WRITTEN BY DORI STEWART, PHOTO BY KAREN PRESECAN

Sometimes all it takes is one night to change your entire life, and that's all Ashoka and Ameeta Rajagopal needed.

It was a Monday night happy hour when they were introduced through their mutual friend Maria. And since that night, the two have been inseparable.

WRITTEN BY KAREN DUCKETT

Classy, a purebred yellow lab with fox red highlights, warms the hearts of all who meet her. Neighbors tell Classy’s dog parents, Timothy and Karen Duckett, they enjoy seeing Classy in the yard as they pass by their house on Ramoth Church Road and out on walks along Walpole Street in front of Rodney E. Thompson Middle School. People often exclaim, “What a good dog she is!”

WRITTEN BY LIZ HENSEL

East + Ivy Homes is a real estate team servicing clients across Northern Virginia, Washington DC, and Maryland's Capital Region. They believe in providing relationship-based real estate services and strive to offer their clients a tailored, professional home buying and selling experience.

WRITTEN BY LIZ HENSEL

The Volunteer Income Tax Assistance (VITA) program allows high school students to prepare taxes for their community. Colonial Forge High School is the first high school in the state of Virginia to lead this pilot program.

WRITTEN BY LIZ HENSEL, PHOTO BY KAREN PRESECAN

When you meet Louie Anne and Khanh Nguyen you can feel the love they have for each other from across the room. Louie Anne was living in Okinawa, Japan in December of 2013, as the daughter of a retired Navy veteran, while Khanh was stationed there with the Marine Corps. A mutual friend invited them for some pho and as they say, the rest is history.

WRITTEN BY LIZ HENSEL

Jack is a Japanese Bobtail Cat, which means his tail resembles more of a rabbit tail than a cat tail. Mollye Hoffman rescued him when he was just a few weeks old while she was living in Okinawa, Japan.

WRITTEN BY MOLLYE HOFFMAN

As a Kindergarten teacher, especially after COVID, it’s important to bring play back into education. By doing this, and sparking children’s imagination, they’ll be socially and emotionally ready to learn.

WRITTEN BY LIZ HENSEL

When it comes to the pet service industry every pet parent can collectively agree that they look for quality services and kind, empathetic employees. Pet parents want to ensure their pets will get the care and comfort they deserve.

WRITTEN BY LIZ HENSEL, PHOTO BY LAURA VISIONI

In 2008 Dr. Nimali Fernando also known as Dr. Yum moved to Fredericksburg, Virginia from Texas to join a private pediatric practice in the area. As a pediatrician Dr. Yum noticed that kids were not eating a balanced diet. She realized that children were at a higher rate of obesity leading to digestive issues. After asking these children what they were eating, with most of the answers being fast food, she realized that she needed to come up with a solution to make healthy food fun for kids.

WRITTEN BY LIZ HENSEL

Life in this busy neighborhood can get hectic. From long commutes to long days at school, children’s sports events, and work, the stressor you need is to tidy up the home. This is where Garcia House Cleaning comes in to save the day.

WRITTEN BY LIZ HENSEL, PHOTO BY KAREN PRESECAN

Mollye Hoffman is the mother of 4 kids Greyson (11), Weston (9), Katelyn (7), and Ava (5) and one Japanese Bobtail Cat Jack, named after Jack from the Titanic. If Mollye isn’t in her kindergarten classroom, she is running her business Bounce Back Beauty LLC which combines her passion of education, fitness, and beauty by providing meal prep services, personal training, lash extensions, and early childhood consulting in her Embrey Mill neighborhood.

WRITTEN BY REX ROBINSON

The 2023 Volvo XC90 is a full-size SUV offering three rows of seating, safety beyond compare, and a plush, gentle ride that makes great use of its plug-in hybrid power. While it is true plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEVs) cost a lot more than standard engines, there are plenty of upsides to talk about, starting with this Volvo making hybrid a standard feature.

WRITTEN BY DORI STEWART

Nothing predicts lifetime success like getting the right start, which is why Stafford Junction is so committed to providing children from pre-school through high school the services they need to build the life they deserve. This volunteer-driven nonprofit organization provides a huge variety of tutoring, recreational opportunities, and life skills training.

WRITTEN BY REX ROBINSON

Knowing and valuing history is a precious character trait for any individual. When the individual takes actions that result in preserving a piece of history many can then know and value that history. That would, in part, describe Jane Conner, of Stafford County. Jane knows her history enough that she wrote three books detailing some of that knowledge. Her book about Government Island is titled Birthstone of the White House and Capitol.

WRITTEN BY SAM DE JAGER

Travel, sojourn, expedition, trek, excursion, odyssey - just some of the many words for travel. Do you love to travel or does the thought of travel stress you out? (We can talk about that another time…) What are the benefits of travel? There are some obvious benefits while others may be less apparent.

WRITTEN BY LIZ HENSEL, PHOTO BY LAURA VISIONI

What do you do when you find out a neighbor’s child is going through pediatric cancer? You start an organization to help families who are undergoing that exact challenge. The Fairy Godmother Project was founded by Andie Ayers and Stephanie Johnson to support families with emotional and financial needs while their child is going through pediatric cancer treatment.

WRITTEN BY REX ROBINSON

Theatre and arts education can be a magical experience for both children and adults alike, as it provides escapism from the humdrum of life. Riverside Center for the Performing Arts in Fredericksburg has offered that escapism to audiences in the region for 25 years.

WRITTEN BY LIZ HENSEL

Firefighter/EMT, Marine, and Future Nurse

Please meet Sgt. Elizabeth Joyce Adams

Elizabeth is a Marine Corps veteran who has been married to her husband Tim for the past 11 years. Tim is an active-duty Marine stationed in Marine Corps Base Quantico. They have 3 boys, Ryan (10), Tyler (7), and Dylan (2).

WRITTEN BY MOLLYE HOFFMAN

As the saying goes, Spring Showers Bring May Flowers, and we are in full bloom this spring! Do you know what that means! Beautiful butterflies all around in the month of June. Here is a fun activity to have your own personal butterfly in your home.

WRITTEN BY LIZ HENSEL

Leashes of Valor is a 501c3 nonprofit organization founded by Marine Corps Captain Jason Hagg. Jason served for 13 years in the Marine Corps before being medically retired, after being injured in Afghanistan. This was not his first injury. He had been injured before and in true Marine fashion, he kept going until in his words, “I zigged instead of zagged.”