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Best of the best Like New York City’s Central Park, Roanoke’s Historic Market has been declared a Great American Public Place.
SERVING THE ROANOKE/BLACKSBURG/ NEW RIVER VALLEY REGION
How seriously should anyone take community rankings?
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CONTENTS SERVING THE ROANOKE/BLACKSBURG/ NEW RIVER VALLEY REGION
April 2014 F E AT U R E S COVER STORY
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'Best places‘ rankings love this area
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But regardless who makes the list, folks will be checking it twice. by Beth Jones
SPECIAL REPORT: Show business Salvage Dawgs
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Moving from scrap heap to TV stardom.
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by Martha Steger
TOURISM Virginia’s Blue Ridge
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Promoting tourism growth by playing to the region’s strengths. by Joan Tupponce
SPECIAL REPORT: Salem Red Sox Fans in the stands
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Can a championship season and new events help the Salem Red Sox play to sellout crowds? by Mason Adams
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TECHNOLOGY
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Drones to the rescue?
INTERVIEW: Nathaniel Bishop Leading Jefferson College by Jenny Kincaid Boone
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COMMUNITY PROFILE: Franklin County Franklin County has agriculture, manufacturing, cultural tourism, craft breweries and lots of broadband.
by Donna Alvis Banks
A career that began in law enforcement leads to a seat in the president’s office.
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Economic diversity
Virginia Tech is at forefront in robotics and how they can be used to help humans.
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by Mason Adams
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NEWS FROM THE CHAMBER Chamber Champions New members
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WE ARE PLEASED TO SHARE WITH YOU OUR MOST SIGNIFICANT ACHIEVEMENTS FOR 2013. • The highest net income and earnings in our 18-year history. Net Income of $6.8 Million ($6.2 Million to common shareholders) • Return on Average Shareholders’ Equity of 11.06%[1] • Due to High Level of Earnings, Declared a 14.3% increase in the Cash Dividend to Common Shareholders • Total Assets reaching $825 Million • 100% Redemption of TARP Preferred Shares and Warrant held by the US Treasury without creating a dilutive impact to our shareholders or loss to the American Taxpayer • Record Revenues produced by Valley Wealth Management Services[2] and “assets under management” topping $100 Million for the first time • Built and opened our ninth full-service office in the Bonsack community
• Voted “Best Local Bank” by readers of The Roanoker Magazine • Voted “Best Bank” by readers of City Magazine • Voted a “Top 10 Best Places To Work” for the third consecutive year by Virginia Business magazine As we look forward to the continued growth and success of our company, we continue to focus on the keys to achieving our goals and objectives, those being: • Our Community • Our Customers • Our Employees • Our Shareholders
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From the November 1st Grand Opening, our new Bonsack office opened 183 accounts ($3 million in deposits) by year end.
As of December 31, 2013, the stock price of Valley Financial Corporation "VYFC" has risen more than 237% since January 1, 2011, compared to the NASDAQ Bank Index increase of 38% and the S&P 500 increase of 45%.[3] [1] Annualized [2]Valley Wealth Management Services is a Division of Valley Bank. Investment Centers of America, Inc. (ICA), member FINRA/SIPC and a Registered Investment Advisor, is not affiliated with Valley Bank or Valley Wealth Management Services, Inc. Securities, advisory services and insurance products offered through ICA and affiliated insurance agencies are *not insured by the FDIC or any other Federal Government agency *not a deposit or other obligation of, or guaranteed by any bank or their affiliates *subject to risks including the possible loss of principal amount invested. [3] Past performance is not necessarily indicative of future results. For more information regarding our company, please see the filings we make with the SEC, available on our website at myvalleybank.com.
EQUAL HOUSING
LENDER
FROM THE EDITOR
Everyone gets a trophy
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t’s been fashionable of late to lament Everyone Gets a Trophy Syndrome — the feeling of entitlement many people believe children develop when they get an award for simply showing up. In a New York Times op-ed titled “Losing is Good for You,” author Ashley Merryman warned of the “Trophy-Industrial Complex” that has become “an estimated $3 billion-a-year industry in the United States and Canada.” Curmudgeons decry the devaluation of achievement that comes from the ubiquitous distribution of things that once came only to people who did something significant. If everybody gets an award, what’s the point of trying hard? If everyone is special, then no one is special. The syndrome has spread far beyond children’s sports. Harvard graduate Roth Douthat wrote in The Atlantic nearly a decade ago, “More than 90 percent of the class of 2001 had earned grade-point averages of B-minus or higher. Half of all the grades given the year before were A’s or A-minuses; only six percent were C-pluses or lower. By way of comparison, in 1940 C-minus was the most common GPA at Harvard, and in 1955 just 15 percent of undergraduates had a GPA of B-plus or higher.” Harvard, which is consistently at or near the top of rankings of the best universities in the United States, seems to have become a suburb of Garrison Keillor’s Lake Wobegon. Nearly all of the students are above average. Certainly, if Harvard’s reputation has any resemblance to reality, most of its students are above average compared with their contemporaries. But once they’ve been sequestered from the hoi polloi, it would seem a logical and mathematical impossibility that 90 percent of them could be above average among themselves. Even in the business world, some awards and accolades are less than they seem. Newt Gingrich’s American Solutions for Winning the Future got a lot of notoriety a few years ago for its Entrepreneur of the Year awards. To become an entrepreneur of the year, a company had only to contribute $5,000 to American Solutions for Winning the Future. When American Solutions for Winning the Future offered the distinction to a strip club, some people suggested the vetting process for honorees was not all that rigorous. Newt’s not the only one guilty of lackadaisical research. Remember when Cave Spring, which isn’t a town, was No. 89 on Money’s 2009 list of America’s best small towns? Even so, what community wouldn’t want to be on Money’s list of best places to live? Those who don’t make Money’s cut can hope to see their names on Forbes’ list. Or Livability’s, or Business Week’s, or AARP’s or AreaVibes’. Or they could be among Outside’s 17 best cities or Kiplinger’s 10 great places to live. Or, if they’re aiming for a niche market, there’s MovieMaker’s best places to live and work as a moviemaker. While the lists that magazines and websites publish of the best people, places and things aren’t usually as mercenary as American Solutions for Winning the Future’s awards-for-cash arrangement, there is a profit motive. Those lists not only make the people and places on them feel good; they spur discussion and publicity, circulation and maybe even advertising sales. Those lists also can do good things for the communities that appear on them. Fayetteville, W.Va., bills itself as one of America’s coolest small towns — a title it got from Budget Travel in 2006. Fayetteville is cool. And the people who promote Fayetteville make sure other people know that. Maybe that’s the lesson. Everyone gets a trophy. A real winner knows how to use it.
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SERVING THE ROANOKE/BLACKSBURG/ NEW RIVER VALLEY REGION Vol. 3
APRIL 2014
President & Publisher Roanoke Business Editor Contributing Editor Contributing Writers
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Bernard A. Niemeier Tim Thornton Paula C. Squires Beth Jones Joan Tupponce Martha Steger Donna Alvis Banks Mason Adams Jenny Kincaid Boome Adrienne R. Watson Pam McCallister Sam Dean Don Petersen Natalee Waters Kevin L. Dick Karen Chenault Sunny Ogburn Lynn Williams Hunter Bendall
CONTACT: EDITORIAL: (540) 520-2399 ADVERTISING: (540) 597-2499 210 S. Jefferson St., Roanoke, VA 24011-1702 We welcome your feedback. Email Letters to the Editor to Tim Thornton at tthornton@roanoke-business.com
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hose rankings that turn up online and in magazines naming the best places to live, work and visit always caught Christopher Riegger’s attention. “I’m a professional. I’m married. I have two young kids,” says the 36-year-old tech executive. “Things like schools, crime rate, cost of liv-
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ing, professional opportunities, all those things matter to me.” When Riegger, a vice president for an email marketing service in New York City, received a job offer from Heyo, the New River Valley social media company, he recalled seeing a 2011 ranking in Bloomberg Businessweek that named Blacksburg the best place
in the U.S. to raise kids. Along with his wife, Marin, Riegger pulled up other lists about the area. “The rankings are a really good guide,” Riegger says. “They’re very helpful when you’re sitting at home, and home is somewhere very far away and you can’t go kick the tires yourself.” Photo by Don Peterson
COVER COVER C OVER STORY S STORY TORY
‘Best places’
rankings love this area
But regardless who makes the list, folks will be checking it twice by Beth Jones
Customers enjoy outdoor dining at Alejandro’s on Campbell Avenue at Roanoke City Market, which has been named a Great American Public Place.
Before accepting the position as Heyo’s chief operating officer, though, Riegger and his wife made a trek to the New River Valley. “At the end of the day, I still needed to see it for myself.” Riegger, who moved to Blacksburg with his family in October, believes the rankings paint an accurate picture of the area. “We’re
really enjoying it so far,” he says. Anyone with a few minutes and a computer can Google dozens of rankings, from the standard (Best Places to Live, Best Cities for Jobs, Best Places to Retire) to the offbeat (Best City for Hipsters, Most Literate City, City with the Most Sleep-Deprived Residents). Forbes magazine recently se-
lected Blacksburg as one of the 25 best places in the country to retire. The National Civic League has named Roanoke an All-America City six times, most recently in 2012. Business Insider, in 2011, chose Roanoke County as No. 15 of 20 American Cities and Counties that Could be the Next Silicon Valley. Roanoke even made a list of ROANOKE BUSINESS
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cover story did make Riegger feel better about his decision to move. “It provides a certain degree of comfort and assurance.”
Blacksburg has gotten high marks as a place to raise children.
