Nannette Bongiovi
Nannette Bongiovi has lived in Hampton Roads since 1976, when her father’s naval career brought the family here from his duty station in Puerto Rico. Her love of travel began when moving as a toddler from her birthplace in Athens, Greece and continues to play a big part in her life today.

Nannette met her husband Andy in 2004, while visiting friends in Germany. This meeting was the beginning of back and forth trips to Europe throughout their courtship and since their subsequent marriage. It was during these visits that Nannette noticed the difference between American and German bedding and became fascinated with linens. She began her Private Quarters linen business last year and has thoroughly enjoyed helping people discover the comfort and style secrets of luxury hotels. Her Extreme Bed Makeovers teach people how to bring this comfort into their own homes, so they can enjoy a fantastic sleep experience every night and not just when they’re on vacation.

In her spare time, Nannette enjoys reading, cooking, entertaining, exercise, and helping her husband renovate their historic Portsmouth home.

Vicki Campbell
Vicki Campbell was born in Norfolk, Virginia.  She is a senior at Strayer University and her expected date of graduation is Spring/Summer 2010.  Her degree (Bachelor’s) will be in Business
with a concentration in Management.  

Vicki has vast sales and marketing experience, mostly in the business to business area. She has worked in the telecommunications field for three companies, and some of her other jobs include family mediator, residential and commercial security sales and work in the insurance field.

She loves any activities with family and friends, history, museums, art, jazz, classical, Jimmy Buffett and Rod Stewart music, reading,  needlepoint, quilting, trivia,  swimming, the beach,
cooking (especially grilling out), old movies, and collecting cookbooks.  She has a married daughter and a 5 year-old grandson and lives in Virginia Beach with her dog, a rescued Miniature Schnauzer, named Maggie May.

Vicki is active in the community and is a member of the Advisory Board of Victory Home Mission, and a volunteer for the Salvation Army.  She served as chair and vice-chair for the Va. Beach Crime Prevention Steering Committee.  She feels we all have something to give back and believes in trying to make a difference.

Vicki can be contacted at vcampsales5@aol.com.

Morgan Knight
Morgan Knight has been surfing most of her life.  Born and raised in Virginia Beach, Morgan graduated from Kellam High School and Old Dominion University with a Masters degree in Education.  She currently teaches K-5 general education art at Corporate Landing Elementary School, along with special education art for the hearing impaired. She gets a great deal of satisfaction working with the kids, and speaks proudly of their accomplishments. Recently, some of her student’s artwork was exhibited at the Pungo Strawberry Festival.

Morgan has traveled to and surfed almost every beach town on the East Coast. Her favorites are the beautiful southern beaches where she thinks, they seem to care more about the environment. She’s also been to Puerto Rico, Barbados, Costa Rica and California to test the waves. Her favorite surfing spot in the world, is a place in Costa Rica called Ollie’s Place, a desolate beach that you can only get to by boat.  

She has been a member of the Eastern Surfing Association for 13 years.

Morgan lives with her family in Virginia Beach, and her Jack Russell terrier “Jack.”

Sharon Litton
Five years ago, Sharon Litton was filling her station wagon with items to be donated to a local charity.  A neighbor suggested that she drop them off at the YWCA of South Hampton Roads instead, since it was just over the bridge from the Larchmont neighborhood in Norfolk.  The YWCA volunteer who helped unload her donations mentioned that the organization was looking for someone to help sort items to be used in the Women in Crisis Emergency Shelter.  Having spent many hours scouring local thrift and consignment shops for treasures, Sharon liked the idea.  That afternoon, she received a phone call from YWCA Executive Director Cheryl Marks officially requesting help, and Sharon was hooked!  

Since that time, Sharon has been named YWCA Volunteer of the Year and now serves as the organization’s Operations Manager.  The mission of the YWCA:  Eliminating Racism, Empowering Women is a task that Sharon admits can seem daunting at times.  She hopes that her contribution as Operations Manager, summarized in her own words:  “knowing where we have been, where we are now, and where we are supposed to be heading”, will enable the YWCA of South Hampton Roads to continue to meet the changing needs of women in our community as it has since 1911.

