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>>Starting a business from 
scratch it's been rough.

2
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It's nothing easy about it.

3
00:00:04,871 --> 00:00:06,106
You think of 
something as simple as

4
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being able to drive 
a cab to put stickers

5
00:00:07,907 --> 00:00:09,709
and a light on is real 
simple but it's not,

6
00:00:09,709 --> 00:00:11,378
but it's well worth it.

7
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>>When you talk about 
entrepreneurship and innovation

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00:00:14,080 --> 00:00:17,717
in Charlottesville, our guest 
today always comes to mind.

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00:00:17,717 --> 00:00:20,053
Join us as we catch 
up with Toan Nguyen,

10
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when the co-founder of 
three businesses in the area

11
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that focus on bringing 
the community together

12
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to network, grow and 
help fight poverty.

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Come on.

14
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So tell us about C'ville Coffee.

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This story behind 
C'ville Coffee.

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You founded this with 
your wife in 2000.

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>>Yes, Terri, in the year 2000,

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we founded this because 
we had Shelf Life,

19
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which is a furniture design 
and manufacturing company.

20
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So we got this big space,

21
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huge space for the 
furniture store.

22
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And my daughter who 
was eight at the time,

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her name is Hattie,

24
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she had this great idea.

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She said, Dad, why don't 
you have a coffee shop

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and smoothie bar 
inside Shelf Life,

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because that way people can 
come in and get a cup of coffee,

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and then sit at your table 
and look at your shelf.

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And so we thought, great idea!

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>>Yeah, that's very great.

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>>You know brilliant.

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So we did.

33
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We have a little room,

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where you come in to 
C'ville Coffee now.

35
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And so that was the 
genesis of C'ville Coffee.

36
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>>So, and let's talk 
about C'ville Coffee,

37
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because it is much more 
than a coffee shop,

38
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you know it's a hub.

39
00:01:42,435 --> 00:01:44,671
Talk about everything 
that goes on here.

40
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>>Well, we try to 
promote a place

41
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where people really 
come together,

42
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make connection to each other.

43
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And that's the great thing 
about Charlottesville

44
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is that there's so 
much connection.

45
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>>Yeah 
>>There's so much relationship

46
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and people helping one another.

47
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>>Yeah.

48
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So that is a perfect 
segue to CIC.

49
00:02:08,895 --> 00:02:11,631
This is another company 
that you helped to co-found.

50
00:02:11,631 --> 00:02:14,400
It's a non-profit that you 
are one of the co-founders of,

51
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and it started in a 
meeting here, did it not?

52
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>>Right 
>>Talk about it.

53
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Talk about what it is.

54
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So, CIC, which stands for

55
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Community Investment 
Collaborative,

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is a non-profit that helps 
anybody who has a dream

57
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of owning their own 
business, to get it going.

58
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And how we do that is 
we put them through

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a 17 week course that 
really breaks down.

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It's basically a mini 
business plan course.

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And then we lend them money,

62
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a micro loan from 
5,000 to $35,000.

63
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>>Okay.

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>>And then we mentor them.

65
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And then through 
the whole process,

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we give them access 
to a network of people

67
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who would really help them

68
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like a photographer, 
accountants, lawyers

69
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and most importantly customers

70
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who would really want to 
support our graduates.

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>>And what inspired it?

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What inspired you to start this?

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>>At that time,

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I was going through 
Leadership Charlottesville.

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And Leadership Charlottesville,

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it's a wonderful program 
run by the Chamber.

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>>Right.

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>>And what it does is 
really expose you to

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how the town works.

80
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You know from the judicial 
system, to the arts,

81
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to education, to business.

82
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And then at that 
exact same time,

83
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I was involved with 
Dialogue on Race.

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00:03:39,619 --> 00:03:40,853
>>Right.

85
00:03:40,853 --> 00:03:42,222
>>And through that, 
that's when I realized

86
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that there's a segment 
of the population

87
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who are really hurting.

