M. H. West & Co., Inc.’s Marilyn West and Joe Armstrong attended the Retail Merchants Association’s First Forum Series. The focus was PR for Small Business and featured a Panel of Professionals who offered Tips on Getting the Word Out About Your Business . Held at the Westin Richmond, the meeting was well attended with standing room only. Participating were Lisa Schaffner, the Director of Public Relations and Marketing for UNOS, who served as moderator of the panel of other professionals who included: Greg Gillian of the Richmond Times Dispatch, Aaron Kremer of RichmondBizSense.com, Bernard Niemeier of Virginia Business Magazine, Sean Ryan of Hobbs & Associates and Phaedra Hise a freelance writer who formerly wrote for Inc. Magazine. The panelists offered their perspectives on approaches and strategies for grabbing the attention of the editors and writers of daily and monthly newspapers and other publications, distinguishing between news and PR. Takeaways for Joe, who counts marketing among his responsibilities at WEST, include building relationships with your local media, designing compelling stories and limiting the outlets receiving the material. Finally, Joe found the diversity in talent of the panelists added to the quality of the program.
Archive for the ‘Events’ Category
M. H. West & Co., Inc., Attends January 8, 2010 Retail Merchants Association First Forum Breakfast Meeting at the Westin
Friday, January 15th, 2010McDonnell Becomes the Commonwealth’s 71st Governor on January 16th
Friday, January 15th, 2010
M. H. West & Co., Inc. hopes to participate in at least one of the events to be held in conjunction with the inauguration of the 71st Governor of Virginia, Robert McDonnell. Obtaining tickets is a challenge. Among the many activities is the Swearing-In Ceremony which will occur at noon on Saturday, January 16th and the First Lady’s Luncheon which takes place the next day at the Omni Richmond Hotel. Other inaugural events taking place in Richmond include: The Benefactors’ Gala (Friday, January 15), the Prayer Breakfast (Saturday, January 16), the Inaugural Parade (Immediately following the Swearing-In Ceremony), the Inaugural Ball (Saturday, January 16) and the Governor’s Mansion Open house (Sunday, January 17).
M. H. West & Co., Inc. Associates Do the Zumba
Friday, January 15th, 2010
M. H. West & Co., Inc. associates Marilyn West, Meaghan West and Erica Cage attended the National Association of Women Business Owners (NAWBO) January meeting at the Willow Oaks Country Club on January 12th. The theme of the meeting was “New Year, New You!” and it featured a presentation by Dr. Joe Niamtu on defying facial aging. He addressed both surgical and non-surgical methods options on keeping a healthy looking face. Next Paula Altman conducted a Zumba class at the meeting. Zumba is an intense dance-aerobics workout that is becoming more and more popular with fitness instructors. All three associates claimed to have participated in the Zumba class. Unfortunately, there is no photographic evidence to back this up!
Marilyn, Meaghan and Erica each enjoyed NAWBO’s meeting and thought it was a postive start to the year.
32nd Annual Community Leaders’ Breakfast Honoring Martin Luther King
Thursday, January 14th, 2010
M. H. West & Co., Inc. was a table sponsor for the 32nd Annual Community Leaders’ Breakfast Honoring the Legacy of Dr. Luther King, Jr. on January 15th at the Greater Richmond Convention Center. WEST associates Marilyn West, Ned Conway, Eugene Sampey, Meaghan West, Julian House, Erica Cage and Joe Armstrong all enjoyed the program. Virginia Union University has sponsored this event since its inception. This year Virginia Union University President Dr. Claude G. Perkins was the host.
The keynote speaker was Louis Sullivan, M.D. who gave an interesting speech on the need for more diversity among health professionals. Other speakers included: Governor Tim Kaine (on his last day in office), Mayor Dwight Jones, Senior Vice President at Dominion, Robert Blue and Chairman of the Board of Trustees at Virginia Union, Dr. Frank Royal. The Virginia Union Singers did a great job of performing musical selections throughout the event.
It was interesting to hear from the many speakers how the words, ideals and actions of Dr. King influenced their lives and inspired them to make the world a better place. It was inspiring that Dr. King used innovative methods (at the time) to achieve his goals which were the timeless principles of equality and dignity.
Please see this link for more information on Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.
West Attends Crime Prevention Conference in New York
Thursday, December 10th, 2009
Meaghan West and Julian House of M. H. West & Co., Inc. attended the National Network for Safe Communities‘ 1st Annual Conference in New York City. The conference attracted more than 300 people from 24 states and 5 different countries. David Kennedy, Director of the Center for Crime Prevention and Control at John Jay College of Criminal Justice discussed his work to combat drug markets. He focused on the success of the High Point Intervention, an innovative program that is now being replicated in at least 25 cities including: Minneapolis, Indianapolis, Baltimore, San Francisco, Washington DC and Pittsburgh.