Sharon lives in Norfolk with her three children:  Mason, Jane Brooks and George, where she acts in the capacity of Litton Family Operations Manager.

Tammie Rice
As a professional in the non-profit world and as someone who also serves as a volunteer in her community, the phrase, “the mind is a terrible thing to waste,” isn’t just an ad slogan – it’s a
life mantra for Tammie Rice.

 For the past two years, Tammie has been helping local kids reach their educational dreams – inspiring them with words of experience and offering them helpful hints and tips in an one-hour
workshop she designed and has taken on the road to local churches and community groups.

 When Tammie is not working on researching scholarships or mentoring a student, she can be found at the Girl Scout Council of Colonial Coast where she has been employed for over
eleven years; she has served in many capacities, including development and grant writing.

 She is an active AAUW member in the Virginia Beach Chapter – receiving the American Association of University Women’s 2008 Pioneer Award, and is the Chapter’s president elect. In
addition to AAUW, she serves as a Commissioner on the Virginia Beach Clean Community Commission and has received several awards, including the Commission’s 2008 Gold Award.

Cherie Smith
Entrepreneur is the word that defines Cherie Smith of Suffolk, Virginia.  Raised in Michigan, she met her husband, Dan, in college in Indiana and followed his military career through many moves while raising three children and operating several businesses including operating a word processing service for 12 years.  She even sold encyclopedias while stationed in Germany.

Cherie now is the President of DanChe, Inc., a personal services business that offers both professional pet sitting and house cleaning services, started in 1999.  She created and maintains
her own websites: www.DaystarPets.com , www.DaystarSamoyeds.com , and www.DanCheHomeCleaning.com .  She is a member of Pet Sitter’s International, The Samoyed Club of America, and BDCC.  She also breeds and shows Samoyed dogs and she and Dan live with several of these beautiful white dogs, mostly AKC champions.  

A Christian lifestyle of helping others motivates Cherie to provide excellent customer service in her present and past businesses.  You can contact her at CherieSmith@hotmail.com.

Liz Vazquez
Liz Vazquez was born in Puerto Rico, where she lived until she was 20 years old. After some extensive travel, she came to the United States, and began her studies at the College of Charleston.  

Fitness was not one of her worries or priorities growing up, but after having her eldest daughter she felt like a lot of women, tired and depressed about the weight gain and not knowing
what to do.

As she started her journey to lose weight and exercise, and she began to learn about Personal Fitness training, a new door opened for her. She became a Personal Fitness Trainer herself.

Liz holds a certification from the American Council on Exercise (ACE), and the YMCA Personal Training Certification. She is also an American Red Cross instructor, teaching life saving
skills. She continues her education at Old Dominion University and is working towards a Bachelor of Exercise Science degree.

Liz lives with husband of 20 years and their three children, in Virginia Beach.

Ready for a new challenge? Liz will take you to the next level. Call her at 757-310-1010 for a free consultation.

Tania Yates
Tania Yates is a Washington, D.C native residing in Hampton Roads after graduating from ODU in 2005.  Most of her experience revolves around all natural health and wellness education
and personal training.  She was a fitness coach at the YMCA and since then has started her own company, My Fitness First.  She is a certified ACSM health and fitness instructor and volunteers at her church, HCCI Ministries, in a Commitment To Be Fit program.  One of her goals is to open a community wellness center.

She currently works for the Business DreamWorks Chamber of Commerce, connecting new and existing business owners and professionals together while providing them with relevant
education, tools, and resources for business development and growth.  In her spare time, she enjoys playing poker, volleyball, swimming, cooking, and exploring new places to go in Hampton Roads.

To get in touch with her, email her at Tania@joinbdcc.org.