M. H. West & Co., Inc. associate Justin House thought he was going to Morton’s Steakhouse for a nice meal, instead he ended up behind bars. While at Morton’s Steakhouse Justin was “locked up” for one hour while to help raise “bail money” for the Muscular Dystrophy Association (Jerry’s Kids). Lock Up events are the largest source of income for the Central Virginia MDA. Last year they raised over $450,000 for 2,100+ area families. There are a total of 7 lock up events in Central Virginia:

Charlottesville – February 10
Downtown Richmond – March 25
Chester – May 13
Southside – May 27
Innsbrook – July 21
Fredericksburg – October 7
West End – November 8

Justin was happy to help this worthy cause and feels his time in the “slammer” proved to be enlightening.

Alzheimer’s Association held its Second Annual Fundraising Breakfast at the Sheraton Richmond West on March 18th. The well-attended event was hosted by Mark Hubbard and included presentations by Scott Paciocco, Sherry Peterson and Mike Larkin. A moving video which highlighted the devastating effects of Alzheimer’s; not only on those with the disease, but on those who care for them as well was also shown.

The personal stories by some of the speakers were touching and the event as a whole was educational. M. H. West & Co., Inc. is proud to be a table sponsor for this worthy cause, not only this year but for the years to come.

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.

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.