• E-Newsletter

Best for Vets: Military Times unveiled its annual “Best for Vets: Employers” rankings for 2020, offering a comprehensive look at how in recent years companies nationwide have greatly expanded their support to recruit and retain former service members into the civilian job market. Fairfax County-area headquartered companies that rank on the list are: American Systems, Chantilly; Booz Allen Hamilton, Tysons; Capital One, Tysons; Constellis, Herndon; DynCorp International, Tysons; General Dynamics Information Technology, Falls Church; Hilton, Tysons; Leidos, Reston; ManTech International Corporation, Herndon; MAXIMUS, Reston; Parsons Corporation, Centreville; PenFed Credit Union, Tysons; Peraton, Town of Herndon; and Perspecta, Chantilly. Find out more in Military Times.

More kudos for veteran employers: Tysons-headquartered Booz Allen Hamilton; Reston-headquartered Leidos; and the Fairfax County Fire and Rescue Department were among the 11 employers honored last week for hiring veterans during the virtual 2020 Virginia Veterans and Military Affairs Conference, which is hosted by the Virginia Chamber of Commerce in partnership with the Virginia Department of Veterans Services and the Virginia Veterans Services Foundation. “With 30 military installations and one of the largest veteran populations in the country, Virginia remains deeply committed to empowering the men and woman who answer the call to serve and protect our nation by providing a high quality of life not only while they serve, but as they transition to civilian life,” said Virginia Chamber of Commerce president and CEO Barry DuVal, reported Virginia Business.

Tech titan: Despite the pandemic and continued social distancing orders, it looks like tech companies in the D.C. region are keeping their office spaces. In the second quarter of this year, the D.C. region ranked first in the nation in tech office leasing. CBRE reports that the area’s tech office leasing nearly doubled the volume of San Francisco’s, and tech office leasing in the region grew by 55 percent as compared to 2019’s quarterly average for Q2. Northern Virginia accounts for 76 percent of the D.C. area’s total tech office leasing with 1.1 million square feet of space. Northern Virginia led the overall market demand and has been doing so since the beginning of 2018, according to the CBRE report. Find out more in technical.ly DC.

Go East, Young Man: Infrascale, a data protection company, which was founded in Southern California, has relocated its headquarters to Reston. “I’m extremely proud of the progress we’ve made to date, particularly given the challenging global climate caused by Covid-19. The formal transition to our new headquarters in Reston represents a significant milestone in our 2020 plan,” said CEO Russell Reeder, reported the Washington Business Journal.

Send in the robots: Tysons-based Alpha Omega Integration, which serves federal clients with low-code, open-source software and server-less, multi-cloud architecture, acquired Reston-based Confiance Group. The acquisition will bolster Alpha Omega’s abilities to serve customers in the public and private sectors by streamlining processes and moving systems toward robotic process automation and hyper-automation. Confiance Group has successfully delivered thousands of bots to automate several enterprise processes at more than 15 percent of Fortune 500 firms, according to Digital Journal.

Help wanted: Amazon Web Services, which maintains its East Coast headquarters in Herndon, is building out its public sector innovation programs in the Washington region with at least two positions it’s looking to fill. The Amazon.com Inc. subsidiary is searching for new mid-senior level executives in Herndon to oversee North American projects and app development for its Digital Innovation Program, where it helps clients come up with their own frameworks for producing digital products and services. Specifically, the company is looking for a digital innovation lead, as well as a new program manager, for its worldwide public sector arm, which is helmed by Teresa Carlson, also based in Herndon. Find out more in the Washington Business Journal.

AI for advancing cancer research: Tysons-headquartered MITRE and Burlington, Mass.-based Nuance Communications have established a strategic collaboration to advance the minimal Common Oncology Data Elements (mCODE) data standard for improved cancer research and treatment using a Nuance AI-powered technology. Through the collaborative effort, clinicians will be able to populate vital cancer data directly into electronic health records using their voice. The feature will improve the quality of documentation and reduce data entry, reported ExecutiveGov.

Transit-area transformation: Big changes are proposed to the Huntington Metro area in the Fairfax County area of Alexandria to transform it into a thriving mass transit hub. The revitalization of the area is part of Embark Richmond Highway, a larger vision for the Route 1 corridor. Two proposals to build new residential communities next to the Huntington Metro Station area are moving forward and will face a final task force vote at a virtual meeting scheduled for Sept 15, 2020. If approved by the task force, both projects will undergo a review by the Planning Commission and the Board of Supervisors later this year. Alexandria Living has the details.

Sizzling Springfield: Springfield, located in Fairfax County, ranked number 9 on Realtor.com’s list of the top 10 hottest zip codes in the U.S., areas in which homes quickly leave the market. The average time it took homes to sell in the top 10 zip codes was 18 days, about a month faster than their metropolitan areas, and 51 days faster than other places around the country, according to Realtor.com. Springfield is described as a DC suburb with “affordable prices and closer proximity to the bigger cities.” Burke Patch brought the details home.

