Serving the greater Lynchburg regiOn
June/JuLy 2017
Nadine Blakely, REALTOR
®
Sells Townhomes to Luxury Homes and Everything In Between! Nadine has sold over 42 homes since Jan. 1, 2017 NEED to SELL? RELOCATE? BUY? DOWNSIZE?
ASP, SRES, CLHMS
Call Nadine (434) 444-2226
email: nadineblakely@remax.net
Nadine is a Certified Luxury Home Marketing Specialist.
She can help you find the home of your dreams!
#
1
NADINE was the AGENT in 2016 in the LYNCHBURG AREA!* * Based on info from the Lynchburg Assoc. of REALTORS® MLS for the period Jan. 1, 2016 through Dec. 31, 2016
TRUST THE TRACK RECORD!
CALL NADINE & CONSIDER IT SOLD! CALL US FOR A
FREE MARKET ANALYSIS to determine the value of your home. ®
1st Olympic, REALTORS
®
(434) 832-1100 • 20395 Timberlake Rd., Lynchburg, VA
www.NadineBlakelyHomes.com
Stuart Blakely REALTOR®
email: stuartblakely@ remax.net
(434) 401-9214
Custom Cable Assembly & Wire Harness Manufacturing Veteran-Owned Company American Made
Product Market Applications: Automation Aerospace Agriculture Automotive Avionics
CNCs/ Machine Tools Communications Computer Conveyor Defense/Military Electronics Energy
Fiber Optic Infrastructure/ Utilities Instrumentation Marine Medical Mining Packaging Transportation/ Public Transit Vending
434-525-3390 • www.interconinc.com • sales@interconinc.com
222 Crows Road • 28.48 Acres • Only $334,900
2017 Client Appreciation Party with the Hillcats
K
Team
Karl Miller D a l t o n & C o m p a n y, I n c .
Serving Lynchburg and surrounding areas in achieving their homeownership dreams. To view more listings like these visit our website www.karlmillerteam.com
Call us to find out how we can help you get to where you want to go!
(434) 239-2394 | www.karlmillerteam.com Mark A Dalton & Co Inc.
INSIDE LB
TABLE OF CONTENTS June/July 2017
FEATURES
UPFRONT 10 IN THE NEWS
19
12 LET’S DO LUNCH
Charley’s Restaurant
13 BY THE NUMBERS 13 MOVERS & SHAKERS 14 PLUGGED IN
HEALTH MATTERS Improved LASIK Technology
22
22
LEADER PROFILE
COLUMNS
Megan Lucas
25
16 HEALTHCARE
The Impact of Telepsychiatry
32 MARKETING
25
Cold Call Strategies
38 COMMERCIAL REAL ESTATE
TOURISM OUTLOOK New Developments in the Region
28
Lynchburg’s Hotels, Then and Now
BUSINESS UNDER 10 One Way Out
39 REAL ESTATE
35
A Supply & Demand Fable
41 FINANCIAL Cash is King?
35
HOTEL BOOM Why Developers Are Choosing Lynchburg
43 LEGAL New Airbnb Legislation
44
49 HUMAN RESOURCES Orientation and Onboarding
MADE IN LYNCHBURG
50 INTERCON, INC.
FACES OF LAW
46
46
BUSINESS OVER 10 Smyth Companies JUNE/JULY 2017
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EDITOR’S LETTER $24 billion in revenue. $5.7 billion in payroll income. 230,000 jobs. A quick snapshot of last year’s numbers in invest in tourism, one of the five largest industries in the state. You can credit the collective financial success partly to statewide efforts. For example, the Virginia Tourism Corporation continues to market our state as a whole and promote the “Virginia is for Lovers” brand (which is now 48 years old if you can believe it). But I believe what’s really helping push those numbers higher year after year can be found at the local level. In this issue of Lynchburg Business, we are taking some time to focus on the greater Lynchburg area’s tourism industry and the issues that impact our bottom line. From major improvements downtown to state level competitions, the outlook is very positive for Central Virginia, according to local leaders. On page 88, read about the latest efforts to bring more people to town. Odds are you’ve seen the new hotels under construction in the area or have heard about The Virginian Hotel renovation downtown. “Another hotel?” you might have said to yourself. (I know I did.) Starting on page 35, we have an in-depth look at Lynchburg’s thriving lodging sector and asked some of the big players what’s fueling it. Also, our Commercial Real Estate columnist Billy Hansen did some digging in the local archives and found a similar boom in hotels over 30 years ago. He tells you what’s changed (and what hasn’t). In our Legal department, a local attorney helps us sort out the new legislation affecting anyone who uses Airbnb. Whether you’re a traveler looking for a place to stay or a young couple hoping to rent out a room to make some extra cash, you will need to be aware of some possible changes to the rules. Read more about
Photo by Chris Breedlove
Virginia should make the case clear—it pays to
Lynchburg Business Magazine is a bimonthly publication devoted to highlighting Lynchburg-based businesses and those in the surrounding areas of Amherst, Appomattox, Bedford and Campbell Counties, as well as the Town of Altavista. Every other month, 10,000 copies of Lynchburg Business Magazine are distributed by mail to local businesses, executives and individual business decision-makers. The goal of Lynchburg Business is for readers to look to the magazine as a resource worth keeping in their businesses and homes; one that appeals strongly to professionals in our area. Publisher Randy Thompson Managing Editor Shelley Basinger Editorial Director Angela Blue Contributing Writers Shelley Basinger, Victor Clarke, John Hall, Billy Hansen, Emily Hedrick, Catherine Huff, Meridith De Avila Khan, Paul Kopak, Drew Menard, Suzanne Ramsey, Jennifer Redmond, James Varrell, Dan Vollmer Vice President of Production Holly Watters Art Director Chris Meligonis Client Relations Manager Brittany Proctor Contributing Designers Josh Haralson, Kaye Ellen Trautman, Corey Watson Web Creative Director Chris Murphy Sr. Web Developer & Web Administrator Brandon Litchfield Web Developer Caleb Whitehead Digital Marketing/SEO Analyst Michael Saks IT Marketing Consultant William Warford Web Marketing & Promotions Manager Kathryn Kelly Contributing Photographers Shelley Basinger, LaShonda Delivuk, RJ Goodwin, Meridith De Avila Khan
Vice President of Sales & Distribution Paul Brannock Account Executive/Team Leader Missy Celli Account Executives Heather Alto, Keely Miller Customer Service Representative Kiara Davis Lead Sales Artist Paul Cenzon VistaGraphics Staff Copy Editor Robin Cather Controller Anita Burns Accounting Manager Dawn Meehan Accounting Clerk Kelsey Stephens Office Manager Tracy Thompson Contributing imagery supplied by Thinkstock.com
WWW.LYNCHBURGBUSINESSMAG.COM Proud Member of:
what to expect on page 43. And keeping with our tourism theme, an inside look at One Way Out Escape Rooms, this issue’s Business Under 10 Years, which was nominated for a local small business award. Writer Suzanne Ramsey walks you through her experience on page 28. I hope you find some time to be a tourist this summer. And while you vacation, remember that word of mouth is the best marketing tool. Be sure to tell the people you meet about a place they must visit—your hometown, Lynchburg.
SUBSCRIPTIONS Receive Lynchburg Business at work or at home by subscribing today for $9.97 annually. Receive 6 bi-monthly issues: Feb/Mar, Apr/May, June/July, Aug/Sept, Oct/Nov and Dec/Jan. To subscribe, go online to www.LynchburgBusinessMag.com or please send your check payable to VistaGraphics, Inc, 1264 Perimeter Parkway, Virginia Beach, VA 23454, Attn: Circulation Mgr. Please be sure to include your mailing information: name, address, city, state, zip code, and phone number. For changes of address, please email George Carter, Circulation Manager: george@vgnet.com Lynchburg Business is published bimonthly by VistaGraphics, Inc. The corporate office is located at 1264 Perimeter Pkwy, Virginia Beach, VA 23454. © 2017 - all rights reserved. Reproduction of any material prepared by VistaGraphics, Inc., and appearing within this publication is strictly prohibited without express written consent of the publisher. Publisher does not purport to authenticate and is not responsible for claims made by advertisers found within this publication.
AUGUST/SEPTEMBER 2017
Shelley Basinger, Managing Editor Shelley@lynchburgmag.com 6
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JUNE/JULY 2017
ADVERTISING DEADLINES Advertising Space Reservation.................................... July 1 Editorial & Events........................................................... July 1 Final Artwork................................................................... July 5 For Advertising or Distribution Information, Please call 757.213.2461 or email paul@vgnet.com
WE FACILITATE SUCCESS
Featuring state-of-the-art technology and spacious conference rooms, the Liberty Mountain Conference Center is perfect for your next corporate event.
LIBERT YM O U NTAI NC ONFERENCECEN T ER .C O M (434) 592-5600 | LMCC@liberty.edu | 3700 Candlers Mountain Road, Lynchburg, Va. 24502
Find the Best Local Businesses! Visit us at our Connect Business Expo,
Saturday Sept. 9, 2017 from 11 AM to 2PM at the Tree of Life Church on Greenview Dr. for more information visit us at
“Bringing Business with Integrity to Our Customers”
www.LynchburgConnect.com
Reach the very best in reputable businesses--those businesses with the highest integrity, ethics and standards.
We strive to make our customers’ needs the #1 priority.
Christian H. DePaul, CFP®, MS, CDFATM Certified Financial Planner 3728 Old Forest Road Lynchburg, VA 24501 christian@depaulwealthmanagement.com www.depaulwealthmanagement.com (434) 385-1340
“Your financial compass to successful planning” Securities offered through Cadaret, Grant & Co., Inc. Member FINRA/SIPC. DePaul Wealth Management and Cadaret, Grant are separate entities.
Gold Level Award Winner 8
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Southwest & Central Virginia’s Premier Commercial Printer.
Honesty. Service. World Class Printing. www.bisonprinting.com
P
(800) 800-2482
aint InterIor
Drywall Repair Water Damage 25 Years Experience Look us up on FaceBook
434-609-4893
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Design for the way you live.
Specialties
Gold Level Award Winner
We Absolutely Guarantee Our Work! (434) 329-2530
434-851-4664 • Mbtileinc@gmail.com Serving Lynchburg for over 15 years.
JUNE/JULY 2017
LynchburgBusinessMag.com
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UPFRONT
IN THE NEWS TOURISM
LYNCH’S LANDING REBRANDS AS DOWNTOWN LYNCHBURG ASSOCIATION
F
ollowing two decades of promoting downtown Lynchburg, the former Lynch’s Landing Foundation has officially relaunched as the Downtown Lynchburg Association. According to Executive Director Ashley Kershner, the new name is representative of the non-profit organization’s purpose and goals. “Our name change is indicative of our updated mission,” she said. “After spending much of last year gathering information and feedback, we have refocused the vision of our organization to best serve the downtown Lynchburg of today and into the future.”
BIG CHANGES FOR LYNCHBURG’S TOURISM DEPARTMENT
T
he Lynchburg City tourism department is merging with the Lynchburg Office of Economic Development, putting both departments under one umbrella. This news comes as Sergei Troubetzkoy announced his retirement in early April. Troubetzkoy became Lynchburg’s tourism director in 2014 after spending seven years as the director of tourism in Bedford County. Read more about these tourism developments starting on page 23.
