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MAY 2013

SERVING THE ROANOKE/BLACKSBURG// NEW RIVER VALLEY REGION

Playing games for fun and profit

F From the h Blue Ridge Marathon to Hokie football, sports have been good to the region

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CONTENTS SERVING THE ROANOKE/BLACKSBURG/ NEW RIVER VALLEY REGION

May 2013

FEATURES COVER STORY

Playing games for fun and profit

From the Blue Ridge Marathon to Hokie football, sports have been good to the region. by Jenny Kincaid Boone

BANKING Squeezed by margins, regulations, expectations

Bankers see consolidation and anticipate a ‘thinning of the herd.’ by Sandra Brown Kelly

SMALL BUSINESS Continuing the legacy

Longtime customer becomes new owner of an old business – and shows a knack for it. by Beth Jones

EDUCATION Removing the barriers

23 Tuition-free community college

program brings hope and a better trained work force. by Sarah Cox

D 26

INTERVIEW: GARY WALTON

Spoon bread, peanut soup and tea dances

M 31

LIFESTYLES

Out for a good time Roanoke after dark means boots, blues and gumbo. by Rebekah Manley

MAY 2013

ROANOKE NEXT

Entrepreneur with a purpose Laura Godfrey does well by doing good.

A manager’s two-year stay has lasted nearly two decades. by Kevin Kittredge

by Jenny Kincaid Boone

FACTS & FIGURES

NEWS FROM THE CHAMBER

NEWS FROM THE PARTNERSHIP

Banking services and products that rival the biggest. Personal customer care that surpasses all.

AreYouWithValley Yet? Ranked by Virginia Business Magazine, for the second straight year... One of the Top 10 Best Places to Work in Virginia.

3 201

Member FDIC

EQUAL HOUSING

LENDER

FROM THE EDITOR ‘Don’t never throw no curves’ by Tim Thornton

e was a round man without a lot of hair, loud in a friendly way. He smiled and wrote his name on my baseball and told me, “Always swing a big bat and don’t never throw no curves.” His broadcasting career was done. He was promoting beer for a living and had come to town to do that and to throw out the first pitch at the old Salem ballpark. The day my Little League self met Dizzy Dean is probably my fondest Roanoke Valley sports memory, but it’s certainly not my only one. I remember seeing Dave Parker play in that Salem ballpark – the one with the flagpole in center field. Parker hit a ball so far over the right field fence one night that in my memory it crossed the first row of houses outside the ballpark and landed in a yard across the next street. Before Parker joined the Salem Pirates, I watched the Salem Rebels play on that field. I watched the ice hockey version of the Salem Rebels skate and shoot and fight in what we used to call the Salem-Roanoke Valley Civic Center. Sports were all fun and games to me then. My concern about the economic impact they might have extended no further than the cost of a ticket, a hot dog and a fountain drink. Sports have played a role in the local economy at least since the Roanoke Magicians started playing baseball in the Virginia League in 1894. Salem and Roanoke shared a baseball team from 1939 through 1946. Salem got its own team in 1955. There were other minor league baseball teams, too: the Radford Rockets, the Pulaski Counts, the New River Rebels. We’ve also had football (college, semi-pro and professional; indoor and outdoor); automobile racing (in Victory Stadium); basketball (the American Basketball Association and the NBA Development League) and lots of hockey. Professional cyclists rolled through with the Tour DuPont in the 1990s. There was even a sort of professional soccer team in Roanoke for a while. Professional baseball continues in Salem and Pulaski, and Salem has made a habit of hosting NCAA Division III national and conference championships. The 30th annual Scott Robertson Memorial Golf Tournament will bring promising young golfers to the area this month. The Hokie football team draws a small city of fans to Lane Stadium on fall weekends. All those competitions make their contributions to the area’s economy and to the area’s image. A lot of people like to live in a place where they can sit in the sunshine and have a beer or a soda while they watch professional athletes compete. But a lot of people like to do more than watch. The Foot Levelers Blue Ridge Marathon is probably the most obvious example of the kind of sporting event that draws participants as well as spectators – more than 1,000 participants in the 2012 marathon. And a lot of those participants bring people with them. They eat. They drink. They buy gas. They book hotel rooms. But most of all, they get a good look at the place. Like the area’s outdoor adventures, music and culture, the direct economic impact of sporting events is only part of what they can do for the region. The cliché says sports don’t develop character so much as they reveal it. Maybe sports can reveal this area’s long-term attractions to some folks who stop by to play.

MAY 2013

SERVING THE ROANOKE/BLACKSBURG/ NEW RIVER VALLEY REGION Vol. 2

MAY 2013

President & Publisher Roanoke Business Editor Contributing Writers

Art Director Contributing Designer Contributing Photographer Production Manager Circulation Manager Accounting Manager Advertising Sales

No. 5

Bernard A. Niemeier Tim Thornton Jenny Kincaid Boone Sarah Cox Beth Jones Sandra Brown Kelly Kevin Kittredge Rebekah Manley Adrienne R. Watson Elizabeth Coffey Sam Dean Kevin L. Dick Karen Chenault Sunny Ogburn Lynn Williams Hunter Bendall

CONTACT: EDITORIAL: (540) 520-2399 ADVERTISING: (540) 597-2499 210 S. Jefferson Street, Roanoke, VA 24011-1702 We welcome your feedback. Email Letters to the Editor to Tim Thornton at tthornton@roanoke-business.com

VIRGINIA BUSINESS PUBLICATIONS LLC A portfolio company of Virginia Capital Partners LLC Frederick L. Russell Jr., chairman

on the cover Sports in Roanoke Blue Ridge Marathon and Virginia Tech Football Photos courtesy Blue Ridge Marathon and Virginia Tech

Meet Gentry Locke’s New Managing Partner The partners of Gentry Locke Rakes & Moore, LLP are pleased to announce the appointment of Monica Taylor or Monday as our new managing partner. Monica is the third managing partner in the firm’s 90-year history, following Mike Pace and Bill Rakes. Selected by her peers, 24 of whom have been designated as Best Lawyers in America, Monica will lead ad us forward with energy and grace, while continuing the firm’s strong tradition of community service and providing creative and effective solutions to our clients. ts. Hugh Fain, president of The Virginia Bar Association, agrees. ”The VBA congratulates Monica Monday on her new leadership role. It is no surprise to see Monica continuing and expanding her service to the legal profession through leadership of one of the truly great law firms in the Commonwealth, Gentry Locke Rakes & Moore.” We are delighted to add that Monica was recently named an Influential Women of Virginia honoree for 2013 by Virginia Lawyers Weekly. Congratulations, Monica. We are very proud to have you as our new leader.

Monica chairs Gentry Locke’s Appellate practice group and is a frequent writer and speaker on appellate issues. In addition to her appellate practice, she will lead strategic planning for the ﬁrm and will oversee its management. Fewer than 10% of the top 200 U.S. law ﬁrms have female managing partners.

Roanoke, Virginia ofﬁce: 10 Franklin Road, S.E. | SunTrust Plaza 540.983.9300 | Toll-free: 866.983.0866 | gentrylocke.com

COVER STORY

Playing games for fun and profit From the Blue Ridge Marathon to Hokie football, sports have been good to the region by Jenny Kincaid Boone 6

MAY 2013

Photo by Mark Rhodes

Fans come to LewisGale Field to see the Red Sox play. They also come to see each other and to take part in promotions that include Tattoo Night and Star Wars Night.

he Blue Ridge Marathon takes less than eight hours for the slowest runner, but the economic impact lingers as more than 1,000 runners rest in local hotels, load up on carbs at local restaurants and buy gear and gifts at local stores. Dave Hopkins says his annual trek to Roanoke to run in the April event wouldn’t be complete without a stop at Frogurt, a frozen yogurt shop in downtown Roanoke on the night of the marathon and another downtown eatery, Thelma’s Chicken & Waffles, for breakfast on the Sunday after the race.

While he and several friends are in the Roanoke Valley for two nights and three days, Hopkins typically shells out about $100 for meals, $260 for lodging (split with a friend) and at least $80 to $100 each way on gasoline for the five-hour drive from his Baltimore home to Roanoke and Photo courtesy Salem Red Sox

back. Last month’s Foot Levelers Blue Ridge Marathon was Hopkins’ third time running the 26.2-mile mountainous course that organizers dub the country’s toughest. The Blue Ridge Marathon is just one of a host of sports and fitness events that generate business from

out-of-town spenders each year. In 2012, marathon-related spending on food, lodging and retail came to $377,198, according to a recent report by the Roanoke Valley-Alleghany Regional Commission and the Roanoke Regional Partnership. That total represented an 11 perROANOKE BUSINESS

cover story cent boost over the overall economic impact of $339,079 in 2011. Plus, 69 percent of last year’s marathon and half-marathon runners lived outside of Virginia, a major economic benefit, organizers say, because outof-towners bring new discretionary dollars to a region. (In light of attacks at the Boston Marathon on April 15, organizers of this year’s Blue Ridge Marathon planned to have more police officers and emergency personnel along the route. Virginia State Police also were involved in the April 20 event for the first time. The marathon schedule included a moment of silence and other gestures to honor the Boston victims.) As the spring and summer sports seasons pick up steam, hotels, restaurants and retailers become major beneficiaries of spending that spills from minor league baseball, horse shows, and baseball and softball tournaments held throughout

Southwest Virginia. For Daleville-based Dominion Lodging, a company with four hotels in the region, sales from sports-related travel represent 20 to 30 percent of the company’s annual business. “They’re crucial to our survival,” Dave Andersen, the firm’s vice president, says of the teams, families and friends who book rooms for area tournaments. Collegiate sports, especially Virginia Tech football, are another revenue generator for the region. Hokie football boosts Montgomery County’s economy by about $17.2 million, according to the latest figures gathered in 2008 and 2009, says Larry Hincker, a spokesman for Virginia Tech. When an event like Roanoke’s Blue Ridge Marathon is successful, there can be benefits beyond numbers. While the marathon is profitable, making money is not its primary mission, according to Pete Eshel-

