Welcome to this awesome hobbie! I too am in RVA (Southside), I've only been at it a year and change. Richmond does have a pipe club called CORPS. I can't make the next meeting, but hoping to go to one soon.
Welcome to the forum! Don't worry about asking questions, even the ones you think are stupid. We were all green once, and so did us myself included, are still mastering our technique.
Welcome! I've been doing this for a while and I'm still Green. This is a great group of nice people with a few old codgers thrown in to keep things lively.