• E-Newsletter

The Fairfax County Economic Development Authority (FCEDA) is embarking on a initiative this year to help employers in the region attract and retain the best talent to our region. In order to create the best solutions for talent attraction and retention, we need to hear from two very important local audiences: HR executives and recruiters, and Gen Z and millennials.

For HR execs and recruiters: In order to create the best solutions for talent attraction, we want to understand the experience of people on the front lines promoting jobs to talent on a daily basis: you! You do not need to be located in Fairfax County to take the survey. We are looking to capture responses from all those who do HR/recruiting work for companies with operations in Northern Virginia. Click here to go to the HR survey.

For millennials and Gen Z: In order to fully understand the region’s talent challenges, we want to hear directly from an important audience: Gen Z and millennials who are living, working or studying in Northern Virginia. Please be candid, and feel free to share this survey far and wide with your peers! Click here to go to the talent survey.

These surveys are simple and will take no more than 10 minutes to complete. Please share your feedback by Friday, March 13. Thank you for helping us understand this important issue!

If you do not fall within the audiences of HR executives/recruiters or Gen Z/millennial, please feel free to share these surveys with your networks – employees, colleagues, friends, family, even on social media. We want as many responses as possible!

Got a great idea to transform a vacant storefront in Tysons?

Fairfax County is looking for creative ideas to repurpose the former Container Store, located at the Spring Hill Metro Station at 8508 Leesburg Pike in Tysons.

The project, dubbed Activate Fairfax: 8508 Uncontained, is the inaugural pilot of a Department of Economic Initiatives (DEI) program, Activate Fairfax, which aims to transform vacant commercial spaces into economic-development destinations.

DEI seeks concepts and an operator to program the space to boost innovation and entrepreneurship, demonstrate creative placemaking, and feature the Made in Fairfax Network. In addition, dynamic pop-up, cultural, artistic or community-oriented programming aligned with these goals will be encouraged to ensure that the space functions as a vibrant asset and experience for residents and visitors, according to the county.

Fairfax County purchased the Container Store property in 2019 to make way for road improvements, but for the next several years the vacant storefront will be used to further the county’s economic development initiatives.

Proposals should illustrate how the respondent intends to develop, implement, manage and market an activation program. The deadline for responses is April 20, 2020.

For more information about the request for interest or the Made in Fairfax Network, visit the Activate Fairfax webpage or contact the Department of Economic Initiatives at 703-324-5171, TTY 711.

Vienna Inn celebrates 60^th anniversary of slinging chili dogs and fun

Located on Maple Avenue in the heart of the town, the Vienna Inn is celebrating its 60th anniversary in operation this year.

“We have second, third and sometimes fourth generations of families visiting the Inn,” said Marty Volk, the Inn’s owner. “It has been a Vienna landmark for many years.”

Molly and Mike Abraham opened Vienna Inn in 1960, said Volk, who bought the restaurant in 2000. A graduate of Oakton High School, Volk frequently went to the Inn growing up. As the current owner, Volk said he has worked to carry on the same traditions as the Abrahams and keep things the same as much as possible.

As a big supporter of local youth sports teams and schools, Vienna Inn is a family-friendly establishment. Guests at the restaurant dine in vintage booths and see the local sports memorabilia that lines the walls.

The menu includes a wide range of options, from burgers and fries to grilled seafood and salads, but the Inn is most famous for its hot dogs, selling more than 10,000 a month, according to Volk.

To mark the 60^th anniversary, the Vienna Inn hosted a “National Chili Day” celebration on February 27. Guests included Town of Vienna first responders, Town of Vienna government officials, the James Madison High School football team, little league teams and many customers. Check out the video of the NBC4 news broadcast broadcast that aired from the event. Additional anniversary celebrations will be scheduled throughout 2020, according to Volk. For updates, check Vienna Inn’s website and Facebook page.

 Dewberrys’ support is music to George Mason University’s ears

George Mason University’s School of Music will be renamed the Reva and Sid Dewberry Family School of Music, in honor of the Dewberrys’ lifetime legacy of giving and generous support of the school. The decision was approved unanimously at the Feb. 27 Board of Visitors meeting, according to the university.

In addition to recent and pledged support of $1.8 million that will create a scholarship endowment, prior contributions from the Dewberrys include nearly $1.4 million for the creation of the Linda Apple Monson Scholars Endowed Fund. The family also helped lead the Steinway Initiative, which allowed the school to achieve even higher status as an All-Steinway School in 2007.

“The name Dewberry symbolizes excellence, extraordinary commitment, innovation and long-standing relationships. Our School of Music embraces those same qualities, especially with our goal of excellence in all areas and having a very tangible path to get there,” said Linda Monson, the School of Music director who has been a faculty member at Mason since 1999. “To have our school be named after a benefactor who embodies all of these same qualities is such an honor.”

“I want the School of Music to be the best school in the United States and the world, not only for (future) teachers but also for performers,” said Sid Dewberry, age 92, who began learning piano from Monson at age 75 to fulfill a life goal.

“My dream is to put Mason on the top of the heap,” Sid Dewberry added. “I think we’re well on our way to doing that.”

Sidney O. “Sid” Dewberry is the chairman emeritus of Dewberry, a nationwide firm of planning, design, and construction professionals that he co-founded in 1956. Initially established in Arlington, the firm relocated its headquarters to Fairfax in 1965.

Currently the company has locations in 18 states, employing more than 2,000 people.

The Dewberry family has a long-standing commitment to Mason. Dewberry Hall within the Johnson Center, as well as the Sid and Reva Dewberry Department of Civil, Environmental, and Infrastructure Engineering within the Volgenau School of Engineering, was named in their honor.

Read more at GMU News.