“Ultimately, the intangibles were what probably mattered most. Meeting other small business owners and creating a little network of people tackling similar challenges,” said Randy Smith, CO.STARTERS graduate and Community Business Launch recipient of funding for The Craft Crucible, a craft woodworking space. The CEDA awards were presented at the VEDA spring conference in Charlottesville. They are designed to recognize outstanding communities in the Commonwealth for their efforts in advancing the economic viability of their community through economic and community development programs.
T
ALLIANCE EARNS 5-STAR RATING FROM U.S. CHAMBER OF COMMERCE
he Lynchburg Regional Business Alliance has once again earned the highest distinction possible from the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, the 5-star accreditation. Of the 7,000 chambers of commerce in America, only 195 are accredited. With its 5-star ranking, the Alliance is in the top one percent of all chambers of commerce in the U.S. The Alliance first earned basic accreditation in 1973. But recently, the Alliance has been at the top of the heap, earning 5-star accreditation in 2006, 2011, and again in 2016. “To receive a 5-star accreditation demonstrates our effective staff, strong working relationships and partnerships that create a positive impact for the Region. The result of our hard work is evidenced by this impressive rating. But, in truth, we should all be extraordinarily proud of this milestone achievement. It was a true team effort,” said Alliance CEO Megan Lucas. A chamber must apply to the U.S. Chamber every five years to maintain accredited status and must demonstrate competency in nine core areas and meet specific standards in its operations and programs, including areas of governance, government affairs, technology, planning and finance.
GROWTH & EXPANSION
AWARDS & RECOGNITION
LYNCHBURG RECEIVES AWARD FOR 2016 INNOVATION WEEK
T
he City of Lynchburg received a 2017 Community Economic Development Award (CEDA) from the Virginia Economic Developers Association (VEDA) for Lynchburg Innovation Week. The three-day event was held June 2-4, 2016 at Riverviews Artspace and featured a wide range of learning and networking opportunities to enhance and celebrate new strategies for economic development. Hosted by the Lynchburg Economic Development Authority, Lynchburg Innovation Week was organized by Cities Reimagined, which develops innovative economic development strategies and programming. 10
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BANK OF THE JAMES BREAKS GROUND ON APPOMATTOX LOCATION
C
onstruction is now underway on a permanent Bank of the James facility in Appomattox. Located on Confederate Boulevard, the new 2,100-square-foot building will have four offices, two drive thru lanes, an ATM and a night deposit. The building’s design will be similar to the style of the Appomattox Courthouse. The bank opened a temporary mobile facility on Old Courthouse Road in October 2016. Since then, Bank President Robert R. Chapman III says they have been honored by the positive reception from the community. “As a community bank, Bank of the James combines cutting-edge capabilities,
UPFRONT technology and knowledge with an understanding of the communities in which we live and the people we serve. It is good to be in Appomattox,” said Chapman. Thomas R. Cobb, a native of Appomattox, is the bank’s Vice President and Regional Manager. Angela M. Williams serves as Assistant Vice President and Branch Manager and Wanda F. Evans is the bank’s Financial Services Representative.
HELPING THE COMMUNITY LOCAL FAMILY WINS NEW ROOF FROM LYNCHBURG ROOFING
A
Lynchburg family has a new roof, thanks to Lynchburg Roofing’s “No Roof Left
JES FOUNDATION REPAIR OPENS BRANCH IN ROANOKE REGION
Behind” contest.
I
n a move that continues to expand its reach across the state, JES Foundation Repair has opened a new office and warehouse in Salem. The 4,000-square-foot space is located on Southside Drive and includes service and installation staff. The privately-owned family business has been operating in Virginia since 1993 and specializes in residential and commercial foundation repair, crawl space encapsulation, basement waterproofing and concrete leveling. JES merged with Evergreen Basement Systems, another family-owned basement waterproofing company, last year.
SMALL BUSINESS
ALLIANCE ANNOUNCES 2017 SMALL BUSINESS AWARDS
A
marketing firm took top honors at the Lynchburg Regional Business Alliance’s 2017 Small Business Awards. On April 6, the Alliance recognized the 12 businesses that were nominated based on business growth, increase in sales, innovation and more. The Alliance congratulated the award recipients in these categories: Business and Professional Services: 434 Marketing Industrial/Manufacturing: Innovative Wireless Technologies Non-Profit: Eagle Eyrie Baptist Conference Center Restaurant/Venue: Acorn Hill Lodge & Spa Retail: Hill City Pharmacy New Comer: Parker Productions The overall “2017 Small Business of the Year” award was presented to 434 Marketing, a marketing firm that partners with organizations to advance their communication plan to support the marketing process from research, to strategy, to execution, to analysis. “According to the Wells Fargo/Gallup Small Business Index, small business owners are the most optimistic than they have been since July 2007. So now is a great time to take this opportunity to celebrate our region’s small business successes!” said Luke Towles, Market-President of Wells Fargo and Chairman of the Alliance’s Small Business Committee. Over 80 percent of the Alliance’s membership is comprised of small businesses.
Thousands of people cast votes, but in the end, John and Pam Jarman were the winners. They have four children; their youngest son, Hunter, is a student at Heritage High School. He has many medical challenges including severe scoliosis, Ehlers Danlos Syndrome, Ocular Albinism and Mitral Valve Prolapse. Brenda Meeks, a staff member at Heritage High School who sees Hunter daily, nominated the Jarman family for the contest. “Hunter is a remarkable young man. He is my hero; just an inspiration,” said Meeks Hunter has been through over 20 surgeries and soon will be going through another major surgery at Shriners Children’s Hospital in South Carolina. “He’s such a trooper,” said his mom, Pam Jarman. John Jarman added, “We have been praying for a new roof for a long time and we are blessed that Lynchburg Roofing had this contest and several of our friends nominated us.” “No Roof Left Behind” is a program sponsored by Lynchburg Roofing and GAF to give the community a way to help their good neighbors that have fallen on hard times. This is Lynchburg Roofing’s fourth year participating in the program.
HEALTHCARE
HORIZON OPENS NEW RESIDENCE FOR WOMEN
H
orizon Behavioral Health has opened a new recovery
residence that will enhance the continuum of care for substance use disorders in Central Virginia. In response to the statewide effort to address the opioid epidemic, Horizon opened its Recovery Residence in Lynchburg on May 1. This licensed residential treatment facility is for women with co-occurring disorders of mental illness and substance use. With six beds, the residence will provide stable housing and continued treatment for consumers referred from other providers or community service boards throughout the Commonwealth or discharged from Horizon’s medically supervised detoxification program. While women stay in this home, they will have 24/7 support in a structured but relaxed environment. They will learn life skills, volunteer in the community, and take guided steps toward full independence. They will also be provided with transportation to and from treatment at a Horizon Behavioral Health Wellness Center. JUNE/JULY 2017
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UPFRONT
LET’S DO LUNCH! Charley’s Restaurant BY S H EL L EY BA S INGER
What to Expect: Traditional dishes served with TLC
The Experience Before you even get a menu, you’ll be glad you chose to grab a bite to eat at Charley’s Restaurant. After being cramped in an office all morning or staring at a computer, the two-story, bright atrium is the perfect place to relax and refuel between meetings. Formally located in River Ridge Mall, owners Rob and MJ Pearson moved the restaurant to its Graves Mill Road location in 1996. Since then, they’ve continued building this business that operates more like a big family. “There is a lot of longevity here…not a lot of turnover,” said Catering
AT A GLANCE 707 Graves Mill Road, Lynchburg, VA 24502 (434) 237-5988 Hours: Sun. – Thurs.: 11 a.m. – 10 p.m. Friday and Saturday: 11 a.m. – midnight (Sunday Brunch 11 a.m. – 2 p.m.)
Manager Lisa Bullard, who has worked at Charley’s for 13 years. Bullard believes this “family feel” only improves the customer experience. “Everything is made with TLC around here. And it’s all made to order,” said Bullard.
What to Try The lunchtime Charley’s crowd usually gravitates toward a few lighter options such as the soup/half sandwich combo and the chicken salad platter. Their “famous” hand battered chicken fingers are also popular, served with honey mustard. (Try adding roasted seasonal vegetables as a healthier side option.) And their produce? You will be happy to hear that it’s all local and “comes in fresh every day,” according to Bullard. Charley’s dinnertime favorites are still an option at lunch too—sizzling fajitas, steaks and burgers are always a big hit.
The Extras In the middle of our interview, I overheard one of the servers request a copy of Charley’s gluten-free menu from the hostess table. “We do a great job handling food allergies and preventing cross contamination,” Bullard explained. And if you need to have a business meeting, Charley’s has a spacious room you will want to check out. It’s private and holds up to 70 people; Charley’s also provides a projector screen for you to use for presentations. Your guests choose from three menu items. If you want to stay in your office for a lunch meeting, they also offer full service off-site catering as well. 12
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Charley’s hand-battered chicken tenders and chicken salad platter are customer favorites.
UPFRONT
QUOTABLES
“….it’s neat to be part of such a long tradition and providing so many jobs to the community. The ability to do what we do every day—we pride ourselves on who we are…” – Ryan Allison, VP of Operations for Smyth Companies’ Bedford facility. Read more about the 140-year-old label printing company on pages 46-48. “I was raised on a cattle ranch and one of the things that just runs through me is, ‘It’s just gotta get done.’ Whether it’s feeding the steer or bush hogging, that’s the mentality.” – Megan Lucas, CEO of the Lynchburg Regional Business Alliance. Hear more from this issue’s Leader Profile on pages 22-23.
MOVERS & SHAKERS ROBIN BAKER—New Executive Director of the Arc of Central
Virginia. Baker comes to Virginia from North Carolina where he was the executive director of the Arc of the Triangle. He has 30 years of experience in the field. Baker obtained a graduate degree in Rehabilitation Counseling from Virginia Commonwealth University and began his career in Richmond. “Exciting additions to our organization are underway including new programs and activities for people that participate in our services, as well as opportunities for greater volunteer and community involvement…” said Baker. JIM CHILDRESS—Recipient of Marion T. Baker Award from
BY THE NUMBERS
VLAS. Childress, an attorney in Rustburg and former Chief Deputy Commonwealth’s Attorney in Pittsylvania County, is the 26th lawyer to receive this annual honor from Virginia Legal Aid Society. Childress went into private practice in early 2015. He immediately joined the Pro Bono Panel in February 2015 and took his first case for VLAS in March of that year. In just two years, Childress has taken seven pro bono cases for VLAS. IRENE MAY—New Agent with Long & Foster Real Estate.
930
Psychiatrists licensed in Virginia. Read more about the impact of telespsychiatry on page 16.
$25,000
Cost of losing a Millennial employee. A closer look at employee retention strategies on page 49.
195
Accredited chambers of commerce in the U.S. More details on the Alliance’s ranking on page 10.