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MAY 2013

man, director of outdoor branding for the Roanoke Regional Partnership, one of the event’s organizers. Eshelman, who would not reveal the cost of putting on the event, says, “Our reason for getting involved is to make people more aware of Roanoke and what we have to offer. That’s our return.” As of last year, the marathon had donated a total of $42,500 to Friends of the Blue Ridge Parkway, a nonprofit organization focused on preserving and promoting the parkway. In exchange, the nonprofit recruits and organizes volunteers for the marathon. Marathon organizers want the event to put the Roanoke Valley on the map, with a claim that it is America’s toughest road marathon. The course climbs two mountains and has an elevation change of 7,234 feet. Far below those mountains, the Salem Civic Center hosts a slew of sports competitions each year, from National Collegiate Athletic Association basketball to high school tournaments, which generate $4 million to $6 million in spending at area businesses, says Carey Harveycutter, the center’s director. The Roanoke Valley Horse Show, held at the civic center in June, is a big attraction, he adds, with an estimated economic impact of more than $10 million. For each horse, there are at least two people, and they may stay in the area a week or longer for the show. “That’s substantial,” Harveycutter says, adding that the show typically features 800 to 1,000 horses. Next door at LewisGale Medical Center Field, Salem’s minor-league baseball team, the Red Sox, attracts crowds each year, although attendance dropped about 23 percent last year when compared with the 2011 season, says Todd Stephenson, the team’s vice president and general manager. Home games averaged about 2,628 fans last year, down from 3,429 in 2011.

Weather, always a major factor in minor league baseball, was one reason for the seasonâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s attendance decline, Stephenson says. He blames a late June derecho that knocked out power in much of the area for at least a week, affecting eight Red Sox home games. Economic challenges also may have kept people away from the ballpark, where a family of four may spend about $50 for game tickets and food, Stephenson says. Thatâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s still less than $61, the national average in 2012 for a family of four to attend a minor league game, including parking, programs, beer and food, according to the Minor League Baseball organization. â&#x20AC;&#x153;I think people have restructured their entertainment dollar,â&#x20AC;? Stephenson says. The Red Soxâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s livelihood is important to Salem, although the city does not have specific figures on the teamâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s economic impact in the area, says Salem City Manager Kevin Boggess. The team pays city taxes, including admissions and meals taxes, and its brand is recognizable, whether people love or hate the Red Sox, Boggess says. Plus, the exposure that the Red Sox bring to Salem is key to attracting future business. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Thereâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s a fan base that comes to the Salem Memorial Ball Park from Christiansburg and from other areas,â&#x20AC;? notes Boggess. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Even if they donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t have dinner at a restaurant here, the next time theyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;re in town for something else, they may choose to eat here.â&#x20AC;? Dominion Lodging houses the minor league baseball teams that compete against the Red Sox at home. Andersen says that business is only 2 to 3 percent of the companyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s total business in a year. Conversely, lodging demand for an Amateur Softball Association of America national championship tournament in August â&#x20AC;&#x201D; scheduled for Salemâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s James I. Moyer Sports Complex â&#x20AC;&#x201D; already caused at least two nearby hotels to sell out Photo courtesy Roanoke Regional Partnership

The Blue Ridge Marathon generates economic activity for the Roanoke Valley and tens of thousands of dollars for the Friends of the Blue Ridge Parkway.

of rooms, as of late February. Thatâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s according to Kim Oâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;Conner, sales manager for Comfort Suites hotels at Ridgewood Farm and in West Salem and a Quality Inn in Salem. At

these three hotels, she says, sports travel is 40 percent of business. Tournaments held at the Moyer Sports Complex, Kiwanis Field and Spartan Field, all in Salem, had

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ROANOKE BUSINESS

cover story a direct economic impact of $13.3 million last year. That figure comes from John Shaner, director of the city’s parks and recreation department. The impact varies from year to year, he says, depending on the kinds of tournaments hosted by the complexes. In August, for example, Shaner expects larger-than-typical crowds to stay in the area for at least seven days for the ASA’s national championship at Moyer. For that event alone, people likely will book 8,000 hotel room nights. Area hotels receive referrals from the Roanoke Valley Convention & Visitors Bureau (CVB), which helps large tournament organizers find lodging in the region. While it is difficult to track the exact number of out-of-towners who visit the Roanoke Valley for sports-related events each year, it is a defining part of the bureau’s business, says Landon Howard, president of the CVB.

Six times this fall, Hokie football will fill Lane Stadium with crowds almost three times the population of Salem.

It helps that some of the area’s sports facilities have received national recognition. That includes the Botetourt Sports Complex in Troutville with its four championship-level fields. It was named the 2012 Amateur Softball Association of America’s complex of the year. In 2011, the same association gave the Moyer Complex the same honor. Not all sports have had long runs

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MAY 2013

in the Roanoke Valley. The Roanoke Steam, a minor-league arena football team hosted by the Roanoke Civic Center, had a three-season run, the same as the Buckskins, Roanoke’s minor-league football team. The Roanoke Dazzle, a National Basketball Association development league franchise, left in 2006 after five years when the NBA pulled out of some markets. The Roanoke Valley has had several minor league ice hockey teams, beginning with the Salem Rebels in 1967 and ending with the Roanoke Valley Vipers in 2006. The string of teams included the Roanoke Express, an East Coast Hockey League team with an 11-year run. At the height of the Roanoke Express’ success, the Roanoke Civic Center made approximately $200,000 to $250,000 a year, including concession sales and admissions, says Robyn Schon, the civic center’s general manager, who previously worked for the Detroit Red Wings, a National Hockey League team. The Roanoke Express folded in 2004, after attendance dropped off, and team ownership and management were unstable in the last years, Schon says. Last year, she spoke with professional hockey league representatives and a potential local owner about bringing a new team to Roanoke. But the owner failed to find partners to start a team, ending discussions. Photo courtesy Virginia Tech

cover story For hockey to be successful in Roanoke, the team must have local and involved owners with good business sense and enough capital that they can afford to lose money in the first few seasons as the team establishes itself, Schon says. The league also must be established with a proven track record and reasonable franchise fees. In addition, ticket prices should be affordable — between $5 and $8 for kids 12 and younger —Schon says. “Parents don’t want kids’ tickets to cost more than what it would cost to take them to the movies or, in some cases, an amusement park.” An ice hockey league in the Roanoke Valley makes sense and has had the best past success, mostly because it’s a wintertime sport that doesn’t compete with Virginia Tech or University of Virginia football seasons, Schon says. “Hockey is so fast paced, and it takes so many different skills. I always say it is the perfect combination of an athlete.”

Still, the hockey league and team must be right for Roanoke before the civic center commits to it. “As much as the community wants hockey, we are never going to make a decision out of desperation,” Schon says. There are a variety of factors that determine a sport or sporting event’s economic success. One important gauge is the ability to bring people back to the region at other times of the year. The Blue Ridge Marathon did

that for Hopkins. Since his first time running the marathon in 2011 and experiencing the region, the 44-year-old Baltimore resident has visited Southwest Virginia several other times. Last year, he biked the 124-mile Mountains of Misery double-metric century ride in Blacksburg. In 2011, he attended a conference about the Appalachian Trail in Emory. “I now feel comfortable with the area,” Hopkins says.

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Sports are a long running part of the region’s economy.

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ROANOKE BUSINESS

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Congratulations to the Class of 2013! www.radford.edu

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BANKING

Squeezed by margins, regulations, expectations Bankers see consolidation and anticipate a ‘thinning of the herd.’ by Sandra Brown Kelly

t’s tough to be a bank these days. Customers want more from banks even as lending institutions face a pinch on profits and increasing expenses meeting new regulations. The result, bankers say, could eventually mean fewer banks.

Photo by Sam Dean

ROANOKE BUSINESS

banking

Based on FDIC listings of deposits as of June 2012, here are bank rankings in the New River and Roanoke Valley Metropolitan Statistical Areas: Roanoke Wells Fargo ranks No. 1 with nearly 29 percent of deposits. Second is SunTrust Bank with 18.44 percent, then BB&T with 10.49 percent and Valley Bank, at 9.34 percent. Wells Fargo is headquartered in San Francisco; SunTrust in Atlanta and BB&T in Winston-Salem, N.C. Valley Bank is local to Roanoke.

New River Valley Two Virginia banks hold the most deposits: StellarOne with 26.10 percent followed by The National Bank of Blacksburg (National Bankshares) with 21.46 percent. Wells Fargo is third with 13.30 percent. “The consumer wants access to money wherever and whenever he wants it, and that means branches, ATMs, Internet, mobile,” says O.R.

(Ed) Barham Jr., president and CEO of StellarOne Corp. StellarOne has the largest percentage of deposits in the New River Valley,

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MAY 2013

but market share is not necessarily a determinant of a bank’s effectiveness, Barham says. He believes the greatest pressure on banks is the need to be more efficient as they respond to growing regulations. The DoddFrank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act – better known as Dodd-Frank – has 400 provisions, but only a third of them have been finalized. Even before Dodd-Frank, the cost of bank security pressured banks into greater efficiency, Barham says. For example, hacking attempts have forced banks to provide 24-hour surveillance against intrusion and provide for business continuity and backup systems in case a hacking attempt is successful. Concerns about terrorism and money laundering mean banks have to daily track inflow and outflow of cash and report their findings to the U.S. Treasury. “Failure to do so can be onerous, and the service does not add a dollar of profit,” he says. In the past three years, addi-

tional and incremental costs for compliance with new regulations added up to $1.5 million annually for StellarOne, Barham says. “There comes a tipping point. Margins are shrinking and will never come back to where they were prerecession. In the current environment, the low cost of money also lowers a bank’s ability on what it can charge for loans and pay on deposits,” notes Barham who says interest rates are the lowest he has seen in his 33 years of banking. Since StellarOne is a short-term lender, he explains, when loans made four or five years ago are repaid, new loans of that money will need to be offered at an even lower rate. Ellis Gutshall, CEO and president of Valley Financial Corp., parent of Valley Bank in Roanoke, shares the concern about profit margins. “While new regulations are a concern, the shift in how businesses and individuals use credit is having more effect on bank performance,” Gutshall says. “Loan growth is slow, leading to slow asset growth and slow revenue growth. Banks earn their real money on the spread between loan and deposit yields, and this spread has narrowed greatly in this prolonged low-interest-rate environment. “There are too many banks chasing too few lending opportunities, so there will be some thinning of the herd,” he added. The level of economic recovery also will affect prospects for banks. That’s the opinion of David West, senior vice president in research at Davenport & Co., a Richmondbased investment firm. West says asset levels are still higher than they have been historically, and most banks have improved their asset position. However, the loan environment “is still pretty difficult.” Photo by Sam Dean

Susan Still, president of HomeTown Bank, says her company wants employees involved in the communities they serve.

