan, X-rays and countless blood tests. I even had to go see a psychiatrist."
Rosemary passed all the tests, and doctors scheduled her for a Tuesday, February 16 surgery date. Yet, as the day approached and she had a little downtime, uncertainty started to nibble away at her resolve. Her unease came to a head the day before she was due in the operating room. "I was very troubled," she remembers. "I was at a Starbucks and bought a paper. I hadn't bought one in 10 years. I opened it and on the front page of the Metro section was a big story on kidney donors." |
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 Rosemary read that 18 people a day die for lack of a suitable transplant, and that the D.C. area has the highest incidence of kidney failure in the U.S., often brought on by conditions like obesity, diabetes and high blood pressure. "It was a sign," she recalls thinking. "It was meant to be. I just needed to cool my jets. It would be fine."
Later that night, Rosemary took a seat at the family dinner table with her husband and kids. "All I could think of was that somebody else was sitting down with their family thinking, 'I am getting a kidney.'"
She remembers the procedure and recovery period with a shrug and smile. "Surgery was a breeze. I slept through most of the day." Rosemary was home after two days and by that weekend, she was up and exercising - a 2 ½-mile walk on Saturday, and a mile more than that the following day. She was off pain pills in less than a week. In fact, the only thing she would have changed is a pre-surgery detail. "I would check to see if there was anybody I knew on the transplant list," she says. "If I donated in that person's name, they would be moved up the list."
As for OJ, he underwent surgery the same day and was home from the hospital by Friday. Even before the surgery, Rosemary knew she wanted to meet the man who received her kidney. "He had to say it was OK," she says. "We met at the WRTC. My children and husband were there. It was very moving." OJ was certainly glad to meet the DeButts family, but couldn't stop a little of his inner comedian from coming out. "I call them the 'DeKidneys,'" he chuckles.
 From that first meeting in March, Rosemary and OJ have sought to maintain the strong bond between them. "We've become e-mail buddies," she says, "and I've been to see him two or three times." Rosemary says she loves OJ's sense of humor. "You know," he told her, "you're the first soccer mom I've ever met." Another time, they were trading e-mails, and Rosemary fired off several in rapid succession, before OJ could respond to any of them. "I must have got the slow kidney," he wrote back.
OJ has responded well to the new kidney, slow or not, and as it turns out, there's lots more life to embrace. Now that he's feeling better, he's made a list of things he wants to accomplish. "He wants to get Microsoft certified," Rosemary notes. She adds that he also wants to take flying lessons and buy a Harley. "I said, 'Wait - you're taking my kidney on a motorcycle?'"
OJ even has designs on adding to his family. OJ's wife died 10 years ago, but he hopes to remarry in the not-too-distant future. "I will have a son," he says. "There will be an Oliver Johnson II."
For the present, it is enough to be grateful for the vibrant life he's led and for the chance to go on, thanks to a wonderful soccer mom in Purcellville. "As I thank God for his blessings," OJ wrote to Rosemary, "I also thank you, my angel, for your gift of life."
The WRTC is committed to educating the public on organ donation. They certainly welcome donations from living donors, but also encourage everyone in the D.C. area to consider donating their organs after death. You can check a box on your driver's license renewal form or visit www.beadonor.org for more information. |
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Food with heart
By Nancy Croft Baker
 Beverly Billand always knew that if she could grow enough produce in her garden, her five daughters would never go hungry. The former nurse turned farmer also knew that if she grew her produce organically, her children would always be healthy. On July 25th, Billand and a cadre of local chefs, wineries and farmers will expand that mission further with the second Loudoun Area Chefs Collaborative (LACC) culinary event to benefit Loudoun Therapeutic Riding Foundation, Inc. (LTRF).
"It has been a long-time dream to get like-minded area chefs together to share ideas about supporting each other, our local producers and a local cause," says Billand, who owns the acclaimed Restaurant at Patowmack Farm in Lovettsville, which hosted the first fundraising dinner last January for Loudoun Interfaith Relief. "Drawing all these businesses together creates more opportunities for all of us to excel at what we do and promote healthier living through healthful eating."
