ANNANDALE
   The Crossroads of Northern Virginia TMRead Annandale's News Magazine,
ENDEAVOR

Annandale News & Latest Articles
Annandale News:Banquet Hall & Elder Care Coming to Ravensworth
Annandale News: The Best & Worst Businesses to Open in 2018
Annandale News:  Annandale Hospital Bed Race
Annandale Business:  Mathnasium of Annandale
Annandale Real Estate:An Age Old Problem
VIEW ON NATURE: Our Small Friends
VIEW ON NATURE:  Yesterday's Legend
Annandale Schools: The Pride of Our Nation Speak Out
Local History: What a Difference a Century Makes: 1918
Local History: The History of Commercial Aviation in Washington
Annandale Shopping:  Lambros Goldsmith & Fine Jewelry

COMMUNITY CALENDAR

 ANNANDALE News,
Events & Networking 

Read the April Edition of the
ENDEAVOR News Magazine

The ENDEAVOR News Magazine is filled with interesting columns such as The Police Beat, Roads & Rage, The Historical Retrospective, Tax Talk, From Capitol Hill to the Chairman's Corner, View on Nature, Business Today, The School Bell, Annandale Real Estate, and Chamber Chat. Read about community issues, commercial revitalization, new businesses,
and local events. 

Annandale Hospital Bed Race
Saturday, May 19th -
Businesses and Organization are Invited to Register Now Before All the Beds Are Taken.

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VIEW ON NATURE: Our Small Friends

In an earlier life, I was a research microbiologist on an Antarctic expedition.  Before then, I was an epidemiologist for the National Institutes of Health who solved the mystery of how humans are likely infected by naturally-occurring microorganisms along the Virginia and North Carolina coasts.  In those days, my passion and work involved some of Nature’s smallest creatures, bacteria.

Yes, bacteria are often associated with causing plagues, diseases, and human health problems.  But the center of my attention is also responsible for helping us live, survive and thrive.

So what are bacteria? Bacteria are microscopic single-celled organisms that inhabit all environments on Earth, including in and on our own bodies in what is known as the human microbiome—all the bacteria, viruses, and fungi that live in and on us.  READ MORE

Annandale REAL ESTATE:  An Age Old Problem

The Annandale residential housing market is sluggish primarily because of a lack of inventory for sale of either existing homes or new homes.  The net effect is a slowing of the number of sales and a rise in the price of homes for sale.  A modestly priced home in good condition has become enough of a rarity that competitive bids can be expected for sellers.

One of the reasons for our community’s lack of inventory is likely the newly popular practice of aging-in-place.  Older homeowners are being assisted by home care workers or younger family members to remain in their house.  This is particularly true when the house is one that does not require much stair climbing.

Annandale is a well established community with over 93% of the homes 30 or more years in age.  Fairfax County reports Annandale’s 2017 population at 76,029 people*, with the elder population (age 65 +) estimated to continue to grow another 7.3% over the next 15 years.   

READ MORE

Wakefield Farmers Market opens Wednesday April 18

Organized by the Fairfax County Park Authority, the Farmers' Markets at both Wakefield and Mason District Park offer a wide variety of freshly picked fruits, vegetables, herbs and cut flowers.  There are also fresh eggs, baked goods, fresh pasta, honey, jam, teas and cider to purchase, along with a wide array of meat products, and handmade ice cream round out the edible delights offered.  If gardening is an interest, many vendors have small plants at the beginning of the season, while other vendors have larger landscape plants for those ambitious projects. Master Gardener Plant Clinic on site, at both Mason District and Wakefield Park, to answer questions about plants in your landscape.

Wakefield Park
8100 Braddock Road, Springfield, VA 22009
Wednesdays April 18 - October 31, 2018
2:00-6:00 PM
Master Gardener Plant Clinic on site to answer questions about plants in your landscape.

Directions:  From Beltway (Route 495) exit 54A (Braddock Road) go west 1/4 mile to entrance of park on right.
From Burke: East on Braddock Road to left at Queensberry Ave.