Workers and companies consider lists
the top 10 places to spend a Valentine’s Day getaway. Exposure from national rankings, though, typically isn’t the deciding factor in someone’s decision to relocate. At least that’s the opinion of Aric Bopp, executive director
at the New River Valley Economic Development Alliance. “There’s a lot of homework that goes into community evaluation,” he says. Still, Bopp figures, seeing Blacksburg ranked as safe and a good place to raise kids probably
Workers aren’t the only ones who consider rankings and lists. Employees at a business looking to move 500 employees recently contacted Matt Carmichael, editor of Livability.com, a site that ranks communities. “They wanted to know how the 16 cities on their short list were going to come out on our livability scale, and that was one of the factors they were going to weigh in their decision to pick up 500 people and stick them somewhere else,” Carmichael says. Both the Montgomery County and the Roanoke County economic development departments feature rankings and accolades prominently on their websites.
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The 11th Annual SML Business Expo Friday, April 25th, in Downtown Moneta. Located on the southwest side of Rt. 122 and Rt. 608 – across from Mayberry Hills. Noon to 5 p.m. We expect 120 businesses/ four large tents on the parking lot plus outside exhibits. Contact: Lauren Parcetich Smith Mountain Lake Regional Chamber of Commerce (540-721-1203) for more information.
Silver “Your Business Connection”, a service connecting job seekers with employers, along with small business startup information. Representatives from the Virginia Employment Commission, Small Business Development Center, Longwood and SCORE Roanoke will be available to assist business owners, job seekers and new business startups. Start your spring with the Smith Mountain Lake Regional Chamber of Commerce event Rockin’ Brews & BBQs, Saturday, April 26th from Noon – 6pm on Route 122 in Downtown Moneta. The site of the SML Business Expo will be transformed from tents filled with businesses into tents filled with tasty BBQ and rockin music. A variety of barbecue will be served from North Carolina to Kansas City and everything in between. The event will feature live Rockin’ music with Tim Martin and Ministers of Soul. Children’s activities. Admission $5, Children 6 and under FREE.
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Franklin Community Bank BB&T Bank Westlake Premier Appraisals Capps Home Building Center
Bronze Turner’s Dock Building, Inc. Hometown Bank TBS Construction, LLC Vogel & Cromwell, LLC Bank of Botetourt Gilbert and Bird Attorneys at Law The Downing Group – Merrill Lynch Gentry, Locke Rakes & Moore LLP SML Maid and Vacation Services Mulch N More CenturyLink LeisureMedia360 The Little Gallery
Photo courtesy Roanoke Convention & Visitors Bureau
cover story “We always like to tell clients that obviously we have somewhat of a biased perspective because we live here and we love it,” Bopp says. “It’s wonderful when you receive a thirdparty endorsement to kind of validate what we already think and we already know about the NRV.” “It helps us sell the community and the region,” adds Jill Loope, director of Roanoke County’s economic development office. “Any time you have a third-party, independent source evaluate your community … it’s even more credible. It adds even more value to the overall impression that the community is a good place to do business.” Rankings also can impact a city’s bottom line. Roanoke city employees who present to the bond rating agencies always mention Roanoke’s placement on national rankings or lists. “That has a direct impact on what our bond rating is, which then determines interest rate on our bonds, which then gets back to what the citizens have to pay in taxes,” explains Wayne Bowers, director of Roanoke’s department of economic development. National rankings also boost a city’s profile when it comes to tourism. “If they don’t consider us the first time they read about us, they may think more about it if they see us a second time,” says Catherine Fox, director of public relations and tourism for the Roanoke Valley Convention and Visitors Bureau. “Maybe by the third and fourth time they read about us they actually do something, and they do come.” Fox could hardly contain her excitement after worldpropertychannel. com called Roanoke one of 10 best spots for a Valentine’s Day getaway. “Wow, we’re compared to Italy,” she raves. “We got compared to Shanghai and Hong Kong. What a list!” Montgomery County’s tourism department celebrated when the Blacksburg/Christiansburg/Radford area made No. 7 on the list of the Top 20 Most Secure Small Cities. “If you’re in an area, and it’s not per-
ceived as safe, it can be bad news for the tourism folks,” says Lisa Bleakley, tourism director. “Just having the accolades to build upon is helpful to us. It gives us an opportunity to increase the buzz about our destination.” Rankings also can help companies retain talented employees, because they provide validation. “A lot of times when you live in a fantastic area like the Roanoke/New River Valley area, you sometimes forget about what an amazing place this is until someone tells you,” says Derick Maggard, director of the RoanokeBlacksburg Technology Council. “Sometimes we just need to understand the grass isn’t always greener on the other side. It’s green right here.” A national ranking also can serve as a badge of honor for residents. “Communities, especially small to midsize communities, appreciate the recognition of all the things they do to make themselves
great places to live and work,” notes Carmichael. When the Star City made the list of Top 10 Valentine’s Day Getaways, Fred Donaher, like a lot of Roanokers, pasted a link to the article on his Facebook page (the story received over 29,000 likes). With the link, Donaher – a big fan of Pop’s Ice Cream and Soda Bar – which is mentioned in the article, commented: “OMG!” “It really reflects on the progress made in our community in recent times and proves we really are fortunate to live in a great community like the Grandin Village, which has been my neighborhood for most of my life,” 37-year-old Donaher says of the ranking. That kind of enthusiasm is important to her work, Fox says, because a lot of tourists are motivated by hearing friends and family rave about their hometowns. “If you love where you live, then you’re going to let more people know about it, which will make more people
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ROANOKE BUSINESS
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cover story director of outdoor branding for the Roanoke Regional Partnership, felt when Roanoke was named Best Trail Town in 2013 in Blue Ridge Outdoors magazine. “Internally, it’s validation that with the community we’re on the right track, that the outdoor narrative we’re talking about, part of our brand and culture we’re developing, is starting to ring true and other people are picking up on that,” he says.
Roanoke was named Best Trail Town last year by Blue Ridge Outdoor magazine.
Ranking the rankings
consider us as a destination,” Fox says. “I haven’t seen this kind of excitement in a while.” When Bedford was named Livability.com’s No. 6 Top Small Town in 2012, Traci Blido remembers it being a popular topic of discussion at water coolers and on social me-
dia. “Locally, it was a big deal,” says the director of Bedford County’s economic development department. For folks who work to promote an area, rankings offer confirmation that their message is getting out. That’s how Pete Eshelman,
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Rankings tend to fall into three categories: lists based on data about things such as economics, health care and education; lists compiled through popular vote, often through reader surveys; and lists made up of writers’ picks. It’s important to look at how rankings are compiled before assigning them much weight, stresses Vince Magnini, associate professor of hospitality and tourism management at Virginia Tech. “You don’t have to have a Ph.D. to look at a couple sentences and make sure it’s a valid one,” Magnini says. “There are some bogus rankings out there. It’s pretty easy to assess whether or not they’re useful,” he says, mentioning the writerselected list of top Valentine’s Day getaways. “I like Roanoke, but I’d rather be in Paris.” (Indeed, the majority of the 72 reader comments posted under that story on worldpropertychannel.com involve arguments about whether Roanoke deserved to be on the list.) The staff at Livability.com spends a lot of energy making sure they use solid information to compile the site’s lists. “We’re all about finding the best partners and the best data and talking to all the right experts in the field to make sure we’re measuring the right things in the right ways,” Carmichael says. “I have a very large map in my office, but I am not throwing darts at it.” Rankings compiled by surPhoto courtesy Roanoke Convention & Visitors Bureau
cover story veying readers don’t hold as much weight with Bleakley as ones compiled using data. “The more local ones sometimes tend to be a little bit of a popularity thing of whoever was willing to fill out a poll,” she says. Readers, on the other hand, love those survey rankings. Just ask Denise Koff, vice president of marketing at LeisureMedia360, which publishes Blue Ridge Country. That magazine published a story of rankings titled “Best of the Mountains” last summer. “When we had done a listing five years earlier, it sold a lot of copies on the newsstand,” Koff says. “So we knew it was popular with people. Almost every city magazine does a Best Of list because it’s popular. Readers want to know.” Maybe because consumers have so much access to information with the Internet, rankings can help them wade through the data to learn what they want to know, such as where to go on vacation. “In these days where there is such an overload of data out there, sometimes it’s important to try to be the beacon that shines a light on certain pieces of information,” Koff says. And sometime lists are just fun. “We lead busy lives and these catch our attention because they’re short and sweet and tell a fun story,” Blido says. Some places get on so many lists they may end up suffering from what Carmichael describes as “list fatigue.” “Some cities that show up on everybody’s list of everything are going to care less incrementally,” he says. “Although, I think there are some lists any city is going to be proud to be on.” What rankings would area movers and shakers like to see the Roanoke and New River valleys make? The New River Valley deserves to make a Best Place for Cyclers list, Bleakley says. She’s trying to make that happen with increased marketing of the area’s offerings
for cyclers and showcasing the area’s bike trails. It’s a big deal that Roanoke already ranks in the top 100 on the Forbes list of Best Places for Business and Careers, according to Bowers. “We’re proud to be No. 99, but as a personal goal, I’d like to see us move up on that list,” he says. Forbes writers compile that ranking using data about things such as the cost of business and living, educational attainment, migration patterns and projected economic growth. So no marketing campaign is going to improve Roanoke’s ranking. “You’ve got to keep trying to lower your unemployment and keep the cost of living moderate and do things like that,” Bowers explains. Eshelman couldn’t name a ranking he’s dying to see Roanoke make. Yet since people who like the outdoors often also enjoy craft beers, Eshelman wouldn’t hate it if the Star City made some listings
for Best Beer Towns. (It was a runner-up on Blue Ridge Outdoors’ 2013 Best Beer Towns list.) Of course, seeing Roanoke named one of Outside magazine’s Best Towns wouldn’t make him unhappy, either. “It would be nice to get that recognition,” Eshelman says. The companies Maggard works with are mainly looking to recruit talent who have families, so he thinks the lists Roanoke and the New River Valley have already hit — lists for being safe communities, good places to raise kids, possessing outdoor amenities — are the ones that matter. Maggard is eager for the Roanoke/New River Valley to show up on a ranking of the best communities for startups. “I think the goal of our community should be to be one of the top 10 places to start a company,” he says. “We already are one of the best places to start a business, but we want the story this place has to offer told at a higher level.”
