The Roanoke area bloggers are having a meet and greet Saturday, April 29 from 3-5 at De Espresso in downtown Roanoke. For more info email Keith

(1) Optical Cable Corporation

in Blacksburg is in need of an experienced quality engineer. For more information, contact Dave in HR at the Blacksburg plant or visit www.federal-mogul.com

(4) Career Search 1

(www.careersearch1.com) provides comprehensive list of personnel services, but, specifically, they may be a good resource for individuals in transition. Contact Dave at dclloyd@careersearch1.com for more info. (5) Preliminary plans are being made to host a Holiday Job Fair either December 27, 28 or 29, 2006 at the Roanoke Civic Center open to all people and targeting young adults visiting family for the holidays in Roanoke and local college students home for break. More information will be available in the future, but keep this in mind with your holiday travel schedule.

The City of Roanoke’s Department of Human Resources will partner with the local branch of the NAACP to host its 6th Annual Job Fair.  This year, the job fair will be on Wednesday, May 10, 2006 at the Performing Arts Theatre Lobby at the Roanoke Civic Center Auditorium Lobby.  Hours of the job fair are 4 p.m. - 7 p.m. This job fair is for Roanoke City employment only. For more info contact Angelia Vernon.

Matt Tenney sent a great piece he found on the housing market as it relates to the different genreations courtesy of the Mortgage Bankers Association newsletter. If you have any mortgage questions, contact Matt. 

Gen Y Buying Homes Earlier Than Boomers Did MBA (4/21/2006) McAfee,J amie The reasons why Baby Boomers and Generations X and Y bought their first homes reflect different influences, according to The "Century 21 Homebuyer Survey," by Century 21 Real Estate LLC, Parsippany, N.J.Baby Boomers (born between 1946-1964) purchased their first home based on family reasons while Generation X (born between 1965-1978) and Generation Y (born between 1979-1994) are buying or have bought a home as a safe investment, the survey found. The survey asked the three generational groups questions to discern some of the factors that influence the first-time home buying experience.Generation X and Y buyers tend to take longer to buy their first home,compared to Baby Boomers. Generation Y buyers are also purchasing first homes at a younger age than their Generation X and Baby boomer counterparts are. The average age for first-time homebuyers was 26 among Generation Y respondents, which is three years younger than Generation X (29) and Baby Boomer (29) survey participants, the survey said.Of the survey respondents, the average boomer polled was 51 years old,followed by Generation X and Y at 34 and 25 years old, respectively. Seventy-two percent of Generation Y respondents were single women followed by 56 percent of Generation X’ers and 59 percent of Baby Boomers, according to the findings. Finally, 25 percent of Gen X respondents are single/never married compared to only 5 percent of Baby Boomers.Buying trends among the generations revealed the Generation X and Generation Y buyers tend to spend more for their first home than Baby Boomers which represents a larger portion of their household income. On average, the impact on the household income was 21 percent of Boomers’income as compared to 25 percent of Generation X and Generation Y’s household income.When purchasing a home, Baby Boomers said price was a key concern (51 percent) compared to Generation X (42 percent) and Generation Y (39percent). Generation X (8 percent) and Y (10 percent) buyers were moreconcerned with proximity to work for their first home than Boomers (4 percent).To find a home, the majority of Baby Boomers (53 percent) ranked real estate brokers/agents as the primary source of information on their first home, followed by 45 percent of Generation X and 34 percent of Generation Y buyers. Generation Y homebuyers (42 percent) search the Internet far more than their Generation X counterparts (26 percent). Forty (40) percent of all survey respondents said that the best way to find a broker/agent was through friends and relatives. In all three groups of buyers, the majority preferred more frequent contact from their broker/agent when buying a first home (more than 50 percent want contact every few days).The Internet replaced the Boomers (17 percent) drive-by signage for finding a broker/agent. Twenty-one percent of Generation X and Y buyers used the Internet. While Generation Y respondents ranked the Internet as their primary source of home shopping information, it took them longer on average to purchase their first home. When buying their first home, Baby Boomers were the quickest averaging 4.3 months, followed by Generation X at 4.6 months and Generation Y at 5.4 months.After homes were purchased, Baby Boomers (26 percent) were more likely to stay in their first home for more than 10 years as compared to Generation X (13 percent) and Generation Y (9 percent).

In today’s EXTRA section of the Roanoke Times, there is an article about young adults meeting other young adults. Do you agree or disagree with the article?