Wakefield Vendors

• Barajas Produce – fresh vegetables and berries.
• Bread and Water Co. – Breads and pastries. 
• Countless Blessings Farm– Meet and eggs from pasture-raised animals, baked goods.
• F.J. Medina & Son Farm– Strawberries, corn, melons, tomatoes, squash, peppers, and other produce. 
• Kuhn Orchards– Apples, pears, peaches, apricots, plums, berries, cherries, grapes, rhubarb, asparagus, tomatoes, onions, garlic, sweet potatoes, leeks, pumpkins, herbs, flowers.
• Lois’s Produce– Asparagus, onions, radishes, strawberries, sweet potatoes, broccoli, cauliflower, cabbage, green beans, peas, cucumbers, squash, tomatoes, sweet corn, eggplant, elephant garlic. 
• Nitro’s Creamery, – Homemade, handcrafted ice cream made to order using liquid nitrogen.
• Salsa Las Glorias – Homemade salsa from locally grown vegetables without preservatives, food coloring, or added water. 
• Stallard Road Farm & Botanicals – Eggs, honey, mushrooms, herbs, herbal products, and grass-fed beef. 
• Sue’s Pies and More – Pies and other baked goods. 
• Wholesome Clean Eating – Small-batch, gourmet plant-based eats from natural and sustainable grown produce. 

 
Annandale Market opens Thursday, May 3

Mason District Park
6621 Columbia Pike, Annandale, VA 22003
Thursdays May 3 - November 1, 2018
8:00 AM to NOON
Master Gardener Plant Clinic on site to answer questions about plants in your landscape.

Directions: Beltway (Route 495) exit 52B (Little River Turnpike, Route 236) east 2 miles to left at John Marr Drive and right on Columbia Pike to park entrance on right just before Sleepy Hollow Road. 703-941-1730. 

Annandale Vendors

• 78 Acres - Growers of fine fruits and vegetables
• Bonaparte Breads - Wholesale of Authentic Fine Organic French Breads & Pastries
• FJ Median & Son Farm - seasonal produce such as strawberries, corn, melons, tomatoes, squash, peppers, etc.
• Great Harvest Bread Company - wide variety of freshly baked from scratch whole grain breads, mixes, granolas, and an assortment of sweets and cookies.
• Honeycomb Heroes - three varieties of raw honey, including wildflower, apple, and creamed spun honey along with beeswax care products, and beeswax candles. 
• J&W Valley View Farm - the freshest best tasting fruits and vegetable possible.
• Layla's Lebanese Restaurant - Lebanese cuisine made with fresh ingredients daily.
• Pickle Factory - Different variety of fresh cut pickles made into dill pickles with different flavors,sweet bread & butter,mini dill,chips,whole kholser,spears,jalapeño,habanero,sour, sold in pint or quarts sizes.
• Sharkawi Farm - 40 different varieties of potted herbs, Flowering and edible potted plants, mixed salad green baskets, greenhouse cucumber, fresh figs, Fall pansies, and dried lavender, we also manufacture 48 different teas, spices, and spice mixes.
• Two Springs Fruit Farm Inc.- huge assortment of tree fruit but also many berry and vegetable crops
• Valentine's Bakery & Meats - homemade baked goods such as fruit pies, cookies, sweet breads, granola, whoopie pies, and gluten-free items plus a variety of fresh fruit jams.   Free-range, grass-fed, beef, pork, lamb, and chicken and farm-fresh free-range pastured eggs from happy healthy chickens.

Pets are not allowed at farmers markets except service animals.

Saturday, April 28
Rebuilding Together Project

On April 28, ACCA will again sponsor two houses in Annandale as part of the national Rebuilding Together effort. This is the 29th year that ACCA has participated!

Over the past twenty-eight years, we have repaired and rehabilitated the homes of 121 low-income homeowners and non-profit housing facilities. ACCA has provided over 37,000 volunteer hours and insured that low-income seniors, persons with disabilities and families with children have a safe, accessible and healthy environment in which to live. We hope to make 2018 our best year yet.