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banking

Ellis Gutshall, president of Valley Bank, says the way people use credit is affecting the banking business more than regulations are.

There is fierce competition for good-quality loans. Some larger banks might even be wooing small customers and can offer fixed-rate loans for longer periods of time. “I still think we are in a consolidating industry,” West says. He notes that some banks are looking at branches for possible reductions. 16

MAY 2013

“Branches, while still vital for establishing a presence in the community, are less important than they were 20 years ago.” The analyst also points to studies that indicate younger customers have less need of branch banks, preferring to use mobile banking. One study, released in April

2012 by Pew Research Center’s Internet and American Life Project and the Imaging Internet Center at Elon University, suggests the use of smartphones and tablets for online and in-store payments could largely replace cash and credit cards for all consumers within the next decade. In response to this trend, even small banks have to be current with new technology, says Susan Still, president and CEO of HomeTown Bank. HomeTown had 3.76 percent of the Valley’s deposits, based on FDIC data as of June 30, 2012, but still has the same concerns as larger institutions, such as whether and where to grow, how to stay on top of technology, and how to cope with regulations. “We want to grow moderately,” Still says. HomeTown Bank in December broke ground for a new location of its New River branch and will add HomeTown Investments brokerage to its services this fall. The bank also provides the latest in mobile banking, Still says, noting that banks don’t see each other as competition, but rather companies such as PayPal and Square Inc. PayPal is the popular eBay company that claims 123 million active accounts; Square, a newcomer from the creator of Twitter, makes mobile payment technology that allows transactions on iPhones, iPads and Google’s Android software. Regarding the cost of regulations, Still points out that the risk management structure required by Dodd-Frank resulted in the bank hiring five additional staff members. Along with providing financial services, philanthropy and community involvement also are part of doing business. “We do expect employees to be involved, but they also want to,” says Still. HomeTown keeps its profile high through events such as the Heart Walk and Photo by Sam Dean

by sponsoring an annual pet calendar to raise money for the Roanoke Valley SPCA. One hundred percent of the bank’s employees participate in the United Way, and the bank has teamed with Junior Achievement to increase financial knowledge in the high schools. “Consumers expect business to be socially responsible,” says Anna Powell, mid-Atlantic community affairs manager for Wells Fargo. Powell meets with local banking teams who decide which nonprofits to support. The bank’s local involvement includes providing volunteers to help with Feeding America Second Harvest’s Quality Assurance Program; adopting “Angels” from the Boys & Girls Club to provide toys, clothing and other items at Christmas; and raising more than $3,500 for Junior Achievement with a Bowl-A-Thon.

Another truism in banking is that a community needs all sizes of institutions. Bank staffers, including those at Wells Fargo’s call center in Roanoke, helped with a United Way survey last fall to determine whether persons who do not have bank accounts have sufficient access to financial information. Wells Fargo

also provides Hands on Banking resources in schools, participates in Goodwill’s Reality Check program and will partner with Big Brothers and Big Sisters to provide Hands On Banking training. Another truism in banking is that a community needs all sizes of institutions, says Nancy Agee, president and CEO of Carilion Clinic in Roanoke. Agee joined the HomeTown Bank board about 18

the

months ago, but the $1.5 billion company she runs must have access to national banks. “Larger banks and community banks are in some ways competitive, but also complementary,” she says. “It seems we not so much judge banks by personal relationships as their involvement in the community and their ability and willingness to serve financial needs of the community.”

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SMALL BUSINESS

ancy Leggett decided to retire. She’d spent 26 years running her Roanoke children’s clothing boutique, Toad’ly Kids, and she and her husband wanted to travel. “He wanted us to go to China,” Leggett says. “He wanted us to go to Africa.”

Plans changed when Leggett’s husband died in October 2011. “When he died, people said, ‘You don’t want to close your store. You suffered one loss, you don’t want another,’” Leggett recalls. On the other hand, Leggett became keenly aware of life’s fleeting nature. She wanted to spend more time with her children and grandchildren who live in New York. She still longed to travel. “And I’d worked a long time,” Leggett says. “I’d worked since I was 16 years old.” So she decided to close Toad’ly Kids rather than sell the business. She didn’t want to see someone change the store she’d spent so many years building. Jennifer Thiers, mother of two, also found herself a widow in spring 2012. “When I lost my husband, I knew I needed to find something I could do that I love that will allow me to take care of my family,” says Thiers, 37. Thiers, who has a bachelor’s degree in nursing, already had decided the health field wasn’t for her. For several years, she’d worked as a children’s photographer, a business she described as a “hobby-job,” but that wasn’t bringing in enough to support the family. “For a few months I didn’t know what the heck I was going to do. I really was worried,” Thiers says. Then, Thiers heard Leggett planned to close Toad’ly Kids. She had been a longtime shopper at the boutique. “I had joked with her in the past that when she decided to retire to let me know,” Thiers says. Thiers sent Leggett an email feeling her out about selling the business. “I was sort of discouraging to her,” Leggett recalls. “Number one, I didn’t think she’d be able to get the money to buy the store. Banks don’t lend money like they used to. She didn’t have any experience in retail.” “She pretty much did her best 18

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to talk me out of it,” Thiers agrees. “But, I’m really stubborn.” Thiers decided not to bother trying to get a business loan. She planned to sell her house and sink the profits into Toad’ly Kids. When Leggett heard Thiers’ plan, she thought to herself: “In your dreams.” Leggett had seen houses sit for sale for months without a nibble in the current economy. Thiers put her house on the market on Friday. By Sunday she had a contract. After that, Leggett dropped her Negative Nancy routine. “It just seemed like it was meant to be,” she says. Thiers estimated she spent about $80,000 between purchasing the business from Leggett, buying inventory and getting a shop up and running, complete with signage and shopping bags. However, that wasn’t the last hurdle. Thiers had a month to move out of her house, and she had to find her family someplace to live. Leggett planned to close her business at the end of August. Thiers wanted to reopen the shop by the following winter. The Charlotte, N.C., market where retailers from this region buy spring clothing lines was scheduled for the following week. If Thiers

much to buy and in which sizes. She advised on what lines did well in the past and what lines sat on the racks. “Nanc y k nows. She has it down,” Thiers says. “I’m learning that from her.” For her part, Leggett was blown away by Thiers’ natural instinct. “I was so impressed with her maturity,” Leggett says. “She made decisions on her feet. If you’ve never done it before, it’s hard.” One of the big decisions Thiers made was to bypass some of the higher-end clothing lines Toad’ly Kids had carried in the past. “That’s just the reality right now,” Thiers says. “People want to have nice things, but they can’t necessarily pay a premium for them.” Thiers spent about a fifth of her spring buying budget, which she estimated to be about $50,000, on a line called Mayoral that Toad’ly Kids had never carried before. She liked that the clothing was well-made, easily coordinated without being too matchy-matchy and was reasonably priced. It proved to be a smart decision. Thiers says she can’t keep Mayoral clothes in the store. “I think in the past when people came to Toad’ly Kids they thought

“I want people to know they can come in here and get casual clothes, too, and not break the bank.” wanted to have clothes to sell, she had to get ready to buy — all while trying to get her family settled in a new location. Leggett, who knew the market experience could be intimidating, offered to go with Thiers. “Nancy has become like my second mother,” Thiers says. “I don’t tell my age,” Leggett says, “but I could be her mother.” Luckily, she’s a retail savvy mama. Thiers says Leggett told her how

they were getting a special occasion outfit,” Thiers says. “I really am trying to change that way of thinking. I want people to know they can come in here and get casual clothes, too, and not break the bank.” Thiers, who has a 9-year-old daughter, also made a point to buy fashionable but tasteful merchandise for tween girls — an underserved market in Roanoke as far as she was concerned. “I do not like going to the mall

Continuing the legacy Longtime customer becomes new owner of an old business — and shows a knack for it. by Beth Jones

Jennifer Thiers was trained as a nurse and worked as a photographer before taking over Toad’ly Kids.

