Roanoke Business- Aug. 2016 by Virginia Business

Getting ready for retirement, p. 14

AUGUST 2016

Return of

Paddling for dollars, p. 38

SERVING THE ROANOKE/BLACKSBURG/ NEW RIVER VALLEY REGION

passenger rail

Roanoke is getting its trains back. The NRV, Bedford and Bristol want theirs, too.

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CONTENTS SERVING THE ROANOKE/BLACKSBURG/ NEW RIVER VALLEY REGION

August 2016

F E AT U R E S COVER STORY

The return of passenger rail

Roanoke is getting its trains back. The NRV, Bedford and Bristol want train service, too. by Mason Adams

RETIREMENT PLANNING Get ready

The key to happy retirement is effective planning – even after retiring.

by Kathie Dickenson

EMPLOYMENT Employment disconnect

If unemployment is so low, why are jobs hard to find? by Mason Adams

HIGHER EDUCATION Counting experience

A new federal program allows veterans in nursing programs to get college credit for military training.

by Shawna Morrison

D 30

INTERVIEW: Michael Galliher

E 38

We’re all ambassadors

Giles County using POWER Grant to leverage the New River’s economic power.

BUSINESS EXTRA: HOTELS Except for the loss of the check-in treat, not much changed when The Hotel Roanoke joined Hilton’s Curio collection. by Dan Radmacher AUGUST 2016

BUSINESS SPOTLIGHT Paddling for dollars

No more cookies

campaign manager, #Deschutes2Rke Court clerk helped woo eighth largest U.S. craft brewery to Roanoke. by Beth JoJack

by Tim Thornton

PREVIEW

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FROM THE EDITOR

Working overtime

SERVING THE ROANOKE/BLACKSBURG/ NEW RIVER VALLEY REGION

by Tim Thornton

t seems simple. Work more than 40 hours; get overtime pay. Unless you’re a manager. Or an independent contractor. Or your salary is high enough to exempt you. Or you fall under some other exemption. Some overtime pay rules are changing, complicating a situation already so convoluted, Woods Rogers attorney Victor Cardwell said at a seminar about the changes, “Almost every employer is doing something wrong somewhere.” The change getting the most attention will increase the minimum salary employers must pay full-time employees who don’t get overtime pay. Today, that’s $23,660 per year – a little more than Roanoke’s per capita annual salary of $23,565; a good bit less than the Roanoke MSA’s average annual pay of $40,440. Beginning Dec. 1, the new threshold pay for exempt workers will be $47,476. That’s quite a jump, but the threshold hasn’t moved since 2004. Now it will increase every three years, beginning in 2020, keeping pace with the 40th percentile of full-time salaried workers in the nation’s Census region with the lowest pay. We’re in that region, by the way. Employers will be doing a lot of math between now and Dec. 1. If someone’s making $35,000 and not getting overtime pay, it may make sense to give them the overtime pay instead of a raise. If someone’s making $45,000 and not getting paid for overtime, it probably makes financial sense to give them a raise instead of paying them overtime. But that’s not likely to be the end of the adjustments. “If you start giving people a raise up to 47 [thousand dollars a year],” Woods Rogers attorney Attorney King Tower told the seminar, “think about the people who already make 47. They’re going to want a raise, too.” The Department of Labor estimates the new overtime rule will mean access to overtime pay or a raise in salary for 4.2 million workers – about 119,000 of them in Virginia. But those aren’t the only ways employers can meet the regulations’ requirements. A convenience store manager’s job that takes 60 hours each week and pays less than $47,476 annually may get split into two 30-hourper-week jobs or three 20-hour-per-week jobs. Some employers may decide to reduce hourly wages enough that, even with overtime pay, employees will take home about what they do now. That’s not the new rule’s intention, but when the federal government required employers to offer health care to anyone working at least 30 hours per week, many employers reduced workers’ hours rather than offer them that benefit. The intentions behind the new rules are good. The effects they have will depend on what employers are willing to pay – and what employees are willing to accept.

AUGUST 2016

Vol. 5

AUGUST 2016

President & Publisher Roanoke Business Editor Contributing Editor Contributing Writers

Art Director Contributing Photographers

Production Manager Circulation Manager Accounting Manager Vice President of Advertising Account Representative

No. 8

Bernard A. Niemeier Tim Thornton Paula C. Squires Mason Adams Kathie Dickenson Beth JoJack Shawna Morrison Dan Radmacher Adrienne R. Watson Don Petersen Natalee Waters Alisa Moody Kevin L. Dick Karen Chenault Ashley Henry Hunter Bendall Lynn Williams

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

on the cover Passenger rail cars in Roanoke. Roanoke Photo by Don Petersen

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AUGUST 2016

Contributed photos

Upcoming events

Items on the calendar are just a sample of Roanoke/New River Valley business events this month. To submit an event for consideration, email Tim Thornton at tthornton@ roanoke-business.com at least one month before the event.

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COVER STORY

The return of

passenger rail The return of passenger rail: Roanoke is getting its trains back. The NRV, Bedford and Bristol want train service, too. by Mason Adams 8

AUGUST 2016

Just behind Sherman Stovall, assistant Roanoke city manager for operations, is where Roanoke’s Amtrak passenger platform will be built.

Photo by Don Petersen

mtrak is running on schedule for its return to in Roanoke in fall of 2017. Even as the Star City prepares to celebrate the return of passenger rail for the first time in more than 34 years, neighbors to the southwest already are pushing to extend the service. The service arrives as part of Amtrak’s extension of its Northeast Regional service into Virginia. The commonwealth invests in extensions that run to Lynchburg, Richmond, Norfolk and Newport News. The Lynchburg extension, which began regular daily service in 2009, outperformed expectations and sparked momentum that led to the push westward to Roanoke. Amtrak estimates it generates a national economic impact of $7.9 billion annually, supporting more than 110,000 jobs through its daily operations plus tourism and supplier impacts. Local governments desire the economic boost that comes with passenger rail. The service tends to create a 3-to-5 percent growth in the number of annual visitors. While short-term construction and engineering jobs come with the line’s upgrades and related construction, the growth in visitors creates potential for a larger, more durable ripple, especially in the restaurant and hospitality industries. A Roanoke-funded study of an intermodal center that incorporates passenger rail estimated Amtrak’s impact at $10.5 million annually. Some in the business community see the potential to connect local residents with the

major metropolitan areas along the Northeast Corridor while also attracting visitors to explore Roanoke’s outdoor recreation. Aaron Ewert, project manager at the Bridges, a 23-acre, $150 million mixed-use development by the Roanoke River, sees potential in transforming how visitors see the Star City. The Bridges sits on the far end of downtown, about a mile from the planned passenger rail platform. Ewert wants to partner with the city to build a bridge that would extend from Williamson Road, near Jefferson Street, over train tracks to a parking deck at the Bridges, and then over the Roanoke River to the greenway. The idea is to create an easy route for tourists to engage with the city’s outdoor economy, including outfitters, gear rental and consignment shops, and other support businesses found in the neighborhoods linked by the greenway network. “Here we are, this new outdoor town,” Ewert says. “Visitors can put their bike on the Amtrak train, ride to Roanoke … get off the train, get on their bike, ride through downtown, find this trail, cross a nice bridge and then bam, you’re on the greenway.” Amtrak service will provide additional benefits, too, he says. “This is what we’ve been waiting for for 30 years. People in all industries in the valley will be able to take advantage of the train coming in. Students, professors, businesspeople can just sit on the train to D.C. and they’re there. Amtrak and the new line of transportation will benefit the Bridges and all of Roanoke industry.” R ROANOKE OANO OA NOKE NO OKE B BUSINESS USIN US INE IN ESS

cover story

Roanoke and other localities are clamoring for passenger rail service because of the positive economic impact the service can bring by drawing more people to an area.