We are in the process of recruiting volunteers to do the work and, while most of the volunteers traditionally come from the sponsoring churches (Annandale Methodist, John Calvin Presbyterian, Ravensworth Baptist, and St. Barnabas Episcopal), we can always use a few more workers.  Once again, Lincolnia Methodist Church and Queen of Apostles Catholic Church will provide lunches and snacks.  Come join us and learn why so many of us make this an annual event.

 
To get more information or to sign up, contact Marie Monsen, 703-354-9408 or mamonsen@verizon.net

Banquet Hall and Elder Care Center
Ravensworth Road will be the site of this new dual use building.

Recently, a plan to convert the Kids Choice center on Ravensworth Road to a dual use occupancy was endorsed by county officials.  This is an interesting concept in maximizing the use of a single structure.  Together a banquet hall with the capacity limited to no more than 150 individuals and an elder day care center has been  initially approved for a capacity of 200.  In two years time, if traffic circulation and parking problems have not arisen, the owners can apply to increase that elder care capacity to 275 individuals. 

The property is owned by Helen and Young Bae who also own the Han Gang restaurant next door.  They intend to hire elder care professionals or even lease to a chain care service who will run the facility. 

Many difficult issues had to be overcome before any approvals were granted.  Annandale’s Revitalization Committee voted not to approve the application until these issues were resolved.  Both the Mason District Land Use Committee and the County Planning Commission echoed concerns over traffic circulation, lack of parking, and the building’s initial and first revised exterior that did not attune in anyway to the Annandale Design Guidelines.  Instead, the original proposal showed a building constructed almost entirely of a stucco like cladding, and resembling a light industrial warehouse. 

Since this structure is in the middle of a county revitalization and commercial zone, a more refined building was required.  The agreed building will be largely constructed of limestone and brick rather than an insulation stucco cladding  with brick veneer.  The property owners and their attorney, Ilryong Moon, eventually agreed to make these changes following a number of hearings, and to reduce the capacity of both uses to a number that can be serviced by the relatively small parking lot.    READ MORE

The Pride of Our Nation Speak Out

By:  Grace Molinaro FCHS

 Ever since the devastating Parkland shooting rattled the nation to its core, students across the country have been asking the same questions: “Are we safe? Is our security adequate? What do I do if a shooter comes at me with an assault rifle?”

The adults don’t have answers. So students, whose opinions are so often not taken seriously, are rallying to make their own voices heard. After all, they are the ones on the front lines.

 For many adult Americans, the Parkland shooting was yet another pedestal on which to champion their political platforms, raising cries about the Second Amendment and its various interpretations. But for students, the issue is not about politics-- is about our lives. On March 14th, Fairfax County Public Schools (FCPS) students joined thousands of their peers nationwide in a school walkout to honor the Parkland victims. The message was clear: More needs to be done to prevent school shootings.

The adult decision-makers in Fairfax County are attempting to tackle the problem by improving security measures. The school board considered increasing the number of protection officers in every middle and high school from one officer to three and the idea resonated with many people in the school community.

“Public officials have protection,” said Jorge Gonzalez, an administrator at Falls Church High School. “In banks, there are guards. Our kids are more valuable. That’s why we have SROs officers to protect them.”

But the idea has also drawn criticism from some students, parents, and personnel as either too much or not enough.

“People have called for armed officers, security scans, metal detectors, and barbed wire fences,” exclaimed a parent of three FCPS students. “That’s not a school; that’s a prison.”

READ MORE

Saturday, April 28, 2018
13 th Annual Jaguar 5K Run

8:00am Kids 1mi Fun Run
8:30am 5k Run/Walk

Register early.  Great sponsorship opportunities available for local businesses with your logo on every t-shirt.  All proceeds go to benefit fitness activities including sports programs, and physical education equipment that help promote a healthy lifestyle.  For details:  www.jaguar5k.com

You may register online or fill out the below registration form and mail to:
Coordinator - Belinda Kim
Falls Church High School
7521 Jaguar Trail
Falls Church, VA  22042

Registration Form

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Artisans United, Inc.
Shop at their Artists Gallery off Hummer Road

Saturday, May 5
Shredding and Spring Cleaning Event

Bring your old electronics, propane tanks, documents, and household hazardous items to this Spring Cleaning Event for recycling.  Used clothing will also be accepted for donation to charity.