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ROANOKE BUSINESS
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SPECIAL REPORT: Show Business
Salvage Dawgs Moving from scrap heap to TV stardom by Martha Steger
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or anyone who hasn’t seen the TV reality show “Salvage Dawgs” — now in its second season on the Do It Yourself (DIY) Network — think “This Old House” meets David Letterman. During each Dawgs’ episode Robert Kulp and Mike Whiteside — co-founders and co-owners of Roanoke’s Black Dog Salvage — stay just ahead of the wrecking ball to reclaim vintage architectural elements. “It’s not always a house — or even a building,” says Kulp, who points to a scale model of the Eiffel Tower and a vintage barber chair as two of Black Dogs Salvage’s unusual rescues. “We have unique items that only one person can buy,” Whiteside says, “but we have all of these meat-and-potatoes of the salvage business — old bathtubs and mantels, as well as a hinge for a door in your house. We get a whole spectrum of customers searching for everything from the front end of an old Packard truck to a Murano chandelier. And every day we get something new in.” For the 14-year-old salvage company with sales in excess of $1.5 million last year, it’s been a wild ride from successful local business to nationwide phenomenon. Roanokers are basking in the company’s success – and enjoying some of the repurposed salvaged items themselves. Aaron Ludwig, owner of Jack Brown’s Beer and Burger Joint, says he’s seen a pickup in his Harrisonburg location as well as his Roanoke traffic as a result of the show. One episode featured a salvaged truck hood from which Whiteside created handles for Ludwig’s beer taps. “Mike, Robert and crew have actually found me another truck front, and we’re using that for another store opening,” Ludwig says. John Reburn, owner of Appalachia Press — located along with a few other artisans at the
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Photo courtesy DIY Network
Mike Whiteside (left) and Robert Kulp are the co-founders and co-owners of Black Dog Salvage.
ROANOKE BUSINESS
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show business
Mike Whiteside, Tay Whiteside, Robert Kulp and Ted Ayers with one of Black Dog’s pirate treasures.
13th Street Marketplace adjoining the salvage showroom — says he “did very well in my small space at Black Dog Salvage. Then came the reality show. People are coming to Roanoke because of the show. My business has tripled since the show started airing.” Bart Wilner, owner of Entre Computer Center and past chair of the Roanoke Valley Convention & Visitors Bureau, recounts being stopped by a woman as he headed to the Taubman Museum of Art for a meeting: “She asked me where Mill Mountain Coffee was located. I pointed her in that direction and asked where she was from. When she said ‘Indianapolis,’ I asked what brought her to Roanoke. She laughed and said, ‘You’re not going to believe this, but when my husband told me he had a meeting in Washington, D.C., I said, ‘We have to go by Roanoke, Va., and visit Black Dog Salvage.’ “She said they’d spent the night before at Hotel Roanoke, and they 14
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were planning to stay another couple of days to see and do more here.” Kulp and Whiteside point to a lot of hard work behind the TV image of fun. “The neat thing about the show,” says Kulp, “is that people watching it get a real feel for what’s involved in saving these architectural items. We’re saving little bits of history because the kind of craftsmanship we rescue usually hasn’t been done in 150 years. A lot of labor goes not only into the pulling out but into the transporting, housing and feeding of these items for the 1½ - to 2-year period it takes to sell them.” “People see a beautiful mantel,” Whiteside says, “but what we see is a mantel that hasn’t been moved in a hundred years — and it might end up in a pile of rubble. We’ve had that happen.” “Taking apart a large English conservatory [sunroom] took longer than we’d planned because of the amount of glass and the complicated construction,” says Kulp. “What
probably took three weeks to build took four days to take apart — at least a full day longer than expected — and we never would have sold it without the exposure of TV. Those four days on the show captured the frustration of taking it apart.” Mike and his wife, Susie, an interior designer, were relocating to her hometown of Roanoke when he contacted Robert, owner of Blue Ridge Residential Inc., for advice on building storage space for equipment. When the two men met over lunch in the early summer of 1999, they realized they had more in common than three sisters and time spent in the U.S. Navy. Their very different personalities had complementary skills. “I’m not a linear thinker like Robert,” Whiteside says. “I’m all over the place — and I’ll jump into a dumpster any day if I think I can come out with something that makes a profit.” “I’m not much of a dumpsterjumper,” Kulp says. “I’m the accountPhoto courtesy DIY Network
show business The TV gig was the result of a fishing trip that Mike Whiteside and Robert Kulp took with Bill Hayes, the president of Figure 8 Films.
ing one, the one who’s also in charge of image- and brand-building.” Getting the TV gig happened over a buddies’ fishing trip in which Whiteside has been an annual participant for years. The other fishermen included Ted Ayers, owner of a Roanoke insurance company; Dr. Ned Hooper, a Roanoke orthopedic surgeon; and Bill Hayes, president and founder of Figure 8 Films, which has made reality shows such as “Sister Wives,” “17 Kids and Counting” and “Jon and Kate Plus 8.” “We asked him if he’d be interested in doing a pilot about our happy salvage company business for the DIY Series — and he took the bait,” says Whiteside. “I’ve never been on the fishing trip, but I like the results of it,” Kulp adds. The pair has a long-range goal besides continuing to double their sales, which they did last year, according to Kulp. “Unfortunately, our payroll tripled,” he adds. The company employs 23 people. “Mike and I don’t want to be at the helm forever. We’re trying to take advantage of everything going on now to create something that someone else can take over.” Whiteside says, “We’ve built this thing organically from a flashin-the-pan and baling wire to what Photos courtesy DIY Network
now, it is so we don’t want to blow it. With the advances in the Internet, you can find most anything you want without leaving home, but here you can put your hands on it and learn the story behind it — that’s the beauty of our showroom. “We know if we’re not smart
enough to market ourselves on a national scale, all of this is going away. That’s our challenge.” “Do you give autographs?” someone asked when they appeared before the Roanoke Regional Forum in January. “Only on receipts,” Kulp replied. After all, they’ve got an Eiffel Tower to sell.
Sally keeps an eye on things at Black Dog Salvage.
ROANOKE BUSINESS
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Just one stop away from the world. For nearly 85 years, Roanoke-Blacksburg Regional Airport has been a place where people go to work, travel for work, and get away from work. With just one stop linking Roanoke to nearly 500 destinations, your airport is your portal to the world...and an economic engine that produces an annual regional impact of nearly a quarter of a billion dollars. But we realize our most important job is working as your advocate. While the airlines control fares, schedules, and ights, we never let them forget that you deserve the very best service possible. To learn more visit roanokeairport.com.
TOURISM
`The new branding of the Roanoke Valley Convention & Visitors Bureau focuses on what the region is known for, such as this mountain view.
Virginia’s Blue Ridge Promoting tourism growth by playing to the region’s strengths by Joan Tupponce
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ot many regions have the distinction of landing at No. 5 on a list of the Top 10 Valentine Getaways in the World while also hosting more NCAA tournament events than any place in America other than Omaha, Neb. Those are just two of the selling points of Virginia’s Blue Ridge. The region spans a one-hour radius of Roanoke and includes two of the state’s biggest tourism draws: the Blue Ridge Parkway and the Blue Ridge Mountains. That’s
Photos courtesy Roanoke Valley Convention & Visitors Bureau
why the Roanoke Valley Convention & Visitors Bureau decided to broaden its scope and change its branding in 2012 to Virginia’s Blue Ridge. “It hones in on where we are and what we are most known for,” says the CVB’s president, Landon Howard. The tours being developed by the CVB range from Natural Bridge in Rockbridge County to the country and bluegrass music scene in Floyd County. “We are sending people out into the region.
We want to share with our neighbors,” Howard says. “Our customers don’t see city limits or county lines.” The CVB hired Florida-based public relations agency Geiger & Associates three years ago to help with its tourism efforts. The agency specializes in media marketing for travel industry clients and has relationships with thousands of journalists in the travel field. Geiger had worked with Howard when Howard worked at the CVB in Chattanooga, Tenn., and later in ROANOKE BUSINESS
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tourism
Landon Howard and the convention and visitors bureau have redefined the area’s tourism brand.
