Gloria Marsella just opened the first business of its kind in the CSRA to remove these sudden stressful burdens involved at the most difficult time, so families and friends may give undivided attention to honoring their loved one. Services offered by The Mourning Doves include: meal planning, coordinating accommodations for out-of-town guests, assisting with transportation, assisting with deliveries and phone calls, keeping records of deliveries and contributions, staffing the home during the wake, funeral, and memorial service, and sending notes of appreciation on behalf of the family. In addition, several items, such as tables, linens, and food-service items, are available for rent.

In 2011 Gloria’s mother in law and several friends passed away and she was the one asked to handle organizational tasks and regretted time away from helping the families grieve.

From a business standpoint she is working on partnerships with several area funeral homes to refer “Mourning Doves” when they first get word of a funeral.

Two native Augustans seek to bring a culture of innovation and collaboration to the Augusta area.

Dr. Anthony (Tony) Robinson from Augusta State University and Eric Parker, an area architect, went on an expedition to Palo Alto, California at the end of March; They experienced the ethos in Silicon Valley which has spawned a variety of successful startups.

Their trip started with a tour of the National Ignition Facility (NIF) at Lawrence Livermore National Lab. This incredibly ambitious project cost several billion dollars, and has produced benefits that include the following: potential to produce clean power with minimal waste; scaled technology from the size of multiple football fields to roughly the size of a school bus; and recruitment of the most talented minds in physics, optics, semi-conductors, etc. to the Bay Area.

The two voyagers also spent time visiting Stanford’s d.school to learn about the role of education in creating an innovative culture. This program is a non-degree granting design school where students from all disciplines use “design” courses to innovate by unlocking their creative potential.

Robinson and Parker learned that the area TechShop is a critical structure which supports and encourages the startup ecosystem in Silicon Valley. A private, membership-based, rapid prototyping workshop, the TechShop offers a wide variety of tools for designers, innovators, and entrepreneurs. One of the well-known businesses to have roots in the TechShop is “Square,” the iPhone app and accessory for swiping credit cards.

The Super Happy Block Party Hackathon, a festival celebrating creativity, showcased the benefits of Silicon Valley’s entrepreneurship ecosystem. The duo met Allan Alcorn, the Atari developer who invented Pong in the 1970’s. During their time together, Alcom spoke to them of working with Steve Jobs and Steve Wozniak in the early days before Apple became a household name, He also shared insights about Silicon Valley’s early evolution into a culture that nurtures innovation.

The event was a tremendous success and was covered by several local media outlets and National Public Radio (NPR: Redefining ‘Hacker’ In Technology Hotbed). In addition to celebrating creativity, it advanced the notion that the term “hack” refers to developing solutions. The two are planning to bring such an event to the Augusta area as a first step in changing the local culture.

The main takeaway is that Silicon Valley’s commitment to and celebration of entrepreneurship is what makes them successful. Many angel investors, venture capitalists, and entrepreneurs they met also emphasized the following:

• Graduates of the area universities strive to start their own businesses, not merely to work for someone else.

• “Stealth mode,” or creating in secrecy, doesn’t work. Innovation requires open collaboration.

• Efforts to innovate require failing from-time-to-time. “Failing fast” minimizes the cost of failure while capitalizing on the benefits of experimentation.