Re/Max 100 Realty
5501 Backlick Road, Springfield 22151
Across from the entrance to North Springfield Subdivision
9 am to 1 pm
 

New Playground and Picnic Area Planned for Backlick Park 

Fairfax County Park Authority

The Fairfax County Park Board has approved a major renovation plan that includes a new playground area, picnic shelter and tennis court at Backlick Park in Annandale, VA. Approval came in late January as construction plans began to take shape.

Under the plan, the park’s existing playground will be removed and replaced with separate playgrounds for children in the 2-5 and 5-12 age groups. The park’s entrance sign, parking area and tennis court will be renovated, and new fencing will be installed around the tennis court. The existing gazebo will be removed and a new picnic shelter will be installed near the playground area. Current fitness stations will be removed and new fitness equipment will be consolidated in one area near the park’s entrance. As part of the renovation plan, the accessibility of all asphalt trails will be enhanced and all benches and picnic tables will be removed and replaced.

Backlick Park was master-planned in 1978, and its facilities were constructed primarily in the early 1980s. Most of the funding for the $1,092,000 renovation will come from the 2016 Park Bond. Construction is expected to begin shortly after completion of the initial design and permitting phases.

For more information, please contact the Public Information Office at 703-324-8662 or via Parkmail@fairfaxcounty.gov.  

VIEW ON NATURE: Yesteryear’s Legend

What makes a legend?  Being well known with a touch of intrigue, like that of the Osage orange tree from another time.  

Osages are most noticeable in late summer to early fall when they produce hundreds of otherworldly, grapefruit-sized, bright green, warty, inedible “Osage orange” fruit.  It starts as a thorny shrub that can grow to 50 feet. Despite the fruit’s slight citrus scent, it is only distantly related.  Its pre-Columbian range was restricted to a small Texas/Oklahoma/Arkansas area; today it thrives in all 48 continental states.  And boy, does it love Virginia with the two largest certified world specimens proudly growing for 300 years at River Farm in Alexandria, and Red Hill in Brookneal, VA, the home of the great American colonial firebrand, Patrick Henry.

Other Virginia’s “fingerprints” are on the Osage.  READ MORE

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The Best & the Worst Businesses to Start in 2018
Fifty percent of small businesses fail in the first five years.  Don’t be one of them. 

The first small business I opened was an exhilarating experience, and exhausting.  I kept thinking that once I navigated the permitting and build-out, loaded in the stock and blasted out my first advertising campaign, the rest would be smooth sailing by comparison.  That was only partially true.

The sad truth is that only fifty percent of small businesses succeed in the first five years.  That constitutes tens of thousands of shattered dreams, life savings, exhaustive toil, and  despair.  If you are going to open a small business, educate yourself  in your chosen field, become more than knowledgeable, become an expert.   You should also develop & nurture an extensive number of contacts in your industry and then complete comprehensive market research in your geographic area.  Sweeping sales are being made though internet sites.  What participation on behalf of your business would be possible?  What are the costs and manpower requirements added to brick and mortar establishments to capture some of this market? 

Next, look at potential competition and analyze how you fit into this market.  If it is already saturated, find another field.  You could be the best mousetrap on the block, but proceeding with an over subscribed industry, or with a declining even stagnating industry, will doom you to failure.   Remember that many industries are disappearing as brick and mortar establishments.   Newspapers and gifts are not going out of fashion but their availability and delivery have changed dramatically.  READ MORE

What a Difference a Century Makes:  1918 

AMERICAN FORCES IN FRANCE

The American Expeditionary Force arrived in France in June 1917 joining Allied Forces in many major battles.  Many allies (then and now) criticized America for waiting so long to show-up.  Americans (then and now) believed this war was a tragic and unnecessary carnage that could have been averted if diplomatic judgement had been employed and the enormous clash of political egos were held in check.  The war saw massive shifts in geographic borders, creation of new nations and new political systems.  It also ended three empires—Austro-Hungarian, Ottoman, and Russian and removed the Kaiser from power in Germany.  Unfortunately, the peace treaty signed a few years later was so harsh in demands, especially unreachable monetary demands made on Germany, that the Second World War was inevitable....

