Eight companies from two local studios of Jessica Morgan’s School of Dance attended the Dance Educators of America National Convention in Orlando, Fla., in June and came away with a top award. J.T. Beverly’s “Tapology” received the highest score of the competition and was awarded the President’s Cup. There were 322 dances from 18 studios in the competition.

The Virginia Historical Society, 428 N. Boulevard, recently honored authors, staff members, a philanthropist, a volunteer and a student for their contributions to research, education and the mission of the society. The 10 honorees are: Olga Korostolina, a student at W.T. Woodson High School in Fairfax County. She received the $5,000 Wyndham B. Blanton Scholarship Award for her paper written during the Wyndham B. Blanton Scholars Forum, a program that brings 20 high school students to the society to participate in a discussion with one of the nation’s leading historians.

Henrico County-based SnagAJob.com is one of the nation’s best small businesses to work for, according to a human-resource group and a consulting firm. For the second straight year, the company, which operates a job-search Web site, was ranked third-best among businesses that employ up to 250 people. The annual rankings, compiled by the Society for Human Resource Management and the Great Place to Work Institute, include the top 25 small and top 25 medium-sized companies in America.

Thirteeen students from the Richmond area recently received awards at Final Convocation at Hampden-Sydney College.

• Senior Jason Craig Butler received the Joshua Warren White Award for outstanding sportsmanship on and off the playing field in intercollegiate athletics (soccer). A history major, Butler is a graduate of Mills E. Godwin High School and is the son of Patti D. Butler of Richmond.

Debra Ruh’s muse is her daughter, Sara. Ruh, president and founder of TecAccess, was inspired to start her business in 2001 by Sara, who has Down syndrome and, at age 22, has become an outspoken, world-traveling advocate for people with disabilities. TecAccess is a Goochland County consulting and technology services firm that works with businesses and other institutions to improve the accessibility of their technologies to people with disabilities.

The National theater and the next-door Gibson’s Grill on East Broad Street won the 2009 Project of the Year Award last night from the Greater Richmond Association for Commercial Real Estate. Painstaking efforts were taken with the restoration, said David Auman, head of the local trade organization and president of The Capstone Contracting Co., a general contracting company in western Henrico County.

Mims Award: Anne Adams, publisher and editor of The Recorder in Highland and Bath counties, won the 22nd annual D. Lathan Mims Award for Editorial Leadership in the Community.
  Public service: The Roanoke Times and The Hook of Charlottesville received the annual Award for Journalistic Integrity and Community Service. The Times won the award in the 30,000-and-over circulation group for its reporting on Southwest Virginia’s aging population. The Hook, a weekly newspaper in the under-30,000 circulation group, won for its reporting on a reservoir proposal.

NEW BUSINESS/OPENINGS Family Law Associates of Richmond has opened at 3711C Westerre Parkway in Richmond. Skinny Dips, an Italian ice, coffee and candy shop, has opened at 3016A Mountain Road in Henrico County. Compiled Services has opened at 700 E. Main St., Suite 202 in Richmond.  MERGERS/EXPANSIONS SanAir Technologies Laboratory has expanded its environmental-testing capabilities to include asbestos analysis.

The Chesterfield County Department of Youth Planning and Development is seeking nominations for the 2009 Outstanding Youth Awards. Both adults and youths who have demonstrated an exemplary commitment to their communities, neighborhoods or schools are eligible. The deadline to submit nominations is March 20. Nominees and winners will be recognized at a ceremony on the night of May 7 at L.C. Bird High School. Nominations this year must be submitted online or typed. To access the online form, visit http://www.chesterfield.gov/HumanServices/YouthServices/awards.asp. For more information, call the Department of Youth Planning and Development at (804) 796-7100, or visit the department’s Web page on chesterfield.gov.

Thirty-three Virginia art students and artists have been awarded a total of $196,000 in 2009 Virginia Museum of Fine Arts Fellowships. In the 69 years in which VMFA has presented fellowships, the museum has awarded $4 million to 1,069 professional and student artists who are permanent residents of Virginia. “The Virginia Museum of Fine Arts is committed to supporting the commonwealth’s artists and art students. We are grateful to the late John Lee Pratt of Fredericksburg for establishing a VMFA endowment that makes this support possible and to others who have added funds to the endowment over the years,“ said Alex Nyerges, VMFA’s director.

These events and awards were recently announced by the Chesterfield County school division. Two teams of practical law students from Matoaca High School won mock trials Jan. 26 in Chesterfield Circuit Court and will argue cases in the appeals court in Richmond at 1 p.m. Feb. 24. The Matoaca defense team—Chris Langguth, Amber Wright and Kayla Coleman—won against prosecutors from St. Gertrude High School. The Matoaca prosecutors—Dalyn Dessaure, Darrell Britt and Zach Reeves—won against a defense team from Collegiate School. At the appellate level on Feb. 24, two students from each side will participate.

Ampy Young Gouldthorpe Christian Allen Wooten Wilson Davis   Individual Distinguished Service Award: Hugh F. Gouldthorpe Jr., senior vice president for quality and communications, Owens & Minor Inc.
  Corporate Distinguished Service Award: Capital One Financial Corp.
  Trailblazer Award: Annette Christian of Dominion Resources Services Inc. and Matthew Allen of M. Allen HVAC and Electrical Co.

The Congressional Medal of Honor Foundation is accepting nominations for the “Above & Beyond Citizen Honors,“ which recognizes and honors ordinary Americans who become extraordinary through their indomitable courage and selflessness. Citizen Honors are presented to unsung heroes by our nation’s most honored heroes—the fewer than 100 living Medal of Honor recipients.

When the Directors Guild of America awards are handed out Saturday, one Richmonder will be paying particular attention.  Ruben Rios II was one of the two second second assistant directors on the miniseries “John Adams,“ which was filmed in Williamsburg and around the Richmond area. The director of that series, Tom Hooper, is nominated for an award for Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Movies for Television/Miniseries.

Twelve professors from Virginia’s public and private colleges and universities have been named Outstanding Faculty Award winners. The faculty members, named yesterday by the State Council of Higher Education for Virginia, will receive $5,000 from the Dominion Foundation. The awards program is administered by SCHEV and underwritten by the foundation, the philanthropic arm of Dominion.