Mobile Bay, Ala. “They have done an exceptional job,” he says of Geiger. “We have about 70 journalists coming in yearly for media trips. We’ve netted articles in different publications, from the Miami Herald to the Dallas/Fort Worth papers.” Debbie Geiger, the owner of Geiger & Associates, worked with the Virginia Tourism Corp. for several years before taking on the Blue Ridge account. “We knew how marketable it was and how the area would benefit from a public relations effort that focused solely on its offerings,” she says of the region. “The Roanoke area is such an incredibly scenic destination with strong four-season offerings.” The media tour program provides visibility for a broad range of businesses and attractions, not just the area’s most iconic offerings. The itineraries “we develop have numerous optional activity tracks, so the journalists can customize their editorial research experience, all within the context of a group media tour,” Geiger says. Five-day media tours, for example, have included scenic drives on the Blue Ridge Parkway and tours of downtown Roanoke to tours of attractions in Franklin and Botetourt counties and a visit to Smith Mountain Lake. 18
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The media tours have a multiplier effect: freelance writers pitch stories to different publications, netting multiple stories out of one visit. Since 2010, total newspaper or magazine circulation for all media coverage resulting from the tours is more than 196 million. If the CVB had to buy that type of advertising, Howard says it would cost about $2.6 million. The CVB set a record in 2013 with stories that netted 56 million in newspaper and magazine circulation. That equates to $979,000 in advertising — more than three times the size of the bureau’s $272,271 advertising budget in 2012-13. The media exposure also is sparking an average of 900 to 1,000 new customers to the CVB’s website and mobile sites per day. “This program has an approximate 10-to-1 return on investment,” Howard says. “It’s not just print. It’s also online, from blogs to articles being liked or shared on social media. It’s elevated our presence in various markets.” The CVB’s tourism efforts are funded by five jurisdictions — the cities of Roanoke and Salem and the counties of Roanoke, Botetourt and Franklin. Tourism-related business-
Beth Doughty and the Roanoke Regional Partnership see economic possibilities in the region’s outdoors.
Carey Harveycutter of Salem, game manager for NCAA events, says the area’s location is a huge plus.
es in the five jurisdictions can be part of the region’s marketing efforts for free. “We are adding 50 to 70 businesses per month to our marketing efforts,” Howard says. “It’s important to represent the entire community and their offerings. It also helps in developing our circle tours.” Two of the region’s annual events — the Blue Ridge Marathon and Go Fest — also bring visitors to the area. Both events fall under the jurisdiction of the Roanoke Regional Partnership. “We are not a tourism organization,” says Beth Doughty, the partnership’s executive director. “We want to take the asset that we have in the outdoors and monetize that asset and turn it into an economic sector.” Many cities have marathons, but the Blue Ridge Marathon, held this month, has a distinctive feature: 7,430 feet of elevation change, earning Roanoke’s marathon the title of America’s Toughest Road Marathon. Last year 1,684 runners from 48 states participated in the fourthannual marathon, a 77 percent increase in runners from the previous year. “This year online registrations are 23 percent above last year,” Doughty says. “By putting on the event we are building our brand. We want to build a national marathon, and we are making progress in that direction.” Photos by Don Petersen
tourism The economic impact from the 2013 marathon totaled $476,370, giving the event a four-year economic impact of about $1.5 million. It’s not the only event drawing crowds. Go Fest, held in the fall, drew 12,000 people, 4,000 more than the previous year. The festival features outdoor activities and musical acts. “It’s growing into a more common experience for day travelers coming to the festival to stay over,” Doughty says. The CVB celebrates every festival as well as every sporting event that comes to the area. “These events help highlight our marketing efforts,” Howard says, adding that the area is known for being a sports destination. “We have developed a formula that works.” The area hosts NCAA Division III football, basketball, softball and lacrosse tournaments as well as American Softball Association tournaments. This July it will host its largest tournament ever — the ASA/USA girls 16-and-under softball tournament. Carey Harveycutter, Salem’s director of tourism and game manager for NCAA events, says the area’s location is a huge plus for the region. “We are within a 500-mile radius of a large number of NCAA Division III institutions,” he says. “And we are blessed with excellent facilities.” The Moyer Complex in Salem, for example, was named the National Field of the Year in 2011 by ASA/USA softball. Salem began hosting NCAA Championships in 1993 when it secured the Amos Alonzo Stagg Bowl. Since then the city has hosted 20 straight football championships and entertained athletes and coaches from all over the country for more than 70 NCAA National Championship events. “It never gets old because you always have new participants who are coming in to Salem,” Harveycutter says. “We’re just pleased that the NCAA continues to trust the city and the conferences we work with to host these
prestigious events.” In 2013 the area sold 15,583 room nights just for members of the teams participating in softball tournaments. This year’s ASA/USA softball tournament will use 2,000 hotel rooms a night, adding to an annual economic impact for sports of $2.5 million to $4 million. “A number of people will come back to visit, especially once they come
to the NCAA events,” Harveycutter says. Geiger sees the cooperation between the region’s tourism industry, civic leaders and elected officials as a benefit for everyone involved. “The return on that investment in terms of increased hotel room nights and lodging tax revenues is measurable,” she says. “It’s a model program.”
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SPECIAL REPORT: Salem Red Sox “We will use the championship to build excitement,” says General Manager Ryan Shelton.
Fans in the stands Can a championship season and new events help the Salem Red Sox play to sellout crowds? by Mason Adams
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he Salem Red Sox enter the 2014 season as reigning Carolina League champions. Championships generate excitement and short-lived bumps in attendance, but the grind of the season means the Roanoke Valley’s minor league team must do a lot more than just win to make a profit as a business enterprise. The team must attract steady crowds during the course of a fivemonth season. Unlike its majorleague affiliate, the Boston Red Sox, who are also reigning champi-
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ons, it must do so with few or no recognizable stars. Following an alarming drop in attendance in 2012, the team lowered prices for advance tickets last year. In April 2013, it hired Ryan Shelton, who worked with minorleague hockey teams in South Carolina and New Hampshire, as vice president of ticket sales. Last August, Shelton was promoted to general manager, and he’s brought his focus on tickets to that job. “We will use the championship to build excitement,” Shelton
says. “So much of the sales process is having talking points and things that we can focus on to build excitement.” That includes displaying the championship trophy won by the Boston Red Sox during Salem’s opening weekend. However, “the real bump will come from the preparation and work we’ve done during the off-season,” Shelton says. His management team is using a combination of promotions (between-innings contests, food specials and special events) to sell as many tickets as they can, regardless of how the team plays. “If I have to narrow it down to a simple concept, it’s preselling games,” Shelton says. “Our off-season preparation is preselling. In Photo courtesy Salem Red Sox
Mascot Muggsy and visitors celebrate a winning season.
Fans compete in a variety of contests between innings.
the past we were heavily walk-up driven, which is why weather affected us so much ... It’s great when we have great weather, but we’re focused on selling as many tickets before game one as possible.” Shelton’s approach brought results last year. After three years without drawing more than 5,000 for a game, the Salem Red Sox accomplished that feat three times last year. Its two playoff games at home each drew more than 4,000 fans, making them the highest atPhoto courtesy Salem Red Sox
tended playoff games in the Carolina League last year. This year, Shelton is aiming for going sell-out crowds. Last year the team hosted five fireworks nights; in 2014 that number will increase to 13, including every Friday night. It’s booked the ZOOperstars!, a family-friendly sports entertainment act of large inflatable mascots that do things such as eat team staff members. “What we’re doing is using our promotion schedule to create enticing games at night, with
fireworks and giveaways and acts coming in,” Shelton says. “The sales reps are building around those promotions.” There’s also a renewed focus on group sales. By February 2013, the sales staff had sold 250 group tickets. At the same point this year, sales were up to 5,000 group tickets. Group sales aren’t just dumped on low-traffic nights either. Shelton instructed the sales team to direct groups to the biggest nights. “Instead of putting a group on a Tuesday night, when you put that same group on a Friday night, suddenly that group becomes 200 instead of 100 because there’s more excitement,” Shelton says. “We’re manufacturing large crowds,” he says. “Some nights we won’t have as great of crowds, but in my experience, sellouts beget sellouts. If we have a night with that kind of energy and excitement, people leave talking about it. Every person becomes a walking advertisement.” The team makes money from more than ticket sales. There are concession sales, sponsorships and merchandise in the team store. In Shelton’s experience, though, it all comes back to tickets. Fans spend roughly $10 per capita on food. The more fans, the more food sales. The more fans, the more merchandise is sold. The higher the attendance per game, the more the team can charge for sponsorships. The city of Salem benefits financially from the team, too. Its contract with the Red Sox nets annual stadium rent of $22,500, plus monthly front office rent, 1 percent of gross ticket proceeds up to $800,000 and 10 percent over that, and roughly half of any revenue from skybox rentals. The team provides employment for about 250 people. Most of them work seasonally and parttime, but there also are 12 to 15 full-time employees and interns in the front office who work most or all of the year. Then there are the myriad ROANOKE BUSINESS
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Salem Red Sox streams of tax revenue, including taxes on admissions, concession sales, sales of merchandise and lodging for visiting teams and umpires. City spokesman Mike Stevens A sampling of the promotions the Salem Red Sox hope will estimates the team annually brings draw fans to LewisGale field in 2014. in $28,000 from the admissions tax, $50,000 from the meals tax and Special nights: NASCAR Night, Boy Scouts $2,000 from busiNight, Girl Scouts Night, SuperHero Night, ness license fees. Those receipts Faith Night, Princess Night and two Star Wars don’t include indiNights. rect benefits and meals tax revenue Special appearances: WWE’s Million Dollar from fans who stop Man, the Mayberry Deputy, a Roush-Fenway in Salem restaurace car, the Boston Red Sox World Series rants before or after Championship Trophy and Santa Claus. games. Then, there’s the pride sportsGiveaways: Posters, tiaras, visors, bobble crazed Salem feels as heads, replicas of the Salem Red Sox chamthe team’s host. pionship rings, replicas of the Boston Red Sox The Salem Red “We’ve had a ball Sox celebrate their championship rings, team since the late victory. ‘50s, ” says Carey HarEvery Thursday will offer $1 beer; every Friday veycutter, Salem’s will have fireworks. On Sundays, kids can run director of tourism. the bases. “It’s been continuous. The teams have changed, the names have changed, the leagues have changed.” Harveycutter got his start working for the Salem Rebels in the early 1960s, when he cleaned seats and stuffed bingo cards in the programs. “It’s something that’s been here pretty much as long as everyone can remember,” Harveycutter says of minor-league baseball in Salem. “We’re fortunate it is here. It adds to the quality of life in the community.” Salem Mayor Randy Foley spent his youth competing as an athlete at the high school and college level, and now he appreciates what the team brings from a civic perspective “It provides an identity, a method of branding if you will, for Salem and really for all of the Roanoke Valley,” Foley says. “Particularly for Salem and our pride in sports, hosting championships, the history of the high schools — I think all of it together lends itself to something that continues that sports-mindedness. We’re Virginia’s championship city.”