88
00:03:49,562 --> 00:03:52,599
Who don't have the 
same access to capital,

89
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to education, to a network.

90
00:03:55,134 --> 00:03:58,705
But yet who have 
this wonderful dreams

91
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and smarts and ambition,

92
00:04:02,675 --> 00:04:04,677
but they just need 
a little push.

93
00:04:04,677 --> 00:04:08,114
>>My inspiration for CIC was 
simply just getting a cab ride

94
00:04:08,114 --> 00:04:11,517
from another company when 
I had a little car trouble.

95
00:04:11,517 --> 00:04:13,086
And I weren't treated too good.

96
00:04:13,086 --> 00:04:15,221
They were handling my 
wheelchair a little rough.

97
00:04:15,221 --> 00:04:16,489
They didn't treat me to well.

98
00:04:16,489 --> 00:04:17,957
So that put me in 
the mind frame of,

99
00:04:17,957 --> 00:04:19,425
"how do they do other people?"

100
00:04:19,425 --> 00:04:22,528
I'm a little more strong minded 
or a little more able bodied

101
00:04:22,528 --> 00:04:23,930
but what about the 
people who aren't

102
00:04:23,930 --> 00:04:25,164
or really can't handle it?

103
00:04:25,164 --> 00:04:26,733
And my mind just 
started wondering

104
00:04:26,733 --> 00:04:28,268
about how I could help disabled

105
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or the handicapped 
people as well as elderly

106
00:04:31,104 --> 00:04:34,474
be transported in a 
nicer and timely fashion

107
00:04:34,474 --> 00:04:36,409
and be treated like 
first class citizens.

108
00:04:36,409 --> 00:04:38,478
And where I am right now,

109
00:04:38,478 --> 00:04:40,713
CIC has brought me 
to be a better person

110
00:04:40,713 --> 00:04:43,316
as a father, as a 
community leader,

111
00:04:43,316 --> 00:04:46,152
as someone who can 
actually render a service,

112
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and soon I'll be 
offering employment.

113
00:04:47,987 --> 00:04:50,390
So, CIC helped me with 
all of those things.

114
00:04:50,390 --> 00:04:53,092
>>It just made me concentrate 
on my business a little more

115
00:04:53,092 --> 00:04:55,628
and try to organize 
things a little better.

116
00:04:55,628 --> 00:04:57,163
The roughest part of 
my job was going out

117
00:04:57,163 --> 00:04:59,532
and finding more jobs.

118
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Whereas while I'm working it's 
not like I really have time

119
00:05:02,302 --> 00:05:04,404
to be going off and 
finding another jobs

120
00:05:04,404 --> 00:05:07,106
and by Toan doing that 
part of the footwork,

121
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it's helped out 
quite a bit with us

122
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to where we can 
just tackle the jobs

123
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and he is out looking for them

124
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and it keeps the cycle going.

125
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>>I have known Toan 
for quite a while

126
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and I was in C'ville coffeeú

127
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and told him about 
my new venture

128
00:05:21,788 --> 00:05:23,389
that I was starting a business

129
00:05:23,389 --> 00:05:27,360
making my mother's seasoned 
salt called Peg Salt,

130
00:05:27,360 --> 00:05:31,197
and he said, "We have 
this entrepreneur training

131
00:05:31,197 --> 00:05:33,232
"and you should really apply."

132
00:05:33,232 --> 00:05:37,170
And it was a great curriculum, 
wonderful networking

133
00:05:37,170 --> 00:05:39,138
the class supported each other.

134
00:05:39,138 --> 00:05:42,742
And I couldn't have asked 
for like a better start

135
00:05:42,742 --> 00:05:44,210
in terms of education,

136
00:05:44,210 --> 00:05:47,814
because it really gave me a lot 
in terms of getting underway

137
00:05:47,814 --> 00:05:49,782
and asking the right 
people the kind of things

138
00:05:49,782 --> 00:05:52,051
I really needed to know.