ON THE HOMEFRONT:  THE SPANISH FLU PANDEMIC
To maintain morale, wartime censors minimized early reports of illness and mortality in Germany, the United Kingdom, France, and the United States. However, papers were free to report the epidemic's effects in neutral Spain giving the impression that Spain was the epicenter of the flu.

The 1918 flu pandemic (January 1918 – December 1920) was an unusually deadly influenza, the first of the two pandemics involving H1N1 influenza virus. It infected 100 million people around the world, including remote Pacific islands and the Arctic, and resulted in the deaths of 50 (three to five percent of the world's population), making it one of the deadliest natural disasters in human history. A considerable spike occurred at the time of the pandemic, specifically the year 1918. Life expectancy in the United States alone dropped by about 12 years. Even small remote towns who quarantined themselves from the outside public found the virus invading, often from the postman.  Patient zero was most likely a soldier (s) from Fort Riley, Kansas.   Soldiers  from this Fort were among the thousands crowded onto troop ships, infecting others and still more in France from worldwide armies...

READ THE FULL ARTICLE
  

Be Energy Smart

Start the New Year by Resolving to Save Energy at Home and at Work

The holidays have come and gone, and many Virginians across the state have once again made their resolutions for the new year.  While Virginia Energy Sense (VES) can’t help you achieve your fitness goals or kick a pesky bad habit, we can help you commit to reducing your energy use both at home and while you’re at work.

At VES, our new year’s resolution is to help you become more energy efficient through our energy education program. We want to help Virginians understand all the easy and cost-effective ways to save energy to help Virginia meet its goal of reducing electric energy consumption 10 percent below 2006 levels by 2020.

Compared to other new year’s resolutions, saving energy is not as hard as you may think. Below are some tips and suggestions that you can use to save power and trim down your electricity bill in the process!

Home Energy Saving Tip: READ MORE

Annandale's Commercial Core

If you want to solve code compliance issues, you have to become involved.  Stop complaining and blogging, be proactive.
 

Annandale’s Central Business District (CBD) is primarily comprised of small lots, often only a quarter to a third of an acre.  In order to assemble a site sufficient for a useful revitalization project, adjacent property owners must agree to consolidate their lots. Four and a half to five acres is ideal.

The Comprehensive Plan for the Annandale CBD encourages redevelopment that will increase the residential population and promotes high-quality, pedestrian-oriented development. The Plan for the Annandale CBC envisions a vibrant mix of land uses that significantly enhances the quality of life for its own and neighboring residents, while enabling businesses to prosper and actively contribute to the economic and social vitality of Annandale. The concept will result in a series of focal points within the Annandale area in which people can live, work, and walk to shopping and entertainment in a pedestrian-oriented environment.

The aim of this higher-density, mixed-use development approach is to strengthen the street edge and reinforce a sense of place. By encouraging the highest quality development, the full potential of the area can be attained while protecting and strengthening the residential communities that surround the CBD.  People in nearby residential areas will have attractive walking access to the CBD with their lives enriched by local community activities.  At least, this has been the plan but what is really happening? Unfortunately, next to nothing.

We all need to remember that the comprehensive plan was written to protect the interests, and promote the needs of Annandale. As a community, we must speak out, and ensure that the projects we all want, move forward.  To that end, joining Annandale’s Revitalization Committee is a useful first step.  As a member you will be assigned to one of the working sub-committees to help with efforts such as Code Compliance or Beautification.  Both help to maintain the appearance and developmental appeal of our business district.  This is vital if Annandale is to be considered by quality developers or retailers.