May joins the Smith Mountain Lake Office in Moneta and will specialize in working with homebuyers and sellers. She is participating in Long & Foster’s Success Path program. May received a Bachelor of Science in biology from George Mason University. She and her husband have spent the last 15 years working on and investing in real estate. PETER TWADELL—New Head of School at James River Day
School. Twadell joins JRDS as its new Head of School, effective July 1. Twadell, an experienced educator and administrator, looks forward to furthering the school’s mission to cherish and challenge children while preparing them for our 21st century world. He says encouraging children to form good habits of learning, such as tenacity and inquisitiveness, mark his educational style. ROBERT C. WOOD III—Named a 2017 Super Lawyer in the
Business Litigation sector. Wood is an attorney with Woods Rogers Edmunds & Williams office in Lynchburg. He has more than 50 years of experience in business and corporate law, family law, commercial litigation and employment law. Wood has tried and/or mediated more than 400 cases, and has argued cases before the Virginia Supreme Court and the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals.
R. Edward Fielding, Inc.
3.3% Virginia’s tourism revenue increase in 2016. Read about the region’s tourism outlook on page 25.
parking lot layout & marking
552
New hotel rooms added in Lynchburg in a 4-year period. Read about supply and demand in the hotel industry on page 39.
tennis courts • athletic tracks industrial safety aisles phone : (434) 845-1740 mobile : fax : (434) 846-2856 (434) 841-8676 refielding@verizon.net JUNE/JULY 2017
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UPFRONT
PLUGGED IN JUNE 2
A.M. ALLIANCE NETWORKING WITH LYNCHBURG REGIONAL BUSINESS ALLIANCE
LRBA Conference Room 2015 Memorial Ave., Lynchburg
7:30 – 9 a.m. Complimentary admission for Alliance members. (434) 845-5966; www.lynchburgregion.org
BUSINESS BASICS
Roanoke Small Business Development Centre 4 – 7 p.m. An introduction to owning your own business. $20 fee. Pre-registration is required.
JUNE 22
WOMEN’S EXCHANGE LUNCHEON WITH LYNCHBURG REGIONAL BUSINESS ALLIANCE
Oakwood Country Club 3409 Rivermont Ave., Lynchburg
JUNE 6
11:30 a.m. – 1 p.m. Cost is $25 for Alliance members and $35 general admission. (434) 845-5966; www.lynchburgregion.org
White Hart Café, 1208 Main St., Lynchburg
BUSINESS AFTER HOURS WITH BEDFORD AREA CHAMBER OF COMMERCE
BUSINESS EXPRESS WITH RETAIL MERCHANTS ASSOCIATION OF LYNCHBURG
11:30 a.m. – 1 p.m. Topic: “Stand Out in a Crowd of Competitors!”
JUNE 7
LUNCH TO LEARN AT THE SMALL BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT CENTRE
CVCC, Merritt Hall
12 p.m. Topic: “Best Apps for Business.” Sponsored by Bank of the James.
JUNE 13
NETWORKING BEFORE NINE WITH BEDFORD AREA CHAMBER OF COMMERCE
Sunken City Brewery 40 Brewery Dr., Hardy
5:30 – 7 p.m. Free for members. $15 for non-members.
JUNE 27
RETAIL UNIVERSITY INFORMATIONAL SESSION
National Retail Federation’s Rise Up Program 147 Mill Ridge Rd., Lynchburg
10 – 11 a.m. Organized by Retail Merchants Association of Lynchburg.
JUNE 30
COFFEE TALK WITH RETAIL MERCHANTS ASSOCIATION OF LYNCHBURG
Western Ways 111 Vista Centre Dr., Forest 8 – 10 a.m.
JULY 7
A.M. ALLIANCE NETWORKING WITH LYNCHBURG REGIONAL BUSINESS ALLIANCE
LRBA Conference Room 2015 Memorial Ave., Lynchburg
BUSINESS BASICS
Roanoke Small Business Development Centre 4 – 7 p.m. An introduction to owning your own business. $20 fee. Pre-registration is required.
JULY 24
LUNCH TO LEARN: CHRISTMAS IN JULY
Altavista Train Station
12 p.m. Free to Altavista Chamber members; $10 for non-members.
JULY 26 7:30 – 9 a.m. Complimentary admission for Alliance members. ALLIANCE NIGHT AT LYNCHBURG HILLCATS (434) 845-5966; www.lynchburgregion.org City Stadium
JULY 11
NETWORKING BEFORE NINE WITH BEDFORD AREA CHAMBER OF COMMERCE
6:30 p.m. Reduced ticket prices for Alliance members. (434) 845-5966; www.lynchburgregion.org
Lendmark Financial Services 18013 Forest Rd., Forest
JULY 27
BUSINESS EXPRESS WITH RETAIL MERCHANTS ASSOCIATION OF LYNCHBURG
WLNI 101-B Tradewynd Dr., Lynchburg
8 – 9 a.m.
White Hart Café 1208 Main St., Lynchburg
11:30 a.m. – 1 p.m. Topic: “Rise Up, Increase Your Bottom Line!”
BUSINESS AFTER HOURS WITH BEDFORD AREA CHAMBER OF COMMERCE
5:30 – 7 p.m. Free for members. $15 for non-members.
JULY 28
COFFEE TALK WITH RETAIL MERCHANTS ASSOCIATION OF LYNCHBURG
Timberlake Family Pharmacy 20276 Timberlake Rd., Lynchburg
The Labyrinth Spa, 325 W Main St., Bedford 8 – 9 a.m. Free for members. $15 for non-members.
8 – 10 a.m.
Helping Central Virginia Grow Since 1947
www.LRMCC.com Lynchburg Plant
Bedford Plant
Amherst Plant
Appomattox Plant
(434) 846-6563
www.lcsedu.net
(434) 946-5562
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(540) 586-8380
(434) 352-2829
Classes Begin August 21
www.lynchburgrma.com
HEALTHCARE HOW TELEPSYCHIATRY CAN HELP Telepsychiatry is a growing and clinically effective way to provide psychiatry, mental and behavioral health care to individuals through online video calls. Telepsychiatry can be used to provide psychiatric evaluations, consultations and treatment to individuals in various settings including outpatient offices, correctional facilities, hospitals, emergency departments, crisis centers or even in homes. Facility-based telepsychiatry has a decent foothold in the healthcare industry. Today one of telepsychiatry’s newer applications, direct-to-consumer (D2C) telepsychiatry, is quickly becoming popular. D2C telepsychiatry allows providers to give psychiatry, mental and behavioral health care to people directly in their homes or any other private space. This takes away the stress of commuting to and from in-person offices. It also means that the time individuals and their families spend getting care is shortened to only the duration of the session, making it easier to fit into a busy schedule.
AN INDIVIDUAL’S EXPERIENCE WITH D2C TELEPSYCHIATRY
THE PSYCHIATRIST SHORTAGE IN VIRGINIA AND HOW TELEPSYCHIATRY CAN HELP BY JAM E S VAR R E LL, M . D.
D
THE BENEFITS OF D2C TELEPSYCHIATRY
ue to trends in mental health advocacy and growing clinical evidence, people are increasingly recognizing the benefits of psychiatry and behavioral health care. For example, a 2012 study published in Contingencies measured the cost of a single employee’s depression over a two-year period prior to that employee receiving depression treatment and found the cost to the business to be as high as $3,386 per affected employee. Unfortunately, even with a cultural shift towards addressing mental illness in Lynchburg, employers and families are struggling to get convenient and timely access to care due to a significant shortage of psychiatrists. According to the National Alliance on Mental Illness, there are over a million Virginians who experience mental illness and about 300,000 of those illnesses are classified as serious. Even with 930 psychiatrists licensed in Virginia, there simply aren’t enough providers to go around. As a psychiatrist, the demands for services can be overwhelming. Moreover, because most psychiatrists are concentrated in Virginia’s urban pockets (Northern Virginia, the Richmond metropolitan area and Hampton Roads) many individuals outside of these areas endure long commutes to reach the nearest psychiatrist who has available appointment times. Oftentimes, getting care for oneself or a family member can be off-putting and stressful.
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For example, one of my patients, whom I will call Anna, suffers from severe anxiety and depression. As a result of her disorder, Anna struggled to leave her home, and her husband, Rick, often had to take time off of work to accompany her to appointments with her psychiatrist whose office was 50 minutes away. The stress of her appointments made Anna’s symptoms worse, negatively impacted Rick’s work and put additional strain on their family life. It was in their search for a better care solution that Anna started to receive psychiatric medication management from me and therapy from one of my colleagues all through telepsychiatry. Anna started to access her sessions from home in the evenings after her children had gone to bed. Using telepsychiatry allowed her to receive treatment independently and the reduced stress of receiving care has empowered her and helped her to better cope with her disorder.
JUNE/JULY 2017
Anna’s experience is one that is shared by many Virginians who struggle to find a convenient psychiatry or behavioral health solution for themselves or their loved ones. Here are some of the many ways people can benefit from D2C telepsychiatry: • Convenience. People can schedule appointments outside of traditional weekday hours and can easily attend sessions using any computer, tablet or smartphone in any private space with a reliable internet connection. • Increased access to care. Telepsychiatry expands choices for providers and specialists beyond those who are within driving distance. Any provider nationwide who is licensed in the individual’s state can offer services to them. Practicing online means providers can spend more time treating people instead of traveling between offices. • High-quality care. With more providers to pick from, people can choose the one who best fits their personality, needs and schedule. Reputable D2C telepsychiatry programs will have their providers trained to deliver telehealth appropriately and effectively. • Privacy. Telepsychiatry is safe and secure. Some individuals prefer seeking care from the privacy of home without the fear of running into a nosy neighbor in the waiting room. Not only does this type of treatment make it possible for people like Anna to receive care in a comfortable environment, but it also removes stress from their work and personal relationships. Telepsychiatry improves lives and is an excellent tool for increasing access to psychiatry and behavioral health care in Virginia communities. James Varrell, M.D. has been practicing telepsychiatry for 18 years and is the Medical Director of InSight Telepsychiatry. InSight’s direct-to-consumer division, Inpathy, currently offers online psychiatry and therapy appointments.
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HarmanEye.com
It’s time to get focused! Save $1,000 on LASIK for first 50 patients to schedule! Announcing the grand opening of the Harman Eye LASIK Center!
We are proud to announce the grand opening of our dedicated LASIK suite-the Harman Eye LASIK Center. From the moment patients walk through the door, they will notice a warm and welcoming environment with amenities such as a state-of-the-art coffee and espresso maker and relaxing massage chairs. We’ve created this dedicated LASIK Center to help patients feel comfortable and relaxed, while keeping the cost of LASIK affordable. In celebration of our grand opening, Dr. Harman is offering $1,000 off All-Laser LASIK* for the first 50 patients that call and schedule and 0% financing for up to 24 months! Dr. Harman has performed thousands of vision correction procedures since 1993 and he is looking forward to helping you get the clear vision you deserve!