Photo by Stefanie Weber/Toad’ly Kids Photography

ROANOKE BUSINESS

small business and only finding sequins and off-theshoulder tops and super, super tight everything,” Thiers says of clothing in shops geared toward her daughter’s age. It doesn’t have to be that way, she says. “There’s so much out there for tweens that’s cool and fun but also appropriate.” So a specially designated tween room in Toad’ly Kids is filled with colorful dresses in bold patterns and skinny jeans made by a company called Tractor. “They’re very difficult to sell to because they want what their mothers don’t want,” Leggett says of tweens. “Jennifer has her finger on what they like.” Leggett sold clothes to this age market at her store, too, but she says “Jennifer has taken it to another level.” When friends ask Thiers why she took over Toad’ly Kids instead of launching her own children’s clothing shop, Thiers has a one-word answer: reputation. “Nancy has had customers who shopped here forever,” Thiers explains. “People my age whose parents shopped for them here when they

were kids. Carrying on that name was important because people relate that name to a great business.” Thiers was quick to put her own stamp on the boutique. She moved it from The Forum on Starkey Road to a retail space across from Towers Mall and opened in February. Upstairs, customers can browse through children’s frocks for little people ranging from babies to tweens. Downstairs, Thiers set up Toad’ly Kids Photography and hired photographer Stefanie Weber to shoot infant and kid photos. Thiers plans to use the businesses to promote each other. Expectant moms who come in to create a baby registry, for instance, can register for merchandise from the store, including clothes and specialties like custom-designed crib sheets. They also can register for infant photography. “The opportunity for cross marketing is great,” Thiers says. Thiers also is a devotee of social media. She tries to post something on the Toad’ly Kids Facebook page every day. “We’ve had a great

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response from that,” she says. “Last week we put up a picture of really cute bow ties we have for babies, and the next day we sold five of them.” Thiers also plans regular events to get customers in the store. “I have to say I love a party,” she says. In February, Thiers set up a Valentine party for tweens. About 20 girls and their parents stopped by for the festivity, which included pizza and candy bars. The prepubescent guests posed with fun props in a downstairs photo booth. Oh, and they bought stuff, too. “We did $1,700 in two hours and that’s unheard of,” Thiers says. While small businesses face grim survival rate statistics, Thiers is optimistic that Toad’ly Kids will make money. “If the past couple of weeks are any indication, then absolutely,” she says. As for Leggett, she couldn’t be happier that someone is continuing her legacy. The fear she had about someone tinkering with the business she’d built? “It’s gone away,” she says. “I’m very happy Toad’ly Kids is going to continue.”

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EDUCATION Scott Bradford likes the money CCAP saved him and the time it gave him to think.

Removing the barriers Tuition-free community college program brings hope and a better trained work force by Sarah Cox

ollege decisions can be daunting. Not only is higher education expensive, but high school students frequently struggle with what to study.

Remove those burdens and students like Scott Bradford are more likely to continue their education. Bradford, 23, works as a recruiter trainee at ETS Dental in Roanoke. He was a senior at Salem High School when he learned about a new program that would let him attend Virginia Western Community College for free, provided he graduated from Salem with a 2.5 average. “I was very interested when I first heard about it; I had it in my mind that I would go to a four-year university, but when I heard about the CCAP [The Community College Access Program] option, it brought Virginia Western back to the plate Photo by Sam Dean

again, and it worked out to be an awesome thing.” Bradford says CCAP’s benefit was two-fold. The “lifting of the financial burden that comes with a four-year university” is an obvious benefit. Plus, the program bought him time to decide on a major. “A major university forces you to make that decision early on, but in CCAP, I got to take a larger variety of classes in the general studies program. It gave me a little breathing period,” he says. CCAP began as a public-private partnership in 2008 for Salem High School students who wanted to attend Virginia Western Community

College but could not afford to. The program grew from a conversation between the Virginia Western Educational Foundation and Roanoke Valley business leaders who saw no “adequate pipeline to fill jobs that Roanoke had,” explains Erik Williams, coordinator of resource development in Virginia Western’s Institutional Advancement office. “There was a sense that removing the barrier of financial cost would do so much, and out of that concept came CCAP.” When classes begin this fall, students from Botetourt, Craig, Franklin and Roanoke counties as well as Roanoke will have access to CCAP. ROANOKE BUSINESS

education The program covers the full cost of tuition for two years at VWCC – provided students come out of high school with at least a 2.5 grade point average – 2.0 for Roanoke students – and maintain that average at Virginia Western. Roanoke School Board Chairman David Carson says CCAP is “at or near the top of things we’ve been able to accomplish … holding out the promise of going to college has been one of the things that has been such a rousing success.” Roanoke City School Superintendent Rita Bishop agrees. “[CCAP] dramatically impacts high schoolers, as middle schoolers go in with hope and a plan,” she explains. “The college conversations are rich among kids. Particularly this year, kids know about CCAP and are aggressively pursuing it.” The goal, she adds, is to “grab them early, before the bad habits set in.” According to Bishop, the Roa-

noke school system’s technical education programs dovetail with Virginia Western’s, making the transition to college easier for students. That’s due to a partnership with Kathy Duncan, principal of Roanoke’s Career and Technical Education program, working closely with Jim Poythress, Virginia Western’s dean of Business, Engineering and Technology. Together, they develop programs that feed directly into career-preparatory programs at the community college. “Jim and I got together about four years ago and dumped every program that did not have an economic future for the kids,” says Bishop. These days, the science, technology, engineering and math programs at William Fleming and Patrick Henry high schools feed into the VWCC pre-engineering program. If CCAP students earn an engineering associate degree with at least a 3.0 GPA and at least a B in all their engineering classes, they Roanoke City Schools Superintendent Rita Bishop says CCAP has had a dramatic impact on Roanoke students.

MAY 2013

get special admissions consideration from Virginia Tech’s engineering program. Other colleges also are working with Virginia Western’s graduates. For instance, Roanoke College offers a segue for CCAP graduates with two different financial packages. One is based on completion of an associate degree with a 3.5 GPA. This financial incentive offers half tuition to complete their last two years at Roanoke College – a current value of over $33,500. The second, contingent upon completion of an associate degree and a 3.0 GPA, is about $26,000 for two years. Wayne Strickland, director of the Roanoke-Alleghany Regional Commission, says the business community recognizes CCAP’s importance. “We do know that unless you have a strong work force with good skills, you are not going to be as competitive, and that is what has happened in a number of communities whose industries have migrated overseas.” He says today’s work force needs different skills; it’s not a matter of standing in front of a machine, but understanding how that machine is calibrated. “This is the kind of knowledge you pick up in mechatronics, or the blending of machines and electronics,” he explains. Beth Doughty, executive director of Roanoke Regional Partnership, says talent is always an issue. “We looked at the supply line of students being trained and the demand for occupations, and there are some gaps in certain technical areas. The needs of employers have changed over the last five to 10 years.” She says workers have to be able to do a variety of jobs, must have critical thinking skills and must understand computers and the related work. CCAP, she says, “is a great way of responding to those needs. Photo by Sam Dean

It encourages and facilitates the work force of the future to be more skilled and meet the needs.â&#x20AC;? Before attracting new companies, she says, â&#x20AC;&#x153;Youâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;d better be meeting the needs of the companies that are here. It is easier to keep a current customer than to create a new one.â&#x20AC;? Carolyn Payne, the CCAP liaison for Virginia Western, says CCAP provides the opportunity for â&#x20AC;&#x153;students to begin thinking about higher education â&#x20AC;Ś It became a possibility and a reality for them,â&#x20AC;? she says, â&#x20AC;&#x153;and that opened doors to them pursuing careers that they hadnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t thought about.â&#x20AC;? So far, 83 students have graduated through the CCAP program. Virginia Westernâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Williams terms CCAP â&#x20AC;&#x153;hope in action. It is the hope that if you do what we ask you to do, regardless of your parentsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; either unwillingness to pay or inabil-

Virginia Westernâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Carolyn Payne says CCAP has opened studentsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; eyes to careers they hadnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t considered before.

ity to pay, or your own inability, that someone has your back, and that someone is the collective Roanoke Valley.â&#x20AC;? He has taken the CCAP

model across the commonwealth and says the Virginia Community College System is looking at this as a model for resource development.

What is a person TRULY capable of? 5RDQRNH LV WKH SODFH ZKHUH ZH ĂŻQG RXW :H WHDFK RXU VWXGHQWV WR RXW VPDUW RXW VROYH DQG RXW GR WKH H[SHFWHG The world needs people who want more than business as usual. Solving our biggest problems requires it.

www.roanoke.edu

Photo by Sam Dean

ROANOKE BUSINESS

INTERVIEW: Gary Walton, general manager, The Hotel Roanoke and Conference Center

Spoon bread, peanut soup and tea dances A manager’s two-year stay has lasted nearly two decades it. I got out and went to work right away in a hotel.

Every day at The Hotel Roanoke and Conference Center is a new challenge for General Manager Gary Walton. by Kevin Kittredge

hen veteran hotel manager Gary Walton came to Roanoke to manage the Star City’s flagship hotel, he knew he was stepping into a spotlight. After all, Hotel Roanoke, now The Hotel Roanoke and Conference Center, was born the same year as Roanoke, way back in 1882. Almost ever yone in the Roanoke Valley and some far beyond it had memories of the hotel, formerly owned by Norfolk and Western Railway and then Norfolk Southern Corp. – from first dates to wedding parties, from dancing in the Regency Room to eating spoon bread and peanut soup. When Walton arrived in 1994, the hotel was preparing to reopen under new ownership, after a long hiatus in which its survival had sometimes seemed in doubt. A $42 million restoration project was under way, which included not only renovations to the old hotel but construction of a new 53,000-square-feet conference center. Walton, a manager who had worked 26

MAY 2013

in many cities, expected to guide the hotel through its reopening and then move on after a year or two. Roanoke Business recently sat down with Walton in his lower-floor office to find out what it’s like to run a local legend, and why, after nearly two decades, he’s still around. Roanoke Business: Where did you grow up, and how did you get into the hotel business? Gary Walton: I grew up in Northeast Ohio, Niles, up around the Youngstown and Warren area. I went to school in Columbus at Ohio State University. I didn’t start out studying in the hospitality field, but I started working in hospitality during one of my summer jobs and kind of got it in the blood, and it stayed with me. I ended up getting a degree in business administration but worked every year after my freshman year in hotels, during the summers and on spring breaks and Christmas breaks — any time I had a chance to do

