You meet the most interesting people in Amissville! I had the pleasure last week of sitting down with Ruth Zeh over a cup of coffee. Ruth has lived here in Amissville for four years. She’s a lifelong resident of the area and she and her husband were thrilled when they had the opportunity to move to Rappahannock county.

But the most interesting part of my conversation with Ruth was about her job. Ruth works for Air Serv International at their world headquarters in Warrenton. For those of you who aren’t familiar with the company, they are a nonprofit organization providing air services for humanitarian work around the world. They say that they fly where others can’t or won’t. They operate in places like Chad and Afghanistan. They were a big part of tsunami relief; where they ended up using mostly helicopters.

Ruth is the Information Technology Administrator at the company, making sure the communications infrastructure allows them to communicate with these far flung locations. She didn’t start out in the technology field. She started by answering an ad in the paper for a receptionist. But over the years her responsibilities have grown. And, it turned out, she had a knack for working with computers. So now she’s taking care of computer networks and e-mail. There are unique problems in this area because of the places Air Serv goes. She’s had company personnel calling back to the office from the top of a tree in Chad because it was the only place they could get a signal. Keeping e-mail flowing back and forth between Warrenton and the locations in the Middle East and Africa where they work most frequently is a huge challenge.

With exciting opportunities like that it’s not wonder that Ruth says she loves her job. “What’s best about it is that it’s exciting, interesting and humanitarian”, she said. She’s happiest when she’s been able to help someone out in the field to do their job by helping them through computer problems.

The company got started out in California and moved to Warrenton about eight years ago. Since much of their work is coordinated with NGOs and government agencies, being close to Washington, DC made a lot of sense. The story goes that when they were trying to decide exactly where to put the headquarters they flew into Dulles, started driving around the area and fell in love with the Warrenton area.

The company is a non-profit and like all non-profits, obtaining funding can be a challenge. Fed Ex is a big supporter but they’re just one organization. Air Serv depends on both organizations and individuals for their support. According to their web site http://www.airserv.org donations can be made to the General Fund, the Disaster Response Fund for specific emergencies, the Equipment Fund which allows them to buy, replace and repair equipment or the New Initiatives Fund.

Ruth is working to improve her skills and better help the organization. She’s hard at work on her Microsoft certification. I asked her if she ever had any desire to go out in the field. She laughed and said there are days she’d love to have that experience and others she’s happy to be safe and secure in Rappahannock! We’re glad she’s here too!

If romance is on your mind as we get closer to Valentine’s Day, think about heading over to Gray Ghost Vineyards for their Annual Irresistible Chocolates and Cabernet event on February 16^th and 17^th. There will be decadent desserts such as passion truffles and chocolate dipped apricots and, of course, tastings from Gray Ghost’s own gold-medal winning red wines. Tickets are $15 and include a collectible Valentines glass.

And we wanted to mention that Elizabeth Streagle is home following surgical replacement of both knees.  She appreciated and enjoyed the many visits from friends and neighbors while she was hospitalized and in rehab. Welcome home, Elizabeth!

Welcome to my first column of Amissville news! My name is Julie Emery and I’ve lived in beautiful Rappahannock County about four and a half years now. It’s the most beautiful place we’ve ever lived. Of course, two of the other places we’ve lived were Kansas and New Jersey, so you have an edge!

I was raised on a dairy farm in the Midwest and it’s been a joy to return to a rural area. Our most recent home before Amissville was Miami, Florida. While it was a wonderful place to live, there was nothing rural about it. And hurricane seasons are a lot more fun in Rappahannock County!  But the best part about moving here has been the wonderful friends and neighbors who surround us! I’ve found the people here to be kind, generous and definitely very interesting! And that’s the real reason I’m so excited about the chance to write this column! While I’ve had the opportunity to meet many of you, I already know this will give me the chance to meet a lot more of you and hear your stories!

All of you are now my eyes and ears. I’ll look forward to hearing from you about what local activities are coming up here in Amissville. I love a good story and I can’t wait to hear what amazing exploits you’ve engaged in, what prizes you’ve won and who our newest neighbors are.

You can get in touch with me by phone at 540-937-2315 or via e-mail at Julie@JulieEmery.com I’m eagerly awaiting your contributions!