Rail fans in the New River Valley and Bristol metropolitan areas hope to bring those benefits to their localities, too. A broad coalition of New River Valley groups, including the NRV Regional Commission, the region’s universities, local governments and business groups, released a ridership and passenger station site selection study in hopes of winning passenger rail service by 2020. Meanwhile, The Bedford/Franklin Regional Rail Initiative (BFRRI) wants Amtrak to add a stop in Bedford on the Lynchburg/Roanoke line. Farther to the southwest, Bristol, Va., is leading an effort to win passenger rail with an even more ambitious goal of starting service in 2019. The city, which sits on the Virginia/ Tennessee line, will conduct a similar study to build its case for Amtrak service. Additionally, the Virginia Department of Rail and Public Transportation (DRPT) has scheduled funding in fiscal year 2019 for a corridor study that would examine what route and infrastructure improvements would need to be made on existing lines from Roanoke through the NRV to Bristol to accommodate Amtrak service. All of that would seem to indi10

AUGUST 2016

cate progress, but there are plenty of potential challenges. Passenger rail has become an increasingly desirable commodity, especially in communities with a generational memory of riding the rails. In western Virginia, the railroad dates back to 1849, when the General Assembly chartered the Virginia & Tennessee railroad, which by 1856 ran west from Lynchburg to Salem and then southwest to what is now Bristol. Passage of the 1849 bill came after a long, hard-fought legislative battle, which included Del. Thomas Tate of Smyth County pretending to faint on the House floor to buy more time for his fellow lawmakers to build up support ahead of a key vote. Tate’s faux faint resulted in doctors bleeding him, a common medical treatment at the time. The Virginia & Tennessee brought economic prosperity to the communities through which it passed. The city of Roanoke took off once the Shenandoah Valley Railroad, running south from Hagerstown, Md., reached the former Big Lick and its junction with the newly built Norfolk & Western Railway in 1882. N&W ended passenger service to the Star City in 1971, and its passen-

ger station became an office building, but Amtrak continued to drop and pick up passengers outside the old station until 1979. Built in 1905, the passenger station was remodeled by Raymond Loewy and Associates and reopened in 1949. Loewy, responsible for designs as varied as avantgarde Studebakers, locomotives and Lucky Strike cigarette packs, is one reason the station is on the National Register of Historic Places. The station is home to the O. Winston Link Museum, which preserves and displays the work of the man who photographed the last days of steam locomotives. While the heyday of passenger rail service to Roanoke may have come in the middle of the 20th century, 21st-century cities are moving from reliance on automobiles to a more intermodal transportation system incorporating bicycles and transit service. There’s a corresponding interest in the return of passenger rail service. Localities that want passenger rail service must apply for funding to study various aspects, such as ridership and where to place a boarding platform or passenger station. They’ve also got to convince the state government it’s worth funding, since Virginia is responsible for funding any passenger rail extensions. The rail lines themselves are owned by Norfolk Southern and CSX. Amtrak provides the service. A successful push for passenger rail essentially requires the approval of all of those parties, especially the state, since it’s the funding partner. How Roanoke won Amtrak Roanoke won Amtrak service through a combination of persistence and a willingness to prove demand by running a bus service to the Kemper Street Amtrak Station in Lynchburg. Roanoke marketed the bus service and residents responded, riding in numbers that convinced state government and Amtrak to take a serious look. It didn’t hurt that Lynchburg’s ridership so exceeded PhotoMoody credit Photo by Alisa

projections it’s now in line for a second daily scheduled departure. In late 2014, state officials, Amtrak and Norfolk Southern announced phase one of construction to return passenger rail to Roanoke: track additions and realignments, signal and communication upgrades along the route, and a platform and train servicing facility in downtown Roanoke. Virginia covered the $2.5 million cost of strengthening the Trout Run Culvert along Norfolk Avenue for the passenger platform and rail siding. Roanoke also will improve portions of Norfolk Avenue at a cost of $1.2 million. One potentially major expense was avoided when Amtrak decided not to require a full-blown passenger station, instead allowing a boarding platform, which will extend along the southern side of the tracks from the Wells-Fargo Tower to the Virginia Museum of Transportation. “The Northeast Regional doesn’t have a baggage car, so it doesn’t need facilities or accommodations for checked baggage,” says Sherman Stovall, Roanoke’s assistant city manager for operations. “Even if the station was constructed, Amtrak would not staff it. They’re going to wait until they see how the train performs in terms of ridership.” The platform isn’t exactly cheap, however. It will cost $9.9 million, to be funded by the state. Construction should begin this fall. The second infrastructure item required for Amtrak service in Roanoke is a $5.2 million train servicing facility to be built beneath Interstate 581 at Albemarle Street, also paid for with state dollars. Beyond that, however, the state also had to negotiate with Norfolk Southern so that passenger rail service did not interfere with the railroad’s freight traffic. That will require a number of other improvements to the network over the coming years. Initial ridership is projected be just under 50,000 annually, with 20,706 boardings and alightings Photo credit by Alisa Moody

south of Washington, D.C., and 28,209 through the capital, according to Stovall. Localities to Roanoke’s east and southwest hope that Amtrak’s 2017 arrival in the Star City will become just another whistle stop on a much larger expansion. A Bedford rail stop? The Bedford/Franklin Regional Rail Initiative, comprised of officials and residents from the two counties, has paid for a study claiming the addition of a stop in Bedford would increase that annual ridership by 26,000. The $72,000 study, funded by local governments, the Region 2000 Business Alliance, and the Bedford, Lynchburg and Smith Mountain Lake chambers of commerce, also plans a passenger station at a site behind the Bedford County courthouse.

ed in 2013 when the coalition’s members began to discuss how to best attract a rail stop. With no money for a consultant, the NRV Regional Commission partnered with the NRV Metropolitan Planning Organization and spent roughly $60,000 to study ridership and where to build a station. The site selection process began with 29 sites before narrowing the list and recommending two sites on North Franklin Street, close to the Christiansburg Aquatics Center. The study projects roughly 40,000 annual boardings and alightings, about 10,000 fewer than the Roanoke projections. Elijah Sharp, the NRV Regional Commission’s director of planning and program, says that figure represents only a 4 percent shift of northbound trips originating from within the region. Ray Smoot, a 1969 Virginia Tech

The NRV Regional Commission’s Elijah Sharp says some university faculty and staff may use a train four times a week.

DRPT officials say that Bedford is just one of several small communities that have asked for a rail stop, but that they are conducting a study to evaluate Bedford’s potential. The NRV Rail 2020 effort start-

graduate who is co-chairman of NRV Rail 2020, says he remembers college students from a variety of area schools riding the rails when he was a student traveling from his home in Lynchburg. ROANOKE BUSINESS

cover story “I have many fond memories of getting on a train in Christiansburg on Friday afternoon and riding home to Lynchburg, then getting back on Sunday evening in Lynchburg and riding back to school in Christiansburg,” Smoot says. “The fun thing about that was you would get on the train leaving Christiansburg and there are already people on there from Radford University and Emory & Henry [College]. Then we’d stop in Roanoke, and students from Roanoke College and Hollins [University] would get on. It was a big party.” Student passengers help make the case The New River Valley’s current bid also relies heavily on the presence of Virginia Tech and Radford University, with more than 30,000 and nearly 10,000 students, respectively. Add in faculty and staff regularly traveling between Blacksburg, Roanoke and Northern Virginia,

AUGUST 2016

where Virginia Tech is expanding its presence, and NRV rail advocates believe they can make a case for a steady ridership that outperforms what would otherwise be expected from the region’s population. “The whole thing about passenger rail in the New River Valley is the high number of people we have in the area who travel, anchored by the faculty and students at Virginia Tech and at Radford,” says Dan Brugh, executive director of the NRV Metropolitan Planning Organization. Smoot says that group also includes employees for the various companies in Virginia Tech’s Corporate Research Center. He estimates that more than half of Virginia Tech’s students come from metropolitan areas along the Northeast Corridor. Currently, that trip north can be made by automobile; by the Megabus service that connects Christiansburg to Knoxville, Tenn., and Washington, D.C.; or by riding the Smartway bus to Roanoke and then Lynchburg. Di-

rect Amtrak service would make that last option much easier. “Most residents [of the NRV] would ride the train seldomly, maybe once or twice a year, but faculty, staff and students would ride it much more frequently,” Sharp says. “Some faculty and staff travel two to four times per week, and students are traveling northbound every other week.” The next step for the NRV is a state study scheduled for funding in 2019 from the Intercity Passenger Rail Operating and Capital (IPROC) fund. The state negotiates with Norfolk Southern on the scope of the study. It gets into the nuts-and-bolts of what is actually needed along the tracks to make passenger rail coordinate smoothly with existing and projected freight traffic. The cost of the IPROC study is typically about $350,000. In the NRV’s case, the Virginia DRPT essentially lumped it in with Bristol so Norfolk Southern would study the entire

