You may be asking yourself – what exactly does the Miami Valley Regional Planning Commission do? Here’s an overview:

Two members of the MVRPC, Julie Black and Martin Kim met with The Face of Dayton and discussed the vital need for planning and working together as an entire community. “We need to educate people on the problems and their solutions”, said Black. “It needs to be a civic movement”, added Kim.  - The commission, with collaboration, is planning how we can make the right changes for our future.

For their “Going Places” project, the Commission has recently held public open houses to display their results for planning the next 30 years in the region, through 2040. This 3 phase project, which started in 2007, is meant to address improving each aspect of economic needs – infrastructure, business where it should and shouldn’t be, where land should either be preserved or developed, etc.

Martin Kim went on to explain – “We’re pushing cooperation with every group in the region – it’s not just one organization’s job. The core of the region is, of course, downtown Dayton. We have to strengthen our core.”

All information for the Going Places project and any public events can be found on their website or facebook

Nobody’s going to take care of us except for us, so let’s do that.

The event will pay tribute to Wright-Patterson Air Force Base and the Springfield Air National Guard Base members. The pregame festivities will include a WPAFB honor guard, a singing of the national anthem, a dove release, and a “Video Greeting Card” displayed on the JumboTron from personnel serving overseas. During the game, Major General Walter Givhan will address fans, swear-in a group of new Air Force recruits, and welcome home a group of soldiers home from deployment.

And in case you missed it, on July 31, 2011 The Cincinnati Reds honored Airmen from Wright-Patt Air Force Base during Military Appreciation Night.

Col. Amanda Gladney and Cincinnati Reds mascot Rosie welcomed fans for the game versues the Atlanta Braves. Meanwhile, a C-5 Galaxy transport aircraft completed a fly-over of Great American Ballpark as part of pre-game opening ceremonies.

Master Sgt. Shawn Stanley and Staff Sgt. Terra Mason, members of the Air Force Band of Flight, sang the national anthem. Lt. Gen Tom Owen—an Aeronautical Systems Center commander—threw the first pitch of the game, a perfect strike down the middle of the plate.

Olive - before

Olive - after

Now, the new restaurant is booming as word spreads. The creation and concept of Olive is the vision of Kimberly Collett and her staff.
“Every year I find myself a new project, so I saw this spot and took on a business plan to create Olive. I wanted to start a fun restaurant, but one where you can still go back to work and feel good the rest of the day”, she explained. Olive’s motto is “local over import, labor over convenience, and service over everything else”.

Some of the remarkable components of the new dining room include an Olive-themed outdoor patio, and, quite impressively, an entire set of tables that Collett built herself. But it doesn’t stop there; there’s creativity abound in the crafting of the new restaurant as well as her perspective on service. Coming from a background in theater, she sees food service in a similar light. “Theater is dramatic, but so is the food and beverage business. The guests are the audience, my staff the actors and I’m the stage manager.”

Since its open in early July, Olive has gained rapid success, already serving over 2,000 heads. Olive strives to use local, natural ingredients with a Mediterranean and American style. They also feature Jeni’s Splendid Ice Cream’s, an ice cream company based out of Columbus, Ohio, known for delicious, original flavors that you’ve never before experienced. Olive also the only place in Dayton that Jeni’s is sold. For now they serve lunch  and brunch, lunch M-F 11-3 pm and brunch Saturday 10-3 pm. Olive plans to open for dinner hours by early September.

We want to know what you think! Have you been to Olive ?

The Fraze Pavillon is an open-air amphitheater located in Kettering and has featured sold-out concerts by the likes of Sheryl Crow and Maroon 5.

Having started in the 1970s, The Doobie Brothers hits include, “Listen to the Music,” “Black Water,” “China Grove,” “Jesus is Just Alright,” “Long Train Runnin’,” and “What a Fool Believes.” The Doobie Brothers went on to win two Grammy awards and continue making music to this day.

The American classic Lynryd Skynryd is famed for “Gimmie Three Steps,” “Free Bird” and the iconic “Sweet Home Alabama.”

Don’t miss out on these exciting concerts!

• Search Engine Optimization
• Video Branding
• Strategic Planning
• Digital Media Development

Check out some of the work done at The Media Group!

Case study of video branding and search engine optimization efforts by the Media Group at Michael’s for Michael’s Salon in Dayton, Ohio

The seminar will have space for 30 parties of two individuals each, allowing for the business professional and their IT professional to attend.

Don’t miss this exciting, free event to learn about growing your company’s online presence by leveraging the power of modern marketing and online media.

You can RSVP to The Media Group at Michael’s at (937) 435-5478 ext. 200

“Told from the perspective of rockers who played at the time, on both sides of the Wall, and from survivors of the communist regimes who recalled the lifeline that rock music provided them, Rockin’ the Wall features new interviews and several original songs written exclusively for the film.” (Taken from the book Seven Events That Made America America by Larry Schweikart)

“Rock music is expressly American,” said Schweikart, a former drummer in a rock band for more than 10 years who opened for bands such as Steppenwolf and Mother’s Finest. “The music starts together and ends together, but there’s always a solo in the middle. Americans know how to come together to work for a common goal, but we also have to be able to express our individuality.”