What is Happening?
There are a few properties that seem to be in limbo. The first is Markham Place to be built on the site of the current bowling alley. This was our biggest project, one that would kick start real revitalization. The plan called for a beautiful high rise apartment building with quality finishes geared to attract millennials back to Annandale. The mix was mostly studio and one bedroom units with a few two bedrooms.  Consequently, it aimed to attract singles and young couples, anticipating no more than a dozen children which would not compromise local school density. 

In fact, a project such as this would hugely benefit the schools as the new property assessment would  increase by $50-60 million.  The schools would receive 50-53% of that sum year, after year, after year; far more than the cost to educate the children in this building.        READ MORE

Innovation Housing for the Homeless

The New Bailey’s Crossroads Homeless Shelter
 

A new innovative approach for housing our homeless residents and helping them transition into permanent housing is scheduled to open in late 2019 in the Bailey’s area. The new facility will be located at 5914 Seminary Road and will replace the existing Bailey’s Crossroads Community Shelter located at 3525 Moncure Ave.

Several features of the new facility include:

• 52 emergency shelter beds to serve single adults, including four medical respite beds
• Approximately 18 personal living quarters
• Outdoor picnic and activity area
• 24-hour staffing, including guidance and counseling
• Hypothermia prevention program site, which operates from November through March, with a “no turn-away” policy during freezing temperatures.

“This brand new facility will be our first in a new generation of modern facilities,” said Dean Klein, director of the county’s Office to Prevent and End Homelessness. “We have some very old facilities with a lot of wear and tear that weren’t built to accommodate the new models for housing our homeless population. This new facility will have much better efficiencies of our resources and staff to provide the best care possible to this vulnerable community.”  

READ MORE

AA Plus Driving School
Driving lessons at AA PLUS are an investment in you. 

AA PLUS provides quality driver education services to clients in Virginia, Maryland, and the District of Columbia. Their dedicated, professional staff is committed to helping you and your family understand the importance of operating an automobile safely and defensively. They know that this information and education may one day save lives. That's why AA PLUS provides first-rate courses and services, lively discussions, problem solving, and thought provoking videos.  They educate teens, young and middle aged adults to provide the insurance of a good lifetime driving experience.

Conveniently located in the townhouse offices on Backlick next door to the Bradlick Shopping Center, this driving school is especially close for Annandale residents.
READ MORE

Time to start on those New Year’s Resolutions
Fitness training offered for Children and Seniors

Foundation Fitness is a private gym in Annandale where a wide variety of health and fitness related services are offered. These services include One-on-One Training, Group Training, Nutritional Counseling and Massage Therapy customized to each and every client's individual needs.

Foundation Fitness also offers fitness training for children and seniors tailored specifically to their needs. 

Columbia Crossroads Development Will Help to Revitalize Bailey's Crossroads
Congratulations Bailey's, What an Exciting Plan!

About a year ago, it looked likely that Bailey’s Crossroads would see a 375-unit apartment complex erected at Columbia Pike and Moncure Avenue.

However, developer Avalon Bay withdrew its application last year, leaving the site’s revitalization uncertain. The vision became a reality   when similar plans by the site’s new developer Weissberg Corporation were approved.  READ MORE         

VIEW ON NATURE
Virginia’s Hard-as-Nails Tribute …from Jamestown Onward
                                                  

Native Americans and colonial settlers alike valued a common tree that grows in Annandale and across Virginia.  The black locust tree is one of the few trees exported from the mountains to the Virginia coastal plain by early Native Americans for domestic use and cultivation.  The natives used the strong but pliable wood to make their bows (unless they could find or trade for the ultimate bow-making wood from the Osage orange tree). We know from writings by William Byrd II, 1730 that: “The locust tree is a very straight, tall rather thick tree whose wood is the toughest in all the world, and almost cannot be broken; thus the Indians usually make all their bows from it”. 

The wood has been prized for furniture, paneling, flooring, fence posts, and small boats.  It has also been regularly planted for firewood as it so quickly grows back—even faster from its stump after felling by using the existing root system.  As seasoned firewood it is especially valued since it burns slowly, with little smoke and a very high heat content.  It will even burn when wet!