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HEALTH MATTERS
SEE CLEARLY NOW WHAT IMPROVING TECHNOLOGY MEANS FOR LASIK AND YOUR VISION BY EMILY HED RICK
O
ne of the most common surgeries in the United States, LASIK (Laser-Assisted In Situ Keratomileusis), has enabled millions of Americans to forego their glasses and contact lenses and, in most cases, enjoy at least 20/20 vision. LASIK is a short, low-risk procedure that involves using a laser to reshape the cornea and thus correct a multitude of vision issues. Improving technology has had a major impact on this refractive eye surgery, making it even safer and more precise. David M. Harman, M.D., founder of Harman Eye Center and medical director of Harman Eye Surgery Center, has been performing refractive eye surgeries since 1993 and LASIK since 1999. “For LASIK vision correction, we have seen some dramatic changes over the last 20 years,” he says. Among these changes is the addition of a femtosecond laser, which has replaced the manual blade in the initial step of creating a protective flap in the cornea before using an excimer laser to reshape the cornea. “With the advent of femtosecond laser technology, we are able to greatly improve the safety
and precision by performing all-laser LASIK,” Dr. Harman says. “In fact, this technology is so safe and precise that it has been approved by the military for its pilots, and it has even been approved by NASA for its astronauts.” Additional innovations that make LASIK procedures even safer and more effective include tracking software, customized technology and iris recognition. “The procedure has improved in so many ways,” says Darin Bowers, M.D., iLASIK™ surgeon at Piedmont Eye Center. “Tracking software, for example, is now used to keep the treatment centered on the cornea as most patients have some degree of ocular movement during the procedure.” Customized technology entails computer-generated images of a specific individual’s eyes; this technology leads to better precision and reduces glare at night, which was an issue with LASIK procedures years ago. “Iris Registration software allows the treatment to identify a patient’s eye based on iris pattern and align treatment more accurately,” Dr. Bowers adds. “All of these improvements have led to improved outcomes in the way of added safety and better vision results.” Dr. Harman notes that custom technology “not only corrects one’s nearsightedness, farsightedness, and astigmatism, but can also correct for higher order aberrations, thus helping to achieve visual results that often surpass 20/20. In an FDA study using the same technology that we have here at Harman Eye Center, 98 percent of patients were 20/20 and 70 percent of patients had even better than 20/20 vision.” JUNE/JULY 2017
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HEALTH MATTERS
A QUICK FIX—In most cases, the entire LASIK procedure takes less than 15 minutes to complete.
Both Dr. Harman and Dr. Bowers say that although the results of LASIK
Harman Eye Center and Piedmont Eye Center both offer free consultations to
unavoidable. “The results of both LASIK and cataract surgery usually last
determine if LASIK is right for you.
for a lifetime,” Dr. Harman says. “Patients over the age of 40 will experience
“At Harman Eye Center, we want patients to feel comfortable and relaxed
a condition called presbyopia. Presbyopia is a loss of the ability to see things
during their visit,” Dr. Harman says. “That is why we created both a private
up close. This happens to virtually all humans and is caused from the loss of
center that is dedicated only to laser vision correction and a private ambulatory
flexibility with the eye’s natural lens.”
surgery center for our cataract and minor surgical cases. The intent of our
Dr. Bowers says that “although the treatment is permanent, changes can still
center is to create a warm and welcoming environment for our patients, and
occur as the patient ages, especially if things like cataracts or diabetes develop
our goal is to provide the highest quality eye care and superior service.
later.” That said, however, it is possible to receive LASIK treatment more than
Since 1993, I have performed thousands of refractive procedures.”
once. “Re-treatments can be done if the corneal thickness allows and if no other eye pathology develops,” Dr. Bowers notes. Regardless of your lifestyle, career, and hobbies, LASIK surgery will likely
At Piedmont Eye Center, “iLASIK™ is a great option for anyone who desires less dependence on glasses or contacts,” Dr. Bowers says. “Since 1999 we’ve had the privilege of
greatly improve your quality of life. “Patients who decide to have LASIK
performing thousands of procedures using
don’t have to struggle with glasses or contacts on a daily basis,” Dr. Harman
equipment that is kept current in a state-
says. “For people who enjoy outdoor activities such as running, golfing, and
of-the-art climate-controlled laser suite.
swimming, LASIK can have a profound impact on their lives. Imagine being a
We take it seriously. Again, our free
mother and constantly having a small toddler grabbing for your glasses. LASIK
no-obligation comprehensive LASIK
takes away the fear of them breaking their glasses and helps them see all of life’s
evaluation will allow patients to
precious moments.”
know their candidacy with this
According to Dr. Bowers, contact lenses also pose a problem. “If they [people who are anxious about getting LASIK surgery] already wear contacts, I would point out the many studies that have shown higher risks of vision-threatening complications from contact lens wear than from LASIK,” he says. “There are so many examples of how LASIK has improved patients’ quality of life. One of the most common things we hear is patients who discover how well they can see their children playing at the beach. Runners enjoy the freedom of not dealing with contacts or glasses, especially in rain. We’ve had the privilege of providing LASIK to professionals in various sports including golf, professional football, motorcycle racing, and even one patient who was a national rifle bench-rest champion. Each one seemed to enjoy the freedom LASIK provided.” 20
Of course, you don’t have to be an athlete to enjoy the benefits of LASIK, and
are usually permanent, certain vision issues that come with age are still
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JUNE/JULY 2017
procedure so they can make a well-informed decision.”
LEADER PROFILE
MEGAN
LUCAS
Title: CEO, Lynchburg Regional Business Alliance
Hometown: Centralia, Missouri Recent Recognition: Selected by Consultant Connect as one of North America’s Top 50 Economic Developers for 2017 You’ve been in the industry going on 20 years now. What do you enjoy about working in economic development? What I like about it is impacting a community— whether it’s helping a business connect to another business or connecting people to jobs. I love helping communities grow, prosper and be successful.
Looking back at your career, what makes you proud? Up until now, I’ve always worked in military communities, and any time you work with the military community and the men and women who serve our country, it’s very rewarding. For example, the creation of a hospital for our community back in Nebraska was a big win. When I look back, I’m confident I’ve left every community and organization better than when I arrived.
On the flipside, I’m sure you’ve had your share of challenges and setbacks. Certainly, I’ve had lots of challenges, but I tend not to let that deter me. I was raised on a cattle ranch and one of the things that just runs through me is, “It’s just gotta get done.” Whether it’s feeding the steer or bush hogging, that’s the mentality. When I’m challenged, my first thought is, “Well, crud.” But usually it’s 30 seconds of that before I turn to, “It’s just gotta get done.” Let’s solve the problem or the issue. 22
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LEADER PROFILE It’s been about a year and a half since the Lynchburg Regional Chamber of Commerce and Region 2000 Business and Economic Alliance merged to become the Lynchburg Regional Business Alliance. How have things gone so far from your point of view? Last year was about bringing two cultures and processes together, and we got through the year successfully. And now this year, we are continuing to smooth the edges and grow and move forward. It’s good… it’s really going well.
The 5-star accreditation from the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, putting you in the top one percent of all chambers of commerce in the U.S., must have been incredible news for you all. (Read more about this recognition on page 10.) What that solidifies and says to us and to the businesses that are members is we are an organization run on sound business standards and practices. We have financial policies and procedures, transparency, leadership etc. that’s at the top of the sphere. At a time when all of our money is precious, we want everyone to be confident that they’re engaged in an organization that has sound business principles.
Another huge thing happening this year is the Alliance’s new building in the former James River Conference Center. The Lynchburg Regional Business Alliance is the premier economic development organization for the area. And make no mistake, we are a mid-sized metro area. We have incredible companies in this region—Moore and Giles, Glad, the Standard, and Genworth to name just a few—and the region’s primary business organization should reflect and represent those organizations and that includes being in a building that everyone is proud of. It is not just ours—it’s yours. We are also excited to be relocating to our thriving, urban downtown. It’s amazing what the city has done there.
“Dig the ditch you want to die in” has come in handy for me. Learning how to pick my battles.
What are your thoughts on women in the workplace? Do women still face challenges because of their gender? I don’t believe in crutches or excuses, and I don’t think being a woman is a crutch. I believe people who work hard and are honest, truthful and of good character and integrity will be successful at business and in life. Going back to my upbringing, I was always taught that anything my brothers could do, I could do. It was never, “Well Megan, you should be in the kitchen making jelly.” It was, “You live here. You have a responsibility just like all of us… let’s get busy.” I just think that if you can do it and you’ve earned your stripes—male or female, black or white—it doesn’t matter to me as long as you’re good at what you do.
How would you define your leadership style? Collaborative. Holistic. Hands on. I like the team approach.
What’s life outside of work like for you? I like being with my husband, Tory, and my dog, Bruno. Also, anything outdoors like hiking and golf. And I’m an avid reader.
TOP: Megan Lucas presents the George Taylor Stewart III Award to former city manager, Kim Payne. MIDDLE: Megan Lucas presents the “Outstanding Multiple Booth” award to Sam’s Club employees Kim Ivory and LaToya Williams at the Alliance’s 2016 Connection Expo. BOTTOM: Megan Lucas accepts a proclamation from Mayor Joan Foster at the Alliance’s fivestar accreditation announcement in March. Photos courtesy of Property One Photography.
What is your vision for the Lynchburg area in the coming years? I would like for us to continue to be a forwardthinking, approachable community with an urbanized infrastructure… with a rural heart for the amazing, abundant resources that we have.
Are there any pieces of advice or mantras you frequently use in your day-to-day decisions? Depends on the situation. In high school, I had an upperclassman say to me, “You have to learn how to take care of yourself, because you’re the only one that’s going to be there.” I also believe in other instances, “If you’re not at the table, you’re on the menu.” From an organizational standpoint, that’s something I often repeat to myself. And raised on a cattle ranch, I was always quick to spar with people. The expression, JUNE/JULY 2017
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We Open Doors TAMMY MIKKELSON Mortgage Banker, NMLS #1003506 Licensed in VA 434-338-6233 tammymikkelson@atlanticbay.com www.atlanticbay.com/tammymikkelson
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TOURISM FEATURE
REGIONAL TOURISM OUTLOOK:
LYNCHBURG REGION POISED TO KEEP PACE WITH GROWING STATE TOURISM REVENUES BY JENNI F ER RED M OND
A
s temperatures rise, Lynchburg and the surrounding region are gearing up for increased tourism due to a variety of recent developments. From state level competitions using the Hill City as a landing zone to continued downtown revitalization, tourism stakeholders believe the area is poised for sustained growth this year and beyond.
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TOURISM FEATURE
GAME CHANGER—Liberty University’s mascot, Sparky, greets players in the 2016 Virginia Commonwealth Games. The event, which has a huge economic impact on the region, returns to LU July 21-23.
And with these developments on the horizon, Lynchburg is primed to keep pace with the rest of the state; according to a press release from Governor McAuliffe on May 8, 2017, “Virginia’s tourism industry had another banner year in 2016 as we welcomed a record number of visitors and significantly outpaced the national growth rate.” Virginia enjoyed a revenue increase of 3.3 percent compared to the national average of 2.7 percent. Many of the reasons Governor McAuliffe cited for Virginia’s appeal are represented also in the greater Lynchburg region: “natural beauty, booming culinary scene, exciting outdoor recreation offerings, rich history, and [a] robust arts culture.” Also representative of the local region is that Virginia saw the “largest increase in travel expenditures in food and lodging sectors,” sectors mimicked in local growth as well. Lynchburg’s burgeoning downtown district has been largely bolstered by new restaurant openings and hotel development. “The growth of downtown and the clustering of restaurants and cultural amenities—plus the trails and the river—we can sell this as a whole package or experience,” said Anna Bentson, Assistant Director for Economic Development in the City of Lynchburg.