Bringing down the wall. Smashing the curtain. Rock n’ Roll as a force of liberation.

University of Dayton, Rock n’ Roll, Rockin’ The Wall Movie, Larry Schweikart

• Finishers will be presented with  a commemorative medal by a US Air Force senior leader
• All events are open to the public and everyone is welcome
• Technical T-shirts for full and half marathon participants
• Features fully-stocked hydration stations with energy gel, electrolytes, fruit, and Port-o-Lets
• Medical stations throughout the course
• Start and finish on the grounds of the National Museum of the US Air Force
• Boston Marathon qualifying race

Air Force, Marathon, Wright Patt, Dayton, Running

Arlington, Va.-based Morgan Borszcz Consulting , which goes by MBC, is expanding its office by 2,000 square feet at the Acropolis at Fairfield Commons development in Beavercreek and expects to hire at least 10 more employees here before the end of the year.

The company will grow its local footprint to nearly 7,800 square feet. Currently, it has 56 workers in the Dayton area.The expansion was necessary because the office was getting cramped while more deals, including a new multimillion contract award for medical-related work, are expected soon, said Matt Borszcz, vice president of MBC and leader of the local office.While he declined to give an average salary for the new jobs, Borszcz said that a majority of MBC’s positions in Dayton pay more than $90,000 per year.

The additional space at the Acropolis, a Mills-Morgan development, is adjacent to its existing office and will be ready next month.MBC provides business transformation, IT strategy and logistics/business strategy services, mostly to federal clients such as the U.S. Air Force, U.S. Navy, Department of Homeland Security and U.S. Agency for International Development. It does some subcontracting, but a majority of its work is as a prime contractor.Christine Morgan founded MBC in 2001 and it has grown to 150 employees company wide. The company is designated 8(a) — for small, disadvantaged businesses — by the U.S. Small Business Administration , which gives it a preference when going after some federal contracts.

In addition to offices in Dayton and Virginia, MBC has several workers at satellite locations across the country.Officials expect the company to post $30 million in revenue this year, which would be a 25 percent increase from 2010. It has made the Inc. Magazine list of the 500 fastest growing private companies in the U.S. for the past three years.Borszcz said MBC’s Dayton operations gave a big boost to the company by providing steady revenue while it looked to diversify.“Because we have this core of solid work here, it allows us to then look and say what are the growth areas within the Department of Defense and within the federal budget,” Borszcz said. “That’s key to developing and sustaining a small business in the face of budget cuts (coming in the next few years).”In addition to being close to Wright-Patterson Air Force Base , Borszcz said the Dayton region’s talent pool has been fruitful, especially in the wake of large corporations downsizing. He estimates MBC has hired at least 10 former NCR Corp. workers.

Borszcz is a U.S. Air Force veteran who served as transportation and logistics officer doing work such as opening airfields in the Middle East. He came to the company in 2006, around the time it won its first contract at Wright-Patt.The office here started with four employees, including himself, all working out of the base. A few years later, Mills-Morgan allowed MBC to share space with another tenant for six months, Borszcz said. By 2009, it had grown to more than 30 employees and moved to its current space.MBC is just one of several defense companies and organizations hiring workers and/or adding space locally. This includes The Ahrens Group, Wyle, University of Dayton Research Institute and Wright State Research Institute.

Defense industry insiders expect more companies in the region, such as MBC, to expand as the new Human Performance Wing gets settled into Wright-Patt and ramps up contract activity. Also, over time, more companies are expected to put new operations in the Dayton area as they land work from the wing.Having a large portfolio in the market allows Mills-Morgan to get companies like MBC in the door and provide flexibility as they need to grow, said Jerad Barnett, CEO of Synergy Building Systems , and Todd Duplain, director of development for Synergy. Mills Morgan and Synergy are affiliated companies.“I think the good companies like MBC, that get in that space and prove themselves, have a great opportunity here in Dayton,” Barnett said. “And I think with the human performance piece of it we’ll see more of that because the program is in its infancy.”

Because Mills-Morgan has nearly 100 percent occupancy in its space in the Wright-Patt market, Duplain said his company is eyeing a 40,000 spec building on land it owns on Pentagon Boulevard. A spec building is a facility built before tenants are signed.In addition, Mills-Morgan purchased a 9-acre parcel on Colonel Glenn Highway for $1.6 million in December. A 115,000-square-foot office complex at the site, which would cost about $20 million, is in the works.

In addition to acquiring UAVs already in production, the base also is responsible for much of the development of new UAV systems.
A recent New York Times article featured Wright-Patt’s involvement in shrinking UAV’s to the size of insects and birds, reporting on how the high-tech research at the local air base is expected to lead to the sci-fi drones of the future. The Times paints the picture of a rapidly growing industry in which the Pentagon is asking Congress for $5 billion for UAVs next year. More money for micro air vehicles would benefit the Dayton area because it would flow through Air Force Research Laboratory at Wright-Patt.

Defense giants are lining up to build tomorrow’s weapons. Northrop Grumman Corp is working on a laser for the Navy, while a team led by General Dynamics Corp. and Lockheed Martin Corp will build the Littoral Combat Ship, or LCS.

To view photos of next-generation equipment being developed right here in Dayton, click here for a photo gallery.