More than baseball
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Photo courtesy Salem Red Sox
minor league baseball
Pulaski Mariners ‘You can’t put a dollar value on community pride’ by Mason Adams
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ookie baseball players straight out of college start professional ball on the lowest rungs of the minor-league ladder. For some players in the Seattle Mariner farm system, that means Pulaski. With a population of nearly 9,100, according to the 2010 Census, Pulaski is the second smallest locality in the Appalachian League, a rookie league considered slightly higher than a pair of leagues in Arizona and Florida. Only Princeton, W.Va., is smaller. That doesn’t mean the team puts out a subpar product, says General Manager John Dittrich. “Attendance in Pulaski is just under 1,000 a game,” Dittrich says. “When you consider the town is only 9,000 people, that’s a heck of a lot. We do draw from the New River Valley area, from Radford down to Wytheville, but our core fans are still right here in Pulaski County.” Pulaski County has become an industrial driver for the region, home to a Volvo Trucks plant that’s a major regional employer. Its local industrial parks have filled with other, smaller manufacturers. The NRV Commerce Park — a facility operated by a regional authority consisting of 13 Roanoke and New River Valley governments — recently landed its first tenant with Red Sun Farms, an international company that will hydroponically grow organic vegetables and employ more than 200 people. Pulaski Town Manager Shawn Utt says the team has been there for residents through economic good times and bad. “It’s a point of pride for the town and its citizens,” Utt says. “We’ve had some economic loss over the years, and it’s nice to know that minor league baseball is the constant.” The Pulaski Mariners help drive the local economy, too. More than 40 people work in the front office, sell
Photo courtesy Pulaski Mariners
Pulaski is the second-smallest locality in the Appalachian League.
tickets and run concession stands. “It might not be the biggest economic driver in the world, but it’s definitely a plus, especially in a small community like Pulaski,” Dittrich says. While future stars may pass through the town on their way to higher-level teams, all but the biggest college stars still are unknown names when they come to play in Pulaski. That means the team can’t rely on star power to get fans in the stands. “I think when fans come out, they’ll be pleased by the quality of the players — they were, after all, drafted by major league teams,” Dittrich says. “But we have to rely on family entertainment as our sales pitch and not the baseball.” The small size of the team limits its range of options, too. It can’t afford expensive mascot costumes, for instance. Instead, it uses a lot of theme nights, like an Elvis night, 1960s night or even “adopt-a-pet” night. Games that feature food and beverage specials are popular, too. “People here live on budgets, and it’s a good way for people to get together at the ballpark,” Dittrich says. Of course, concession sales have an economic impact, generating
business for food suppliers and tax revenue for the town. “We run more dollars through [our concessions] in just three months than a nice busy restaurant runs the whole year,” Dittrich says. Other economic impacts from having a team include the use of hotels by visiting teams and umpires, employment and operating costs that benefit regional suppliers and contractors. “It’s hard to define as far as how many people go to the restaurants and stuff like that, but at the end of the day you know that out of the 1,000 people who come each night, several are going to the gas stations or to restaurants beforehand,” says Utt. “Bigger than that is just the fact they’re coming to Pulaski. We’re getting folks coming to town who may not have come without the baseball. It’s that attraction we need to build off of.” Perhaps the best thing about the team, at least in Dittrich’s opinion, is the role it plays as common denominator and point of pride for town and county residents. “The ball team is a big part of the culture here because we have a small town,” Dittrich says. “You can’t put a dollar value on community pride.” ROANOKE BUSINESS
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Downtown Roanoke is the region’s premier center for business. It has the highest concentration of financial, legal, insurance, real estate, medical, business and creative services in this region. Its central location connects it to adjacent neighborhoods and major markets. Parking is convenient and walking to your destination is enjoyable—making doing business easy. And downtown Roanoke also offers social and cultural advantages. Friends and neighbors, restaurants and retail, entertainment and events, it’s all downtown.
LET’S GET DOWN TO BUSINESS. To learn more, visit downtownroanoke.org.
TECHNOLOGY
In collaboration with Virginia Tech’s Center for Tire Research (CenTiRe), Virginia Center for Autonomous Systems researchers are using robots to generate road profiles that can help advance tire technology.
Drones to the rescue? Virginia Tech is at forefront in robotics and how they can be used to help humans. by Donna Alvis Banks
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freakish snowstorm paralyzed Atlanta’s freeways on Jan. 29. It left shivering motorists stranded in vehicles where some suffered medical emergencies, and one woman gave birth. Reports of gridlock hindering efforts to locate and assist people prompted Craig Woolsey, a Georgia native and director of Virginia Tech’s Virginia Center for Photos courtesy of Uncork-It
Autonomous Systems (VaCAS), to think of drones. Drones – unmanned aircraft popularized in science fiction – mostly have been used in military combat. “Now,” according to Woolsey, “there’s a push to commercialize drones in this country.” That’s why the news of Atlanta’s woes immediately put Woolsey’s wheels in motion: “Why not use drones to
look for and assist stranded citizens?” Since his research focuses on nonlinear control theory and its application to autonomous air and marine vehicles, Woolsey’s instinct is to theorize about possibilities for the future. That’s hardly surprising for someone who works at a university that has established itself as a leader in the field of robotics. From Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) to Autonomous Underwater Vehicles (AUVs) to machines designed to work like humans and cars that drive themROANOKE BUSINESS
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technology selves, Virginia Tech’s College of Engineering has made the study and development of robots both relevant and remarkable. Leaders of the Mechanical Engineering Department, consistently ranked by U.S. News & World Report among the top 10 percent nationwide, appreciate the importance of robotics. “It’s absolutely one of our signature programs,” says department chairman Robert Parker. “It’s going to stay that way. We anticipate a great deal of activity in the immediate future and the long term.” There are some changes afoot, though, with the loss of Dennis Hong, director of Tech’s Robotics & Mechanisms Laboratory (RoMeLa). Hong announced his departure in January and left shortly afterward. Dubbed “the Leonardo da Vinci of robots” by Washington Post Magazine, Hong said, “A great opportunity and challenge opened up” when he was recruited to start a robotics program at UCLA, where he has transferred his lab’s name. Parker says while Hong will be missed, he doesn’t expect the department to miss a beat: “Dennis had 18 students who worked in his laboratory. Every one of them is staying at Virginia Tech. The students are the ones who put the intellectual effort into this.” Parker also says the department anticipates bringing in an academic adviser and continuing research with the robots developed at the laboratory. Robotics research leading to real-life solutions often begins as fun. In 2011, Virginia Tech dominated the International RoboCup robotic soccer competition held in Istanbul, becoming the first U.S. entrant ever to capture the Louis Vuitton Humanoid Cup, the most prestigious award for humanoid robots. Tech also won first place in the first-ever Collegiate Aerial Robotics Exhibition held in Milwaukee in April 2013, using both an aerial robot and a ground robot to collect 26
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VaCAS researchers are developing an autonomous helicopter and ground vehicle that work as a team.
A VaCAS SPAARO (small platform for autonomous aerial research operations) aircraft
Photos courtesy Uncork-It
technology and launch tennis balls at targets. This past December, two Tech teams competed with 14 other corporate and collegiate teams in the second round of a challenge put on by the U.S. Defense Department’s subsidiary, Defense Advance Research Project Agency (DARPA). Charged with creating robots able to maneuver disaster scenes and save lives, the teams built the nearly 6-foot-tall humanoid robot THOR (for Tactical Hazardous Operations Robot) and THOR-OP, a smaller humanoid robot. While the team didn’t advance to the third round with a shot at a $2 million winning prize, graduate student John Seminatore said the challenge made him and his teammates aware of Tech’s stature in the field. “Sometimes it’s hard to remember that this is one of the top robotics institutions in the world,” says Seminatore, who chose robotics because of his interest in prosthetics design. At the DARPA Challenge, he notes, Tokyo’s SCHAFT Inc. was the high scorer while IHMC (Institute of Human and Machine Cognition) of Florida finished second. “We were working with momentum control, a new type of walking that had never been done before,” Seminatore explains. “The second-place team was able to make it work. … We were the smallest team with the least resources at DARPA, but it was fascinating to talk shop with people there.” Tech’s work with autonomous systems also is making headlines. “The FAA chose Virginia Tech as one of the three universities in the country for drone testing and development. I think that’s substantial,” Parker says. Virginia Tech and Texas A&M were picked in December as test sites to develop safety requirements for the next generation of drones, while the University of Alaska will test responses to extreme climatic conditions. Woolsey, an associate professor of Aerospace and Ocean
Engineering in addition to directing the VaCAS research center, says Tech will be involved in developing policy regarding the commercial use of UAVs.