Photo credit

segment of track between Roanoke and Bristol, rather than the shorter stretch from Roanoke to Christiansburg. That combination is saving the state money while also investing the Bristol region with new hope. “If you look at this from the state’s perspective, from a dollarsand-cents standpoint, they have to consider what makes the most sense for them in terms of ridership,” says Andrew Trivette, director of community and economic development for Bristol. “They probably won’t make just a small additional connection to Christiansburg because those riders are already probably participating in the Roanoke market. So the state has said that Bristol and the NRV need to be more coordinated.” Bristol’s case At a distance, Bristol’s case for passenger rail seems more tenuous, but – fittingly for an official of a city that sits on a state border – Trivette makes a compelling argument for its importance based on its strategic location between Washington, D.C., and growing metropolitan areas in Georgia and Tennessee. Trivette remembers talking with U.S. Sen. Tim Kaine at a high-speed rail conference years ago. Kaine spoke to the conference about efforts to bring passenger rail to Richmond and how it entailed challenging North Carolina to extend service to Raleigh. Afterward, Trivette approached Kaine about his ideas for Bristol, and Kaine told him he needed to get Tennessee engaged. “Atlanta, Ga., is extremely interested in connecting to Chattanooga, Tenn., because they can then connect to the major metro markets of Louisville and Chicago,” Trivette said. “Once that line gets to Chattanooga, it can go through Bristol or to Nashville. I predict they’ll do both, but the move for us is to make Bristol the easy, more attractive move, because then they can connect to the East Coast.” Essentially, Trivette’s play is not to attract Amtrak to Bristol and stop there; it’s to help encourage a longer Photo credit

line that will run through Bristol on down to Chattanooga and then Atlanta. “The Georgia rail plan says they’re going to make the connection to Chattanooga within five, 10 years,” Trivette says. “The expense of the connection from Chattanooga to Nashville is much higher than Chattanooga to Bristol. If service to Bristol is extended off that Northeast Corridor that Amtrak operates, those southern cities will gain much more expedited access to Washington, D.C., and New York City.” To build support for Bristol’s case, the city is conducting a study that, like the NRV’s, will look at potential ridership and where to build a passenger station. Bristol won funding awards of $250,00 from the Virginia Tobacco Indemnification and Community Revitalization Commission, $100,000 from the Appalachian Regional Commission and $50,000 from the Community Transportation Association of Amer-

ica, in addition to $50,000 funded out of the city coffers. Based on preliminary discussions, Trivette says he thinks Bristol’s ridership profile should parallel that of Lynchburg. About 3 million people live within a 100-mile radius of Bristol, mostly in rural areas with no rail access. Many will be willing to drive two hours or less for the experience of riding a train to a nearby city for a weekend. “A great portion of Lynchburg’s ridership comes from tourism and pleasure riders as opposed to business,” Trivette says. “That’s going to be the market here. If you can take the train to catch a show in D.C. and be home in time to go to work on Monday, you’ll do it.” That’s certainly the plan for many people who will begin using Amtrak next year in Roanoke. Trivette and a lot of other people hope the good times for passenger rail keep rolling through the New River Valley into Bristol and beyond.

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RETIREMENT PLANNING

John and Sandy Randolph prepared for their retirement while helping her parents adjust to retirement.

Get ready

The key to happy retirement is effective planning – even after retiring by Kathie Dickenson

t 30, 50, 60 and 80, the key to a good retirement is to remain engaged in its planning. That’s the advice from Roger Winter, first vice president and private wealth adviser with SunTrust Bank in Roanoke. Start planning early, he says, but stay flexible. “What you want at 30 may change by the time you’re 55.” Even after retirement, situations and needs change. “The more we can get folks engaged in taking responsibility for their own future,” says Winter, “the better off they’re going to be.” A crucial step in planning is considering living options. Adapting your own home to accommodate future needs, moving to a more livable home, or choosing a retirement community are among

AUGUST 2016

the possibilities. The Roanoke and New River valleys offer a number of independent living communities. Here residents can hand off responsibilities such as caring for a lawn, cooking or driving. They can socialize with people their age, enjoy amenities such as exercise rooms, pools and transportation, and have access to staff who plan activities, do housekeeping and respond quickly to emergencies. Retirement communities, costs and plans vary widely; visiting several communities and meeting with staff can help narrow your options. Monthly rentals start around $850 and can be $1,700 or more, depending on floor plans, location, facilities and grounds, utilities and

amenities. Private home or town home purchase prices are around market rates but can require additional fees for services. Some communities include federally subsidized housing with rates based on income, assets and medical needs. Several large continuing-care retirement communities offer active adult and independent living as well as assisted living, long-term nursing care and memory care so residents can stay in the same community but move into graduated care as needs change. Friendship, Brandon Oaks and The Hermitage in Roanoke, Richfield in Salem, The Glebe in Botetourt County and Warm Hearth Village in Blacksburg are examples of continuing-care communities. Photos by Natalee Waters

Planning: two perspectives John and Sandy Randolph of Blacksburg have looked at retirement from two perspectives: their own and that of Sandy’s late parents, Bob and Gloria Terhune. The Terhunes moved to Blacksburg from Pasadena, Calif., in 1996 “because we asked them to,” says Sandy. After renting a house for a three-month trial period, the Terhunes purchased a home in Stroubles Mill, a multigenerational Blacksburg community featuring walking paths, access to a swimming pool and nearby public transit. Gloria joined a bridge group, made friends and volunteered at LewisGale Hospital Montgomery. Bob had heart surgery that transformed his quality of life, with family there to support him. The couple attended their grandchildren’s soccer games, celebrated birthdays and continued their normal activities, including travel. The situation suited them for about seven years, when they purchased a town home in Warm Hearth Village. The graduated care environment was important as her parents’ health declined, says Sandy. Just as important to them, she adds, “They could bring their dog there.” Sandy retired nearly five years ago; John, three years ago. In planning, they knew they wanted to live in their own home for as long as possible. They already lived part time at a house they had purchased on Claytor Lake and realized taking care of that property and their large house and yard in Blacksburg would become difficult. Knowing they still wanted to spend time in Blacksburg, they sold the big house and purchased a small, single-level home that provided what they needed: a yard they could fence for their dog, a garage, walking access to downtown and a place for a future caregiver. The previous owners were two elderly sisters who had rented a suite off the kitchen to their priest. The priest’s suite, comprising a small bedroom, bath and office, is now the Randolphs’ master suite, but if they

Seniors stay active during an exercise class at Warm Hearth Village, a continuing care community in Blacksburg.

ever need live-in care, it will become a caregiver’s suite. Natives of Minnesota and Michigan, the Randolphs have lived in the New River Valley for 37 years. They raised their three sons, formed lifelong friendships and became part of the community’s fabric. “You kind of get attached to the place,” says John about their decision to stay in retirement. “We’ve lived in the San Francisco Bay area and the Puget Sound area, and those are nice places, but it’s nice that this is not a big city; you don’t have to plan your daily life around the traffic. The climate is nicely variable and not too extreme in any of the seasons. And there are no bugs in the summer.” “And good hikes,” comments Sandy. “We love the trails.” While more convenient access to direct-flight air travel and more diverse retail options would be welcome, she adds, the area’s other assets outweigh those drawbacks. Retirement destination Blacksburg has received repeated recognition as a top place in the nation to retire. The latest accolade was inclusion in Forbes’ Best Places to Retire in 2016. Factors such as cultural, educational, scenic and outdoor opportunities, favorable tax rates and real estate prices, walkability and transportation keep the college town on the radar of list makers.

According to Diane Akers, president of the Blacksburg Partnership, the percentage of people over 65 years old in the New River Valley was 13 percent in 2010. In 2014 the number was 14.5 percent. Akers says retirees include people who work in the area and choose to stay; people from places like Northern Virginia who seek a smaller, less frantic community and lower cost of living; people who have family living here; and Virginia Tech alumni who move back. Blacksburg welcomes them all. Older adults “bring a wealth of knowledge that they can share, either in retirement jobs or through volunteering,” says Akers. “We can all learn from each other.” There are a few economic perks as well. “Schools are a large part of every governmental budget,” says Akers. “Retirees don’t add to the school system population, so that essentially saves money for the local community. And many retirees have resources to go out and eat, shop locally and hire for personal services.” Retirement communities throughout the area provide economic benefits to the region as well. For example, The Glebe, which opened in Botetourt County 10 years ago, employs 200 people — 130 full time — from Botetourt County, Roanoke, Roanoke County and Alleghany County, according to Sales and Marketing DiROANOKE BUSINESS

Retirement Planning

Residents at The Glebe are active onsite and in the surrounding communities.

rector Helen Burnett. About 245 residents live in the community’s 133 apartments and 20 cottages, with room for expansion on 55 acres. Seventy-five percent of residents are from the Roanoke Valley and Smith Mountain Lake area, but 25 percent came from other parts of Virginia or another state. Of the independent living residents, 90 to 95 percent have

their own cars, says Burnett. Residents drive themselves or take The Glebe’s transportation to other parts of the region for entertainment, dining and shopping. Burnett highlights the social value of retirees as well. “Our residents always participate in Relay for Life. We partner with Read Mountain Middle School in an intergenerational pro-

gram. We assist churches in a number of ways. And our employees support the United Way.” When nearing retirement, Winter suggests you “take a step back to look not just at your financial assets but your emotional needs. What will you do in re- Burnett tirement? What you do will affect how much money you need.” John Randolph, with three years of retirement experience under his belt, offers his 30-30-30 Plan — coopted from former Virginia Tech colleague Clark Jones — for how to fill your time when you retire. Spend 30 percent of your time on what you were already doing, whether for pay or as a volunteer; spend 30 percent on volunteer work; spend 30 percent on fun — hobbies, travel, whatever you enjoy. The remaining 10 percent “floats.” He adds that the plan is “a guideline, not a rule.” After all, it is your retirement.

