11/30/09

Warrenton, VA – The Warrenton-Fauquier Chamber of Commerce is pleased to announce the 2009 recipient of the coveted Business Person of the Year Award is Mary Leigh McDaniel, partner at Updegrove, Combs, McDaniel & Wilson, PLC.

With more than 25 years experience in public accounting with emphasis on tax, financial planning and business consulting, she remains dedicated to helping others, whether clients, co-workers, or the community. She is very active in the community and has served as an officer and board member of various civic and non-profit organizations. She currently serves on Middleburg Bank’s Fauquier Advisory Board and on the board of directors for The Land Trust of Virginia. In 2008 Governor Kaine appointed her to serve a six-year term on the Vint Hill Economic Development Authority; Virginia Business Magazine has also selected her as a “Super CPA” for the past several years. Her years serving on the Board of Directors for the Warrenton-Fauquier Chamber of Commerce include a year as Chairman of the Board (and a subsequent year in an ex officio role as the Immediate Past Chairman), a year as Vice-Chair of Legislative Affairs, and many hours of reliable volunteer work at events. The Business Person of the Year Award is the most prestigious honor the Chamber bestows. It exemplifies and awards the most involved and hardest working citizen in Fauquier County. Mary Leigh McDaniel is only the 23rd person to receive this award.

The Chamber also recognized three outstanding businesses. Buccaneer Computer Systems was honored with the Large Business of the Year Award. Established in 2000, it has grown into a company with more than 100 people at its Warrenton headquarters and annual revenues surpassing $47 million. Buccaneer Computer Systems has supported many community endeavors including Wounded Warriors, the Newspapers in Education Program, the Bright Stars Program, Fauquier Family Shelter Services, Inc., and many other local and national charities. The company also sponsors students from Liberty High School each year for Career Shadowing Day and establishes internships to provide learning opportunities for the county’s young people.

Bottom Line Bookkeeping, LLC, received the Small Business of the Year Award. Owner Janice Heater served on the Warrenton-Fauquier Chamber of Commerce Board of Directors for three years and continues her volunteer work on the board’s Finance Committee and supporting many chamber events. She is also a longtime member of the chamber’s Wednesday Leadshare Group, which she has served as Treasurer.

Mary’s Family received the Non-Profit Business of the Year Award, an honor recognizing the outstanding service of a local non-profit organization. Mary’s Family offers a community of caring and support for families with special needs children, including respite days, educational resources, and advocacy at the local and state level. In addition to providing the driving force behind Mary’s Family, founding director Martha Toomey continues to represent families of special needs children by serving on the Autism Task-Force and, at Governor Kaine’s request, on the Virginia Board for People with Disabilities.

The Lord Fairfax Small Business Development Center also honored Walter Hodge of Hodge Financial & Insurance Services with the 2009 Small Business Veteran of the Year Award.

The awards were presented Thursday, November 12, at the 23rd Annual Meeting and Awards Dinner at The Inn At Kelly’s Ford.

For more information, please call 540-347-4414 or e-mail mailbox@fauquierchamber.org.