Mr. Burnette, Franklin County, VA will present a Franklin County Economic Development Update, on April 1, at the Westlake Country Club located in Hardy, VA.  The presentation will start at 9 am and is sponsored by the Lake2Lake Referral organization.  The country club is located on Morewood Road in the Chestnut Creek subdivision.  The public is invited to attend. For questions call Jo-Ann Van Vechten 540-420-1013.

For farmers that have waterfront property look at the State of Virginia's website for information on earning 25% state income tax credit by replacing buffers. Go to http://www.dcr.virginia.gov/soil_and_water/crep.shtml for specifics.  There are still farmers with waterfront property on Smith Mountain Lake and they can help conserve the lake by reducing sediment going into it. 

A town meeting will be held by the Smith Mountain Lake Association (SMLA) on Tuesday, March 23 at 6 pm at Trinity Ecumenical Parish on Rt 122 in Moneta, VA. For those that are interested in Smith Mountain Lake, this meeting will be very informative about water quality, invasive weeds, and most importantly a discussion about the Shoreline Management Plan.  The Shoreline Management Plan, while needed, has caused a few of our clients to tear their hair out when trying to transfer a dock to a new owner of their property, or cutting down trees below the 800 foot level. 

Each year there are accidents on Smith Mountain Lake, who knows why they happen, but I suspect many are because some boaters have no idea of what they are doing.  When we started boating in the Potomac River in the Washington DC area, the first thing we did was take a safe boating course. The responsibility of being the captain of a boat with guests aboard is significant. Free boating courses are being held in various locations throughout the Smith Mountain Lake area, visit SmithMountainEagle.com to see the schedule and register. Smith Mountain Lake is approximately 45 minutes from Roanoke, VA and is 40 miles long with 550 miles of shoreline.  If you want a wonderful quality of life, you need to be here!

Smith Mountain Lake started to get a little blue/brown after all the unusual snow that we had this winter.  I thought the color was a result of run off from the snow upstream and was worried if it was going to stay that way all summer.  However, it is actual a natural phenomenon called Lake Turnover or Inversion according to a quote from Pam Dinkle, the Lake Management and Project Coordinator for the Tri-County Lake Administrative Commission. This naturally occurring process supplies oxygen-rich water from the surface to the stagnant water at the bottom - Nature's own washing machine.  For more information on this naturally occurring process, visit the Smith Mountain Eagle's website and reference the article written by Rebecca Jackson. 

Between facebook, activerain, etc. I am losing track of what I said where and if anything had any content at all.  I have not developed an appreciation of what it can do for my business.  I started a realtor group and no one takes part in the conversation -- can it be that the older generation does not really follow conversations on facebook like the younger generation that is on it every minute from their cell phones?

Second Floor 2 Bedroom condo, 1050 sq ft, 2 full baths, family room, kitchen w/counter, and sunroom. A $4,000 golf membership conveys w/property. Community is for active people--amenities include: Indoor and outdoor pools, children play areas, tennis, badminton, and basketball courts, large workout facility, exercise trails, and golf. Boat slips can be leased. Unit has fantastic water and mountain views. Wide water & Mountain Views.

• Home is in ideal location, close to Hales Ford Bridge (by boat & car), the center of recreation, shopping & restaurants.
• Deep water cove provides safe shelter for swimmers.
• Recently renovated-granite counter tops, wood floors, new roof, gas fireplace. Have to get into property to appreciate features. Nice gentle sloping lot. Home has 3 bedroom septic and is decorated as a 4 bedroom.
• Covered Dock
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Last year, while visitng Florida, I met an investor that invited me to his investment group -- the group turned out to be focused on trading properties.  I found the meeting to be exciting and very informative, but never thought I would have the opportunity to use what I learned.  Recently I obtained a lead from an ad that I placed in the Wall Street Journal and after showing him several properties, he asked if any of the sellers would be interested in trading a lake property for a condo in Nags Head.  I do not have anyone that is interested, but if anyone does, "please come on down "and perhaps we can "make a deal." 

We have worked so hard gardening --as I like to call it -- we are cultivating our clients and planting seeds for the future.  The market has been slow, but if you do enough plowing and raking, you can find clients.  We have helped many find bargains that resulted from prices driven down by the large inventory and foreclosures.  Foreclosures take a lot of time to "sow-up" the deal and close--so much of our free time is gone.  This evening, I looked outside at the lake and tried 4 times to get down to our dock to enjoy the pleasant calm movement of the water.  No deal - the phone kept ringing--thank God! At 10:30 p.m. I decided that nothing was going to stop me --left the phone on the charger, put on my clunky comfortable shoes and hiked down to the dock. As I sat on my favorite chair and looked up at the sky, there were beautiful stars smiling at me--I totally relaxed and thought isn't it great when the simple little things of life make you happy!