Welcome to Walk into Friendship Health’s new rehabilitation center in Southwest Roanoke County and you’ll be hard pressed to know that you were entering a healthcare facility. Featuring a large, state-of-the art rehabilitation gym at the center of the complex with 120 short-term patient beds with a Rehab South showcases the best services and innovations for patient care. Staffed by our awardwinning therapists and nurses, we are devoted to creating an environment of enhancing quality of life, promoting independence, inspiring hope, and helping make faster recoveries.

5647 Starkey Road

AUGUST 2016

friendship.us

(540) 777-8300

Photo by Natalee Waters

Retirement planning as a community challenge by Kathie Dickenson

hen the New River Valley Regional Commission decided to look at population demographics five years ago, the numbers told a story: the area’s over-65 population was projected to double by 2030 while in many communities the 25-and-under population would decline. That scenario gave a group leading The NRV Livability Initiative pause. How could they plan for a change of such magnitude? The tax base was in decline with the majority of housing stock more than 40 years old and not designed for aging residents. Plus, many residents couldn’t afford needed modifications. People could see that a storm was brewing. Beginning in 2011, the commission led a consortium of government and community organizations in the Livability Initiative.

These duplexes in Blacksburg were designed for older residents. They meet American with Disabilities standards and include universal design features that help residents age in place.

The purpose behind the three-year planning effort was to create a 20year vision while developing goals and strategies for pursuing that vision. Funded by a $1 million grant from the U.S. Housing and Urban

Breathtaking view. Mouth-watering food.

The life here never gets old.

Development’s Federal Partnership for Sustainable Communities, the consortium examined demographic changes, housing stock and issues that would arise over the coming years.

More comes together at The Glebe than just the majestic Blue Ridge Mountains and the inviting Roanoke Valley. Wonderful friendships are formed in this Life Care retirement community. Lives are enriched through continued learning and inspiring cultural programs. Time is all yours, and the worries of maintaining a home are not yours at all. It can only be called a wonderful way of living. Call to learn more.

Blue Ridge Living

200 The Glebe Boulevard Daleville, Virginia 24083 TheGlebe.org Photo by Natalee Waters

ROANOKE BUSINESS

Retirement Planning Within the context of “two broad public workshops,” the consortium looked at housing types, community types and what programs might offer home modifications, says Jessica Wirgau, executive director of the Community Foundation of the NRV, a member of the Livability Initiative consortium. It created a booklet to help developers plan homes with Universal Design, which makes buildings accessible to people of all ages. Such design helps people age in place and adds resale value to homes. The consortium also looked at what issues needed to be addressed, and it developed a list of six strategies. An Aging in Place Leadership Team, a collaboration of eight regional organizations, reviewed the work. So far, the outcomes have been broad ranging. They include a time bank through which people can give and receive assistance, educational presentations on life-

The Grissom Lane development includes net-zero units.

span-friendly housing and efforts to gain recognition from the World Health Organization’s Global Network of Age-Friendly Cities and Communities. On Grissom Lane in Blacksburg, Community Housing Part-

ners developed four affordable, net-zero duplex units that meet Americans with Disabilities Act standards and include Universal Design features. (Net-zero units annually produce as much energy as they use.) Over several years the NRV Home Consortium worked with Giles County, its residents and Community Housing Partners to build Summit Place, an affordable, supported-living community in Rich Creek. The consortium also is providing assistance for Taylor Hollow Construction’s redevelopment of the old Price’s Fork Elementary School into a mixed-use facility that includes affordable apartments for low-income tenants ages 50 and above. The underlying premise of Aging In Place, says Wirgau, is “people are happier – and hopefully will have better physical and mental health outcomes – when they’re able to stay connected to their communities as they get older.’’

Brandon Oaks, the only true Life Plan community in Roanoke, offers residents an award-winning continuum of healthcare with the amenities of a resort. Worry-free living at Brandon Oaks includes two dining venues, over 20 wellness classes per week, a full schedule of social activities each month, maintenance, transportation and more. Also, there is no increase in fees when, and if, your level of care changes. Financial asset protection for you and your family with everything you need all in one place. Now that’s a sound investment.

3804 Brandon Ave SW | Roanoke, Virginia 24018 | (540) 777-5602 | www.brandonoaks.net 18

AUGUST 2016

Photo by Natalee Waters

Retirement Planning

Retirement Communities in the Roanoke and New River valleys Active Adult Communities Name

Location

Type of Housing

Information

Orchard Villas

Roanoke

Condominium community: Single-story homes, duplexes, quadraplexes

www.orchardvillas.org

Villas at Pepperâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Ferry

Christiansburg

Privately owned villas

www.cornerstonehomes.net

WoodsEdge (55+)

Blacksburg (Warm Hearth Village)

Privately owned lots and homes

www.woodsedgeblacksburg.com

Independent Living Communities Name

Location

Continuum of Care Available

Independent Living Options

Contact

Brandon Oaks

Roanoke

Independent living, Assisted living, Rehabilitation, Nursing care

Village homes, Cottages, Apartments

540-776-2600

Commonwealth Assisted Living

Christiansburg

Independent living, Assisted living, Memory care, Home care

Private and companion suites

540-585-4384

Commonwealth Assisted Living

Radford

Independent living, Assisted living, Memory care, Home care

Private and companion suites

540-307-0659

Edinburgh Square

Roanoke

Independent living

Apartments

540-366-1888

Elm Park Estates

Roanoke

Independent living

Apartments

540-908-2461

Friendship

Roanoke

Independent living, Assisted living, Rehabilitation, Nursing care, Memory care

Apartments

540-777-7599

Hermitage in Roanoke

Roanoke

Independent living, Assisted living, Rehabilitation, Nursing care

Apartment homes

540-767-6800

Richfield

Salem

Independent living, Assisted living, Rehabilitation, Nursing care, Palliative care, Memory care

Cottages, Apartments

540-380-4500 Toll-free: 888-745-8008

Salem Terrace at Harrogate

Salem

Independent living, Assisted living, Memory care, Rehabilitation

Apartments

540-444-0343

Scott Hill Retirement Community

Clifton Forge

Independent living

Apartments

540-862-5741

South Roanoke Apartment Village

Roanoke

Independent living

Apartments

540-345-3727

Smith Mountain Lake Retirement Village

Hardy

Independent living, Assisted living, Memory care

Privately owned cottages

434-237-2268 (Runk & Pratt corporate office)

The Glebe

Daleville

Independent living, Assisted Living, Rehabilitation, Long-term nursing care

Cottages, Apartments

540-795-2224

The Village on Pheasant Ridge

Roanoke

Independent living, Assisted living

Apartments

540-400-6482

Warm Hearth Village

Blacksburg

Active-adult community, Independent living, Residential and assisted living, Rehabilitation, Nursing care, Memory care, Home care

Privately owned singlefamily homes (55+), Single540-552-9176 level homes (60+), barrierfree apartments (62+)

ROANOKE BUSINESS

BUSINESS EXTRA: EMPLOYMENT

Roanoke College economics professor Alice Kassens says the media contribute to the disconnect between unemployment reality and perception.

Employment disconnect If unemployment is so low, why are jobs hard to find? by Mason Adams

t the beginning of 2015, Roanoke’s longtime anchor employer, Norfolk Southern Corp., announced plans to shutter its administrative headquarters downtown. The closure eventually resulted in a loss of 435 jobs. The news was greeted on social media outlets by an outpouring of woe and concern that the closure of such a historic economic driver could destabilize Roanoke’s economy. The unemployment rate at the

AUGUST 2016

time of the announcement was 5.1 percent. Two months later, it dropped below 5 percent, where it has remained ever since. In April 2016, Roanoke’s unemployment rate dropped to 3.3 percent — its lowest point since April 2008, months before the Great Recession began. In May, Roanoke’s unemployment rate rose to 3.5 percent — still a tenth of a point below the state figure and a full percentage point below the national rate. The civilian labor force in the Roanoke Metropolitan Statisti-

cal Area has fluctuated between 157,000 and 159,000 since December, while the number of unemployed ranged between 5,000 and 7,000 during that same period. Was Roanoke’s economy so strong that it could absorb such a loss? Or is the unemployment rate a flawed metric? The answer is a qualified yes on both counts, according to local experts on economic statistics. John Hull, director of market intelligence for the Roanoke Regional Partnership, Photo by Don Petersen

says job figures since 2008 show the valley’s increasingly diversified economy has recovered from the recession and then some. But Alice Kassens, the John S. Shannon Professor of Economics at Roanoke College, warns against reading too much into the unemployment rate without framing it against other statistics. Frequently, there is a disconnect between perception and reality, especially on social media, where the most extreme voices often drive discussion. But older media play a role, too. Layoffs and closings, especially at historic employers, attract more prominent coverage than openings or expansions, which sometimes are announced only via news release, or not at all if the employer doesn’t want the media attention. Norfolk Southern’s closure received a high level of coverage because of its prominent historical role. “Some of it is media,” says Kassens. “There’s a 24-hour news cycle, and they have to have something that grabs attention. You tend to focus on the bad stories; I know they do feel-good stories sometimes, but people losing their jobs, that’s bad. You focus on those things, and people extrapolate that to think the economy’s going to crumble. I remember when they made the Norfolk Southern announcement, people thought the Roanoke economy was going to collapse. Of course it’s not going to collapse: That’s just a tiny fraction of the number of jobs in the Roanoke Valley.” In fact, it represented a minority of Norfolk Southern jobs in the area. After the move, the railroad’s Roanoke operations still employed about 1,200 people. Early in 2016, the company announced plans to consolidate its Virginia Division, headquartered in Roanoke, with the Pocahontas Division, which was located in Bluefield. The reorganization based the new Pocahontas Division in Roanoke, adding 26 jobs in the Roanoke Valley. by Don Petersen Photo credit

The Roanoke Regional Partnership’s John Hull says the Roanoke Valley has more than recovered from the Great Recession.