139
00:05:52,051 --> 00:05:54,554
>>It's not whether you 
open a business or not.

140
00:05:54,554 --> 00:05:57,523
That's not the whole 
essence of CIC.

141
00:05:57,523 --> 00:05:59,759
The whole essence of 
CIC is the journey.

142
00:05:59,759 --> 00:06:00,560
>>Yeah.

143
00:06:00,560 --> 00:06:02,862
>>Of the self discovery.

144
00:06:02,862 --> 00:06:04,997
Whether it makes 
sense for you or not.

145
00:06:04,997 --> 00:06:08,101
Because we rather 
you learn it now,

146
00:06:08,101 --> 00:06:09,969
than put your life savings

147
00:06:09,969 --> 00:06:14,674
and two or three years into 
a business and have it fail.

148
00:06:14,674 --> 00:06:17,577
>>So then the 
perfect follow up is

149
00:06:17,577 --> 00:06:19,912
what you're doing 
with C'ville Central,

150
00:06:19,912 --> 00:06:21,414
which is another business

151
00:06:21,414 --> 00:06:23,416
that you co-founded with 
your wife, Betsy Patrick.

152
00:06:23,416 --> 00:06:27,153
Tell us about that and how 
they flow together, these two.

153
00:06:27,153 --> 00:06:29,422
>>A year into CIC she asked me,

154
00:06:29,422 --> 00:06:33,426
so, Toan, what happened 
to all these graduates

155
00:06:33,426 --> 00:06:35,194
that started their own business.

156
00:06:35,194 --> 00:06:37,430
How do you, how do you 
help them stay in business?

157
00:06:37,430 --> 00:06:39,932
And that's when we 
founded C'ville Central.

158
00:06:39,932 --> 00:06:41,467
We go out, get business,

159
00:06:41,467 --> 00:06:45,238
and sub it out to small, 
minority businesses.

160
00:06:45,238 --> 00:06:50,243
We have landscaping, painting, 
contracting and cleaning.

161
00:06:51,677 --> 00:06:55,114
>>C'ville Central kicks it 
off and does the follow-up.

162
00:06:55,114 --> 00:06:58,284
Did we provide what you 
need to the customers?

163
00:06:58,284 --> 00:07:02,622
So make sure that all the 
service providers are fulfilling

164
00:07:02,622 --> 00:07:05,191
what people are 
asking them to do

165
00:07:05,191 --> 00:07:09,295
and doing a good job so 
that everybody's happy and--

166
00:07:09,295 --> 00:07:11,431
>>You're hitting on a 
very important point,

167
00:07:11,431 --> 00:07:13,332
because everybody 
in Charlottesville,

168
00:07:13,332 --> 00:07:18,004
really wants to support 
the small local person.

169
00:07:18,004 --> 00:07:20,606
We all have that 
want to do that.

170
00:07:20,606 --> 00:07:25,044
But there's two things that 
usually falls short on.

171
00:07:26,412 --> 00:07:28,481
One is communication.

172
00:07:28,481 --> 00:07:29,882
>>Okay.

173
00:07:29,882 --> 00:07:32,051
>>It's hard to 
communicate a lot of time

174
00:07:32,051 --> 00:07:33,986
with a small contractor.

175
00:07:33,986 --> 00:07:36,222
And two is accountability.

176
00:07:36,222 --> 00:07:38,758
What happens if that person 
didn't do a good job?

177
00:07:38,758 --> 00:07:40,960
Who do you call? 
>>Right.

178
00:07:40,960 --> 00:07:42,428
>>And so at C'ville Central,

179
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we go out of the way to 
communicate what's going on.

180
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And then, if he or she 
doesn't do a good job,

181
00:07:49,535 --> 00:07:53,606
we're accountable 
for to the customer.

182
00:07:53,606 --> 00:07:56,909
>>So all this work you've 
been doing is gaining state

183
00:07:56,909 --> 00:07:58,911
and national attention.