The Roanoke Regional Chamber of Commerce is establishing a YPO (Young Professional Organization) called NewVa Connects - Young Professional’s Voice for Action.

The mission of the organization is "through action, voice, and interaction, NewVa Connects will make the region a more vibrant and welcoming community of opportunity for young professionals".

To get your name on the list, contact Jamie Snead at the chamber.

Sean and Marcus and Andrew have provided some wonderful feedback on this blog and what needs to be done to make it more effective for the reader in fulfilling its purpose.

The three had similar comments of consolidating a blog, database, social and professional web sites and organizations into one central location. Using Evolve Point’s RSS technology and WebMail’s RSS feeder I think we can create an information hub for young adults in NewVa.

I need some help.

What should it be? Who should manage it? How much will it cost? How can we bring it all together? When can we meet to discuss? You folks are the experts and I need your help. Let’s see if we can make it happen.

We have created a database of seekers. Make sure you register to receive this info.

This week’s version produced the following job openings.

(1) Carilion (Largest Employer in the Region) - fuseaction=search.categoryList&template=dsp_job_categories.cfm

(2) Medical Facilities of America For more info email Tom at

thenzey@MFA.NET

A plethora of positions health care and health care administration: 3-11 C.NA, Activity Assistant, Staff Development Coordinator (RN), Unit Manager(RN), Asst. Dietary Mgr, Unit Manager(RN), (2) 3-11 FT LPN, 3-11 RN Supervisor, 7-3 RN e/o/w, (3) PT 7-3 LPN, Business Office Manager, Part time MDS (RN), (2) 7-3 C.NA, FT RN 3-11, (2) MDS (RN), Dietary Manager, Asst Dietary Mgr, w/e Supervisor Rn.

www.rrinc.com

) is a leading supplier of high volume forms processing systems. Their systems are used by some of the largest institutions in the financial and insurance industries The RRI Division is located in Blacksburg Virginia, just a stone’s throw from the Virginia Tech campus, the City of Roanoke, the Blue Ridge mountains, the Appalachian Trail, and the New River.Application Developer - Strong/Senior level skills and experience in: Developing large Web-based applications with Microsoft technologies ASP.NET ADO.NET C# / VB.NET (C# strongly preferred) Object Oriented Development MS SQL Server 2000/2005 T-SQL including custom stored procedures and complex queries Visual Studio 2005 HTML/XHTML XML/Web Services Javascript. Preferred Requirements: DHTML/DOM, AJAX, Oracle. Good communications skills (written and verbal). Good interpersonal skills (ability to work within a team, work under deadlines, etc). Several positions are available in our Product Development group for energetic individuals looking to take a lead role in developing cutting edge software We offer an exceptional working environment, competitive compensation and employee benefits package, including 401(k) with company match; medical and dental health insurance; and casual dress code.

(7) Claire V., LLC

 has two jobs currently available - graphic designer (part-time) and sales assistant (full-time). Contact Laura at www.clairev.com/careers

.

(8) The City of Roanoke has an entry level position of Appraiser I in the Real Estate Valuation office. Applicants need to be skilled in math with some analytical background. Contact Susan atsusan.lower@roanokeva.gov.

(9) Scott Insurance is an insurance firm having regional offices throughout the Roanoke region. They are always looking for good salespeople. Contact Jim at jmchenry@scottins.com.

Submit Resumes to Anita at personnel@rrinc.com

I would bet many of us would have interest in reading this book.

The author also has a blog.

In Sunday’s Roanoke Times there was an article about the region’s logo and name - NewVa. Regardless of what it looks like or what it says, the main point is people want to work together toward a united region. Count me as a member of Team NewVa. See the updated logo to your right.

This past Friday evening, young professionals from both Lynchburg and Roanoke met in Bedford for dinner and discussion on creating and enhancing young professional organizations. This is an ideal example of young adults crossing boundaries to work together toward a common goal.

So what is the NewVa region? It is essentially the Roanoke and New River Valleys. I would take it one step further.

I grew up near Smith Mountain Lake, live in Blacksburg, work in Roanoke, visit Lynchburg and have spent a lot of time in Danville. The one common thing I have found in all of those areas is that I received my local news from WDBJ7 - a CBS affiliate. The television market defines the region.

We must view Blacksburg, Roanoke, and other towns as neighborhoods in the broader region - not two distinct regions. Let’s join together, cross boundaries and support our regional brand - NewVa.