Sometimes historic memories can affect public perception, too. Norfolk Southern and its predecessor companies were Roanoke’s cornerstone employers for decades. Norfolk and Western’s choosing Roanoke as its headquarters virtually created the city. Generations of employees could depend on a stable job at the railroad. By the time last year’s closure announcement came, however, the company’s presence in Roanoke was roughly a third of what it had been, while the region’s economy had long grown and diversified beyond reliance on the railroad. Finally, when the Norfolk Southern jobs left, their impact on the unemployment rate was fairly minimal, since most of its workers either retired or transferred elsewhere. Because few were left actively seeking new jobs in Roanoke, the transfer of jobs wasn’t directly reflected in the unemployment rate. That doesn’t mean, however,

that the unemployment rate isn’t a flawed statistic. Kassens says its biggest problem is it doesn’t count people who have given up actively looking for jobs. There’s no easy remedy for that flaw, given the murky uncertainties about those who have dropped out of the workforce. A number on a page doesn’t tell someone whether someone left to become a student or a stay-athome parent, or gave up hope of finding a job. The unemployment rate also doesn’t reflect wage levels, whether someone is working part time or full time, or whether they’re underemployed, meaning that they’re working at a job paying below their skill level. The statistic also doesn’t reflect job openings that remain unfilled. The Labor Department released a jobs report in early June showing that employers added only 38,000 jobs in May, 122,000 below what USA Today reported as the median forecast among econoROANOKE BUSINESS

Employment Rail cars and locomotives once drove the region’s economy. There’s more diversity now.

mists. May job growth was nearly 100,000 below April’s figure and 150,000 below March. Some economists expressed concerns that the numbers signaled a floundering national economy. In that same report, the unemployment rate fell to

AUGUST 2016

4.7 percent. If one includes those who didn’t look for work or who worked part time but want to work full time, the rate was 9.7 percent. In its May unemployment report, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported that the number of

long-term unemployed, or workers who have been jobless for 27 months or more and who account for a quarter of the unemployed, declined by 178,000 to 1.9 million. The civilian labor force participation rate decreased by 0.4 percentage point over the past two months, offsetting first-quarter gains. The employment-population ratio, at 59.7 percent, was unchanged in May. Finally, the number of involuntary part-time workers, or those who would rather work full time but have seen their hours cut, increased by 468,000 to 6.4 million. A couple of years ago, Kassens analyzed data produced by the Bureau of Labor Statistics against interviews at the Virginia Economic Development Partnership (VEDP) to look at worker flows and job openings. “At that point, we had more job openings in the Roanoke Valley than we had people looking for jobs,” Kassens says. “The problem

Photo by Don Petersen

was, the skills required for the job openings were different than the ones that the unemployed people had. We call that structural unemployment – if you’re unemployed because there’s a skills mismatch. To change that, you need to get new training, and that can be time consuming and expensive. I asked the folks at VEDP, and they said that’s exactly what we’re hearing: Employers can’t find people with the skills they need, and unemployed people can’t find openings that match they skills they have. That’s part of the problem with the disconnect.” That mismatch follows a national trend that spiked in the Labor Department’s report for April, when employers advertised a growing number of job openings, yet hired fewer people to fill those jobs. The Roanoke and New River valleys’ higher education institutions are part of the attempt to assist new and transitioning workers in rectifying that mismatch. Virginia Western Community College Dean of Business Technology and Trades Deborah Yancey points to its mechatronics program. It blends mechanical systems, electrical systems and information technology, provides students, mostly graduates from local high schools, with a grounding in theory but also a rapid boost in their marketability, especially if they obtain Siemens mechatronics systems certification, much sought after by employers. More than 1,300 people obtain workforce training each year from Virginia Western. The breakdown includes 842 in its business and industry programs such as bookkeeping, aviation ground training and commercial driver’s license certification; 159 in health-care programs such as pharmacy and nursing; and 376 in teacher recertification. Yancey said a newly created state workforce credentials grant will allow employers to pay for a third of workforce training tuition costs, while the state reimburses the other two-thirds when Photo credit

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ROANOKE BUSINESS

Employment the student completes the program and then obtains the program credential. Kassen’s advice for amateur economists navigating the unemployment rate is to use it in conjunction with other statistics, such as the employment population ratio – the number of employed people divided by the working-age population – and the labor-force participation rate. “If we see the employment pop-

AUGUST 2016

ulation ratio fall and see the unemployment rate go up by the same ratio, that means people have lost their job but are still looking for a job,” Kassens says. “If we see that drop captured by labor force participation rate, we say, gosh, people lost their jobs and aren’t looking.” What does this all mean for the Roanoke Valley’s economy since the Great Recession? Hull says the region has recovered. He expects the unemploy-

ment rate to continue to fall as an aging workforce transitions into retirement. Hull points to wage data collected by the Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages. It shows that average annual pay has grown yearly from $32,801 in 2004 up through $40,440 in 2014, the most recent year available — a growth of 23 percent over 11 years. Hull cautions against reading too much into that figure, as it reflects shifts in industries as some expand and others contract. However, generally, wages have grown at about the same rate as inflation over the same period. Hull sees potential for more growth, given that many of the region’s recent economic announcements will pay higher than the prevailing wage. A second statistic lends additional insight here, too: Roanoke’s cost of living index fell from 92.0 in 2004 (where 100 would be the national average and lower figures indicate a less expensive cost of living) to 89.4 for the first quarter of 2016. On the question of underemployment, Roanoke matches up well against other metropolitan areas in Virginia. The Virginia Economic Development Partnership collects that data, although Hull warns that it’s an even more flawed figure than the unemployment rate. Most of rural Virginia is assigned a fixed 12.3 percent underemployment rate, compared with 9.3 percent for Roanoke, 11.5 percent for Richmond, 8.2 percent for the New River Valley and 8.7 percent for Northern Virginia. “We see some elements of a discouraged workforce, but I think in large part we’ve recovered and gone beyond that point,” Hull says. “If it’s not reflected numerically, it’s in large part due to our demographic situation. We’re at a point where we have a need to look at attracting more talent, particularly working age and on the younger end of the spectrum. We’re working toward that goal.” Photo credit

2016

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EDUCATION Jefferson College of Health Sciences is offering a new program this fall that will allow veterans to earn bachelor of science degrees in nursing in less time and for less money by giving them credit for their military training.

AUGUST 2016

Counting experience

A new federal program allows veterans in nursing programs to get college credit for military training by Shawna Morrison

Photo by Don Petersen

ROANOKE BUSINESS

education

Courtney Deisher, a new mother, will be among the first to benefit from Jefferson’s Veterans Bachelor of Science in Nursing program.

hree Virginia schools, including Jefferson College of Health Sciences in Roanoke, are among 31 in the country to receive $1 million each in federal grant money to help veterans obtain nursing degrees. Jefferson College of Health Sciences will begin offering a new program this fall that will allow veterans to earn bachelor of science degrees in nursing in less time and for less money by giving them credit for their military training. The program is called the Veterans Bachelor of Science in Nursing program – VBSN for short. Shenandoah University in Winchester and Hampton University in Hampton also received grants. Robert Natt, a marketing specialist for Jefferson College, says the program is designed to help veterans and active military personnel further their education and transition into a career in health care. “This is a unique program that allows students to earn credit for prior learning through military service or other career expe28

