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Joint effort to raise funds for new non-profit >

Three local businesses – Texas Tavern, Black Dog Salvage and Simply Framing by Kristi – joined forces to raise more than $5000 for Tudor House, a new non-profit formed after the suicide of Louis Tudor. Tudor House focuses on suicide prevention, education and support. Three vintage Texas Tavern were auctioned off on eBay to support that effort. Louis Tudor was the longtime owner of Tudor’s Biscuit World and a popular swim coach before taking his own life this past summer. Matt Bullington owns Texas Tavern: “one [sign] was on the front of the building for years; we gave to our friends at Black Dog Salvage to put the finishing touch on. That’s a signature piece.” Black Dog added a custom dark frame fashioned from barn wood.

Mike Whiteside from Black Dog Salvage got to know Louis Tudor when he installed a balcony rail at the former Biscuit World location in downtown Roanoke. “He was just a staple in this area, people loved him. I’m really proud to be part of this fundraiser. Mental illness is a big thing these days – it always has been. Bringing awareness to it and letting people talk about it, and understand it, that’s very important.” Molly Bullington is the marketing director for husband Matt Bullington’s tavern and says Louis Tudor was her swim coach (for their kids as well). She recalls Tudor’s cash register breaking down and Matt lending his backup register in the wee hours of the morning. “He was competition but at the same time we were all in it together. We were such great friends.” Bullington says Louis Tudor was “full of personality. To see him decline in mental health like that it’s scary – he was just like anyone of us.” The pandemic’s impact was a factor says Bullington, something his family members had indicated as well after Tudor’s suicide.

Kathleen Thorell, interim director of Tudor House said after receiving the 5K check in November that the total raised to date was $66,000. “Which is fabulous, I’m kind of overwhelmed with how far we’ve come since July. But we also realize that it’s probably just the tip of the iceberg that we need to make our mission happen.” The initial goal is to renovate the old Tudor's Biscuit World in downtown Roanoke, for use as a suicide

prevention resource center and meeting place.

Build Smart Institute teaching trade skills with aim to fill job openings >

After a quiet launch in late summer the Build Smart Institute on Gainsboro Road in Roanoke cut a ribbon early last month. Rob Leonard is director at the Institute, which was created by F& S Building Innovations in Roanoke, which he also works for. It’s about training people in various aspects of the construction trade to become “career ready,” he notes. Those who take Build Smart Institute courses however can go work anywhere they want to in the industry. “We make our facility open to anybody that’s interested in coming into the trade.” That’s from middle school on up says Leonard; there are also professional development courses for those already in the construction business and looking to get ahead by taking courses on project management or advanced technical skills for example .

The motivation for Build Smart Institute is fairly simple says Leonard: there are not enough skilled people entering the construction field and jobs often go unfilled. He points to predictions made in the 1970’s that the push to send young people to four-year colleges was going to lead to a lack of skilled workers for many trades – and it’s here now. “[We] started to figure out at the turn of the century that we’re in trouble – there’s no succession, we have nobody young coming in, a lot of the [industry] veterans are aging out. 25 percent of those in construction now are over age 55.”