Robotics research leading to real-life solutions often begins as fun. “Right now, it’s not legal for unmanned airplanes to be used for profit,” he says. “Congress has told the FAA they need to do something about that. . . . America has been doing a lot with robotics for a long time. I think the part that’s new is the mobility. That’s the part that’s causing some consternation. Those are research challenges, but they’re also policy challenges. The
policy goes a lot slower than the technology does.” Safety is a factor. “Even before we make it legal to fly drones in the U.S., we’re making sure it’s safe,” explains graduate student Tejaswi Gode of India. Gode, whose father is a scientist with India’s defense system, chose Virginia Tech because of his interest in robotics and control systems. “I want to give back – to go back home and teach,” he says. “Virginia Tech seemed to be the best option for me.” Graduate student John Peterson of Burlington, N.J., who worked on the DARPA project, says his work taught him this: “Our robot will never be able to replace a person.” “There’s not much to worry about,” the 24-year-old adds. “It’s going to be a long time before robots replace anything. … At this point, the best we can do is use robots to help people. That’s a pretty good goal, too.”
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INTERVIEW: Nathaniel L. Bishop, president, Jefferson College of Health Sciences
Nathaniel Bishop has focused on the need for collaboration between his school and other institutions.
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Photo by Sam Dean
Leading Jefferson College A career that began in law enforcement leads to his name on the president’s door by Jenny Kincaid Boone
athaniel Bishop never expected to become a college president. He began his career in law enforcement, first as a police officer and later as criminal investigator for the Christiansburg Police Department. Now he’s in his fourth year at the helm of the Jefferson College of Health Sciences, a downtown Roanoke institution that offers associate, bachelor’s and master’s degrees in at least 21 health-care fields. An unlikely string of events led Bishop to where he is today. After 13 years in law enforcement, the Christiansburg native decided to try a new career in long-term health-care administration. He became an administrator of Virginia United Methodist Homes, which led him to work in Northern Virginia for a time. Eventually, he relocated back to Southwest Virginia for a job with Carilion Clinic as executive director of the Burrell Nursing Center in Roanoke. He moved on to other positions with Carilion, including vice president and hospital director of Carilion Roanoke Community Hospital. Bishop had a significant role in the transition of Community Hospital into its new identity as home of Jefferson College. When former Jefferson College President Carol Seavor retired in 2010, Bishop replaced her, first as an interim and a few months later as the school’s new president. This also was the year that the Virginia Tech Carilion School of Medicine opened in Roanoke. Bishop said Jefferson College was tasked with determining how the two schools could work together. He had been a member of Jefferson College’s board, so he was familiar with its mission. He also is a member of the Radford University Founda-
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tion board and a member emeritus of the board of visitors for Duke Divinity School. Bishop, who holds a bachelor’s degree from Radford University, a master’s degree in education from Virginia Tech and a doctor of ministry from Wesley Theological Seminary, says he’s in the right place and in a position that allows him to meld his past and his present. So far, the theme of much of his presidency at Jefferson College is the need for collaboration between the school and other institutions. One example is Radford University’s use of Jefferson College’s facilities to house its doctor of physical therapy program. Sixty-five percent of Jefferson College students are enrolled in bachelor’s degree programs, and 20 percent are in a master’s program. Most of the students are enrolled in nursing programs, which follows the trend from Jefferson’s early years when it primarily offered associate degrees in nursing and respiratory therapy. Roanoke Business recently spoke with Bishop about his work, his goals at Jefferson College and his circuitous career route. Roanoke Business: You bring a varied background to your role as president of Jefferson College. How have your experiences contributed to your position now? Nathaniel Bishop: All of them have to do with being involved and making a difference. I really like connecting things and collaborations. It has been interesting to look and see back in the days of doing law enforcement. One of the things that investigators do is to take seemingly unconnected and often insignificant pieces of information and put them together. So it’s just kind of
doing it on a larger scale, finding opportunities of connecting needs with opportunity and forming collaborations. I never envisioned myself being a college president, but I have very much enjoyed the experience and the close collaborations I have with my colleagues who are presidents of other college and universities in the area. RB: What are some of your noteworthy accomplishments since you have been president? Bishop: Building the name recognition and helping the community to understand who the Jefferson College of Health Sciences is as Roanoke’s downtown college. Making collaborations is something that I really enjoy doing. Some of the accomplishments that we have made in that arena is the collaboration that we have made with Radford University, which is doing its doctor of physical therapy program here in this building. In the process of doing that, [there is] a collaboration that I came into with Ed Walker as the Patrick Henry [a former downtown Roanoke hotel that was converted to apartment units] was coming into new life – a collaboration in which our students occupy half of the building and have a wonderful experience of having a dormitory experience in very close proximity with the college. RB: Along with your role as president of Jefferson College, you also were named chair of the department of interprofessionalism at the Virginia Tech Carilion School of Medicine in 2012. How is the program important to students preparing for health-care careers? Bishop: It’s a new model of education, which … has students working with students outside their own area or their own discipline. It is the hope that in taking classes together it will help them to be more effective professionals as they actually go into the clinical settings. Communications is often seen as one of the areas of problems ROANOKE BUSINESS
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interview inside clinical settings. Previously students got introduced to others outside [their professions] when they got into the clinical setting. In this model, it allows them to be doing things – working in classes on leadership and ethics and teamwork – very important ingredients in being successful health-care professionals and health-care leaders. RB: Several years ago, Jefferson College started a program that made transferring credits from some local colleges to Jefferson College easier for students earning a bachelor’s degree. How has this program helped Jefferson College develop a stronger presence in the community? Bishop: The one with Virginia Western [Community College] in particular is for nursing, and so it is a great example of collaboration. We really like collaborating with other partners, and obviously institutions of higher learning are perfect partners, with the result being that the entire community benefits … This is the second year of our having the accelerated bachelor of science in nursing program. This brings students who already have a baccalaureate degree from another college or university to be able to come here and in a 16-month program be able to get a second baccalaureate degree in nursing. It’s intense work, and the students work hard. At the end of that, they have had the academic and practical training, clinical rotation experiences to prepare them for being able to take the state boards and to get to work as an RN. RB: Jefferson College has gradually been increasing its number of bachelor’s programs. Why is this an emphasis for the college? Bishop: That’s what we have been responding to, the trend across the country and the academic advancement of professionals who are working inside clinical settings. One example of that, our respiratory therapy program, has moved from being an associate’s program to a baccalaureate program. RB: Why do you move programs to the bachelor’s level? Bishop: When the community and the standards and their different professions are moving towards higher levels, 30
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we wanted to be one of the early colleges that responded to this new direction.
“I really like connecting things and collaborations.” RB: You still offer several associate degree programs. How are associate’s degrees relevant for students at Jefferson College? Bishop: Our focus has been more the bachelor level; however, some of our very strong programs are the physical therapy assistant and occupational therapy assistant programs [associate degree programs]. There is still a very strong demand for persons with those degrees to work in professional settings. RB: What are your goals for the next five years at Jefferson College? Bishop: We feel that we are close to having an ideal number of students that corresponds to the number of clinical rotation placements available in this area. So we want to continue to grow in our relationships and working with our clinical partners and institutions of higher education. One of the things that I’ve worked most on is helping to grow in our name recognition and helping people to understand the great academic and clinical training opportunities that are available inside this building in downtown Roanoke. RB: How are you trying to build the college’s name recognition? Bishop: Hopefully you’ve seen that in some of the commercials that we’ve had on television and the radio spots. One of the things that we’ve been doing is inviting leaders into the building for tours. We do that on a regular basis, helping folks to understand this new way that Carilion Roanoke Community Hospital is being used in education as well as the inpatient rehabilitation unit that’s on the seventh floor. It’s an amaz-
ing building from having transitioned from being a full-service hospital to a hospital that now is providing both inpatient care and a number of outpatient services, but the college occupies the primary amount of space. RB: What is Jefferson College’s total enrollment? Are you trying to increase that number? Bishop: Close to 1,100. This is close to being ideal. There is not an infinite number of clinical placements for students, so you have to balance, because so many of our students have clinical rotations as a component of their education. We’re at a comfortable number at meeting that balance. RB: What is the average age of most of your students? At one time, Jefferson College was trying to increase the number of traditional aged college students who enroll directly from high school. Bishop: We’re still working towards that. We haven’t reached that as a majority. The average student age is now 25; graduate student is 30. It’s also been an interesting thing to see students who have pursued baccalaureate degrees in other fields but have just decided that nursing [or another health-care career] was a calling they had had at some earlier point in their lives, and they’ve just decided to connect it. RB: What challenges do you anticipate for Jefferson College in the next five years? Bishop: Health care is so rapidly changing in the United States. One of the challenges for us is to be able to recognize and anticipate those changes and then to be able to respond so that our programs are staying in line with the need. RB: How do those changes relate to the new Affordable Care Act? Bishop: Without the impact of the Affordable Care Act, health care was changing so rapidly. The Affordable Care Act was a response to that changing. We want to make sure that we are designing our programs so that it can respond to the changes that are happening.
