This month, we sat down with two of Gloucester’s creative community organizations, Arts on Main and the Cook Foundation, to explore our county’s thriving local arts scene. Learn more about the upcoming Gloucester Arts Festival, the importance of the arts, and opportunities for people of all ages and skill levels to get involved.

Learn more about the work of Cook Foundation here:

https://www.thecookfoundation.org/

Find out more about the many programs offered by Arts on Main here:

https://gloucesterarts.org/

Preview the events of the 2022 Gloucester Arts Festival here:

https://www.gloucesterartsfestival.com/

May marks the beginning of the Atlantic Hurricane Season for 2022. This month, we take a look back at some notable storms that have impacted Gloucester. Our special guest for this episode is Jane Wenner, Gloucester's Acting Emergency Management Coordinator. Jane brings a wealth of experience to teaching others on how to prepare and mitigate damages caused by tropical weather and other storms. She also has many years of experience in rallying the community together in the aftermath of unfortunate events.

To learn more about storm preparedness, visit https://www.gloucesterva.info/365/Emergency-Management. To learn more about CERT - the Community Emergency Response Team, visit https://www.gloucesterva.info/392/CERT. 

Join us as we sit down with Dr. JJ Orth, Chairman of the Gloucester County Board of Supervisors, as he explains the challenges, highlights and priorities of the Acting County Administrator's Proposed Budget for the next fiscal year. 

The Board will be having work sessions on the proposed budget April 14 and 18 . All meetings begin at 7 p.m. in the Colonial Courthouse, 6504 Main Street, and are open to the public. 

To view the proposed budget presentation, visit: https://pub-gloucesterva.escribemeetings.com/FileStream.ashx?DocumentId=14976. 

This month, we kick off Season 2 of the Current Conversations Podcast by sitting down with Katey Legg, director of Gloucester's Parks, Recreation & Tourism Department, to hear all about the plans for the 36th Annual Gloucester Daffodil Festival, which is scheduled for April 2-3, 2022. This will be the first full-scale festival since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic two years ago. Learn about the theme of this year's event, some of the special activities that are planned and what makes the Daffodil Festival so special. 

For more information on the Festival, visit its webpage at http://daffodilfestivalva.org/. 

This month, we continue with the second of our two-part series on "Housing the Unhoused," where we explore the issue of homelessness in Gloucester County. In Part 2 of the series, we speak with Lisa Kersey, Director of the Gloucester Department of Social Services. We also speak with Rev. Wendy Roundy, CEO / Founder of Helping the Homeless Ministries. Both of these organizations work first-hand with the homeless and underserved in our community. In this episode, we not only learn about what these organizations contribute to the overall health of the community, but also get a glimpse into how so many organizations in the community pitch in and work together to help combat the issue of homelessness.

For more information about programs that the Virginia Department of Social Services offers, visit https://www.dss.virginia.gov/. For more information about Helping the Homeless Ministries, visit https://helpingthehomelessministries.org/. 

This month, we begin the first of our two-part series on "Housing the Unhoused," where we explore the issue of homelessness in Gloucester County. In part 1 of the series, we speak with Rev. Kristie Askew, executive director of the GUEST (Gloucester United Emergency Shelter Team) program. We also speak with Rev. John Seltzer, executive director of Myrenu. Both of these organizations work first-hand with the homeless and underserved in our community. In this episode, we not only learn about what these organizations contribute to the overall health of the community, but also get a glimpse into how large of an issue homelessness is in our community. 

For more information on the GUEST program, visit www.guestshelter.org or www.facebook.com/GUEST.helpthehomeless.

For more information on Myrenu, visit www.myrenu.org or www.facebook.com/myrenuinChrist. 

This month, we delve deeper into Gloucester County expanding wireless broadband internet access to unserved residents through a partnership with Open Broadband, LLC. We talk one-on-one with Alan Fitzpatrick, CEO of Open Broadband, LLC. Learn how the service will work, the latest updates regarding the project, what customers can expect, and much more. 

Residents or businesses interested in receiving service from Open Broadband should visit www.openbb.net/gloucesterco to sign up with no obligation. The company will contact those who have signed up once the service becomes available. Those who register will receive monthly e-mail updates with the progress of the project. 

For overall information and updates regarding all of Gloucester County’s broadband initiatives, visit the Broadband Information Hub at https://gloucester-broadband-gcgis.hub.arcgis.com/ or contact Steele at 804-693-4042 or [email protected].

This month, we sit down with Elaine Johnson, our Human Resources Director, and Penny Reed, our Human Resources Analyst, to discuss what makes Gloucester County, Virginia Government such a good place to work. This episode discusses the rich employment benefits, current opportunities, and what makes the Gloucester County Team so special.

To learn about current job opportunities with Gloucester County Government, visit https://www.gloucesterva.info/347/Job-Opportunities. For other information, including a full list of benefits, visit the Human Resources Department page at https://www.gloucesterva.info/316/Human-Resources. 

This month, we talk with Evan Farmer, Chairman of the Gloucester Electoral Board, and Bobbi Morgan, the County's Director of Elections/General Registrar, as they discuss the process of how votes in Gloucester remain secure as we head into the November General Election. Important deadlines are also shared. For more information, visit https://www.gloucesterva.info/349/Elections-and-Voter-Registration. 

We are also joined by Anne Ducey-Ortiz, Gloucester's Director of Planning, Zoning and Environmental, as she shares some exciting news about the potential for biking and walking paths to be established throughout the County. She also discusses how the public can share input into the project. To participate in the study, visit: https://tooledesign.github.io/50735_Gloucester/. She also highlights all of the many other things her Department does as we celebrate National Community Planning Month. To learn more, visit: https://www.gloucesterva.info/362/Planning-Zoning. 

Join us this month as we chat with Sherry Spring, our Economic Development Director and Elizabeth Ripley, our Economic Development Coordinator, as we explore the reasons behind Gloucester's growing economy. Despite the pandemic, Gloucester continues to add new businesses and support its existing businesses. Learn about some of the newest businesses locating to Gloucester!

Also this month, we chat with Ken Pollock of Bay Transit Express. He discusses the advantages of Gloucester's newest micro transit service and exciting additions on the horizon for that service. 

To learn more about Gloucester's Economic Development, visit https://www.gloucesterva.info/1190/Economic-Development. 

To learn more about Bay Transit Express, or to catch a ride, visit: https://www.baytransit.org/express/.