Job training: A coalition of 20 businesses across the state is providing financial backing for Virginia Ready, a non-profit which aims to get tens of thousands of Virginians into job training programs by providing cash payments to out-of-work people who complete courses for various job through the Virginia Community College System. The nonprofit is planning to provide $1,000 incentive payments for as many as 15,000 people over the next three years who earn credentials for high-demand fields such as health care, manufacturing and skilled trades. Recipients of the incentives will get $1,000 payments after completing courses and passing credential exams in the Virginia Community College System’s Fast Forward program, according to the Richmond Times-Dispatch.

Beacon of Hope: Herndon-headquartered Beacon is accepting nominations for its second-annual Beacon of Hope contest, a nationwide program awarding veteran homeowners with new roofs. The opportunity is available to all military veterans, provided they have received an honorable or general discharge. Beacon is teaming up with veteran-friendly roofing companies to deliver and install all necessary roof repairs/replacement for three veteran homes. In addition, seven runners-up will receive $2,500 to help complete the necessary repairs. The public can nominate a veteran now through Sept. 24. LBM Journal covered the story.

Boro banking: City National Bank opened its doors in The Boro in Tysons last week. The bank, which is a subsidiary of the Royal Bank of Canada, opened the 4,200-square-foot full-service regional banking center at 8301 Greensboro Drive, Suite J. The Tysons team of four commercial bankers will work closely with Royal Bank of Canada’s wealth management and capital markets businesses, according to Tysons Reporter.

Expanding the network: Reston-headquartered Electrify America, a fast-charging network for electric vehicles, plans to work with Love’s Travel Stops, the Oklahoma-based travel stop network, to add public ultra-fast electric vehicle (EV) charging stations to seven locations in six U.S. states. The seven charging stations, located in Oklahoma, New Mexico, Utah, Florida, New York and Arizona, will have a combined 28 EV chargers and be available for public use by early 2021 – with five locations already open. The most recent Love’s station opening in Utah helped complete a cross-country route of Electrify America chargers spanning from Los Angeles to Washington, D.C. CleanTechnica drove the story home.

Reston, today and tomorrow: An in-person event in Reston will explore the past and future of Reston Town Center, which is now in its 30th year. The free event will take place on Wednesday, Sept. 16 from 7-9 p.m. at Reston Community Center Lake Anne’s Jo Ann Rose Gallery. With Reston Town Center slated to double in size over the next 15 years, Robert Goudie, the Reston Town Center Association’s executive director, will offer a glimpse at what the town center will look like in the future. Chairs will be spaced out to facilitate social distancing. Registration is available online or in-person at RCC starting Sept. 1, reported Reston Now.

Temp job ops: Fairfax County is hiring more than 200 temporary workers for election in November. Applicants must be registered voters in Virginia and have attention to detail and basic computer skills.  Additional requirements can be found online. The positions came about because the elections office is expecting a significant rise in absentee voting this year, according to Brian Worthy, public information officer, Fairfax County. according to Tysons Reporter.

Notable contract wins by firms in Fairfax County

Leidos won a 15-year, $292.3 million contract from the Federal Aviation Administration to provide a display system to replace multiple information display platforms installed at more than 300 U.S. airport facilities. citybizlist

Science Applications International Corp. received a five-year, $133 million Navy contract to support the Naval Surface Warfare Center’s engineering and technical work involving electronic warfare and sensor systems. GovConWire

LinQuest landed a $76 million contract from the U.S. Space Force to support the special capabilities division at the branch’s Space and Missile Systems Center. Virginia Business

Featured business events

August 26 — Wine & Tourism, a Delightful Mix: Featuring Argentina, Chile and Northern Virginia. The Dulles Regional Chamber of Commerce’s International Business Council presents a webinar focused on Wine and Tourism. Click here to register.

August 27 — NoVA B2G Matchmaking Conference and Expo. The Greater Reston Chamber of Commerce presents the eighth annual event with online matchmaking, educational breakout sessions, a virtual Expo Hall, and keynote speakers. Click here to register.

September 3 — Partnering Across the Business Community. The Northern Virginia Economic Development Alliance presents the 11th webinar in its three-part, 12 session webinar series: “Beyond COVID-19: NOVA Business Resiliency Webinars.” Registration opens soon. Click here for more information.

September 9 — Business Education Series- Make Traction on LinkedIn: Identify the Top 5 Strategies and Habits to Move Your Business Forward. The Greater Reston Chamber of Commerce presents a webinar featuring Jen Dalton, founder of BrandMirror. Click here to register.

How the Fairfax County EDA can help

Forward Virginia Phase 3 reopening guidelines: Fairfax County began the third phase of re-opening businesses on July 1. The Forward Virginia plan provides guidelines that all businesses must follow. Residents are still advised that they are “safer at home.” Click here to find out the updated guidelines.

Get business assistance: The FCEDA is here to connect businesses of all kinds to resources and information. Visit the FCEDA’s Covid-19 Business Resource Hub for up-to-date information. For direct assistance, email the FCEDA at info@fceda.org, or call 703-790-0600 to leave a voice message for our staff. And click here for resources available in the other nine jurisdictions that make up the Northern Virginia Economic Development Alliance.