COMMUNITY PROFILE: Franklin County
Economic diversity Franklin County has agriculture, manufacturing, cultural tourism, craft breweries and lots of broadband by Mason Adams
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ranklin County’s location and diversity provide a range of opportunities for an area with a small but growing population. The county, home to more than 56,000, according to U.S. Census estimates, sits directly south of Roanoke and north of Martinsville along U.S. 220. It marks the gateway from the Blue Ridge Mountains into Southside Virginia. It can claim resort and retirement neighborhoods on Smith Mountain Lake, a burgeoning courthouse culture in Rocky Mount and a bedroom community that commutes to the Roanoke Valley. That diversity extends to the county’s economy, too. Traditional manufacturers remain its largest employers, but new industries are growing there as well. An expanded broadband network landed Franklin County on a list of top digital localities, and two craft breweries have opened their doors within the last year. Despite the variety, agriculture remains Franklin County’s breadand-butter, generating nearly $54 million in revenues, according to the USDA’s most recent Census of Agriculture in 2007. Despite concern that the county may be shifting away from its agrarian history, that figure represents a 40 percent increase from 2002. Two-thirds of the revenue came from milk and dairy sales. It’s true that much of western Virginia’s farming heritage has gone by the wayside, producing more subdivisions than cattle or crops. As an example of its staying power, however, look no farther than Homestead Creamery, whose expansion is driving not just dairy
Photos by Natalee Waters
exports, but extension of a water line that will boost other businesses on the corridor between Smith Mountain Lake and Burnt Chimney. The family-owned company announced a $1.1 million expansion in December 2012 that’s expected to create 20 jobs. Co-owner Donnie Montgomery says the company plans to add yogurt and cheese to its product line of milk, butter and ice cream. Homestead Creamery still is working on building an additional 6,000-square-foot building that will allow it to expand capacity. It has completed a site plan and selected a contractor, but hasn’t started construction. The company purchases products from nearly 50 Virginia farms and orchards. The expansion also will drive economic development in a different way. To provide additional water
Maria Castaneda fills chocolate ice cream containers by hand at Homestead Creamery.
Peter Gawley is president of McAirlaidt. The company invested more than $85 million and created 200 jobs in Franklin County.
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community profile Homestead Creamery is helping to keep farming alive in Franklin County.
Wendy and Joe Hallock, owners of Chaos Mountain Brewing, hope to open their brewhouse at the end of March. The facility could produce 2,500 barrels of beer in its first year.
for Homestead Creamery, the Western Virginia Water Authority is extending a water line from the Westlake area by Smith Mountain Lake up Virginia 122 to the company’s headquarters in Burnt Chimney. The availability of fresh, reliable water — first brought to the lake area after Franklin County joined the Western Virginia Water Authority in 2009 — already has generated interest from businesses that want to tap into the new portions of the line, says Michael Burnette, Franklin County’s director of economic development. He sees future potential, too, especially once the line is extended 32
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along Wirtz Road and connected to another water line running south down U.S. 220 to Plateau Plaza, just north of Rocky Mount. “If we can do that we’ll have a loop that will provide even more dependable water service,” Burnette says. “As all economic development people know, you’re not going to bring in business without having public infrastructure.” That infrastructure extends to the public school system: All of Franklin County’s schools are fully accredited. Like other western Virginia localities, Franklin County has seen a resurgence in manufacturing. In May
2012 the county’s largest employer, Ply Gem Windows, announced a $9 million expansion that should create 200 additional jobs. That followed a $23 million 175-job expansion by the company in 2006. The biggest new company to locate in Franklin County in the last decade was McAirlaid’s Vliesstoffe GmbH & Co. KG, a German manufacturer of absorbent paper used in food packaging, medical absorbents and hygiene products. In 2006 the company invested $85 million and created 160 jobs by locating a manufacturing plant and its North American headquarters in the Franklin County Commerce Center, south of Rocky Mount. The company has expanded steadily since then. “Every year we seem to add,” says McAirlaid’s president, Peter Gawley. The reason? “Unique technologies, and we service distinct markets which haven’t been too negatively affected by this recession. Every year we’ve grown and every year is a record year for us.” In 2013 McAirlaid’s expanded to a new building, creating 40 new jobs. Gawley says the Franklin County plant began by supplying products to the United States and Canada, but it’s since picked up markets in Mexico and South America. Solution Matrix Inc., which manufactures cold-therapy canvas slings and wraps, also located its headquarters in the commerce park. The company invested $2.2 million and created 80 jobs after announcing its plans in 2010. Those large employers contribute to a county unemployment rate that comes in below the state average. Franklin County’s unemployment rate dropped from 5.3 percent in November 2012 to 4.7 percent in November 2013, when the the state’s unemployment rate was 5.3 percent. Meanwhile, the county has quietly developed the potential to become a tech powerhouse. It ranked eighth among localities with populations of less than 150,000 in the Center for Digital Government’s 2013 Digital
community profile Counties Survey. That ranking received an assist from the completion of a major broadband construction project completed by Mid-Atlantic Broadband as part of the 2009 federal stimulus. The county also has built on its inclusion as part of the Crooked Road Heritage Music Trail. Ferrum College’s Blue Ridge Institute served as the trail’s eastern starting point until recently when the town of Rocky Mount purchased a former hardware store for roughly a quarter of a million dollars to serve as a new music venue called the Harvester Performance Center. The town hired Gary Jackson, who helped book Roanoke’s Kirk Avenue Music Hall, to attract talent and musical acts for the venue, which opens this month. “We’re trying to bring in 1,000 to 2,000 people a week,” says Assistant Town Manager Matt Hankins. “If those people buy gas, stay in a hotel or eat at a restaurant, that’s a huge economic impact.” Hankins hopes the venue will attract other businesses to Rocky Mount as well. He points to a business group that bought The Grove, once home to Jubal Early’s law office, and is converting it into a bed and breakfast. Franklin County has embraced its heritage in other, less direct ways as well. Long known as the Moonshine Capital of the World, Franklin County has during the last year become home to two new craft beer breweries. Sunken City Brewing Company at Smith Mountain Lake is approaching its first anniversary in May. Jerome Parnell, who owns the company, has focused on a limited variety of canned beers, and the strategy seems to be paying off. His product is now available across most of the state, and Parnell projects the company will produce nearly 2,500 barrels of beer in its first year, well over his initial budget for 1,500. On the other end of the county, another microbrewery is gearing up to place its product on store shelves
starting this spring. Chaos Mountain Brewery announced in late January that it was renovating the 20,000-square-foot SleepSafe Beds factory in Callaway for a facility that could produce 2,500 barrels of beer in its first year. It has a long-term capacity of 25,000 barrels per year. Co-owner Wendy Hallock says Chaos Mountain Brewery hopes to launch six varieties of beer this spring, with a focus on Belgian styles.
A much smaller facility, considered a “nanobrewery,” also has taken root in Callaway. Owner Sterling White estimates Callaway Brewing Co. will produce less than 100 barrels of beer in 2014, but he hopes to incorporate locally grown barley and other ingredients into a variety of beer styles. He’s still securing the necessary permits but hopes to sell kegs of the beer to Roanoke-area restaurants before the year’s end.
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SPONSORED CONTENT | Roanoke Regional Chamber of Commerce CHAMBER CHAMPIONS BB&T Brown Edwards Blue Ridge Copier Cox Business Gentry Locke Rakes & Moore LifeWorks REHAB (Medical Facilities of America)
EVENT SPONSORSHIP
MB Contractors rev.net Spilman Thomas & Battle PLLC Trane Woods Rogers Attorneys at Law Pepsi Bottling Group
2014 Career Focus Dinners Ferrum College Hollins University Radford University Roanoke College Virginia Western Community College
In each issue, the Roanoke Regional Chamber recognizes Chamber Champions and event sponsors.
NEW MEMBERS The following businesses joined the Roanoke Regional Chamber of Commerce from Jan. 10 to Feb. 7, 2014: American Cancer Society AutoTrader.com Ballyhack Golf Club Carter Disability Solutions Central Holidays West
Dunkin’ Donuts Firefly Fare Frank Leyes & Associates General Truck Body Leisure Media 360 Inc. Park Real Estate, Inc.
Parks and Resorts at Peaks of Otter Inc. Roanoke Spanish LLC Two Men and a Truck Whiteford, Taylor & Preston LLP
Member news & recognitions Advance Auto Parts has announced the appointment of Geno Coradini as vice president of the real estate division. He will be in charge of lease administration, real Coradini estate development, construction, store planning and design, facilities and real estate research.
Sparks
Brooks
American National University has named Chyril Sparks as department chair of the paramedic program at the Roanoke Valley Campus. She will oversee all aspects of the program. Lee F. Brooks has become an Ameriprise Financial Private Wealth adviser. Brooks, with an office in Roanoke, is one of about 6 percent of the nearly 10,000 Ameriprise financial advisers to achieve this status.
Delegate Greg Habeeb recently participated in Big Brothers Big Sisters of Southwest Virginia’s Big for a Day event. Habeeb hosted Zavione, a child on the Big Brothers Big Sisters waiting list, at the Virginia General As-
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sembly in Richmond. Zavion, a fifth grader from Lincoln Terrace School, shadowed the delegate throughout the day. Other Bigs for a Day this year were: Nancy Gray, president of Hollins University; Joe McLaughlin, director of aviation at Advance Auto Parts; Jim Patterson, agency sales director, Greystone Financial Group; Tom Robertson, president of Robertson Marketing Group; J.D. Robinson, vice president of human resources at Lawrence Transportation Systems; Ruth Waalkes, executive director of the Center for the Arts at Virginia Tech; Gary Walton, general manager of The Hotel Roanoke & Conference Center; Lindsey Ward, anchor at WSLS 10; and Pat Wilhelms, artistic director of Roanoke Children’s Theatre.