Black locust’s extremes are also what attracted the first European settlers in Virginia to this unique tree.  The wood is as hard as diamonds and never rots; that’s why Jamestown, Virginia was built upon it.  The early American author Mark Catesby who visited the original Jamestown settlement 100 years after its founding referred to its durability stating,  “…they erected each of their little hovels on four only of these trees, pitched in the ground to support the four corners; many of these posts are yet standing, and not only the parts underground, but likewise those above, still perfectly sound”. 

READ MORE

The History of Commercial Aviation in DC
Hoover Field, Washington Airport, and Washington National                        

 Commercial Aviation’s first home in the Washington area was Hoover Field located just west of the current intersection of the George Washington Parkway and the 14th Street Bridge. A private airfield, construction began in 1925, followed two years later with the construction of Washington Airport & Terminal along with their own runways, literally across the road from Hoover. Both airfields suffered from short and unpaved runways, numerous life-threatening obstructions around the field such as radio towers and a large Ferris wheel and high roller coaster at the Arlington Amusement Park, poor visibility (due to a burning garbage dump adjacent to each field), and poor drainage. 

Washington Airport was dramatically enlarged (and the coastline of the Potomac River altered) in April 1928 when WA contracted to receive tens of thousands of cubic yards of earth, dug during the construction of the Federal Triangle complex of buildings in the District of Columbia. This dirt was used to fill in the sides and ends of the field. An airport office was also constructed at Military Road. The expansion and land reclamation increased the size of the airport six times. (1) The improvements at Washington Airport were so significant that in April 1932 the night airmail flight was transferred from Bolling Field (2) (located across the Potomac) to Washington Airport.

READ MORE

PNC Financial Services

For more than 160 years, PNC has been committed to providing their clients with great service and powerful financial expertise to help them meet their financial goals. PNC is proud of their longstanding history of supporting not only their customers but also their communities, employees and shareholders.

PNC offers a wide range of services for all their customers, from individuals and small businesses, to corporations and government entities.  No matter how simple or complicated your needs, they're sure to have the products, knowledge and resources necessary for financial success.

Retail Banking
PNC provides deposit, lending, cash management and investment services to more than 6 million consumer and small business customers across 19 state and the District of Columbia.  Customers can bank whenever and wherever they want via more than 2,600 branches, online and mobile services along with 9,000 ATM machines, many of which can be used to make deposits and cash checks.     READ MORE

Trust Properties

Trust Properties was founded in 1994 and is committed to providing a broad range of Commercial Real Estate Services throughout the Greater Washington Metropolitan area.  Staffed by knowledgeable, experienced and dedicated career professionals, Trust Properties takes pride in delivering impeccable levels of service and exceptional results to their clients and customers. 

Greg McGillicuddy is a Vice President and Principal Broker at Trust Properties.  Greg grew up in Arlington and returned here after completing his studies at Harvard and Hopkins.  Greg is one of the most knowledgeable brokers in local real estate, with more than 27 years of experience in the sales and leasing of office, retail and industrial properties and has managed more than two million square feet of properties in the Greater Metro area, including numerous properties here in Annandale.        READ MORE

BB & T Bank:  Community Banking since 1872    

Building on a tradition of excellence in community banking that stretches back to 1872, BB&T continues to offer clients a complete range of financial services including banking, lending, insurance, trust and wealth management solutions.

In a rapidly changing and unpredictable world, individuals and organizations need a clear set of fundamental principles to guide their actions. BB&T is a mission-driven organization with a clearly defined set of values.

Simple Beginnings

In the aftermath of the Civil War, Eastern North Carolina lay tattered, battered and torn ... an easy mark for profiteers and politicians bent on destroying what little remained. There was no money, no law and precious little trust or faith in the once-proud institutions of the South.