The upcoming cocktail reception, to be hosted at Vintage 50 restaurant in Leesburg, will showcase a who's who of Loudoun's premiere culinary talent -- including nearly a dozen local producers, nine leading chefs, five popular wineries and Vintage 50's micro brewery. Heading the pack will be Aaron McCloud, executive chef of Vintage Restaurant Group and Patowmack Farm's executive chef, Christopher Edwards, who together turned the Loudoun Area Chefs Collaborative idea into a reality. "We have a lot of fun doing events like this," Edwards says. "Chefs don't get much time to hang out, so this gives us a chance to inspire each other and the community."
The seed for LACC and its charitable outreach efforts was planted by Billand while chatting with McCloud at the National Harbor Food and Wine Festival some years ago. "I've always loved the idea of area chefs forming an association to make good things happen -- for each other and the community," Billand explains. The idea, however, remained dormant until Billand urged Edwards to follow up with McCloud last fall. |
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"After talking, we decided to meet at Patowmack Farm to see if we could get the ball rolling," McCloud recalls. So on a Sunday afternoon over a potluck meal of home-made pizza, pork belly and Korean barbecue, McCloud, Edwards and Tuscarora Mill's Patrick Dinh cooked up a plan to bring other chefs into the fold to promote the farm-to-table dining concept and feed the hungry in Loudoun County by preparing a five-course meal as a fundraiser for Loudoun Interfaith Relief. Five chefs agreed to donate their time and talent to produce a course, in addition to soliciting gratis ingredients and wines from five local farms and wineries.
"Getting five chefs to agree on a menu was a little tricky," McCloud admits. "But we're all highly committed to sourcing local products." Vintage 50, in fact, grows much of its produce and herbs in a micro garden at the back of its parking lot. Tickets sold out quickly, and "guests overwhelmingly agreed that the meal represented some of the best that Loudoun has to offer," McCloud says. It also raised $10,300 - 100 percent of which was donated directly to the beneficiary.
 "It was a dream come true for me to see all those chefs working together in my kitchen," Billand says. With a successful event under their belts, the five chefs recruited four more chefs and a half dozen more producers and wineries to organize a large summer harvest cocktail reception, which is expected to raise roughly $15,000 for Loudoun Therapeutic Riding Foundation, Inc., a nonprofit group that uses riding lessons and equine-related therapies to improve the lives of individuals with disabilities. (See Talk Loudoun's November 11, 2009 Behind the Brand issue.) "We wanted to benefit a group that is uniquely Loudoun," McCloud notes. "Loudoun Therapeutic Riding came to mind because it involves horses and benefits individuals with special needs in our community, especially as more studies show that healthier eating can prevent a lot of debilitating conditions." |
 Each chef participating in the upcoming LACC event will use ingredients from local producers. Chef Patrick Dinh of Tuscarora Mill, for example, will incorporate herbs from Vineyard Nursery in Middleburg, tomatoes from Greenstone Farm in Purcellville and baby beets and carrots from local grower Walter Goetlinger. Vintage 50's McCloud plans to feature grass-fed beef from Martin's Angus Beef in The Plains, a regular supplier to Vintage 50 and Vintage 51. "In addition to helping a good cause, this event is a great way for the chefs to promote our local producers, who often are too busy to market themselves to a great extent," McCloud notes. "Getting more of these organic and pasture-raised products into the public is better for everyone."
Fields of Athenry's Elaine Boland, who has been a champion of LACC's efforts, knows full well the dramatic impact that an antibiotic-free diet can have on one's health. Drastically changing her family's diet helped her daughter overcome the debilitating effects of Cushing's Disease. "Our little farm's mission is to build awareness of what a nutrient-dense diet can do to stave off health issues, and the chefs are getting the word out," Boland says. "There's nothing better for special needs children and those who rely on Loudoun Interfaith Relief than to have access to healthy, farm-fresh food."
LTRF Executive director Joanne Hart couldn't agree more and was thrilled when she was approached by McCloud and Boland about being the second event's beneficiary. "Their efforts will be huge for us," she says. "The downturn in the economy has been very difficult for nonprofits like us -- especially as we add new programs to better serve the physical and mental needs of our clients." The event's promotional poster features the nine chefs with one of the group's therapeutic horses. LTRF's board members, instructors, volunteers and some participants also will be on hand at the event to talk about their life-changing work.