AUGUST 2016

rience,” adds Natt. Active military personnel can use the program to receive extra training for their health-care position in the military. The U.S. Navy, for example, offers the Medical Enlisted Commissioning Program, which allows enlisted sailors and marines who receive an appointment as an ensign in the Nurse Corps to receive continued benefits and pay while pursuing a bachelor of science degree in nursing. As Jefferson College’s veterans retention adviser, a position created as part of the grant, James Miller evaluates each incoming student’s military transcripts and history to determine how many credits he or she should receive. All veterans receive some credit, Miller says. Those with health-care training can receive many. After they enter the program, Miller will serve as their adviser and counselor. “They are nontraditional students,” Miller says. “They’re used to a very structured background. In the civilian sector, they’re left to their own responsibility to get themselves through school,” a task

that can prove difficult for veterans who may suffer from social, psychological or stress issues and have a difficult time adjusting to postmilitary life. “My job is to help them through the program, through all these issues as well. I understand their background. I know where they’re coming from because I’ve been there,” Miller says. Miller spent 10 years serving in the U.S. Army, the Army Reserve and the National Guard. As a combat medic and medical specialist, he had many assignments, serving in Iraq during Operation Desert Storm; in Afghanistan post 9/11, where he was attached to the U.S. Army’s 111th Infantry Regiment, 1st Battalion, as part of the Medical Department Detachment team; at the Brooke Army Medical Center Trauma Center at Fort Sam Houston in San Antonio; at the Carl R. Darnell Army Medical Center at Fort Hood, Texas; and as part of the 996 Medical Company in Glendale, Ariz. He worked as a medical training instructor for the Army and contracted out medical instruction to the Air Force, Marines and Coast Guard. Yet when Miller left the service, he realized his many years of advanced health-care training meant essentially nothing in the civilian world. “I was so frustrated when I got out. I had all this training and education and they just looked at me and said, ‘Well, thank you for your service,’” Miller says. As is usually the case with veterans, he says, he had to begin taking entry-level classes. “I had to start from scratch.” “Historically, it’s a big obstacle for veterans,” Natt says. “Several I’ve spoken with have said, basically, I’m writing prescriptions and doing surgery on the battlefield and when I transition to civilian life it’s like, no, you’ve got to start over.” The VBSN program, Natt says, “is a great way to make sure veterans are served as well as possible from a higher ed standpoint. They really feel like they’re movPhoto by Don Petersen

ing on the right track quickly and not wasting time jumping through hoops that they may not want in a traditional kind of campus experience.” There are many veterans who are faculty and staff members at Jefferson College, Natt says, and the school prides itself on welcoming veterans. For the fourth year, Jefferson College was named a Military Friendly School by Victory Media. Victory says on its website that schools and employers awarded the Military Friendly designation provide the best opportunities for military service members and spouses. Miller says he has already begun meeting with a few students who will be part of the VBSN program. JefMiller ferson College offers three existing tracks toward the bachelor of science in nursing: the traditional track, which takes eight semesters; the accelerated track, which takes only 16 months if the student already has a bachelor’s degree in another field of study; and the post-licensure, through which registered nurses can earn their bachelor’s. Courtney Deisher of Roanoke will be part of the first VBSN cohort, which will begin taking classes this month. She already had applied to Jefferson College when she was informed she could be part of the VBSN program and receive credits for the year she spent in the Army as a combat medic/medical specialist at Fort Sam Houston. Combined with some college credits she already had earned, Deisher will begin the program with a full year’s worth of credits. A new mom to a baby girl born in March, Deisher says she will spend the full four years working to earn her bachelor of science in nursing but won’t have to take such a heavy course load each semester. “That’s more time I won’t have to be at school and I can spend with my child,” she says. “I think it’s a wonderful oppor-

tunity,” Deisher says of the program. In addition to the earned credits, the first 10 people to sign up for the fall cohort, including Deisher, receive a $3,000 renewable grant. “That’s a big help. And then of course it’s good to be surrounded by other veterans. You feel like you’re a little bit of a community in a way. You’ve been through something that other civilians haven’t; it’s just something to connect to other people through,” she says.

Deisher says she chose Jefferson College partly because of its affiliation with Carilion Clinic and partly because of the high percentage of students who are able to find employment soon after graduation. “The rate of their students getting jobs right after they graduate is very high, so I felt confident going there knowing that I would be able to get a job when I get out,” she says. “It’s a bonus that they have the veterans program.”

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ROANOKE BUSINESS

Michael Galliher created #Deschutes2Rke because a buddy encouraged him to put up or shut up.

AUGUST 2016

Photo by Matt Ross

INTERVIEW: Michael Galliher, campaign manager, #Deschutes2Rke, Roanoke .

We can all be ambassadors

Court clerk helped woo eighth largest U.S. craft brewery to Roanoke by Beth JoJack

ichael Galliher likes beer. Specifically, he likes good beer. Not mass-produced brews such as Coors or Miller, which he calls “flavored water.” Yet, being a beer aficionado, surprisingly, wasn’t what pushed the 35-year-old to launch a social media campaign urging Deschutes Brewery to select Roanoke as the site for its East Coast location. Instead, Galliher was motivated by a buddy who told him, essentially, to put up or shut up. Last September, Galliher wrote an op-ed in The Roanoke Times in which he pondered whether he would have been better off following other young professionals who grew up in Roanoke and then moved to bigger cities such as Charlotte, Atlanta and Washington. He bemoaned recent job losses at Advance Auto Parts and Norfolk Southern Corp., which recently closed its Roanoke administrative headquarters building. “If we can’t even keep companies that have built our history,” he asked, “how are we supposed to attract companies that have little to no ties to the area?” A friend who read the article asked Galliher what he was doing to bring more jobs here. Galliher started thinking about economic development. Then, he heard the nation’s eighthlargest craft brewer was considering Roanoke, and several other cities, as the site for an East Coast facility. Galliher works as a deputy clerk at Roanoke County Circuit Court.

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He prepares and distributes legal documents and assists members of the public who are wading through the sometimes confusing judicial system. He earned his degree from Radford University in public relations in 2007. After graduating, Galliher tried to find a job in public relations in the Roanoke Valley to no avail. Instead, he worked as a senior sales manager at AT&T and as a sales consultant at Verizon before getting hired as a deputy clerk. Galliher put the skills he’d learned back in college to work by launching a social media campaign around the hashtag Deschutes2Rke. Things quickly snowballed. In a few weeks, Galliher’s Facebook site attracted 4,000 likes. It now boasts more than 6,000. Bedford County crooner Steve Primo penned a ballad called “A Brewery for Roanoke.” Groups of people from all around Roanoke posed for pictures holding letters that spelled out the hashtag. Folks at The Texas Tavern even arranged oyster crackers in several bowls of chili to read #Deschutes2Rke. Galliher also spearheaded an effort to collect T-shirts and other memorabilia from about 30 local businesses. Starlight Custom Apparel whipped up Deschutes2Rke bicycle jerseys. The Salem Red Sox threw in a bat engraved with the hashtag. Local artist Maria Osorio Driscoll painted the downtown Roanoke skyline with a Deschutes symbol next to the Dr Pepper sign. ROANOKE BUSINESS

interview Would Deschutes executives have chosen Roanoke if Galliher hadn’t launched his social media campaign? The Deschutes website answers that one question simply: “The #Deschutes2Rke campaign worked!” “Michael Galliher did an amazing job rallying his community around bringing Deschutes to Roanoke,” Jason Randles, digital marketing manager for the brewery, wrote in an email. “It was fun to follow the Deschutes2Rke social channels and see the support build around the hashtag.” Galliher’s efforts also left rank and file Roanokers feeling invested in whether Deschutes came to town. “The campaign was most beneficial in generating enthusiasm and helping locals feel they were part of the process,” explains Beth Doughty, executive director of the Roanoke Regional Partnership. “That’s unusual in economic development. So when we won the project, there was a great sense of pride and accomplishment.” Now that the ink on the deal has dried, Roanoke Business sat down with Galliher at Blue 5 to talk about the campaign. (He drank a New Belgium beer called La Folie, in case you’re wondering).   Roanoke Business: Has Deschutes offered you a job? Michael Galliher: No. RB: Do you think that’s going to happen? Galliher: I don’t know. I definitely wasn’t looking for one. If they did offer it, it would be a conversation I would love to have. RB: Were you surprised by how quickly the campaign took off? Galliher: Yes and no. I kind of felt the base of the Roanoke Valley would get behind it … What did surprise me was how fast it grew outside [of Roanoke]. When I got a phone call from Asheville [N.C.] media wanting to do an interview, that surprised me. Then when [a TV station from] Bend, Ore., and their local paper reached out to me to do an interview and talk about Roanoke 32