RB: What appealed to you about hotels? Walton: What I really liked about it, and it still holds true today, was that every day was kind of a new challenge. It was a lot of activity going on. There was checking people in at the front desk and getting involved in restaurants and cooking and kitchens, and dealing with the public, which generally has its high marks. Most of the time people are coming to a hotel to have a good time. And even if they’re on business, they’re typically in pretty good spirits. I generally find that it’s a pretty rewarding day of work. RB: How did you wind up here? Walton: A long process. This was actually my 11th city I’ve lived in and the 13th hotel that I’ve been involved in managing, all over the country. The longest we had been anywhere was three years. I told my wife we’d probably be here a couple years. Lo and behold, we’ve been here now 19 years. RB: Why have you stayed here so much longer than those other places? Walton: One, the hotel itself is just magnificent. We had two young girls when we came here that were 1 and 3. So they’ve had the opportunity to grow up here, and the Roanoke area has just been a wonderful place to raise a family. The support that I’ve been given by our ownership group is absolutely tremendous. It’s just been a wonderful combination of support from the ownership, a great hotel and a great community. RB: When you fi rst came, the hotel had not yet reopened. What was your assignment then? Walton: I was actually the second person on the staff. Our director of sales and marketing was already in place. The first tasks were really assembling the team, putting the management team together, and kind of Photo by Sam Dean

developing a program to support the sales effort. We were going to try and build as many pre-booked conferences and conventions as we could. There was new construction there [on the convention center] and renovation of the existing hotel. I oversaw that process. We opened them up jointly on the same day, April 3,1995. Everybody really worked hard to make that happen. RB: The hotel’s reopening was obviously a huge thing for the community as well as for its owners. Did you feel an added weight on your shoulders because of that? Walton: We certainly knew and learned quickly when I first came to town the passion that this community had for this hotel. I’ve opened a lot of hotels in my career. And some you really just beg to capture attention and create awareness. You really didn’t have to do that here in Roanoke. RB: Were there any unforeseen problems or challenges when it reopened? Walton: I know I didn’t appreciate the overwhelming demand that we would have for the dining room. And we really weren’t ready when we opened it to meet that demand. Typically in a hotel you don’t have that much demand anyway when you’re first opening. But this was just slammed from day one. RB: Did people want specific menu items? Walton: They were looking for the spoon bread. And the peanut soup and all that, which we had. The hotel had been closed for about five years, so there was a pent up demand that we just didn’t really anticipate would be as strong as it was. But that’s lessons learned. RB: Can you talk a little bit about the hotel’s connection to Virginia Tech? Walton: I don’t know that people in our community necessarily recognize that not only does Virginia Tech own the hotel, but Tech remains very much one of our largest customer bases for group business. Not only do they own it but they’re supporting it. They put business in here through their continuing education program. So their investment is not only in bricks and boards, but certainly to continue to support it. It’s not all the business that we get, certainly, but it’s a good percentage of our group business. And I think that’s important, to know that partnership with Virginia Tech is more than just renovating and keeping the building fresh.

RB: The hotel is actually owned by the Virginia Tech Foundation – is that correct? Walton: Correct. The foundation owns the physical hotel. And then there’s a conference center commission which owns the conference center. About half of it is the city of Roanoke, and the other half is Virginia Tech’s outreach and international affairs division. The hotel ownership has a board of directors. The conference center has a board of directors. Then I’m actually – and all of our employees are actually – employed by Hilton Hotels. We have a contract with the hotel owners to manage the hotel, and we have a contract with the conference center owners to manage the conference center. So it gets at times a little confusing. RB: You must feel that you’re getting conflicting directions on occasion. Walton: When I first came here that was a bit of a concern, that if the two ownership groups ever didn’t see eye to eye, I could be caught right in the middle of that. But fortunately the hotel owners understand that their success is dependent on having the [convention] space, and the conference center recognizes that their success is dependent on having the guest rooms in the hotel. And so it really makes our job a lot easier. RB: How has the hotel changed since it reopened? Walton: On the room side, there’s been new product that’s come into the marketplace, some new competition that chases after occupied rooms as much as we do. But not significantly large numbers of new guest rooms in the valley. But the food and beverage side, when we first opened the doors in ’95, I don’t know what the exact count was, but there were probably fi ve or six restaurants downtown, maybe a few more. Compared to where it is today – there are wonderful restaurants in the downtown market. It’s one of our best strengths when we sell to groups, the close walking distance to downtown and the various retail outlets and restaurants. On the same hand, we want all those guests to dine in our restaurants and not venture out of the building. So it is kind of a doubleedged sword. RB: Let’s talk about some of the hotel’s traditions and special events. What are “tea dances”? Walton: It’s something that started quite a few years ago. Years and years ago, we had a full orchestra come in and do it. Now once a quarter, usually on a Sunday, folks

come into one of the ballrooms and we have a DJ who plays a variety of dance music, and they’ll dance from 3 to 5. RB: Do they drink tea? Walton: There may be some tea. I think we usually put a bar in there. Then they come up to the Regency Room for a buffet dinner, and then they go back and dance from 7 to 9. So it really becomes a full afternoon and evening for them. People have a great time. RB: Are there other special events here? Walton: Our holidays have always been very, very popular. We do an Easter buffet; we do a Mother’s Day buffet. The Thanksgiving buffet is very popular. Christmas Eve and Christmas Day are very popular. And then New Year’s Eve is kind of a staple. Those are big days. A lot of folks come out and bring families out. It’s a lot of work, but it’s a special time. RB: What’s in store for the hotel in the future? Walton: Several years ago we looked at the potential of expanding the hotel. It’s not an active project right now, but it is something that’s out there. It was adding about 125 guest rooms. If we added 125 guest rooms, we’d have to expand the conference center, add about another 4,000 square feet of meeting space there. This past year, the changes in the Regency Room were a big project for us. We added a wall that divides the room almost in half. It really was a way to provide much more flexibility in how we use the room. We wanted to maintain the ambience of the room and character of it, so people who remember the Regency Room of yesterday didn’t come in and say, “Oh, my Lord.” I think the architects and interior design people really did a great job. RB: How many people stay at the hotel in an average year? Walton: We measure that in room nights. It probably averages about 90,000 a year. Approximately 45 percent of that is group related. RB: The hotel is 131 years old this year. Do you think it will be around awhile longer? Walton: I do. I’m very, very fortunate to be involved in a hotel where the owners are committed to keeping it fresh, keeping it relevant with today’s world. I think it’s got a long and bright future. ROANOKE BUSINESS

LIFESTYLES

Out for a good time Roanoke k after f d dark k means boots, blues and gumbo

Abbey Road performs at Kirk Avenue Music Hall.

by Rebekah Manley

ot so long ago, Roanokers looking for music headed to Floyd. Dancing was hard to come by. Late night dining meant a Cheesy Western (a cheeseburger with an egg on it) at the Texas Tavern. When the sun sets on Roanoke these days, that big neon star on the mountain shines down on nightspots ranging from posh to honky-tonk. Roanoke’s live music scene got a kick-start when Kirk Avenue Music Hall opened in October 2008. Set on the mock-cobbled road it’s named after, Kirk Avenue Music Hall offers a living roomlike intimacy. Only 130 chairs line the narrow venue encompassed by unadorned walls. Local musician Sam Hensley, 36, recommends Kirk: “For those concertgoers who want an intimate setting, who would rather sit than stand, who would rather sip their drinks than spill them all over the dance floor, who want to see a quieter show

MAY 2013

than a screaming throwdown, Kirk Avenue has provided. In Kirk Avenue Music Hall, smaller touring acts, and the fans that will pay to see them, have a place to find themselves together in Roanoke and no longer have to travel to Floyd or Charlottesville for the same experience.” Artist-focused experience remains the draw. There’s no food, but concertgoers can get a drink. All proceeds from the bar go to The Music Lab at Jefferson Center. Kirk Avenue stays true to what its website promises: “No frills. No TVs. No fusion menus.” It’s about the music. This isn’t a nightclub, creative director Cory Campbell explains. “We are a listening room.” Sometimes the room is very intimate. When Canadian singer-songwriter Melanie Dekker performed, the crowd was small, but she dedicated one of her first songs to the folks who booked her

and took care of her while she was in Roanoke. When the song was finished, someone called out, “Can each of us have our own song?” Dekker paused, counted the crowd and said, “Yes. Yes, you can.” For the rest of the show, she talked for a minute with each audience member, then sang a song that somehow related to them. Not every show is so quiet and intimate. When Another Roadside Attraction or the Hackensaw Boys are on stage, things can get downright raucous. Food is available next door at Lucky – the equivalent of Kirk Avenue with its back parlor ambiance. Here the hungry can dine on dishes like roast marrow bone salad and duck leg confit. Honky-tonk, hip hop, Americana, rock, jazz and blues filtering onto the quiet side street seems to fulfill the venue’s original intent, according to Campbell, “to take one open room and fill it with as much Photos by Sam Dean

life, art, music, film, dance, design and energy and see what happens.” The venue’s calendar is available online and tickets sell quickly. A block and a half away, on the corner of Kirk and Second Street, Blue 5 Restaurant’s blue and white Christmas lights frame performers behind oversize windows. The glow matches the venue’s relaxed feel with live blues – sometimes blues/ rock or jazz – four nights each week. Patrons leave stress on the street, and dancing breaks out between tables. With 46 beers on tap, “It’s a craft beer lover’s paradise,” according to patron and 30-yearold budget analyst Steve Elliot. When Bill Wharton, the Sauce Boss, comes to Blue 5, he cooks gumbo on stage in a mammoth pot. Wharton calls himself “the inventor of gastronomical boogiewoogie … a cross between Justin Wilson and Robert Johnson.” He takes breaks from stirring gumbo and playing guitar to dance on the main counter. Sidewinders Steakhouse and Saloon is just a boot scoot away on Campbell Avenue. This authentic honky-tonk experience draws crowds with two bars to serve the thirsty. The region’s largest and only exclusive country music club draws impatient lines each Saturday. Folks who come early can snag a table and some dance lessons. A male and female instructor team is available from 7 to 11 p.m. for line dance and two-steptraining. The band comes on at 9 p.m., and the full menu, including lava rock grilled steaks, is served until last call. In addition to the weekend’s dance bands, the club hosts a weeknight Sidewinders Concert Series. Artists range from up-and-coming country stars to current sensations such as Uncle Kracker and Jana Kramer. Down the street, Metro! offers a big city contrast. Owner Andrew Schlosser sees Metro! as a Mercedeslevel nightclub. “We are worth the price if you are in the market for

quality. Because we don’t charge a cover, sometimes people try us that may not be in the market for such quality.” Metro! patterns itself after the nightlife offerings of Montreal, New York and Washington. Polished details include dark red couches and soft, under-thebar lighting. Schlosser brings in DJs from D.C. He studies trends in music and clubs, always looking for what’s new. Getting to both bars can be a tight squeeze and the upstairs dance floor is always packed. Amy Buckmaster, a 25-year-old strategic pricing analyst, says, “When I first moved to Roanoke after graduate school, I wasn’t sure how the transition would be from ‘college-nightlife’ to ‘young professional-nightlife’ … Roanoke has several bars that turned out to be what I was looking for. Metro! is a favorite of mine – big city vibe and great dance music.” Schlosser has a vision of where Roanoke is headed. “We are growing a community for young adults that have been in the big city and have seen how much better the cost of living is here … there has to be culture here for them.” Schlosser explains how, 10 years ago, Corned Beef & Co., Frankie Rowland’s,

