Jessica "Jessie" Bowis:  Coming Home and Paying It Forward

Sometimes the people who make the greatest difference in our lives are the ones who believe in us before we believe in ourselves.

For Jessica “Jessie” Bowis, that encouragement helped take her from working in the mailroom of …

Marion James and Kristy Packett:  Better, Not Bigger: The Family Behind Poplar Ridge Nursery

It is hard to imagine that the more than 20 greenhouses now stretching across Poplar Ridge Nursery began with just one greenhouse, two customers, and a young couple willing to spend their evenings …

Ladell and Charlotte Pierson: Rooted in Faith, Family, and Farming

An afternoon at Ladell and Charlotte Pierson’s kitchen table offers a glimpse into a life built over 71 years of marriage—through hard work, sacrifice, faith, and a deep devotion to family.

There is no pretense about them. …

Jim and Amy Kelly: Finding Home in the Northern Neck

Long before the pandemic changed the rhythms of life across the country, Jim Kelly was sitting downstairs one evening scrolling through real estate listings when a house in Tappahannock caught his attention.

His father and stepmother had …

New Chapter for Reedville Market

On the surface, Eric and Lara Chandler might seem like an unlikely pair to take over a waterfront restaurant.

Eric owns Chandler’s Firearms Estates, a gun shop on Main Street in Kilmarnock. Lara is an artist and co-owner of Rappahannock Hang Ups, …

Greg White: A Life of Service, Leadership, and Love

For most of Greg White’s career, service meant helping keep the lights on.

As an electrical engineer, cooperative executive, and eventually president and CEO of Northern Neck Electric Cooperative, White spent decades working in an industry built around …

Avery Baylor: A Cut Above for Nearly Five Decades

Long before Avery Baylor opened the doors of Sagittarius in Montross, long before he owned multiple salons and a clothing store, or invented and patented a pillow designed to protect a freshly styled head of hair, he was just …

“That Kid from Nebraska”: Jason Strong’s Journey to Superintendent

When Jason Strong first called the Richmond County School Board office in 2003, no one could have known just how long his relationship with Richmond County Public Schools would last. At the time, Strong was a college student in …

A Business Built on Relationships, Reputation, and Community

For nearly five decades, a local accounting firm has grown through changing names, changing technology and changing generations, while holding tightly to the values that mattered from the beginning.

If you spend any time with Billy Hughes …

It is a life neither of them necessarily could have predicted, but for Justin, the desire to make the Northern Neck home had been there for a long time.

Justin grew up in Fairfax, but his family's roots in the Northern Neck run deep. The land …