184
00:07:58,911 --> 00:08:01,447
In 2013, Governor McDonnell,

185
00:08:01,447 --> 00:08:05,751
invited you to be on 
innovation panels and summits.

186
00:08:05,751 --> 00:08:07,553
The White House invited you

187
00:08:07,553 --> 00:08:11,090
as one of twelve small 
businesses in the country.

188
00:08:11,090 --> 00:08:12,758
And then locally.

189
00:08:12,758 --> 00:08:15,027
>>Yes, in the year 2013,

190
00:08:15,027 --> 00:08:20,032
I won the Chamber Award 
for Volunteer of the Year.

191
00:08:21,400 --> 00:08:25,004
Year 2013, CIC won the 
Civic Award which stands for

192
00:08:25,004 --> 00:08:29,208
Charlottesville Business 
Innovation Council Award

193
00:08:29,208 --> 00:08:30,710
for community.

194
00:08:30,710 --> 00:08:35,715
And then, I also won the 
Entrepreneur of the Year Award.

195
00:08:36,782 --> 00:08:38,718
>>That's pretty exciting.

196
00:08:38,718 --> 00:08:42,622
>>Yeah, but you know, I did 
not do just to win awards.

197
00:08:42,622 --> 00:08:44,056
Rest assured

198
00:08:44,056 --> 00:08:45,925
>>I know and that's 
what I wanna ask you.

199
00:08:45,925 --> 00:08:47,126
All this work that you're doing

200
00:08:47,126 --> 00:08:50,029
is clearly really 
important to you, why?

201
00:08:50,029 --> 00:08:53,733
>>It has to do with 
my father's legacy.

202
00:08:53,733 --> 00:08:57,069
And he was a very important 
person in my life.

203
00:08:57,069 --> 00:08:59,805
He was a great role model to me.

204
00:08:59,805 --> 00:09:04,310
And his whole life was 
dedicated to his community

205
00:09:04,310 --> 00:09:06,612
and his country, 
which is Vietnam.

206
00:09:06,612 --> 00:09:11,617
So my goal in life was 
to go back to Vietnam,

207
00:09:12,952 --> 00:09:15,221
and help rebuild Vietnam, 
literally rebuild.

208
00:09:15,221 --> 00:09:19,392
And I went to architecture 
school here at UVA.

209
00:09:19,392 --> 00:09:21,928
And I went to the 
Darden Business School.

210
00:09:21,928 --> 00:09:24,630
And then that's 
how I would go back

211
00:09:24,630 --> 00:09:27,099
and help Vietnam rebuild.

212
00:09:27,099 --> 00:09:30,169
But things didn't 
happen that way.

213
00:09:31,170 --> 00:09:32,905
We came back to Charlottesville

214
00:09:32,905 --> 00:09:37,043
because we wanted to 
be closer to family.

215
00:09:37,043 --> 00:09:40,479
And so I'm really 
glad we did that.

216
00:09:40,479 --> 00:09:44,016
But after my daughter 
graduated from high school,

217
00:09:44,016 --> 00:09:45,818
I suddenly realized,

218
00:09:45,818 --> 00:09:49,622
I don't have to go back to 
Vietnam to help my community.

219
00:09:49,622 --> 00:09:52,625
Charlottesville now 
is my community.

220
00:09:52,625 --> 00:09:54,060
>>Yeah.

221
00:09:54,060 --> 00:09:56,395
>>And so that's the 
moment of epiphany for me,

222
00:09:56,395 --> 00:09:59,231
it's like I can do 
just right here.

223
00:09:59,231 --> 00:10:01,734
>>And it also led to 
the Jeffersonian Dinners

224
00:10:01,734 --> 00:10:02,969
that you've been hosting.

225
00:10:02,969 --> 00:10:04,470
Tell us about those.

226
00:10:04,470 --> 00:10:08,507
>>Yes, so, the Jeffersonian 
Dinner is a wonderful way

227
00:10:08,507 --> 00:10:11,177
to really connect with people.