The significance of this cultural hub is one that cannot be ignored says the Downtown Lynchburg Association’s Executive Director Ashley Kershner. “No matter the reason for their visit, tourists to the Lynchburg area often find themselves in downtown, and that experience becomes their impression of the City as a whole.” 26
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Todd Swindell, Hotel Director at the Craddock Terry Hotel and Event Center, echoes these sentiments: “Tourism in Lynchburg is primed and ready— successful already, but we are only just beginning…The downtown area is growing rapidly and has some of the best restaurants in the area.” Swindell says the Craddock Terry “centers around its history as a shoe factory building,” capitalizing on one of Lynchburg’s strongest offerings—its storied past. “We provide a certain luxury and comfort, mixed with a little bit of fun,” he said. “When you come to the Craddock Terry Hotel, you’re going to have an experience.” Swindell believes that Lynchburg has a lot to offer the Millennial generation, which puts a high priority on travel. “They tend to love unique destinations and experiences; [k]eeping on trend and up-to-date with technology will be the necessary effort for attracting this group,” he said.
Adding to this year’s influx of visitors will be the Virginia Commonwealth Games, the largest multisports festival in the state, which will be hosted in Lynchburg for the second year in a row; it routinely draws more than 10,000 athletes and has an estimated economic impact of $2.5 million on average. “We’ve worked closely with Liberty University on sports tourism due to the facilities they have,” Bentson said. “It’s a good mix; we bring in the
TOURISM FEATURE lodging industry and city facilities; it all involves a lot of partnerships and collaboration.” Bentson says they are also celebrating the recent bid they won to host the State Games of America in 2019—the highest level of competition following the Commonwealth Games. The power of regional collaborations is one key to continued visitor engagement and attraction. Angela Lynch, Associate Director of Marketing for the National D-Day Memorial, believes these partnerships are crucial for successful tourism efforts because “[c]ity limits and county lines don’t stop tourists; we can only benefit from working together.” Lynch cites a popular ticket pairing the Memorial has done with Thomas Jefferson’s Poplar Forest since 2012 as an example of a regional partnership. Using these “allows both sites to capitalize from [their] close proximity for visitors interested in history.” Bentson has also seen the benefits in a variety of collaborations. “From a regional perspective, visitors can stay in our funky downtown but still have access to the Appalachian Trail, breweries, the Blue Ridge Parkway, etc. So we’re focused on developing itineraries for those visitors,” Bentson said.
“Our region offers a tremendous amount of varied experiences to visitors,” Lynch said. “We want [visitors] to go home and tell their friends about the moving experience they had at the D-Day Memorial and how nice our town and region are… [which] are high value, high quality; we can feel good about recommending them to our guests.” Efforts to bolster regional collaboration and develop more efficient processes have led to the merger of the Lynchburg City tourism department with the Lynchburg Office of Economic Development; the transition is expected to yield a restructured city department with freshly defined goals and strategies.
Speaking of the merger, Bentson said, “Our goals are the same: to sell the city of Lynchburg and to grow tourism-based businesses that can help strengthen the region as a whole.” Bentson says city officials hope to have everything in place by the end of this year, adding that many municipalities house tourism and economic development under one umbrella. The newly rebranded Downtown Lynchburg Association (DLA), formerly Lynch’s Landing, is another sign of renewed efforts to fine tune local tourism efforts. The non-profit will also be introducing several new events and community collaborations throughout 2017 including the Lynchburg Food Fest, Deck the Hills, and Pop-Up Lynchburg. Additionally, the organization is working closely with the city on launching a new way-finding system throughout the downtown district, an effort Kershner says should yield “bright, attractive, flexible, easy-to-read, and consistent” signage, a result that
should make the area even easier for out-of-town guests to navigate. The DLA is also focused on growing cultural events such as First Fridays, which they recently acquired management of, and the annual Get Downtown street festival, which draws thousands of visitors to Main Street every September. Finally, several long-term projects are moving ever closer to completion, which should provide an additional surge of tourism revenue. The Virginian is slated to have renovations completed by the end of 2017 while the historic Academy Theatre is also closing in on final restorations. Both locations are historic icons—one that will be transformed into a boutique hotel offering eateries and conference space, the other a center for the arts and traveling shows and performers. They represent the main strengths of Lynchburg, this region and the state as a whole—building on historic foundations for the visitors of today and tomorrow. Swindell is among those excited to see what the future holds, partly because he’s seen similar efforts find success over the past seven years that he’s worked with the Craddock Terry Hotel. “Developers are renovating buildings once derelict and making fabulous restaurants and shops. We haven’t peaked yet, but we’re closer every day.” He adds, “If we embrace the tourism industry, continue synergizing efforts, and welcoming visitors, we will reap the rewards.”
TOP: The Get Downtown street festival is one of many efforts by the Downtown Lynchburg Association to encourage people to visit the downtown area. LEFT: The National D-Day Memorial in Bedford opened in 2001 and since then, about 60,000 people have visited the memorial each year. Photo by Nicole S. Johnson.
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BUSINESS PROFILE
ONE WAY OUT ESCAPE ROOMS
HOW AN OUT-OF-TOWN IDEA BECAME A LOCAL EFFORT BY SUZA NNE RAMSEY
UNDER
BUSINESS TEN YEARS
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BUSINESS PROFILE
R
LEFT: Gerald and Lauren Cox opened One Way Out in 2016. ABOVE: The newest escape room is called “The Lost Professor.”
ecently, some friends and I went to One Way Out, an “escape room” on Lakeside Drive in Lynchburg. If you’ve never heard of an escape room, it’s an activity where a group of people work together, solving puzzles and unlocking clues, sometimes literally. Each escape room has a different theme, and after being locked inside—not literally, for the claustrophobics out there—you have an hour to solve every mystery and escape. One Way Out’s escape rooms are aimed at people ages 8 and older and there are no physical restrictions. In other words, no climbing or tunneling your way out of the room. As manager Ryan Petrey puts it, an escape room is “a finesse game for the mind.” The business was launched last year by husband-and-wife team Gerald and Lauren Cox. The local couple had visited escape rooms in other cities and, enjoying the experiences, decided to open one in their hometown. There are currently four escapes at One Way Out: “Trapped in the 1980s,” “Escape Detention,” “The Shuttered Room,” and the most-recent addition, “The Lost Professor,” which is set in a Mayan tomb.
While escape room supplies can be purchased online, One Way Out offers unique experiences, created in Lynchburg.
“Our rooms are designed and built in-house by staff and family,” Gerald said, adding that the “objective in designing a room is to create an experience that gets everyone engaged [and] requires them to work together and, in many cases, think outside the box to succeed. “Doing this requires some careful planning and testing. We flow chart the designs and try to imagine the player experience as they progress through the rooms, from their point of view.” While “a few off-the-shelf items, like locks, props and electronic components” are used to build the escape rooms, Gerald said, “the large majority of items that require fabrication have been created by us.” For things they couldn’t make, they turned to local businesses Against the Grain and Vector Space. JUNE/JULY 2017
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BUSINESS PROFILE Before attempting my escape, I assembled a team. It isn’t necessary to have a team, however. You can sign up as a single and be grouped with other players. Depending on which escape you do, that might be as many as nine other people. My team consisted of my husband, John, a budget manager and administrator; marketing professional Brittany Griffith; and Elaine Jackson, a Canadian college student. With myself, a freelance writer who enjoys playing “The Puzzler” with the folks on National Public Radio, I figured we had lots of skills covered. I also talked with a friend, Krista Johnson, who visited One Way Out for a team-building retreat with coworkers. “It was just really cool,” she said, adding that although people split into groups of two or three to solve multiple puzzles simultaneously and save time, it was “very interactive.”
“It works on opening communication, trusting your teammates to do what they’re working on, and definitely working together toward one common goal: trying to get out,” she said. My next step was picking a room. One Way Out’s escape rooms are rated for difficulty. “Trapped in the 1980s” and “Escape Detention” are the easiest. “The Shuttered Room” and “The Lost Professor” are ranked most difficult. Considering us four people of reasonable intelligence, I told Ryan we’d try “The Shuttered Room,” the most difficult of all. Ryan, however, was quick to suggest we try a more entry-level escape. Having lived through the 1980s, and not anxious to return, I picked “Escape Detention.” On a Thursday night in mid-April, the team met up at One Way Out. Ryan gave us our back story—escape detention before the bus leaves for the big concert—along with some basic instructions. Among other things, he said, don’t remove anything that’s nailed down or affixed to the wall, floor or ceiling. Apparently, local engineers on team-building retreats at One Way Out had necessitated this instruction. Leave the multi-tool at home, he said. You won’t need it. Of the four of us, Elaine was the only one who’d ever been to an escape room, albeit back in Canada. There, she said, her team escaped in a record-setting time of 20 minutes. With Elaine’s confidence and experience to buoy us, we entered detention. Without spoiling anything, the room looked like a classroom, full of the kinds of things you’d expect to find there. The most notable feature, however, was a big digital clock mounted Suzanne Ramsey (top right) above the door. It started and her group pose for a candid photo after their experience. ticking immediately. 30
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The initial problem we faced was deciding what to do first. What items were important? Did this thing go with that thing? Where the heck did we start? Luckily, we eventually got into a groove and started solving some puzzles, but with a half-hour to go we were stuck.
AT A GLANCE Founded: 2016 Number of Employees: 2 owners, 8 employees Located: 2264 Lakeside Dr., Lynchburg Signs of Growth: Nominated as a 2017 Small Business of the Year; recently added its fourth escape room
Before entering the room, Ryan gave us a walkie-talkie, saying we could ask for hints. It wasn’t uncommon for teams to need hints, he said, especially on their first escape. At the time, I was pretty sure we wouldn’t need help, but after the first 30 minutes passed in a flash, we started to panic. Someone called Ryan for a hint and we made some progress, but with three minutes to go, the general consensus was we were doomed. With two puzzles left, we were out of ideas. Our Canuck ringer, Elaine, said something about feeling stupid. John looked at Brittany and said, matter-offactly, “We gonna lose.” As time ran out, I was disappointed we didn’t escape, but also surprised at how much fun it had been. Watching via a video linkup, Ryan told us to keep trying, that we were almost there. Three minutes later, when the door opened with a loud “click,” there was audible rejoicing. Later, Elaine admitted One Way Out’s escape room had been “more challenging” than her previous experience. An English major, she also wondered if it was because some of the puzzles involved math. Asked if she’d had fun, however, and Elaine was certain. “Yes, so much fun!” she said.
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Community Impact Awards Does your company support local charities?
