Last night at the Sigma Grill in Blacksburg nearly 50 local interns participated in the NewVa Intern Xperience sponsored by the NCTC, City of Roanoke and the Roanoke Regional Chamber of Commerce. Carilion Biomedical Institute, GE Energy, McLeod and Co., Novozymes Biologicals, Webmail.us, Roanoke Times, New River Valley Planning District Commission and many others sent their interns to the event.

The purpose of the events is to introduce interns to (1) other interns, (2) local companies and business leaders, and (3) other social amenities in the region with the goal of retaining some of the students in NewVa upon graduation.

The students seemed appreciative of this outreach effort by the organizing entities and appeared enthusiastic about future events this summer - Thursday, July 6 in downtown Roanoke and July 13 at the Salem Avalanche.

If you are a company or a summer intern and would like to participate, then please contact the author of this blog.   

The NewVa Intern Xperience (NIX 06) invites all summer interns to the Sigma Grill in Blacksburg’s Corporate Research Center tonight Thursday, June 29th at 5:30 p.m. for free food with other interns and business leaders from the region. Free Smart Way Bus passes are available for those people located in Roanoke. All interested persons are urged to RSVP by email at info@thetechnologycouncil.com.

Directions to the Sigma Grill

http://www.sigmagrill.com/location/default.asp

This week CRAIGSLIST moved to Roanoke and Blacksburg with new sites. Readers of this blog and others have been discussing the need for these sites and now they have arrived. Please visit and post.

My Hometown Jobs a new local job website by WDBJ7 was released this week. For more information email Tom. 

The inaugural events of the NewVa Intern Xperience and NewVaConnects are occurring tonight at 5:35 pm at Martins Restaurant in downtown Roanoke. All interns and young professionals in the NewVa Region are welcomed to attend.

FindYourSpot.com is one of the more creative sites I have seen in helping a person select regions to relocate. They ask you a series of questions and then produce a couple dozen places for consideration. I found out about this site because I had one person reference it when submitting a profile at another site.

If you are looking at other places, check it out. Let me know if Roanoke, Blacksburg or any surrounding areas pop up on yours.

Ashley Sailer emailed recently looking for a way to return to her native Roanoke from DC. Below is her take on her dilemma, which many others need to read.

My family is still in Roanoke, and whenever I go home to visit, I realize that just because I’m in a big city doesn’t mean it is better. It’s impersonal, chaotic, and busy, and that is the exact opposite of myself. I’m so laid-back and friendly that I need to live in an area that matches my personality, which is when I started thinking about how much I liked the Roanoke area. It’s big enough to not be bored, but it’s small enough to run into familiar faces on occasion. And it’s beautiful, all comfy-cozy, nestled in the mountains. There’s a lot to do, there’s just no concise way to advertise it. And through my job search, I’ve realized that the area has a lot of vacancies, you just have to know where to look.

Thanks Ashley for your take on the region as a young adult native to the region. I hope we will have more young adults looking to return soon.

One program we have created is a Roanoke City Job Database. Over 450 young adults have completed a profile. Please share with others. More and more employers are beginning to use it.

The new young professional organization of the Roanoke Chamber, NewVa Connects, and local interns participating in the NewVa Intern Xperience are having a joint first event at MARTINS in downtown Roanoke on Thursday, June 15 starting at 5:35 pm. All are welcomed to attend and it is free.

One of the underwriters of the event is McLeod and Company, who is very interested in this young adult movement. Check them out.

Sandy Ratliff of DBA reported an outstanding turnout at the Enterprise Fair in Galax several weeks ago. The number of people who attended far exceeded their expectations. An event like this shows that intermediaries need to do more to connect existing programs to potential entrepreneurs. The benefits are limitless.

The biggest challenge facing generations in the workplace is communication. What vehicle does each generation use on a regularly basis so clear communication can occur?

Reading Dr. Jean Twenge’s book GENERATION ME you will be absolutely amazed at the disconnect. We need to tolerate and embrace these differences and work together for the common good.

A Virginia Tech graduate student Drew Lichtenberger is quoted twice in the book. 

I have read few books as good as this one on the topic of this blog. Check it out