The conference brought together jurisdictions from around the country that are currently implementing the gang violence and/or the drug market strategy. The participating groups shared best practices and addressed common issues such as; providing a supportive community of practice for new jurisdictions and working to make these strategies standard practice across the United States.
Some of the best minds of the criminal justice system and youth welfare were at the conference. Innovative programs like David Kennedy’s Ceasefire, provided a sense of optimism to conference participants that crime reduction was possible when a solid plan is implemented.
VisionCheck Spotlights Health Care
Friday, December 4th, 2009
VisionCheck is an event held quarterly by the Greater Richmond Chamber of Commerce. It allows peers to network and discuss key topics and issues facing the the greater Richmond business community. On December 3rd, the VisionCheck topic was health care. Speakers at the event included: Doug Gray, Executive Director of the VA Association of Health Plans; Keith Hare, Director of Government Affairs, Medical Society of VA; and Paul Speidell, VP of Government Affairs, Virginia Hospital & Healthcare Association.
M.H. West & Co., Inc.’s Health & Human Services Analyst, Erica Cage attended and came away impressed with many of the speakers. She also found it insightful that the speakers focused the dialogue on health care pertaining to Richmond in particular.
WEST Attends 2009 Diversity and Aging Forum
Monday, November 16th, 2009M. H. West & Co., Inc. associates Meaghan West and Erica Cage attended the 2009 Diversity and Aging Forum hosted by AARP Virginia on Thursday, November 12th. The forum provided an opportunity for businesses, government officials and individuals to explore state and national diversity trends and prepare for changes taking place as a large segment of the population begins to age. Keynote speakers for the event were AARP President Jennie Chin Hansen and Kathy Greenlee, U.S. Assistant Secretary for Aging.
Topics discussed at the 2009 Diversity and Aging Forum included:
- Cutting-edge research, and innovative programs on diversity and aging
- Issues faced by older adults from diverse communities
- Information on managing an older and more diverse workforce
Erica Cage found the forum to be extremely informative and seemed particularly impressed with keynote speaker, Kathy Greenlee. Meaghan found it interesting that the AARP is educating not only seniors but everyone on the issues facing seniors. The AARP also is playing a significant role in the health care debate to ensure that seniors are provided affordable and attainable health care.
Walking With a Purpose
Thursday, November 12th, 2009
M. H. West & Co., Inc. was proud to be a participating sponsor for the 2009 Richmond Kidney Walk. WEST had eight participants this year: Marilyn West, Ed West, Meaghan West, Eugene Sampey, Zulu Sampey, Ned Conway, Nina Conway and Joe Armstrong. Over 500 walkers were involved in the event on a perfect Sunday afternoon. The event proved to be a big success with the goal of raising $60,000 being surpassed and donations are now quickly approaching $75,000.
The Richmond Kidney Walk is an event that has grown each year and all the WEST members were happy to donate their time and effort to this worthy cause.
47th Annual Humanitarian Awards Dinner Attended by WEST Colleagues
Friday, October 30th, 2009
The Virginia Center for Inclusive Communities held their 47th Annual Humanitarian Awards Dinner at the Richmond Marriott on October 27th. M. H. West & Co., Inc.’s CEO, Marilyn West is proud to serve on the Steering Committee for The Virginia Center for Inclusive Communities and has been supporting the organization for years. Marilyn attended the dinner along with fellow associates Eugene Sampey, Julian House and Erica Cage.
The dinner celebrated “Inclusive Leadership” and some of Richmond’s most outstanding community leaders were present. Among those honored included: Viola Baskerville, Peter Bernard, Hugh F. Gouldthorpe Jr. and Alexander Lebenstein. Allix B. James received the Jeffrey B. Spence Award for Interfaith Understanding. St. Joseph’s Villa, which has been helping Richmond area children in need since 1834, received the Distinguished Merit Citation.
WEST’s Julian House enjoyed the dinner and found it inspiring that so many of Richmond’s influential leaders were active in promoting diversity in the community.
Richmond Jazz Society Welcomes Al Foster Home
Tuesday, October 20th, 2009
The Al Foster Quartet performed at the Capital Ale House as part of the Richmond Jazz Society’s Guest Educator Series on October 13th. Foster’s quartet consists of saxophonist Eli Degibri , bassist Doug Weiss and pianist Adam Birnbaum. The group had just returned from touring Europe.
Al Foster was born in Richmond, VA on January 18, 1943 and moved with his family to NY when he was a child. His influences include jazz luminaries John Coltrane, Art Blakey, Buddy Rich and Philly Joe Jones. Foster has become an internationally renowned drummer and composer having performed and/or recorded with Miles Davis, Sonny Rollins, Herbie Hancock, Thelonious Monk, Michael Brecker, John Scofield and others. The concert marked Foster’s first visit back to his hometown.
M. H. West & Co. Inc., is a proud member of the Richmond Jazz Society. Marilyn West was thrilled that the Richmond Jazz Society was able to bring such a renowned artist back to his hometown for people to enjoy in an intimate setting.