Metro! and a few others took chances to provide that culture and start to bring the big city trends to Roanoke. “We were the forerunners ... that put our heart and soul into it.” After last call, people crowd into Benny Marconi’s, a little shop with big pizza. Owners and Virginia Tech graduates Zach Toth and Chris Brown went on their own personal pizza tour, scouting the best pizza places in Manhattan and Brooklyn to see what made each of them special. They brought those recipes and techniques back to their business. The folks behind the counter pass out torso-size slices until midnight during the week, until 3 a.m. on weekends. “Benny’s is nice for that late night pizza fix,” says Bryan Soukup, a 26-year-old security analyst. After graduating from college, he moved from Richmond and remains impressed with the Valley’s night life. “I was surprised at the options Roanoke had to offer. Especially in the last two years with numerous restaurants and bars opening, it seems like Roanoke is catering to the young professional crowd that has seemingly soared in the last couple of years.”

David Anderson out with friends at Blue 5 in downtown Roanoke.

ROANOKE BUSINESS

I M PA C .

The Virginia Tech Carilion Research Institute. Impacting Virginia and the World.

With 8 million new cases of brain disorders in the United States each year creating a total economic impact of $995 billion in direct and indirect costs, it’s no wonder that the Virginia Tech Carilion Research Institute is developing a leading-edge brain research program. Institute scientists are inventing new strategies for preventing, diagnosing, treating, and curing such challenges as autism, stroke, traumatic brain injury, Alzheimer’s disease, depression, and nicotine addiction. In addition, they are conducting the Roanoke Brain Study, a ﬁrst-of-its-kind initiative that explores how people’s genetics, environment, and connections to others affect brain development. Through their work, these researchers are discovering fundamental processes of life and solving major health issues facing people throughout Virginia and the world. We call that impact. To learn more, visit www.thisisthefuture.com.

Laura Godfrey, owner, Claire V.

Next ROANOKE

Entrepreneur with a purpose

Laura Godfrey

Laura Godfrey does well by doing good.

by Jenny Kincaid Boone

exas-native Laura Godfrey moved to Roanoke in 2002 as a young entrepreneur with lofty goals. A year after graduating from Wellesley College, she launched Claire V., a handbag and accessories wholesaler with plans to contribute 10 percent of its proceeds to education and health programs for women and children in Asia. Claire V. sends designs for its silk handbags to Cambodia, where they are crafted by victims of land-mine injuries. Embroidery is done in Vietnam. T he ba g s , w hich have surged in popularity, have been featured in women’s magazines, sold in boutiques nationwide and even appeared in an episode of the former ABC television series Desperate Housewives. Several years ago, Godfrey – who declined to discuss the financing behind her ventures – took her business acumen in a new direction. She opened Polished by Claire V., a nail salon in downtown Roanoke. Since then, she has added locations in Roanoke County and Blacksburg, where she also opened a nail technician school. Polished also has a distinct mission. It employs graduates of Bethany Hall, a Roanoke nonprofi t that provides substance abuse treatment for women.

Photo courtesy Laura Godfrey

The two businesses have more than 35 employees. Godfrey plans to open one or two more Polished salons next year. Now 36 with two young daughters, Godfrey has not slowed down. Last year, she and a partner founded a business consulting company, Left Brain Right Brain. They offer marketing and technology services to small and large companies, which are both local and internationally based. With a background in math and technology, Godfrey says she’s the company’s left brain. Roanoke Business: How has Claire V. changed since you launched it? Laura Godfrey: After my first daughter was born, I couldn’t travel the way that I had been. I was spending as much as six months out of town every year, doing ever y thing from sales travel to production travel in Southeast Asia. So, what we’ve done is we have slowed down the wholesale part of our business. We just keep our larger wholesale clients. At some point, we’ll ramp back up again and bring on more independent boutiques and gift stores. For the time being, we’ve just kept our bigger customers, like The Knot, which is a wedding website and magazine.

RB: What led you to open the first Polished by Claire V. nail salon? Godfrey: We had a storefront that we had leased downtown, and we had another that had been built out for us, and it didn’t get finished in time. So we had this extra space that we were renting that we had a contract on and didn’t know what to do with it. We had started being interested in doing something a little bit more locally. I’ve been on the board of Bethany Hall for seven years now, and their graduates are wonderful women. They’ve worked really hard to get their life back on track, but a lot of times, even though they may have had professional careers in the past, those careers are no longer open to them. Instead, the things that are open to them sometimes are jobs that don’t pay enough to support a family and children. With those things in mind, that was kind of how Polished was born. This way, too, they have [skills] that they can take with them anywhere, even if they don’t stay in Roanoke. RB: How do you balance being a mother and an entrepreneur? Godfrey: [Motherhood] has made me get much more focused and organized, so that

when I’m at work, I really try to buckle down. I can’t work at home. I have to have my brain somewhere else. For the most par t, I’m in the off ice ever y day. A lot of times, because I’m kind of a night owl, I’ll stay up and work late once it’s quiet at home. That’s when I get my best work done. Most times I stay up until 1, sometimes 2 a.m. RB: Was starting a business in Roanoke a good move and, if so, why? Godfrey: The community support has been incredible. Even though the majority of our business with Claire V. was not in Roanoke, just knowing that people knew us and wished us well was very encouraging. In terms of the logistics piece of it … a lot of our business was on the East Coast, between New York and Atlanta, and it was really easy to either fly or drive for sales and trade shows. People complain about the [Roanoke] airport all of the time. I actually think it’s a wonderful airport. We’re able to get in and out quickly. I grew up in Houston, and I was in Boston for a long time. Compared to that, where it’s an hour and half just to get to the airport and parking and all of that, Roanoke’s wonderful.

ROANOKE BUSINESS

Facts& Figures What’s the value e of a college degree? Itt’s ’s become popular to denigrate e the vallue e of a co c llege le ge e edu duca uc tion, particularly when itts co cost stt iss meassurred agai ag an ai nsst gr grad a uates’ economic retu ad urn n. Th The Ne N w Yo Y rk T me Ti es pu p bl b is i he hed d a st s ory last Novem em mb beer he headli l ned “S Saying in g No No to Co C lleg ge. e ” Th he ac a comp mpan an nyi y ng g ill llusstratio on de eclar cl a ed d “Co Co oll lleg ege iss for orr sucke uccke k rs rs.” .” It’ss tru It ru ue th hat a peo oplle wi w th hou outt a co oll lleg ge de d gr g ee e hav ve some m preetty su me succces essfful rol ole mo ode d lss — Bil illl Ga Ga s an Gates nd Mark Ma r Zuc rk ucck rb ucke berrg co come e to mi mind nd d — and d tha hat mo ore r tha han ha lff of rece ha reece cent n col nt olle l le l gee g ra radu duat du aattess are une n mp mplo lo oye yed d or u de un d re emp mploye mplo yed. ye d. Eveen du d. uri r ng n the e bo oo om ti om time m s off 200 me 000, 0, 0, ab bou ut 40 0 perrcent ce ent of re rece cent nt gra nt radu d at ates tes e weerre un nem empl p oy pl oyed yed d orr und n erem empl ploy o ed oy ed. d. Fa actor ctto orr in al alll tth he de debt btt and it’ b t s pr p acacac t cally a no ti n -b bra r in iner e . Co er Coll lleg egee is isn’ n’’t wo n worth rtth th t e ti t me e and d m ney it mo it req equi eq qu uiire res. s. If you u bel elie ieve ie ve e that, ha at, it wo won n’t bot n’ botth bo her e you ou to kn know ow w th he e U S. U. S is 14 1 th th amo m ng g natio ion ons ns in the th he Or Orgaani niza zati za tiion on for Eco cocon mi no micc Co Coop oper op e at atio tio ion n and an nd De D ve velo lopm lo pmen pmen pm ent in i the h per erce ce ent n ag age off 25 to o 344 ye year a -o ar -old ld ds wi with h bac ache elo lor’ r s de degr egree grree eees. s s. On O n the he other th her e ha an nd, d colle olle ol lege ege ge-r -rrel elat ated ed d deb ebtt issn n’’t ass big g ass you miigh htt thi h hink nk.. Mo nk M re re tha han 70 han 70 perce erc nt of rreece er c nt n grad adua ad du te es ow we $2 $25, 5,00 00 000 00 orr les ess on n the heir ir bac ir a he helo lor’ lo r’s ’s de d g ees gr ee es. Tha hat’ t’ss ro roug ghly th the he pr pric icee off a new ic w Toy oyot o a Ca C mr m y. And An d th that at sam a e Ne ew York York paper that be Yo b litttled le a cco le o ollleg ge ed duccatio ti n in Novembe beer ran a stor o y in Feb ebru ruar ru aryy de ar declar decl larring, “It Takess a B.A. to Fin nd a Jo Job b as a Fil ilee Cl C errk. k” Accco cord r in rd ing g to the he New Riv iver er Val a le ey Re Regi g on gi o al Com mmiss mi ssio io on co c mm mun unit ityy prrof o il ile, e, nea earl rlyy 29 per erce ent n of Ne New Rive Ri verr Va ve V llley ey’’s ’s res esid id den nts who ho are at le leas asst 25 years old ha h aave ve at le easst a ba b chel chel ch elor or’s ’ degre ’s eg gre reee. Butt fewer than 14 percent ce nt of th thee pe p op ople l col le o lect lect c in ing g un unem empl ploy oyme m nt insurance 32