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… [I] didn’t realize how big it had [become], until I was sent a link that The [Associated Press had] actually picked up the story, and it was republished in cities like Seattle, Portland, San Francisco, San Antonio and [Washington,] D.C. That’s when I was like, “OK, this has gotten big.” RB: In November, about six weeks into the Deschutes2RKE campaign, Mayor David Bowers won national headlines for writing a statement advocating against assisting Syrian refugees and compared the current political climate to those that inspired Japanese internment camps during World War II. How did that impact your efforts? Galliher: I’d heard something about it earlier in the day, but I didn’t really pay much attention to it. I got a text message from a local reporter … They sent me a picture of the press release on letterhead. I literally almost threw my phone across the table. I was like, “You’ve got to be kidding me.” My next thing was I started checking the social media just to see how much damage had been done. I saw where George Takei had tweeted [about Bowers] … Next thing I knew, Roanoke, Va., was trending, I think, like number seven on Twitter … If my memory serves me correct on the timeline of Deschutes, they had already made the decision [by then] that Roanoke was the clearcut winner. [Bowers’ comments] really had no effect on them … It died down and everything was fine … It actually turned out to be a huge positive because George Takei came and was quoted as saying, “I have fallen in love with the city of Roanoke.” RB: How did you learn Deschutes picked Roanoke? Galliher: A week before [the March 22 announcement] Roanoke Regional Partnership reached out to me and asked [if I would want to attend any announcements]. Of course, I said, “Yes!” At that point, [Carrie Spiller, director of communications for Roanoke Regional Partnership] was like, “I need you to sign a nondisclosure agreement” … I kind of

figured when they got me to sign the nondisclosure, they were going to tell me they’re coming. It was nice to hear. Of course, it was difficult the next week to keep the [Facebook] page going without saying anything … At the very end [the Sunday before the announcement] I started to get messages like, “I hear Deschutes is coming.” I’m sitting there like, “I don’t really know what’s going on.” That was probably one of the only times I’ve lied about not knowing something. RB: What would have happened if Deschutes had picked another city? Galliher: I don’t think it would have been disastrous for the community, but I think it would have been a pretty strong gut punch if they would have chosen Asheville or Greenville or Charleston. I think [the campaign] did show the community that, “Hey, we can make a difference by promoting the valley.” I’ve told people during speaking engagements, “You never know who you’re sitting near or next to or having a conversation with either in a bar or even Starbucks. It could be a CEO who’s visiting the area and thinking about relocating his or her business here” … If we stay positive and really promote the Photo courtesy Deschutes Brewery

Deschutes Brewery, shown at its corporate headquarters in Bend, Ore., is investing $85 million for an East Coast brewery in Roanoke that’s expected to create 108 jobs.

area, we can all be ambassadors. We can all help economic development without knowing we’re doing it. RB: Were you surprised when news broke in May that San Diego-based Ballast Point Brewing and Spirits would be building an East Coast brewing operation in Botetourt County? Galliher: No, I’d heard about that before the Deschutes announcement. It was just a lot of chatter. It was nothing that was really confirmed … Virginia Craft Beer magazine actually did a story [in March] on Daleville getting Ballast Point. When that article broke, it basically became the worst kept secret [in the Roanoke Valley]. RB: Who makes better beer: Deschutes or Ballast Point? Galliher: I’ve got to say Deschutes. Ballast Point [has] great beers; don’t get me wrong. They have a very interesting line they call Sculpin, which are their IPAs. Very good beer. I think for the different styles that Deschutes offers they’ve almost perfected each and every one of them, especially their year-round beers. I haven’t had a bad beer from Deschutes.

RB: What do Roanokers need to know about Deschutes and Ballast Point? Galliher: There’s still some confusion about the breweries that are coming to this area. This isn’t your Parkway [Brewing] or Chaos Mountain [Brewing], the breweries we have in this area. These are big companies that are coming. People need to understand if you go out to Bend, Ore., [headquarters for Deschutes] or you go down to San Diego, where Ballast Point is located, you have people who travel throughout the country to go to these places just because of these breweries … Now somebody on the East Coast, instead of flying all the way out to California or Oregon, they’re going to be flying to Roanoke. You’re going to have a lot of tourism dollars that come in here. RB: When you wrote your oped last September, you were concerned about Roanoke’s economic future? Galliher: Some people considered it a scathing article. I think that’s a harsh word to use … You see the loss of jobs from Advance Auto and Norfolk Southern, and you start kind of questioning: What are we doing to be proactive instead of reactive? What are we doing to tweak things? Part of me spoke out of turn because I didn’t have all the knowledge about what was going on behind the scenes [in] economic development … It was a very educational experience over the past seven to eight months, since the campaign started, of learning about economic development and learning how things take time and how what you did 10 years ago can affect something five years from now. It’s not always going to be an immediate impact to an area. You have to have that longrange strategic planning and hopefully everything works out. RB: Did you feel an emptiness after Deschutes made the announcement? Galliher: I wouldn’t call it an emptiness. A part of me was sad the chase was over, because it was fun. It was a great campaign that was very positive to the

Roanoke Valley. It showed everybody, not only through our valley, but outside and throughout the state and nationwide, what kind of community we had. So when things ended, it was kind of sad that things had to stop and the chase was done, but it was also a relief. It had ended up being a second full-time job for me. I was getting up at 4 a.m. in the morning doing research and then going to work. During my lunch break I began doing it again. Then when I got off it was like from 6 to 11 at night that was all I did: learn bout the company, learn about Roanoke, and just schedule posts for the next couple days through Facebook to keep people engaged with the page and keep it interesting and something fresh. RB: How has leading the campaign impacted you professionally? Galliher: It’s made me more well known around the valley. It has allowed me to see some of our local leaders, whether they’re elected officials or they’re in a position that helps to develop the Roanoke Valley … it has opened up some doors allowing me to meet some people I might not have been able to meet at the time … I’ve been reached out to by a few different organizations and businesses asking me if there was an opportunity that comes up would I be interested … I think it goes to show if you work hard, if you really try, if you stay focused. Everybody has skills. Everybody has their own natural talents … Mine is probably my mouth, which can also get me in trouble … I think it shows if you try and you work hard, one day somebody is going to recognize that, and it’s going to open up a lot of doors for that individual. RB: What do you want to be doing in 10 years? Galliher: I went to school for public relations. I’ve got a communications degree. I would love to be able to use that more. My dream has always been to be a PR director or a spokesperson for a company … I would love to still be in Roanoke. The older I get, the more I appreciate this area. ROANOKE BUSINESS

BUSINESS EXTRA: HOTELS

No more cookies

Except for the loss of the check-in treat, not much changed when The Hotel Roanoke joined Hiltonâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Curio collection by Dan Radmacher

AUGUST 2016

Photos by Natalee Waters

hen asked whether there are any downsides to The Hotel Roanoke switching from the DoubleTree brand to the specialized Hilton Curio network, most people can name only one: no more warm cookies. “I miss the cookies,” says Landon Howard, president of Visit Virginia’s Blue Ridge. He’s referring to the chocolate chip treats routinely handed out to guests upon check-in under the Doubletree logo. “The cookies,” agrees Roanoke City Manager Chris Morrill when asked whether there were any negatives to the switch. Morrill is a member of the joint city/Virginia Tech commission that owns the

conference center portion of The Hotel Roanoke and Conference Center. “On the surface, not a lot has changed, physically or anything since Feb. 28, the day we officially transitioned,” says Gary Walton, the longtime general manager of the hotel, who retired in late July after 23 years as manager. Walton will become a professor in the Department of Hospitality and Tourism Management at Virginia Tech. The list of benefits from the switch, however, is considerable. Hilton describes Curio as “a collection of independent, remarkable hotels.” The hotels are valued for their personalities and uniqueness. So far the collection includes

a prestigious lineup of four- and five-star hotels around the world, with 23 properties (so far) from Hamburg to Houston; from Miami Beach to Buenos Aires. The Hotel Roanoke is the first Curio hotel in Virginia. “As a landmark with deep roots in the Roanoke community, this magnificent hotel perfectly embodies the Curio spirit of individuality and authenticity,” says Dianna Vaughan, global head of Curio. The designation came after $6 million worth of renovations to the guest rooms. Renovations of the hotel’s public spaces also are in the works, part of the hotel’s five-year capital asset plan approved before the switch, Walton says.

The Hotel Roanoke has joined Hilton’s Curio collection of distinctive hotels.

ROANOKE BUSINESS

Hotels “Curio really allows a property like this to be unconstrained by brand standards,” Walton says. “DoubleTree was generous about waiving brand standards that didn’t fit, but we had a lot of requests for waivers.” That meant paperwork and annual reapplication for things like using the Hotel Roanoke logo more prominently than the DoubleTree logo, he explains. Hilton’s Curio Collection is all about one-of-a-kind properties. The Hotel Roanoke is now free to offer a unique experience instead of attempting to match customers’ expectations of what a DoubleTree stay means. “We’re now in a group of properties that are hand-picked,” Walton says. “They are all unique properties with some real character to them. These are iconic, independent properties. With Curio, you can take full advantage of the reservation system, Hilton rewards system and all that comes with that, but still keep your own identity. It lets you celebrate the property and the community in which you live.” The Hotel Roanoke joined the community when it opened on Christmas Day 1882. Built by Norfolk and Western Railway and deeded to Virginia Tech by the Norfolk Southern Corp. more than a century later, the Hotel Roanoke property closed in 1989 for more than five years. The iconic Tudor structure might have been demolished if not for the Renew Roanoke campaign, through which the public contributed the last $6 million of the $42 million needed for renovations. According to a report the Roanoke Valley-Alleghany Regional Commission issued last year at a celebration of the 20th anniversary of the hotel’s reopening, Hotel Roanoke generated more than $616 million for the region’s economy between its April 1995 reopening and the end of 2014. “Well, it is a huge economic impact,” Roanoke Mayor David Bowers said at the celebration, “but it is the heart of Roanoke. Roanoke 36