Is your company making a difference in the Lynchburg community? If so, we want to highlight you and your incredible work that makes our area a great place to live. Nominate your business today at LynchburgBusinessMag.com Nominations are open from July 1 through August 18
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MARKETING
COLD CALLS Shouldn’t Be “Cold” Anymore BY VI C TOR C LARKE
A
cold call is less appreciated than a “sales”
People like to do business with other people just like them. Before calling
email. But if you have a dinosaur sales
someone, take a couple of minutes to look at their LinkedIn profile. Put a face
manager you may not be able to stop
to the voice you’ll soon hear on the phone.
cold calling completely. However, it only
6. Use specific facts to pre-qualify.
takes a few minutes to research a prospect on the web or social media.
Company websites usually don’t provide details like annual revenue and number of employees. Check out their company LinkedIn profile. You’ll see their employees on LinkedIn, and it lists their industry, location(s), and annual revenue.
You don’t have to make “cold” calls anymore if you use these nine tactics. 1. Learn about their products, services and customer base. The only reason one business is willing to contract with another is to improve efficiency or increase revenue. If your offer doesn’t fit its goals and plans, it’s not going to happen no matter how hard you try to “find the pain” your dinosaur sales manager tells you exists. 2. Discover their story and the key players. The “About” page of a website is the most useful page when prospecting. The bios are terrific nuggets to help you assess who is the best person to talk to
7. See what a Google search says. In one Google search, you can learn a lot about a company that’s not published on their website or social media. For example, it’s good to know in advance if they have recently experienced a lawsuit or are actively hiring. Also, press releases often announce acquisitions, mergers, new products and strategic alliances to start a conversation. 8. Get an alert that indicates when you should make a call. Timing is everything in marketing and sales. When a company goes through changes, it’s also more open to other “disruptions.” The trick is knowing what’s happening when it happens so you can act on it. For your top prospects, set
and their responsibilities. There may be a few different people involved in the
up Google Alerts for the name of their business, key contacts and any other
decision-making process too.
relevant branded terms. As soon as “trigger events” such as a news article,
3. Get the professional history of your key contacts.
press release, or blog post are published about them, you’ll get an email.
The “About” might tell you the current role of a key contact but not a lot of detail about their experience. If they have a LinkedIn profile, then you can often uncover their work history and professional motivations. 4. Get introduced via a professional connection instead of introducing yourself. It’s always better to have someone introduce you to a prospect than doing it yourself. Through LinkedIn you can determine in minutes which of your professional connections might be able to make the introduction.
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5. Quickly gain rapport by discussing mutual experiences or interests.
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9. Discover how successful your prospective company is. Read the customer reviews of the prospect on Google Local, Yelp, and whatever listing/review service is popular for their type of business. Some recent bad reviews might light a spark for them to act. Many mediocre reviews might indicate a non-committed management team (sound like a good prospect?) Victor Clarke has been the owner of Clarke, Inc. for 20+ years. We serve up epic marketing truth for small businesses daily. If you want the marketing pretty boys, we’re not for you. Contact Victor at victor@bebetterdomore.com or www.bebetterdomore.com.
When trust matters. Rely on our professional staff at Lynchburg Dental Center to bring you the latest advancements in technology in a comfortable setting. Stop in to meet the rest of our team, all of us committed to ensuring confident healthy smiles.
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NEW HOTELS FEATURE
MAKE ROOM FOR MORE HOTELS AN IN-DEPTH LOOK AT LYNCHBURG’S GROWING LODGING INDUSTRY BY D REW M ENARD
I
n recent years, Lynchburg has become an ever-brightening spot on the map, drawing increased interest—and guests—to its hilly borders. Near the airport, in the counties, off Wards Road and downtown, new lodging developments have been sprouting in response.
It is important to note that one hotel is not the same as another from a business perspective—hotels are not all marketing to the same type of customer. Each business carves out its own niche based on the amenities it offers. So, an influx of new hotels does not only suggest more customers are coming to the area; it indicates that more types of customers are coming as well. Currently there are 17 hotel properties in the area—collectively offering about 1,700 beds—with three developments on the horizon: a Residence Inn by River Ridge Mall, a Homewood Suites off Wards Road adjacent to the Hilton Garden
“[Hotel] developers right now are viewing Lynchburg as a growth area
Inn, and The Virginian Hotel, a historic property under construction downtown.
and they are willing to invest millions of dollars to be a part of what we have
Meriwether also pointed out that a number of properties in the surrounding
going on,” said Lisa Meriwether, Sales Manager for the Lynchburg Regional
counties (particularly Campbell County) have been playing a role in “receiving
Convention & Visitors Bureau.
leads that we generate for large pieces of business that we are trying to attract.” JUNE/JULY 2017
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NEW HOTELS FEATURE
A Residence Inn, an extended stay hotel, is under construction beside River Ridge Mall.
Statewide, tourism is on the rise. A recent report from Gov. Terry McAuliffe’s office announced that 2016 saw $24 billion in tourism revenue across the Commonwealth, a 3.3 percent increase over 2015. And locally, Lynchburg is seeing continued growth in its hotel sector.
Meriwether pointed out that data showed a 3.5 percent rise in occupancy in the area from 2015 to 2016. Likewise, the Average Daily Rate (ADR) per room grew from an average of about $95 to $96.85 per night in the same period. “The numbers look great as it relates to what we can sustain,” she said. “As of right now, the numbers are rising.” Tourism in general has a very symbiotic relationship with other businesses in the area, explained Anna Bentson, Assistant Director of the Lynchburg Office of Economic Development. “All kinds of businesses benefit from tourism,” she said. “There is an impact that happens with restaurants and attractions and anything [else] associated with travel — retail, gas, [etc.].” That is why Lynchburg established the entire city as a tourism zone two years ago, allowing it to tap into state funding opportunities. Area hotelier Peter Greenberg, owner and operator the Kirkley Hotel on Candlers Mountain Road for the past decade, said he believes the growth trend is “net positive” in the community. “I am very satisfied with my investment and the future of my investment from the data that I have,” he said. But Greenberg tempered the optimism with caution when he commented on how The Virginian was funded, in part, by a $5 million loan agreement with City Council. “If anything should have taken care of that building, the market should have taken care of it,” Greenberg said. “That is not the role of government, investing in picking winners and losers.” In early April, the City proposed a two percent lodging tax increase. (Note: a final adoption of the budget will take place after this issue goes to print). Greenberg stood up before council to say that this will undermine all the work done to attract business. Reached by phone, he also said that it will cause hotel 36
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“All kinds of businesses benefit from tourism. There is an impact that happens with restaurants and attractions and anything [else] associated with travel — retail, gas, [etc.].”
developers to strongly consider building outside city lines, in the counties. Pointing to how the market is, in fact, working itself out in other locations, Greenberg noted that hotel developers who are “extremely sophisticated” are looking at the area and justifying major investments. At the foundation of all of this development is an interest in the tremendous growth of the area.
“There are just lots of flags going up right now [and] developers are paying attention,” Meriwether said, pointing out that the two biggest factors interesting hotel developers specifically are the downtown revitalization and the growth of Liberty University. Hilton Worldwide Senior Director of Franchise Development Robert Giardino said, “The university is a huge driver in the market. … Demand has increased year-after-year at [the Hampton Inn & Suites and Garden Inn].” Liberty, as well as the growing “corporate demand,” is bringing diverse customers to the market—types who frequent different Hilton brands, whether it is visiting professors looking for larger suites when they stay multiple nights (and might, therefore, be interested in the forthcoming Homewood Suites) or traveling businesspeople looking for an upscale select service experience with a restaurant and bar within their hotel (like at the Garden Inn). Giardino said Hilton has approved a Tru by Hilton and Home2 Suites for the market, ensuring the company has the right brand representation for its customers. Construction should begin in the next 18 months. (That would up Hilton to six brands in the area, including Homewood Suites, the Garden, the Hampton and The Virginian, a Curio partner.) “Lynchburg is a beautiful community … it shows with the numbers we are getting at those [current] properties,” he added. Developers are also “very interested” in what is happening in downtown Lynchburg, Meriwether said—from the Riverfront and new loft apartments to “the boom in the culinary scene.”
NEW HOTELS FEATURE At the heart of this revitalization will be The Virginian. “A lot of things have been done in the downtown area over the past 5 to 10 years to get to where we are today,” said John Shideler, General Manager of The Virginian. “There are a lot of new food and beverage operations opening up. And I think that by re-opening The Virginian to its original grandeur, it is going to help facilitate the finalization of the revitalization of the downtown area.” Shideler said that while Williamsburg, Va., where he spent most of his career, is a very “affluent and respected community” and a “great place” generally, “I think [that area] is just taking it for granted while here I think there is a general consensus that everyone wants the downtown area in Lynchburg to be a great place and to play a part in that.” There is a lot of buzz circulating around The Virginian, which will be a very upscale, boutique attraction.
“The Virginian will be a destination hotel,” Meriwether said. “People will come here just to stay in that hotel.” The Virginian is a Hilton Curio Collection partner, one of less than 50 worldwide. These premier hotels are oneof-a-kind masterpieces, unique to the area they are in. In addition to 115 rooms, dining areas and a rooftop lounge, The Virginian will feature 8,000 square feet of banquet and conference space, including the historic property’s grand ballroom, which is being immaculately renovated. “Corporate groups are going to be interested in coming to the Lynchburg area as opposed to going to Roanoke or Charlottesville or Richmond,” Shideler said. The Virginian is stirring waters of new business, with waves set to cascade toward Lynchburg once it opens. “Everybody wants to know when The Virginian is going to open,” Meriwether said. “We are fielding leads … association executives, association planners. They are really ready to rotate their association business into Lynchburg.” But the ripples will expand to other parts of the city. “What is going to happen, we are going to see some fresh new business [at The Virginian] but we [will] see they are also going to press other business out to other hotels,” Meriwether said. “Rising tides lift all boats.” Read more about Lynchburg’s hotel boom in our Commercial Real Estate column on the next page.
John Shideler, General Manager of The Virginian, was most recently General Manager of the Williamsburg Inn. He moved to Lynchburg in January.
Renderings show what the outside and inside of The Virginian will look like when it is completed.
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COMMERCIAL REAL ESTATE Ridge Mall, Liberty University (or Liberty Baptist College at that time), and major highways, while the Radisson represented a landmark project utilizing a mix of private and public investment with the goal of revitalizing downtown. How does that compare with what is in the pipeline today? Two hotels are being constructed in the Mall/Wards Road/Liberty University area, while the third is a landmark project utilizing a mix of private and public investment with the goal of revitalizing downtown. So, yes—what’s old is new again.
BRANDED OR INDEPENDENT
LYNCHBURG HOTELS Then and Now BY B I LLY H AN SE N
O
n a recent hunt for historical real estate perspective, I fell down the rabbit hole while reading through newspaper archives on microfilm at Jones Memorial Library. In my research, I stumbled across an article on the front page of the May 6, 1984 issue of Lynchburg News & Daily Advance with the headline “Oversupply of Hotel Rooms Seen” written by Jon Hiratsuka. In a four-year span, the Lynchburg area had seen the addition of 547 hotel rooms, including the 172-room Lynchburg Hilton, the 131-room Days Inn, and the 244-room Radisson Hotel Lynchburg, which took the hotel supply from less than a thousand rooms in 1980 to about 1,400 hotel rooms in 1984. This led many local hotel operators to believe that new supply was outpacing actual demand. Sound familiar? History has a way of repeating itself, so let’s take a look at what has changed and what hasn’t in 33 years.