Childress
Vos
Branch & Associates, the regional construction management and general contracting organization headquartered in Roanoke, has announced the hiring of two new employees. Doug Childress has joined the firm as a senior estimator responsible for project preconstruction services. Linda J. Vos has been named the marketing
and communications director. Cardinal Rubber & Seal, in business for 41 years in the Roanoke Valley, has announced the acquisition of Stultz Machine, Tool & Equipment. The company name will be changed to Stultz Tool & Equipment and will remain a separate entity as a division of Cardinal Rubber & Seal. With the acquisition, the company announced plans to employ an additional five people within the next 12 months. Gary Thomson, a CPA with Dixon Hughes Goodman, has been elected chairman of the Virginia Chamber of Commerce’s board of direcThomson tors. The business advocacy organization has more than 15,000 members. Draper Aden Associates has announced the acquisition of C.T. Clayton Sr. PE Inc., of Coats, N.C. The acquisition brings together two established and respected civil engineering firms to better serve clients on a regional basis. The North Carolina firm will serve as Draper Aden’s fifth location. Draper Aden Associates was recently named as one of the 2014 Best Places to
Roanoke Regional Chamber of Commerce | SPONSORED CONTENT Work in Virginia. The annual list was created by Virginia Business magazine and Best Companies Group. The statewide survey and awards program is designed to identify, recognize and honor the best places of employment in Virginia, benefiting the state’s economy, its workforce and businesses. Family Service of Roanoke Valley was selected out of 16 nonprofit applications to receive pro bono public relations assistance through the Blue Ridge PRSA Public Service Committee. During the twoyear commitment ending in 2015, members of the public service committee will deliver their professional expertise to advance the mission and goals of Family Service of Roanoke Valley. Family Service is a dynamic, multiservice agency helping a diverse population of clients that spans the area’s economic, ethnic and cultural divisions. Its mission is to improve life and restore hope to the most vulnerable of all ages, through prevention, counseling and support services. HomeTown Bank broke ground on a new 5,800-square-foot branch in Salem in February. The banking company currently has five branches in three markets, serving Roanoke, Smith Mountain Lake and the New River Valley. The Salem branch will be its sixth location. The Hotel Roanoke & Conference Center has announced the appointment of DeMarco Stephen DeMarco as executive chef. He brings more than 28 years’ experience to the region following his most recent work as owner of his own restaurant consulting firm and serving as a private chef in the New York Metropolitan area.
Lalah Hathaway’s “Something,” performed alongside prominent jazz collaborative Snarky Puppy, took home the Grammy for Best R&B Performance on Jan. 26. The Grammy win was the result of a performance at the Jefferson Center last spring and is a first for the Star City. Hathaway’s performance was one piece of a larger project Jefferson Center filmed, recorded and produced in March 2013 with Snarky Puppy. The end result was Snarky Puppy’s new album “Family Dinner Volume 1.” The album is on sale, and partial proceeds from the album sales benefit Jefferson Center’s education initiatives. Fitch Ratings recently affirmed Roanoke County’s AA bond rating with a stable outlook for the county’s outstanding 2008 lease revenue bonds. In addition to the newly reaffirmed AA rating from Fitch, Roanoke County also currently enjoys a rating of Aa1 from Moody’s and a rating of AA+ from Standard & Poor’s. Amy Whittaker has been named the new public information officer for Roanoke Whittaker County. She began her duties Feb. 24. She had served as the regional director of public affairs for the American Red Cross for 16 years. Drew Barrineau, Windsor Hills District representative on the Roanoke County School Board, Barrineau has been named the chairman of the school board. Barrineau, who is serving his third term as chairman, was first elected to the school board in 2001. He is a licensed CPA and currently works as a tax accountant for Norfolk Southern.
Musselwhite
Quesinberry
Ostaseski
Poe & Cronk Real Estate Group has announced the 2013 award winners. They are: Matt Huff, overall top producer; Bryan Musselwhite, largest number of coagent transactions; Jacob The first meeting for the Roanoke Valley Broadband Authority was held Jan. 17. During the meeting, Salem City Manager Kevin Boggess was elected chairman and Mike McEvoy was elected vice chair. Wayne Strickland, executive director of the Roanoke Valley-Alleghany Regional Commission, was appointed secretary, and Olivia Dooley, the regional commission’s finance manager, was appointed to serve as treasurer. The Broadband Authority will formally operate out of the regional commission’s downtown Roanoke office, as it begins to formalize a business model that ensures its goal of improving the region’s broadband infrastructure. The commission meets regularly on the third Friday of each month. Dr. N. Ray Tuck Jr. has been appointed to the Tuck Virginia Board of Medicine. Tuck, of Tuck Chiropractic Clinic, is the only chiropractor serving on the board. His term runs through June 2017.
Morris
Huff
Quesinberry, largest lease transaction; Darrell Morris, largest number of sales transactions; and Peter Ostaseski, largest number of lease transactions. United Way Roanoke Valley, local government leaders and heads of financial institutions recently introduced a new public-private partnership designed to increase the financial stability of families in the Roanoke Valley. Bank on Roanoke Valley (BORV) is a collaborative project initiated by United Way to help increase the financial stability of households in the region that have little or no access to banking services. Participating financial institutions include Bank of America, Bank of Botetourt, Bank of Fincastle, BB&T, Blue Eagle Credit Union, Carter Federal Credit Union, SunTrust Bank, Valley Bank and Wells Fargo. United Way is serving as the fiscal agent for the partnership and provides leadership, planning and implementation support. David Alexander, a professor in the School of Education at Virginia Tech, Alexander has received the 2014 Living Legend Award from the national organization for educational administrators. Presented by the
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SPONSORED S PONSORED C PO CONTENT ONTENT | R Roanoke oanok o anoke R Regional egi e gio onal nal C Chamber ha amb mbe err of of C Commerce ommerce o mmerce National Council of Professors of Educational Administration, the award recognizes recipients for significant contributions to the field, including exemplary ethics, professionalism in service, and dedication to research and teaching. Lori Baker-Lloyd has been named executive director for University Organizational Baker-Lloyd and Professional Development at Virginia Tech. The Roanoke native will oversee the development and delivery of the professional development programs and consulting services offered to all Virginia Tech employees. Jack Davis, Reynolds Metals Professor of Architecture and dean of Virginia Davis Tech’s College of Architecture and Urban Studies, will serve as the 2014 president of the Virginia Society of the American Institute of Architects. One of the major highlights of Davis’ presidency will be leading the organization during its centennial year. The State Council of Higher Education for Virginia has named Virginia Tech’s Wu Feng Feng a 2014 Outstanding Faculty Award winner. The award, sponsored by the Dominion Foundation, a philanthropic unit of the energy company based in Richmond, is the commonwealth’s highest honor for university faculty. Feng is a professor and Elizabeth and James Turner Fellow in the Department of Computer Science, a part of the College of Engineering at Virginia Tech. 36
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Matthew Hulver was recently named the head of the Department of Human Hulver Nutrition, Foods and Exercise in the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences at Virginia Tech. Hulver is a Fralin Life Science Institute faculty member whose research primarily seeks to understand the negative consequences of overconsumption of dietary fat on whole body and skeletal muscle metabolism. Associate professor Andrew McCoy has been recognized by leading construcMcCoy tion industry publication Engineering News-Record as one of the Top 20 Under 40 for the Mid-Atlantic region. As one of the top 20, he is listed alongside professionals from some of the top design and construction firms in the nation, and he was the only person recognized from a college or university. McCoy is a principal faculty member of the MyersLawson School of Construction and director of the Virginia Center for Housing Research at Virginia Tech. Steven H. McKnight, division director for Civil, Mechanical, and Manufacturing McKnight Innovation within the Directorate for Engineering at the National Science Foundation, has been named vice president for the National Capital Region at Virginia Tech effective March 1. In his new position, McKnight will continue to develop and oversee strategic initiatives for Virginia Tech in the National Capital
Region, in addition to coordinating services and program initiatives for the university’s seven sites in the region. Amanda Morris, an assistant professor in inorganic and energy chemistry Morris in the College of Science at Virginia Tech, is adapting plants’ strategies for using sunlight to convert water and carbon dioxide to food – usually some form of sugar that is stored in plant tissue – to instead provide a chemical fuel, which can be utilized as a transportation or residential energy source. Morris has received a threeyear $450,000 grant from the Department of Energy for her research. Her work is a continuation of a Junior Faculty Collaborative award from Virginia Tech’s Institute for Critical Technology and Applied Science with Eva Marand, a professor of chemical engineering. Keith Pierce is the new communications coordinator for Virginia Tech’s Outreach Pierce and International Affairs department. Pierce comes to Virginia Tech with more than 20 years of public relations and communications experience, including positions within military, corporate and nonprofit organizations. Three Virginia Tech College of Science faculty were recently elected as fellows Piilonen into the American Physical Society. The following faculty members were honored: Leo Piilonen, the William E. Hassinger Jr., Senior Faculty Fellow in Phys-
Vogelaar
Tauber
ics and chair of the department; Bruce Vogelaar, professor of physics and director of the Kimballton Underground Research Facility; and Uwe Tauber, professor of physics.
Sandeep Shukla, professor of electrical and computer engineering in the College of Engineering at Virginia Tech, has been named an Institute of Electrical and Electronics En- Shukla gineers Fellow for contributions to applied probabilistic model checking for system design. Denise E. Stewart has been named audit manager in the Department of Internal Audit at Stewart Virginia Tech. She will be responsible for planning, conducting and overseeing the various types of projects within the department. Virginia Western Community College has been named a finalist for the Community College Futures Assembly’s (CCFA) 2014 Bellwether Awards for its groundbreaking Community College Access Program (CCAP). For the first time, CCAP served all of Virginia Western’s service region for the 2013-14 academic year. Graduating high school seniors from the localities of Botetourt, Craig, Franklin and Roanoke counties, and the cities of Roanoke and Salem are eligible to attend Virginia Western for two years tuition-free if they meet program requirements.
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A Comforting Hand at Home
At the end of life, when the important things like family and faith come into focus, you can trust that Carilion Clinic Hospice will support you and those close to you. Our experienced and compassionate caregivers are here to provide skilled care and to meet the needs of the entire family, all in the comfort of your home. If you have an advanced illness and want comfort and quality of life to be the focus of care, talk to your physician about the beneďŹ ts of hospice.
CarilionClinic.org/hospice | 800-964-9300