MAY 2013

paymen nts in n th the Ne N w River Va Valley in February had at leas a t a ba b chelor’s deg egre eg re ee. Nearlly 63 percent had a high school diploma orr le less ssss. Mo M re than 24 percent of the people living g in the e Roaanoke Valley have at least a bach chelor’s degree, but lesss th han 12 pe p rcent of those receivi viing g un nempl p oyme ment do. o Six xtyy-four pe p rcent of those recei eiivin ng un nem mploy o ment n havve a high h schoo ool diploma or lesss. oo s Whil i e liibe b ral ar artss adv voc ocatess wil ill say education’s valvalue e can’t be measurred d in dollars, s,, thi his chart shows mo his ore ed ducation means a be b tter chanc n e of being employe y d ye an nd a b beett t err cha hancce at at a big igge g r pa p yycche eck. Unemployment Education rate in 2012 attained

Median weekly earnings in 2012

2.5%

Doctoral degree

2.4

Professional degree

1,665

3.6

Master’s degree

1,263

4.9

Bachelor’s degree

1,053

6.8

Associate degree

768

8.7

Some college, no

719

9.4

High-school diploma

638

Less than a high school diploma

451

All workers

797

14.1 7.6

$1,551

Note: Data are for persons age 25 and over. Earnings are for full-time wage and salary workers. Source: Bureau of Labor Statistics, Current Population Survey.

Roanoke Regional Chamber of Commerce | SPONSORED CONTENT

Roanoke Regional Chamber recognizes Chamber Champions and event sponsors CHAMBER CHAMPIONS

EVENT SPONSORS

BB&T Brown Edwards Blue Ridge Copier Cox Business Gentry Locke Rakes & Moore Grow Inc. LifeWorks REHAB (Medical Facilities of America) Lumos Networks rev.net Spilman Thomas & Battle PLLC Trane Tread Corp. Wells Fargo Woods Rogers Attorneys at Law Pepsi Bottling Group

Career Focus Dinners Ferrum College Hollins University Radford University Roanoke College Virginia Western Community College

Note: Chamber Champions are members who support the Roanoke Regional Chamber through year-round sponsorships in exchange for year-round recognition.

Business Before Hours – March 28 Hope Tree Family Services Doctors Express Roanoke Legislative Wrap-Up – April 5 Cox Appalachian Power Lanford Brothers Co.

Member news & recognitions Advanced Network Systems, a leading IT systems integrator that provides innovative technology products and services, has announced that it has been recognized by Cisco Systems as one of Cisco’s Top Performing Channel Partners. Cisco recognized Advanced Network Systems’ outstanding, yearover-year sales growth success. AmRhein’s Wine Cellars recently brought home three silver medals from the Virginia Governor’s Cup competition. The awardwinning wines were the winery’s Chambourcin, Pinot Gris Reserve and Vidal Blanc. T he Blue Ridge Chapter, Public Relations Society of America (PRSA) has announced that three chapter members are also involved in the PRSA national lead-

ership. Former chapter president L aur a Nef f-Hender son, Virginia Tech employee Neffcommunications manHenderson ager, was elected at the PRSA International Conference to be an at-large delegate to the 2013 PRSA National Cannon Leadership Assembly. Chapter board member Douglas Cannon, a Virginia Tech Department of Communications assistant professor, is serving through 2015 on the Universal Accreditation Board. Chamber board member Don Egle, director of public affairs and university spokesman for James Madison University, is serving as 2012-2014 national professional adviser to the

Public Relations Student Society of America, the college branch of PRSA. Carilion Clinic has developed a new website to support Doctors Connected, the new Medicare Shared Savings Program. Doctors Connected is designed to provide Medicare Fee-for-Service beneficiaries with high-quality care, while lowering the rate of growth in Medicare expenditures through improved care coordination, communication and a focus on preventive and wellness care, especially for patients at risk for chronic illness. The Doctors Connected website, at www.doctorsconnected.org, will provide information about the new program. Roanoke Fire-EMS received confirmation that the City of Roanoke

will retain its Class 2 ISO (Insurance Service Organization) rating for the next 10 years. ISO collects and evaluates information from communities in the United States on their structure fire suppression capabilities. Departments are evaluated on water supply, receiving and handling fire alarms, staffing, apparatus, training and equipment. Once the department is analyzed, it is given a class rating on a scale of 1 to 10. In the fall of 2012, peer assessors visited the Roanoke Fire-EMS Department to ensure that it was meeting the standards set forth by ISO. Dixon Hughes Goodman, one of Virginia’s leading accounting firms, has announced several new hires for its Roanoke office, including: Adam Stevens, assurance

ROANOKE BUSINESS

SPONSORED CONTENT | Roanoke Regional Chamber of Commerce associate; Emily Blevins, tax associate; Amanda Dearing, CPA, senior associate specializing in taxes; Annet te Matheny, CPA, seasonal tax preparer; Mary Adkins, seasonal tax preparer; and Charles “Tready” Gardner and Christopher Nicholas have joined the firm as interns for the spring tax season. H o n e yTr e e E a r l y L e a r n ing Centers recently hosted a groundbreaking ceremony for its new aquatics center, located in the 200 block of Hershberger Road. The new center will feature a gym, snack bar, classrooms and locker rooms. The aquatics center and pool is a privately owned facility for HoneyTree Early Learning Centers and is used during the summer for its camp program. Upon completion, HoneyTree plans to begin using the facility year-round for a future afterschool program accommodating nearby schools. Chad McGhee has b e e n n a m e d c hie f revenue officer and Jerr y Plunkett as the director of financial McGhee management for the operating entities of McLeod Enterprises – HoneyTree Early Learning Centers, Plunkett Star Cit y Skate Center and Sylvan Learning Centers of Roanoke, Christiansburg and Charlottesville. Megan Foust Foust has been named center director of the Sylvan Christiansburg facility. National College, known since 1886 as a leader in career-focused education, has announced that its flagship Roanoke Valley Campus, located in Salem with additional 34

MAY 2013

facilities in Vienna, will be known as American National University. The Salem campus is the home of the college’s administration. In late 2012, the college opened a higher education center in Tysons Corner, in the Washington, D.C. region, offering programs through the college’s School of Professional Development and English Language Institute. National College’s other 29 campus locations, located in six states, will continue to operate under the National College name. Project Access of the Roanoke Valley has announced that Timothy Fortuna, D.O., and Krista Crawford-Mathis, PhD, SPHR, have been elected to its board of directors. The Roanoke-Blacksburg Technology Council (RBTC) has a new look with a new logo and website. The logo, developed by a young entrepreneur, Nick Giaganas, is simple yet modern in contrasting colors and black and bright green. The website was redesigned and donated to the RBTC by Interactive, Design and Development. Roanoke County Administrator Clay Goodman recently announced the selection Caywood of Richard Caywood as the new assistant county administrator. Caywood had served as senior project manager for Fielder’s Choice Enterprises, a civil construction company based in Charlottesville. He replaced former assistant county administrator Diane Hyatt, who retired in August 2012 after 30 years of service with Roanoke County. Four elementary and three secondary schools in Roanoke County have received grants from the ExxonMobil Educational Alliance

to support science and math programs. These grants are part of several available to schools across the country served by Exxon or Mobil stations. Roanoke County schools receiving the grants are: Burlington Elementary ($1,000 grant); Clearbrook Elementary ($500 grant); Herman L. Horn Elementary ($500 grant); Hidden Valley Middle School ($500 grant); Northside High School ($1,000 grant); Northside Middle School ($1,000 grant); and Oak Grove Elementary ($500 grant). Five team members of SERVPRO of Roanoke, Montgomery and Pulaski Counties recently earned certification as water damage restoration technicians through the Institute of Inspection, Cleaning and Restoration Certification. LaSavior “Nikki” Jones, Ariel Olson, Holley Pence, Josh Bullock and Stacie Smith are registrants in good standing and bring the number of total certified water damage restoration technicians with SERVPRO to 21. S u nTr u s t B a n k , Western Virginia has announced that Adam Alexander has been Alexander named business banking relationship manager within the bank’s commercial division. Alexander most recently served as the branch manager of the SunTrust Cave Spring office. SunTrust Bank, Western Virginia has announced that James Porter has been named assistant vice president and business banking relationship manager within the bank’s commercial division serving commercial clients in Lynchburg, Bedford and the Smith Mountain Lake areas.

N. Ray Tuck Jr., D.C., president of Tuck Chiropractic Clinics, has announced that Craig Camidge, D.C., and Logan Brooke, D.C., are full partners in the Tuck Chiropractic Clinic organization. Camidge joined Tuck Chiropractic Clinic in 2008. Brooke joined the clinic in June 2009. The Virginia Museum of Transportation has announced it is studying the feasibility of returning the iconic Norfolk & Western Class J 611 steam locomotive to operating condition. The study – called Fire Up 611! – will determine what it will take to restore, maintain and operate the locomotive. A committee of experts has been formed to conduct the study. The committee will consult with specialists in steam locomotive operations and restoration, engineers and experts on Federal Railroad Administration and safety. Irving Coy Allen has joined the VirginiaMaryland Regional College of Veterinary Medicine at Allen Virginia Tech as an assistant professor of inflammatory disease in the Department of Biomedical Sciences and Pathobiology. Maria V. Anderson, Pamplin College of Business alumna and a recruiter at KPMG, Anderson gave the Wells Fargo Distinguished Lecture, sponsored by the Pamplin College at the Holtzman Alumni Center’s Alumni Assembly Hall on March 7. Anderson joined KPMG after she graduated from Virginia Tech with a bachelor’s degree in business information technology. Lois Badey has been named the senior director of development for the Center for the Arts at

Roanoke Regional Chamber of Commerce | SPONSORED CONTENT Virginia Tech. In this position she will be the chief major-gift officer for the center, which is alre ady running Badey programs and this fall will occupy a 150,000-squarefoot complex currently under construction. Jonathan Boulter has been named associate director of patron services for the Center for the Arts at Boulter Virginia Tech. Boulter will oversee patron experiences at the center, which include the management of ticketing and front of house operations. Gardner Campbell, director of professional development and innovative initiatives for Campbell Learn Technologies and associate professor of English in the College of Liberal Arts and Human Sciences at Virginia Tech, has been named one of the “Top 50 Innovators in Education in 2012” by the Center for Digital Education and Converge Magazine. Dr. Julie Cecere has joined the VirginiaMaryland Regional College of Veterinary Medicine Cecere at Virginia Tech as a clinical assistant professor of theriogenology in the Department of Large Animal Clinical Sciences. Ian Farrell has been appointed the assistant vice president of development for colleges at Virginia Tech. Farrell Farrell most recently served as director of regional development at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute.