RAPID GROWTH “Hey, what’s up with all the new hotels?” is the subtext for the 1984 article cited above and has become a frequently asked question again in our market as hotel construction continues. In Lynchburg, three hotel projects are currently underway: a 114-room Residence Inn on an outparcel at River Ridge Mall; a 104-room Homewood Suites next to the Hilton Garden Inn on Wards Road; and a 115-room Virginian Hotel historic renovation project in downtown Lynchburg. A 112-room Hampton Inn & Suites and a 97-room Comfort Inn & Suites were completed on 29 South near the airport in the last three years. Adding these 209 recently completed rooms to the 343 new hotel rooms in the pipeline, the total increase in supply is 552 hotel rooms in a four-year period. But it’s not just Lynchburg; other local areas are seeing activity as well. Two proposed hotel projects have been kicked around in the Town of Bedford recently, while the 56-room Appomattox Inn & Suites was constructed near the new American Civil War Museum and historic battlefields last year. In nearby Farmville, construction is underway on a 106-room Tru by Hilton and a 96-room Holiday Inn Express, while the historic Hotel Weyanoke directly across from Longwood University in the downtown area will be renovated and expanded into a 70-room hotel.
Another big decision for a new hotel is whether it will be a franchise or independent. Choosing to be branded has both benefits (brand recognition, a reservation system, support, training, and marketing) and costs (upfront fees, ongoing royalty fees, and money that must be spent refurbishing and refreshing the hotel periodically to meet brand standards). Embedded within the branding decision, a hotel must also choose what tier or segment of the market it wants to serve, e.g. economy, midscale, upscale, or luxury. There is one quote in the 33-year-old article mentioned above that feels particularly dated, “When a person comes to Lynchburg, he has a perception of the type of property he wants to stay in. If he is a Hilton man, he goes to a Hilton… People don’t shop rates that much.” While this so-called “Hilton man” would make Don Draper proud, I am more of a Hotwire.com man myself, which means that all I do is rate shop. Brand loyalty still exists, but the internet has made shopping rates so easy that competitive rates within your tier are not optional. Lastly, branding decisions aren’t forever. Independent hotels may make the decision to take up a flag, while branded hotels may rebrand or drop their affiliation. The Lynchburg Hilton built in 1980 eventually deflagged and is now the independent Kirkley Hotel, while the historic Virginian Hotel project will be added to the Hilton Curio collection. The downtown Radisson is now the Holiday Inn and the Days Inn is now the La Quinta Inn.
MEASURES OF SUCCESS What does success look like? The two most important inputs are still average daily rates and occupancy rates. A popular hotel metric for comparing properties is RevPAR (Revenue per Available Room), which is calculated by multiplying a hotel’s occupancy rate by the average room rates. For example, an average room rate of $100 and occupancy of 60% equal a RevPAR of 60.0. How do you get this hard data? While anecdotal evidence along the lines of “Hotels are slammed on these weekends, but dead on those weeks” is always available, the STR (Smith Travel Report) is the go-to source in the hotel industry for market data and trends in occupancy levels, room rates, and operating expenses. Potential oversupply could show up in the data as declining occupancy rates and room rates, which could give a hotel developer pause even in a growing market with strong demographic trends. If they still move forward with a new project, the hope is that oversupply is only a temporary state that will soon relent as demand catches up and that their older, poorly maintained, and inconveniently located competitors will feel the effects of increased supply more acutely than their bright, shiny, new hotel.
INSIDER TIP: The Jones Memorial Library is located on the second floor of the Lynchburg Public Library and is an amazing resource for researching local history. It is packed with archives of newspapers, obituaries, city directories, censuses, photographs, and even architectural plans.
LOCATION CLUSTERS Choosing a location for a new hotel remains a key question for any hotel developer. The obvious follow-up question is whether any land is actually available at a feasible cost in their desired location. Of the three new hotel projects that came online in the early 1980s, two chose locations convenient to River 38
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Billy Hansen, MAI serves the Lynchburg area as the principal commercial real estate appraiser of Hansen Realty Advisors, LLC and as an agent with Cushman & Wakefield | Thalhimer. To discuss more, email him at hansenrealtyadvisors@gmail.com.
REAL ESTATE
TAKING INVENTORY
A MODERN FABLE ABOUT (REAL ESTATE) SUPPLY & DEMAND… BY DAN VOL L M ER
O
nce upon a time, in a modest little city, there lived a shopkeeper who owned a modestly successful shoe shop. As one might expect, the meticulous shopkeeper took great care every week to keep record of the available shoes for sale. Furthermore, once a week a truck arrived with a shipment of new shoes for the store to sell. All of this was accounted for in the shopkeeper’s dusty old accounting book. Having owned a shoe shop for many, many years, the shopkeeper was accustomed to both good times and bad. When the people of his city had available income, they often came to him to replace their shoes well before they were nearly worn out. And when times were hard and jobs were less secure, they often made due with what they had. They waited longer to visit his shop. One Monday morning, as the shopkeeper was preparing to open his store, he was counting the pairs of shoes on his shelves. He noticed where he normally had 100 pairs of shoes, on this particular day, he had 90. He thought to himself, “Well! Last week was a busy week indeed! When the truck arrives today, I hope it will have more than enough shoes to fill my shelves…” And later that day, the truck did indeed arrive. Only this time, whereas the truck would normally have had 50 pairs of shoes, on this day it only had 40. The shopkeeper thought to himself, “Hmmm. Last week I sold more pairs of shoes than I expected to sell. And now my supplier has sent me fewer pairs of shoes than normal!” And he noted all this in his dusty old accounting book. Several more weeks passed, and every Monday the shopkeeper noticed more empty spaces on his shelves. At first it was the smaller-sized pairs of shoes. It wasn’t long before he noticed he was missing more of the larger sizes too. And he soon realized another important detail—his customers had noticed too. Then one Monday as the truck with the shipment of new shoes arrived, the shopkeeper looked out his front window and saw there were three customers lined up waiting for him to open. There had not been customers waiting in line for him to open the store in many, many years. Yet here they were, waiting for him to unload the truck and open the store. They wanted to be first to see the new shoes he had. As the weeks passed, every Monday the truck brought a few less pairs of shoes than the week before. Meanwhile, the line outside the door every Monday
grew a little longer and a little longer. Pretty soon, not only was the shopkeeper selling more shoes than he could keep in stock, sometimes more than one customer would want to buy the same pair of shoes! Often the customer who wanted them the most would offer to pay cash. And some would even slip him a few extra dollars! One Sunday afternoon, as the shopkeeper was noting the week’s sales in his dusty old accounting book, he began to flip back through its worn out pages. And there he saw, in the records he had kept so diligently, that many years ago a similar thing had occurred. The number of shoes he sold went up and up. And the number of shoes the truck delivered went down and down. He remembered the lines outside the door, and the customers wrangling to buy the shoes that were in high demand. He even remembered some folks offering him a few extra dollars for the shoes they wanted the most. That was a long time ago. The shopkeeper closed the book, returned it to its shelf, and went in to bed. He needed his sleep. The next day was sure to be a busy one. It would be Monday, and new shoes would be arriving on the truck. And he felt pretty sure there would be more and more customers lining up to buy them.
EPILOGUE I believe there’s a need in every business for sound statistical analysis. We need numerical data to understand the past and forecast the future. But we are also human, and behind every statistic is a story. Or more accurately a collection of stories. I often find a stat and a story go well together. One without the other seems… lacking in some way. The fable I’ve drawn out here is one I use frequently with clients—albeit in an abbreviated form. I think it’s helpful to think of housing inventory in a visual way—such as a store full of shelves. When there are just a few homes to choose from, it’s like you’re looking for something on an empty shelf. When a hot product comes out and folks wait in line to buy it, it’s just like when a new home comes on the market and buyers rush to see it first. And just like retail is cyclical, so is real estate—supply & demand will always ebb and flow. So couple that with the fact that I’m a dad to 4- and 7-year-old girls—the age in which fables abound—and I suppose I’m just in story mode these days. But hey… whether you’re reading Goodnight Moon for the 75th time, or helping buyers and sellers understand the shifting real estate market, you’re never too old to enjoy a good story… Dan Vollmer is an Associate Broker at Re/Max 1st Olympic and member of the Virginia Association of REALTORS Board of Directors. Find him at www.danvollmer.com.
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FINANCIAL
CASH IS KING BUT KINGS DON’T ALWAYS RULE
W
BY J O H N N . H ALL
e’ve all heard the age-old adage that “cash is king.” I’ve used it myself countless times. It’s one of those phrases that can be used to fit different situations and can be used very differently by people with varying interpretations of its meaning. Those of us in the investment business talk so often about asset classes such as stocks, bonds and real estate, but it’s not often that we talk about cash. (And it should be noted that when we refer to cash, we are referring to cash in the bank, not simply paper money under the mattress!) Cash serves an important purpose. It can be good, and it can be bad. So, from a financial planning standpoint, when is cash good? When is cash truly king? I suggest two primary times:
1. Emergency/Liquid Savings Everyone should have some easily accessible (liquid) savings. We often refer to this as emergency savings, but in truth it’s more like practical real-life savings. If you plan, there’s absolutely no reason why most expenses should take you into debt. In other words, if your answer to a sudden vehicle or home repair is that you can put it on your credit card or home equity line, then in my opinion you’re thinking about your finances in an unproductive way. This is the portion of your assets that should be in cash—not in investments. For most people, this amount is a minimum of six months of living expenses.
2. Expenses/Purchases in the Near-Term Is your child starting college in the fall? Is your vacation just around the corner? Have you planned those summer yard projects? These are all expenses that you already know will be happening soon. What asset class is best for these? Cash. There’s no need in a) tying up money for these expenses in illiquid investments or b) risking market fluctuations by having money for these expenses in potentially volatile investments. Might you lose some potential interest or appreciation? Sure. Might you also save yourself from a cash shortfall by having this money in cash-on-hand? Absolutely. Cash is great and arguably necessary for near-term expenses that you know are on the horizon.
So, for your savings account and near-term purchases, cash truly is king. In modern times, however, kings have very little real power. Not only can kings be powerless, but they can also be quite harmful. Without taking the analogy even further past its useful purpose, I’d like to posit that cash in your investment portfolio can sometimes be harmful to your financial health and wellbeing. When might that be?
1. Long-Term Retirement Savings For anyone not already in or nearly approaching retirement, there are usually more productive uses of your retirement savings than cash. Why? Because cash loses value. We know that the return on cash is a flat out guaranteed 0.00%. If you’re lucky, in today’s rate environment, you might be able to increase that slightly. The problem this poses is that items we purchase get more expensive over time. How much more is your health insurance this year than last year, for example? This inflation means that money sitting in cash earning 0.00% is losing purchasing power by the day! Why do that to yourself? “But,” you argue, “the market could crash!” Yes, but let’s not forget that equities aren’t the only alternative to cash. What about short-term bonds and CDs? What about Treasury Inflation Protected Securities (TIPS), as an example? Some of these investments can provide modestly higher returns than cash. In the case of FDIC-insured CDs and U.S. Treasury instruments there’s very little added risk. I’m amazed how often I see large percentages of people’s retirement savings in cash—sometimes 100%. Unless you’re on the cusp of retirement or stuck in a workplace retirement plan with no safe alternative options, I would argue you’re truly doing yourself a disservice.