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Gary Walton shepherded the hotel’s rebirth more than 20 years ago.

wouldn’t be Roanoke without The Hotel Roanoke, St. Andrew’s church, the Taubman Museum, the Berglund Center and the mountain with the star. Those are the iconic views Roanokers love about our city.” Morrill considers the move to Curio as “the right evolution … It allows Hotel Roanoke to keep the network and support of Hilton but still be authentic to Roanoke. It positions us well, and it lets us make Hotel Roanoke more Hotel Roanoke.” Curio is certainly a better fit,

Howard says. “Hotel Roanoke is not just a hotel,” he says. “It’s a regional and state icon. People have either been there or heard about it. It’s re- Howard ally one of the region’s attractions.” Its prominent downtown location and distinctive architecture make it memorable even to those just driving by, but the hotel and conference center have hosted thousands of visitors over the years. According to Howard, tourism in the area is going strong, and this development will help. “The change to Curio not only says that this particular property is unique, but it is helping us to better tell the story of Roanoke and the Blue Ridge region,” he says. As Curio, which started in 2014, grows and people become more familiar with the brand, the prestige associated with it also will grow, Walton says. “The region has always had a high level of pride for this hotel,” he says. “This might elevate that pride even more so.” The other big hotel news in downtown Roanoke is the opening of the Hampton Inn on top of Roanoke’s Market Garage. The 120room hotel will be a welcome addition, Walton says. “As a community, it’s a great thing that we have another hotel in the downtown mar-

Some consider a new Hampton Inn atop a downtown parking garage as a welcome addition to the city, rather than a competitor for The Hotel Roanoke.

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ket area. It’s good for downtown.” He doesn’t view the Hampton Inn, another Hilton brand, as competition. Indeed, it will help when the conference center hosts large conventions. Before, overflow accommodations could be difficult, Walton says. “With the Hampton, it’s two blocks away,” he says. “Conference attendees can easily walk it.” Morrill believes the more people who make that walk, the better. “That experience of walking to a session at the conference center, down Market Street with the vendors, past the Market Building, over the pedestrian bridge — there is no more interesting urban walk in America. Those conference-goers will come back and bring their families.” So far, the transition to Curio has been smooth. “It’s really not a huge change in many things,” Walton says. “We always felt that things were working pretty well. It wasn’t

Chris Morrill says there’s “no more interesting urban walk in America” than a stroll across the market.

like we wanted to dramatically change a lot of things. “ Morrill makes a habit of reading TripAdvisor reviews of the hotel. “So many of the comments remark about how people are so kind,” he says. “The staff and management have created such an atmosphere there. It’s a beautiful property, but not stuffy.”

The Hotel Roanoke is an integral part of the city, adds Morrill. “I can’t imagine what would have happened if the community hadn’t rallied and brought that place back,” he says. “Roanoke would be a different place today, and not better.” The hotel, for one thing, helped establish the bond with Virginia Tech, which partners in the conference center. “I don’t know if Roanokers understand the important role Virginia Tech plays there,” adds Morrill. “It really cemented a partnership. Who knows if we’d have the Virginia Tech-Carilion Medical Center and Research Center if not for that.” As for cookies, they still show up sometimes – just in a different form. Hotel Roanoke guests are treated to a nightly “Taste of Roanoke,” which includes a variety of items, such as fresh fruit, peanut brittle and, yes, sometimes the hotel’s own cookies.

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Photos by Natalee Waters

ROANOKE BUSINESS

BUSINESS SPOTLIGHT

Natalie Warren came; she paddled; she gave advice about how to get more people to do the same.

Paddling for dollars

Giles County using POWER Grant to leverage the New River’s economic power by Tim Thornton

iles County wants to make the New River a larger part of the local economy – not that it’s all that small now. According to County Administrator Chris McKlarney, the 37 miles of the New River that meander through the county helped bring in $24 million tourism dollars and supported about 220 Giles County jobs last year. “That’s a good-sized industry” for the rural county,” McKlarney says. “It allows for businesses to survive and sometimes thrive here that otherwise couldn’t, just based

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on our population. Seventeen thousand people is not a lot, and we’re spread out over a pretty big area, too – 360 square miles.” The county’s three outfitters obviously depend on the river for success, but other businesses – lodging establishments, restaurants, grocery stores, the county’s craft brewery – can benefit, too. “We want to improve the quality of the experience here and at the same time increase the amount of money we get out of the tourists,” McKlarney says. “Our job here is to maximize value and money

spent by each individual visitor.” To do that, the county is taking advantage of federal POWER Grants – Partnerships for Opportunity and Workforce and Economic Revitalization Grants – designed to aid communities hurt by the coal industry’s decline. When Appalachian Power closed its coal-fired power plant in Glen Lyn, the principal driver of that town’s economy disappeared. POWER Grants have supported worker training and reemployment services, broadband internet extensions, local food supply chain development and farmPhotos by Alisa Moody

ing on former strip mines. In Giles, one of those grants is helping to develop a plan to make better economic use of the New River. “The river’s been getting use for a lot of years,” McKlarney says, and there have certainly been attempts to turn that use into dollars for the local economy. When McKlarney came to the county two decades ago, there was talk of a blueway – a river trail, a mapped and marked section of river that was easy to get to and would let paddlers and anglers know what to expect on the water. Plus, it provided some of the amenities visitors need to have a pleasant experience that would entice them to come again. “The river trail is a nobrainer, really, for a community like ours,” McKlarney says. The county, working on its own and with the Virginia Department of Game and Inland Fisheries, built boat ramps and toilet facilities and posted signs that made them easy to find. The county created a website with maps from the New River Conservancy. A group organized to clean the river once a year. This year that group is coordinating with neighboring localities to organize a river cleanup across Giles and upriver through Claytor Lake. Some people worried that increased tourism would bring more traffic and more stress to the river. Those people, McKlarney says, are beginning to see that the people who come to fish and float and paddle are as interested in the river’s well being as the folks who live on its banks. Any objections to the latest effort to promote the New are minor compared with the furor generated by an attempt to designate part of Giles’ section of the New a Wild and Scenic River. The study began in 1993 in response to a plan to build a power line across the river. A draft became public in 1994, but the final report wasn’t completed until 2009. The National Park Service report concluded the 20 or so miles of the

river studied could be Wild and Scenic, but it shouldn’t get the designation because the local government didn’t really want it. “There’s a resistance in general to federal oversight over rivers,” McKlarney says. In 2009, he says, the county’s supervisors seemed to think, “These sections of river in Giles have taken care of themselves all these years. They’re beautiful. They didn’t need additional federal oversight to make that happen.” Nevertheless, while a section of the Appalachian Trail crosses the county, and day hikers like to visit the Cascades, the New River may be the county’s most marketable outdoor tourism asset. “You say Giles County,” McKlarney says, “you get outside of a hundred mile radius, people may have no idea, but you say New River and people know that. Anybody that enjoys paddle sports or fishing.” To figure out how to maximize value for people who enjoy such sports and maximize the money those people spend with Giles businesses, the county is using a POWER planning grant to bring in experts such as Natalie Warren. In 2011, Warren and Ann Raiho became the first two women to paddle the 2,000 miles from Minneapolis to Hudson Bay, following a route journalist Eric Sevareid and a friend – then teenagers and novice paddlers – traveled in 1930. Sevareid’s trip launched his journalism career and produced a book called “Canoeing With the Cree.” A year after Warren completed that trip, she co-founded Wild River Academy, which takes teenagers on paddling trips on the Minnesota River. Along the way, they interact with environmental organizations, community members and farmers and visit state parks. Warren met with officials and regular folks in Giles County, paddled a section of the New River and offered observations about the potential the river offers and how Giles might capitalize on that po-

tential. “Every community along the river,” Warren told about a dozen people who gathered in Narrows Town Park, “has the opportunity to make a lot off people who are paddling right past you.” The county has done a good job with signs that tell people how to get onto the river, she says, but it needs to lead people from the river to businesses. That means erecting signs and developing apps and websites that tell people what’s available and how far away it is. “Paddlers generally don’t like to walk too far,” Warren says, “especially if they don’t know how far they’re walking.” Some areas offer kayak lockers so paddlers can feel safe leaving their boats on the riverside. Some offer bikes for paddlers to ride from the river into town. It’s important to reach out to other areas, she says, getting them involved with the River Trail. It’s important to track numbers, to see what works and how well it’s working. She recommended creating travel packages, perhaps tying the river to the Appalachian Trail and the Cascades. But the first thing, and the most important thing, she says, is to get organized. That probably means creating a nonprofit organization to oversee the efforts. No one wants five groups working on the same thing, she says, and no one wants the same small group of people doing all the work all the time. “The big thing,” she says, “is open communication, getting all the stakeholders involved. The first thing is monthly meetings with all the stakeholders and making sure that everyone who needs to be there is there.” Giles County already has something vital to success, Warren says – people. During her visit, Warren says, she met many people “ready to share something they love – not just ready, they’re dying to share it.”

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