"Kudos to Aaron and Chris for organizing this effort and helping local producers get their product in front of the right people" says veteran Loudoun winemaker Doug Fabbioli, who has played a key role in rallying fellow winemakers to participate in LACC's events. "Every chef looking for local product can never find enough of it. These chefs are part of a growing movement in Loudoun County working hard to build a community where we're supporting each other, feeding our families well and living life a little better as a result. They're setting a great example that if we can continue to work together, the sky's the limit!" |
Show your support!
Support our local growers, producers, wineries, chefs and Loudoun Therapeutic Riding Foundation, Inc., by attending the Loudoun Area Chefs Collaborative cocktail reception at Vintage 50 in Leesburg from 4 - 8 p.m. on July 25 and enjoy the best of Loudoun's bounty! Tickets are now on sale at Vintage 50 or by calling the restaurant at 703-777-2169. Ticket price is $68 each, $65 of which goes directly to the charity (the additional $3 is a processing fee).
The event will feature...
Farm-to-table appetizers from:
Chef Christopher Edwards, The Restaurant at Patowmack Farm -- Co-Founder of LACC
Chef Aaron McCloud, Vintage Restaurant Group -- Co-Founder of LACC
Chef Author Clark, Jr., Grandale Farm Restaurant
Chef Scott Meyers, L'Auberge Provencale
Chef Mark Marrocco, Magnolia's at the Mill
Chef Gordon Wicks, The Red Fox Inn
Chef Patrick Dinh, Tuscarora Mill
Chef Matt Hess, The Wine Kitchen
Chef Pedro Matamoros, 8407 Kitchen and Bar
Libations from:
Winemaker Bob Rupy, Bluemont Vineyard
Winemaker Rachel Martin, Boxwood Winery
Winemaker Doug Fabbioli, Fabbioli Cellars
Winemaker Nate Walsh, Sunset Hills Vineyard
Winemaker Jordan Harris, Tarara Winery
Brew master Dean Lake, Vintage 50 Brewery
Sommelier Andrew Stover, Vino50
And locally grown ingredients from:
Ayrshire Farm
Endless Summer Harvest
Fields of Athenry Farm
Garden at L'Auberge Provencale
Garden at Vintage 50
Greenstone Farm
Martin's Angus Beef
Patowmack Farm
Vineyard Nursery
Walter Goetlinger Produce
Wisteria Gardens
and others
Be sure to bring your appetite and an open heart.
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Take our challenge -
Plant your support behind Loudoun's farmers
Did you know that for only $40 a year you can support agriculture and farming right here in Loudoun County? Become an associate member of the Virginia Farm Bureau, and you can reap the many benefits for yourself, your family, your children and your community! Farm Bureau members help preserve farming in Loudoun County while creating educational tools for our public schools and important marketing opportunities for more locally grown foods.
But more than that, members can take advantage of a wide variety of resources and discounts we're sure few know about. Check this out: Virginia Farm Bureau members receive discounts on rental cars, hotels, child safety seats and all-terrain helmets, as well as vision, hearing and prescription drug plans -- in addition to competitive insurance policies and reduced rates on museum memberships! Teen drivers can earn a $1,000 savings bond by successfully completing the Teenage Driver Safety Education Program, which teaches the safe driving techniques all young people need to know. What's more, special vendor partnerships offer significant savings to Farm Bureau members. The long list of benefits far outweighs the small investment!
We challenge you to step up and support Loudoun's farmers -- both the time-honored and the newcomers! Please act now and join the Virginia Farm Bureau. Once you do, notify us via info@talkloudoun.com, and we'll print your name, along with our thanks to you, in a special box within our e-zine starting this July and continuing every other month! We'll also put your name in a drawing for a variety of gifts, including a weekend getaway at a fine Loudoun hotel, a $50 gift certificate to one of Loudoun's restaurants that features "farm to table" items, special Loudoun winery giveaways, and so much more. Join us, and please join the VA Farm Bureau - Loudoun County! Just go to: http://www.vafarmbureau.org/MEMBERPROGRAMS/Pages/default.aspx. It's a good deal for a great cause!.
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Let Us Help:
We're happy to get the word out about any volunteer or fundraising needs your organization has, or information about your special event. Check out the Events/Needs link on Talk's website and follow the listed guidelines, hit Submit and we'll take it from there - that's our promise to you.
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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