Alpheus Branch, the son of a wealthy planter in Halifax County, first came to Wilson, NC to attend Deems Military Academy.   Branch later established a small mercantile business called Branch and Company. Through his business and community involvement, he came to know Thomas Jefferson Hadley, a Wilson county native who was trying to organize the first system of public schools. They joined forces in 1872 to create a banking institution people could believe in, Branch and Hadley.

As private bankers, Branch and Hadley accepted time deposits, paid interest and loaned money to help rebuild the farms and small businesses in the community. With a place to borrow money at reasonable interest to buy seed and fertilizer, area farmers planted their fields in cotton and in the early 1880s, experimented with tobacco.  READ MORE

LAMBROS GOLDSMITH AND FINE JEWELRY

Sparkling, even inspiring are the jewelry designs exhibited in abundance at this charming retailer. Lambros and Jayne Magiafas, goldsmith and geologist, are a team made in Jewelers Heaven. Lambros began his goldsmith apprenticeship at the age of 12 in his native Greece while Jayne started her career in the US at the age of 16.

Lambros Goldsmiths is a family owned and operated, full service Fine Jewelry retailer.  Founded in 1987, Lambros Goldsmiths has been serving the Fine Jewelry needs of people from around the country. Nestled in our friendly town of Annandale, Lambros Goldsmiths offers uniquely handcrafted Fine Jewelry at competitive prices. READ MORE

Chamber Membership is an Effective Business Strategy

According to a recent study conducted by the Shapiro Group: 

“When consumers know a small business is a member of the chamber of commerce, they are 49% more likely to think favorably of that business, and 80% more likely to purchase goods or services from the company in the future.”   For more information on benefits when joining the Annandale Chamber of Commerce please see......
Membership Information.

More News and Local Issues

(Copyright © 2012 Annandale Chamber of Commerce. All rights reserved.  (Photographs & images, on this page, and on this website, are not available for use by other publications, blogs, individuals, websites, or social media sites.)

The Annandale American Legion Post 1976 is recruiting new members.  Veterans and family members welcome to join.  Party hall rental is free for all members.  Call 703-408-9123 and ask for Diane Ramsey.
4206 Daniels Ave, Annandale, VA 22003


(behind the Bank of America building on Columbia Pike)

The Annandale Volunteer Fire Dept. host BINGO every Monday and Thursday with doors opening at 4:30pm – Early Birds start at 6:45pm – Regular Sessions starts 7:45pm.

• 42” LCD TV monitors display next ball to be called.
• Must be 14 yrs of age to play bingo at AVFD.
• ATM machine available.
• Bingo Hotline is 703-941-1328
•  Non-smoking inside format

 7128 Columbia Pike, Annandale, VA  22003
Ample parking on site. www.avfd.org

Youth Sports in Annandale
is best represented by:

Annandale Boys & Girls Club

Lee's Hapmudo Martial Arts Studio

Homeless Shelters and Hypothermia Prevention Shelters:  703-324-9492
Fairfax-Falls Church emergency hypothermia shelters are open under a "no turn-away" status from now until March 31, 2018 at all emergency shelters based on freezing temperatures. 

A list of Homeless Shelters in Northern Virginia through Fredericksburg (Fairfax, Loudoun, Culpepper, Arlington, Alexandria, and Prince William Counties, plus Manassas & Manassas Park,  can be found at:
www.novaregion.org/DocumentCenter/View/11750

Local Web Links:

ACCA

Annandale Acres

Annandale Boys & Girls Club Blog

Annandale:  Comprehensive Plan Amendment

Annandale Revitalization Committee

Annandale Shopping Center

Braddock District Supervisor

Broyhill Park

Danbury Forrest

Elan Mews/Royal Court

Edsall Park

ENDEAVOR News Magazine

Fairfax County Government

Fairfax County Schools

Falls Church News Press

Holmes Run Acres

Lafayette Village

Lake Barcroft

Leewoods

Long Branch

Mason District Supervisor

Mosaic District (Merrifield)

Oak Hill

Ravensworth-Bristow

Raymondale

Sleepy Hollow

Sleepy Hollow Woods

Tysons Corner

Washington Post

Woodburn Homes