VCC Magazine Fall-Winter 20-21

V irginia C apitol C onnections , F all 2020/W inter 2021 10 Jeff Macharyas grew up in Port St. Lucie, Florida, where his family owned print shops. At an early age, Jeff worked odd jobs in the print shop and developed a particular interest and skill for typesetting. This led him into graphic design and production at the shop. He graduated, first, from Indian River Community College, in Ft. Pierce, Florida and went on to earn a BS in Communications and Visual Arts from Florida State University, where he was a member of the Design Club, the Fencing Club and started an "illegal" Backgammon Club. Jeff's family's printing business expanded to magazine publishing and Jeff became the art director, production manager, writer and editor of several international publications. While exploring Australia and New Zealand by bicycle, Jeff interviewed industry leaders and wrote feature articles for the magazines. He worked for the publishing arm of the company for nearly two decades, rising to VP-Operations overseeing design and production of magazines in English and Spanish. Please Wear a Mask Contest By M c Clain Moran From June through July, Virginia Capitol Connections ran its Please Wear a Mask Contest, inviting Virginians of all ages to create a graphic print or creative video to motivate their fellow Virginians to mitigate the spread of COVID-19 by wearing a mask. First place received a transferable $1,000 scholarship or 2 nights at The Commonwealth Hotel in Richmond, Virginia. Second place received a transferable $500 scholarship or one night at the Commonwealth Hotel. The eleven finalists were featured in the Summer 2020 edition of Virginia Capitol Connections and we are excited to announce the winner and runner-up of the contest. The winner of the contest was Jeff Macharyas from Colonial Beach, Virginia. Jeff is the Director of Marketing and Public Relations at Corning Community College in NewYork. He has chosen to donate the $1,000 scholarship to the Rappahannock Community College Education Foundation, where he was Director of Communications until recently. The foundation is a non-profit organization dedicated to supporting the mission of Rappahannock Community College to strengthen its community, transform lives, and inspire excellence. The foundation has served students through over $500,000 in scholarships in the 2019-2020 academic year alone. Additionally, the foundation serves faculty and staff through professional development and program funds, as well as the larger RCC community by providing financial and partnership resources to meet strategic plan goals. Congratulations Jeff! In second place was Tamia Daniel from Chesterfield, Virginia. Tamia Daniel is a sophomore at Longwood University, majoring in Elementary Education with hopes of becoming an elementary school teacher. She plans to continue school for another year to receive her Masters of Science Degree in Special Education. After graduation, she hopes to work at a local public school to inspire young children and make a difference in their lives, as her teachers provided for her. Her $500 scholarship will go towards her current and future schooling plans. Congratulations Tamia! Honorable mentions from the contest include Joan Robbins, Steve Houston, and Joe Green. Thank you to all who participated and sought to make a difference in their communities. McClain Moran is a rising third year student at the University of Virginia, majoring in Leadership and Public Policy within the Batten School and pursuing a minor in Economics. As a student in the Batten School, she is passionate about the public policy process and bridging the gaps between those who formulate policy and those who are affected by it, in the Commonwealth of Virginia and beyond. Moran is interning for VCCQM. Continued on next page Jeff Macharyas: We have a winner! Tamia Daniel is from Richmond, Virginia. As a student at Longwood University with hopes of becoming an elementary school teacher, she has experience working with young children (ages 2-6) at a daycare and summer camp. As a teacher’s aide at the daycare, she assists teachers by reinforcing the instruction taught in the classrooms and by preparing snacks, assisting with arts and crafts, and facilitating the exercises and games to gain professional experience. At Longwood, she is the historian for the choir organization, the treasurer for the Praise dance organization, the Director of Graphics for the school programming board, and a member of the Phi Omicron chapter of Zeta Phi Beta sorority incorporated. In her free time, Tamia enjoys photography and videography. V V