Virginia Tech alumnus Jerome Fowlkes recently was the keynote speaker at the Diversity ConferFowlkes ence organized by the Pamplin Multicultural Diversity Council. The conference was led by representatives from The Hershey Company, Target, Deloitte, Ernst & Young, PricewaterhouseCoopers and KPMG. Christopher R. Fuller, the Samuel Langley Distinguished Professor of Engineering at Virginia Tech Fuller and a resident at the National Institute of Aerospace in Hampton, presented his research work as part of the Boeing Distinguished Researcher and Scholar Seminar Series in February. Don Leo, vice president and executive director for Virginia Tech National Capital Region, and Stan Hefta, Leo director of Strategic Business Planning and Development for the Virginia Bioinformatics Institute, have joined Hefta the leadership team of the newly established Virginia Biosciences Health Research Corp. Founded by Virginia Tech and four other state universities — Eastern Virginia Medical School, George Mason University, University of Virginia and Virginia Commonwealth University — the corporation was formed to foster collaborative scientific research innovation and to provide a new program for public/private partnering with Virginia universities. Leigh McCue-Weil, an associate professor with Virginia Tech’s Department of Aerospace and

Ocean Engineering, received the Rosenblatt Young Naval Engineer Award from the American Society of Naval McCue-Weil Engineers at its ASNE Day in February. C ar ol A . M ullen has been named the director of the School of Education at Virginia Tech and Mullen associate dean for professional education in the College of Liberal Arts and Human Sciences. Virginia Tech’s Department of Industrial and Systems E n gin eer in g ha s Nussbaum received a five-year, $470,703 grant from the National Institute of Occupational Safety and Health to expand its graduate Youngeducation to address Corbett construction-related occupational safety and health. The principal faculty members leading the new initiative are Maury Nussbaum, Industrial and Systems Engineering, and Deborah YoungCorbett, with the Myers-Lawson School of Construction. Pamplin College of Business dean Richard E. Sorensen was formally honored in the Virginia State Capitol recently with a joint resolution of commendation by the Virginia General Assembly. When he retires in July, Sorensen will have served as a business dean for 40 years — 31 years at Virginia Tech and nine years at Appalachian State University in Boone, N.C. Christopher Williams, an assistant professor with Virginia Tech’s College of Engineering,

will use a National Science Foundation Faculty Early Career Development Award to explore 3-D ink-jet Williams printing with copper as a conductivity tool. In his research, Williams will test the use of copper oxide powders in an ink-jetting 3-D printing process to create small, complex copper parts. The Association of Collegiate Schools of Architecture has recognized Marie Zawistowski and M. Zawistowski Keith Zawistowski with a 2012-2013 Design Build award. The Zawistowskis, both professors of practice in the VirK. Zawistowski ginia Tech School of Architecture + Design, were among four individuals and teams to be recognized for best practices in design-build education. Virginia Western Community College has announced that it will offer free dual enrollment (college credit) courses at high schools in its service region beginning in the 2013-14 academic year. Students at public high schools in Botetourt, Craig, Franklin and Roanoke counties, and the cities of Roanoke and Salem, will be eligible to enroll in these courses. Dual enrollment classes are taught at local high schools by teachers who are credentialed to instruct at the college level. If a student receives a C-grade or better, he or she will receive transferable college credits for the class. Students may be able to earn an associate degree at the same time they earn a high school diploma. The funding for students taking dual enrollment courses will be provided by Virginia Western.

ROANOKE BUSINESS

SPONSORED CONTENT | Roanoke Regional Partnership

News from the Roanoke Regional Partnership Lots of media exposure for Roanoke Region Since 2010, the number of media features and mentions about the Roanoke Region has doubled, and the region is popping up on an increasing number of best lists. In 2012, the region was featured in national publications such as Garden & Gun, Smart Growth America, Fido Friendly, The Boston Globe and The New York Times. The region also was highlighted in regional publications such as Southern Business & Development. Regional assets — from the outdoors to work force — have been named to prestigious lists. The Weather Channel named the Blue Ridge Marathon to its list of the world’s 15 toughest marathons. Blue Ridge Outdoors readers voted Roanoke Best Mid-Sized Mountain Town, and Roanoke was named the 36th best metro for a growing work force by Area Development Magazine.

Building of the Year runners-up were the Brooklyn Botanic Garden Visitor Center in Brooklyn, New York, and the Yin-Yang House in Venice, Calif. You can read more about all three winners and see photos of each building from American-Architects. American-Architects is a subsidiary of World-Architects. com, a network of outstanding architects, landscape architects, engineers, interior designers, lighting consultants and architectural photographers bringing designers, clients and contractors together in the goal of advancing quality in architecture. The site was founded in 1994 by Zurich-based PSA Publishers and also features an e-magazine.

The audience opting in for information about the Roanoke Region continues to grow as well. More people are connecting with the region through the Roanoke Regional Partnership’s websites — www.roanoke.org, www.roanokeoutside.com and www.roanokeentrepreneur. com — and interacting with related channels on social media. The partnership also distributes three email newsletters, Investor Insider, Horizon and Get Outside Weekend Update, which help keep people informed about news and happenings in the Roanoke Region. The number of people relying on partnership channels for information continues to grow steadily, especially in the area of social media where more people are turning for news and information.

Several Roanoke employers among Best Places to Work

Lowest cost of living

Valley Bank

The 2012 annual data are in, and figures show that Roanoke has the lowest cost of living of any metro in Virginia. With costs about 8.6 percent lower than the national average, Roanoke has a lower cost of living than more than 75 percent of metro regions across the nation. The area’s strongest competitive advantages are in housing and health-care costs, though food costs and miscellaneous service costs are considerably lower than the national average. The region’s cost of living is lower than many Southern competing metro areas including Asheville, N.C.; Greenville, S.C.; Charlotte, N.C.; and Chattanooga, Tenn.

Clifton Forge amphitheater named American-Architects Building of the Year With its clean lines and modern look, the Masonic Amphitheatre in Clifton Forge has been selected as the American-Architects Building of the Year 2012. The amphitheater, designed and constructed by the design/ buildLAB at Virginia Tech’s School of Architecture + Design and featured in February’s Roanoke Business, was selected by 20 percent of voters who studied each of the 50 buildings of the week featured by American-Architects last year. The honor was announced on the American-Architects website Feb. 11. “The exceptional Masonic Amphitheatre serves Clifton Forge, replacing a truck tire facility with a civic infrastructure. It is 36

the design/buildLAB’s second major project, following the Covington Farmer’s Market completed the previous year,” the article states. “The two projects are linked through the market’s use of salvaged materials from the warehouse that formerly occupied the site of the amphitheater, which subsequently used the warehouse’s slab as a stage.”

MAY 2013

Three companies headquartered in the Roanoke region of Virginia were included on a Virginia Business list of the Best Places to Work in Virginia. Generally, companies recognized as “best places” offer activities and unique benefits to create a sense of cohesiveness and community among their work force and typically excellent pay including unique incentives. Think Google, but on a smaller scale. So, where are these great places to work? Here are just a few companies that showcase why the Roanoke Region is a great place to work, play and live. Ranked: Eighth among midsize employers Industry: Banking/Finance Average Annual Salary: $78,996 Benefits: Employee stock options, 401(k), HMO, flex spending account health plan, tuition reimbursement

Corvesta Services Ranked: 10th among midsize employers Industry: Health-care/Insurance Services Average Annual Salary: $84,837 Benefits: Employee stock options, 401(k), flex spending account health plan, free snacks or beverages, paid community service leave, telecommuting options, tuition reimbursement

Member One Federal Credit Union Ranked: 12th among midsize employers Industry: Banking/Finance Average Annual Salary: $68,556 Benefits: 401(k), HMO, flex spending account health plan, free snacks or beverages, tuition reimbursement Other employers headquartered elsewhere but with locations in the Roanoke Valley include Edward Jones (ranked seventh on the large employers list), Davenport and Co. (eighth, large employer), Sheetz (21st, large employer) and Liberty Tax Service (12th, large employer).

Maybe youâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ve found yourself stuck in your search for a rewarding career. Maybe you need to upgrade your skills to advance in your current job, or perhaps you want to explore ore an n entirely new career. Maybe you are a business in nes ess manager who needs to find cost-effective e ways to train your team to stay current.

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AND GE TO WOR T K =PYNPUPH >LZ[LYU develops programs and training to address the needs of employers and employees in the Roanoke Valley. It gives students opportunities to gain the real-world skills they need to succeed in fields such as science, technology, engineering, mathematics and healthcare. Whether you wish to be a nurse, a mechatronics specialist or a software engineer, Virginia Western will TAKE YOU THERE.

Not all waiting rooms have four walls CARILION DELIVERS CARE RIGHT TO YOUR HOME Because it’s special and comfortable, home often provides the best medicine. That’s why Carilion Clinic Home Care delivers a wide range of high-quality services right to your door. And our electronic medical record makes it easier to coordinate your in-home treatment with your physicians, ensuring you get exactly the care you need—from people you can trust.

Learn more at CarilionClinic.org/homecare or call 800-964-9300. Inspiring better health.™