228
00:10:11,177 --> 00:10:14,413
And, it's because we've all gone

229
00:10:18,351 --> 00:10:21,053
to cocktail hours and all that.

230
00:10:21,053 --> 00:10:25,157
And there you get a 
very small connection,

231
00:10:25,157 --> 00:10:27,393
I mean, maybe a minute 
or two and may somebody.

232
00:10:27,393 --> 00:10:28,227
>>Right.

233
00:10:29,595 --> 00:10:33,466
And so Jeffersonian Dinners 
is eight to 10 people

234
00:10:33,466 --> 00:10:35,001
with 20 different backgrounds.

235
00:10:35,001 --> 00:10:37,903
We've musicians, we've John 
Dearth sitting right here,

236
00:10:37,903 --> 00:10:41,307
to Kathy Galvin who's 
our city counselor,

237
00:10:41,307 --> 00:10:46,278
to writers, to editors, 
to business people.

238
00:10:47,880 --> 00:10:52,852
So, a whole cross section of 
our community get together

239
00:10:54,086 --> 00:10:57,657
and really discuss 
and sharing ideas.

240
00:10:57,657 --> 00:10:59,625
(plate clangs)

241
00:10:59,625 --> 00:11:00,559
Dig in.

242
00:11:00,559 --> 00:11:03,696
(noise from guests drowns Toan)

243
00:11:03,696 --> 00:11:05,231
When I decided to join 
Leadership Charlottesville

244
00:11:05,231 --> 00:11:06,766
Betsy was always 
wondering, it's like

245
00:11:06,766 --> 00:11:09,735
"Why are you doing it? I 
mean you know everybody,"

246
00:11:09,735 --> 00:11:13,372
and my answer is like, yes, 
I know them individually,

247
00:11:13,372 --> 00:11:15,708
but I have no idea how they fit

248
00:11:16,709 --> 00:11:20,446
into the working of our town.

249
00:11:20,446 --> 00:11:25,251
>>For me, I was very 
non-profit-centric

250
00:11:25,251 --> 00:11:27,787
and just hadn't thought 
about transportation

251
00:11:27,787 --> 00:11:29,021
and--

252
00:11:29,021 --> 00:11:33,092
(guests interrupt 
and drowns her )

253
00:11:35,428 --> 00:11:36,929
>>Speaking of that,

254
00:11:36,929 --> 00:11:41,033
I got into (mumbles) with 
a very specific purpose

255
00:11:41,033 --> 00:11:43,969
from the start of 
the school division

256
00:11:43,969 --> 00:11:47,139
to say we need to have business 
involved with education.

257
00:11:47,139 --> 00:11:48,107
(guests agrees)

258
00:11:48,107 --> 00:11:50,109
>>What else do you have in mind?

259
00:11:50,109 --> 00:11:52,211
(Toan and Terri laughs)

260
00:11:52,211 --> 00:11:53,913
>>We'll see.

261
00:11:53,913 --> 00:11:58,384
C'ville Central it's 
still in its infancy.

262
00:11:58,384 --> 00:11:59,652
(upbeat music) 
I envision,

263
00:11:59,652 --> 00:12:02,221
Betsy and I, we 
have great plans.

264
00:12:04,724 --> 00:12:07,760
And it's a concept 
that can grow a lot,

265
00:12:07,760 --> 00:12:12,765
and can employ a lot of people 
and our goal is to do that.

266
00:12:13,499 --> 00:12:15,334
Is to truly be a hub,

267
00:12:15,334 --> 00:12:19,872
and distribute the wealth of 
our community to everybody.

268
00:12:19,872 --> 00:12:21,474
>>I like that.

269
00:12:21,474 --> 00:12:22,308
Thank you.

270
00:12:22,308 --> 00:12:23,576
>>Thank you, Terri.

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00:12:23,576 --> 00:12:26,145
(upbeat music)