2. Trading Accounts/Market Timing You’re waiting until “things get better” to put your cash to work. Or maybe you’re trying to “buy the dip.” Do you know exactly when that will be? Neither do I. Study after study shows that average investors and investment professionals alike are unbelievably bad at timing the market. People who spend every waking hour trying to accomplish this often have very little success. Don’t fool yourself into thinking this is a productive way to invest. Keep cash for what it’s needed for, but not as an investment or market-timing strategy. If you’re concerned about volatility, then seek less-volatile investments.
TAKE AWAYS: Cash is best for emergency savings and known near-term expenses. Too little cash set aside for these purposes can be harmful to your financial well-being. Cash is not an investment and should not have a prominent place in your long-term investment portfolio(s). Too much cash set aside for this purpose can also be harmful to your financial wellbeing. Know the purpose of your money, including your cash. This can help you make sure that you don’t have too little or too much stored in the “king” of asset classes. Disclaimer: This article is generalized in nature and should not be considered personalized financial, legal, or tax advice. All information and ideas provided should be discussed in detail with an advisor, accountant or legal counsel prior to implementation. John N. Hall, CFP® is President of Lynchburg Wealth Management, a fee-only financial planning firm headquartered in Lynchburg, Virginia. John can be reached at 434-515-0380 or on the web at www.lynchburgwealth.com.
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LEGAL
RENTING RULES HOW NEW LEGISLATION COULD AFFECT THE AIRBNB EXPERIENCE BY CATHERINE J. HUFF
WHAT IS AIRBNB? A decade ago, if someone planned a trip—for business or pleasure—they usually booked a room in a hotel. At the most, a family or group of friends would rent a beach house for the week and split the cost equally. Now, however, the world of travel is changing. Travelers seek unique experiences, from farflung breweries to Instagram-worthy restaurants. Similarly, travelers want a unique lodging experience that lets them get to know the cities they visit on a more personal level. Enter Airbnb, an online marketplace that connects individuals who wish to rent their homes with travelers who are looking for short-term lodging. Founded in 2008, Airbnb is part of the growing shared economy, also known as “collaborative consumption,” in which consumers can rent rooms, cars and other goods directly from one another through a coordinating entity.
HOW DOES IT WORK? Travelers visit www.airbnb.com, where they can quickly input their desired location and dates of stay. They are then given an extensive list of possible rentals, from single rooms to whole houses to even castles, if they desire. A quick search on the website on May 1 revealed 92 rentals available in the Lynchburg and surrounding areas for college graduation weekend. Some of the rentals even noted their proximity to Liberty University and availability for graduation. Click on a rental that interests you and you are directed to a description of the property, photographs, amenities, “house rules,” a description and rating of the owner, and more. Because of the variety of rentals available, travelers can select what best suits them based upon the size of their party, length of stay and desired cost.
AIRBNB IS NOT JUST FOR THE VACATION CROWD Originally, Airbnb attracted tourists who were seeking more economical lodging options, a unique experience, or both. In recent years, however, Airbnb has been attracting a larger market of business travelers. According to airbnb.com, employees from more than 240,000 companies in over 230 countries and territories are now using the service for business travel. With businessfriendly receipts, filter options to find ideal accommodations, and a third-party booking tool, we can expect continued growth in this area of Airbnb’s market.
NEW VIRGINIA LEGISLATION Not everyone, however, is in favor of this new travel experience. Hoteliers and owners of smaller bed-and-breakfast outfits pay substantial taxes on the services they provide. Private property owners who rent their space on Airbnb, however, are not subject to similar taxes and regulation. This conflict has lead to recent efforts to determine how best to regulate this new sharing economy. On March 24, 2017, Governor Terry McAuliffe signed legislation that will empower local governments to regulate short-term rentals like those offered on Airbnb. Senate Bill 1578, sponsored by Senate Majority Leader Thomas K. Norment, Jr., R-James City, allows localities to require those who use short-term rental sites like Airbnb to pay a fee to register their property annually and to require a fine up to $500 for those who fail to do so. The legislation further provides that a local ordinance may prohibit an operator of a short-term rental from continuing to rent the property unless and until any fine owed is paid. Additionally, property owners who wish to use short-term rental services like Airbnb must obtain a bed-andbreakfast ABC license if they wish to serve alcohol to guests. Norment’s bill was one of three proposals submitted to regulate this industry. One of the bills, pitched by Airbnb itself, proposed that the company would directly provide localities with the names and addresses of renters, coordinate tax collection and payouts to the localities, and provide a mechanism for localities to subpoena Airbnb to cross-check their registries with Airbnb’s data. The other proposal was a bill from Senator Bill Stanley, R-Franklin County. His bill would require homeowners to register with the state Board of Health, notify their neighbors of their intent to rent their property, seek permission from the locality in which the rental would occur, and obtain a $500,000 liability insurance policy. The penalty for renting where it is not permissible to do so? A whopping $10,000. Ultimately, Virginia lawmakers preferred Norment’s bill, which will take effect July 1, 2017. Thereafter, expect localities to begin work on their own regulations in an effort to level the playing field between short-term renters, hotels and bed-and-breakfast operations. Cate Huff is a partner who practices in the Employment, Insurance and Workers’ Compensation practice groups at Gentry Locke and has litigated in federal and state courts throughout Virginia. Cate represents companies against discrimination and workplace claims and advises businesses in the restaurant and hospitality industry on employment and other issues. Cate was named a Virginia Rising Star by Virginia Super Lawyers and was honored as a Legal Elite by Virginia Business magazine.
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Woods RogeRs edmunds & Williams Woods Rogers Edmunds & Williams helps business and individual clients in Virginia and beyond grow and protect their assets. Visit www.woodsrogers.com for more information about our team of 75 attorneys and 19 practice areas.
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Woods RogeRs edmunds & Williams Lynchburg, VA | 434-846-9000 www.woodsrogers.com Other Offices: Roanoke, Charlottesville, Richmond, Danville
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The Law Office of Fairchild & Yoder, PLLC is dedicated to quality representation, client satisfaction, and long term relationships. We approach each client’s situation as a team to ensure our clients receive the best service possible. Our practice areas include: residential and commercial real estate closings, family law and elder law, comprehensive estate planning, business law, civil litigation, and immigration.
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BUSINESS PROFILE OVER
BUSINESS
SMYTH COMPANIES
TEN YEARS
CONTINUING A BEDFORD TRADITION, ONE LABEL AT A TIME STORY AND P HOTOS BY M ERIDITH DE AVI LA KHAN
Ryan Allison, VP of Operations, stands in front of the company’s Bedford facility, the former Piedmont Label Company.
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BUSINESS PROFILE
AT A GLANCE Founded: 1877 Number of Employees: Over 100 Located: 311 W Depot St., Bedford Signs of Growth: $4.6 million investment in new printing equipment, received $25,000 grant from Bedford EDA
ABOVE: A Smyth Companies employee pulls a printed sheet off the press to check for color accuracy during a production run.
R
yan Allison, VP of Operations for Smyth Companies’ Bedford offset printing location, walks energetically through his plant floor, greeting his employees with questions about their kids, asking how a family member is doing after surgery, joking with another employee with some good natured ribbing, and even carrying on conversations in Spanish at times. Allison and his family relocated from Florida a year ago, but you’d think it was longer, the way he interacts with his Bedford team. Allison has joined a company with a long history, both locally and in the national packaging industry. Smyth Companies was founded in 1877 in Minneapolis; in 1998, it acquired Bedford’s Piedmont Label Company, a fixture in the community since 1919. After Smyth acquired Piedmont, the company donated over 10,000 vintage labels to the Blue Ridge Institute & Museum’s permanent collection. Today, Smyth is still located in the old Piedmont building on Depot Street in Bedford.
“The really, biggest aspect for me that I’m proud of is that it’s been such a bedrock in the community since 1919,” says Allison. “It’s carried over after the acquisition, as a strong employer in the area for many generations. That’s something to be very proud of, to continue that legacy.”
CUTTING EDGE LABELS Smyth is one of the foremost printers of labels in the industry—they create pressure sensitive labels, shrink-wrap and flexible labels, among many other options—and they’re continuing to invest in new technology to meet modern demands. You’ll recognize their work—their package labels can be seen on products ranging from automotive to consumer goods, and canned goods. A 2011 acquisition of Dow Industries further expanded their operation. The Bedford location specifically handles offset printing, but as a company, Smyth has stayed ahead of the pack for label innovation. Their company creates pressure-sensitive labels (think labels on glass beverages or plastic containers of motor oil), and flexible, printed plastic packaging (such as a bag of beef jerky). On a recent visit to the firm, Allison shows off a new machine, a multimillion dollar investment to keep Smyth at the forefront of their industry. He explains how it works with an excitement that’s contagious; it’s a digital offset machine that allows for different labels to be combined on the same printing job and has built-in sensors that will automatically adjust output to correct ink density, for instance. For those who aren’t in the printing business, this is a huge improvement over the previous machines that required stopping, manually adjusting ink density, and restarting. It’s not just the faster technology, but the fact that this new press will not only reduce paper waste but also increase printing capacity by nearly 20 percent compared to previous machines that print a single job at a time. JUNE/JULY 2017
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BUSINESS PROFILE
The average tenure for Smyth employees is 25 years; this number speaks to the loyalty of their employees but also means that as more workers retire, the pressure is on to fill those skilled positions.
ABOVE: Smyth Companies employees pose for a photo in Minneapolis in 1880, a few years after the company was founded. LEFT: General Manager Allen Cheek has been with the company for over 40 years.
IMPROVING THEIR COMMUNITY Smyth employs over a hundred people at the Bedford location; in addition
Allison says, “We’re currently talking to Bedford County
to printing, die cutting and packaging the labels, there’s an entire creative team
EDA and trying to get entrenched with the Bedford
that works with clients to prepare pre-press files.
“Smyth, as a company, is celebrating 140 years this year, and it’s neat to be part of such a long tradition and providing so many jobs to the community. The ability to do what we do every day—we pride ourselves on who we are: a world-class provider of products and labels. Being able to differentiate our customer’s products at the retail level. That’s something that I’m proud of, working at Smyth,” says Allison. Investing in their local community is also important to Smyth Companies. One problem that many manufacturing businesses are facing is an aging workforce. Allison says the average tenure for his employees is 25 years; this number speaks to the loyalty of Smyth employees but also means that as more workers retire, the pressure is on to fill those skilled positions. 48
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One Program, to develop tours for high schoolers of the facility. We’re trying to bring that back and partner with community colleges to develop a print technician program so employees could take classes on the technology.” These efforts have not gone unnoticed. “[Smyth’s] recent investment of $4.6 million in state-of-the-art press equipment and 16 new jobs in Bedford shows that it continues to believe in the quality of the workforce here,” said Traci Blido, Bedford County Economic Development Director, in a recent email. The Bedford EDA awarded a $25,000 grant to Smyth in 2016 in recognition of those investments. About Bedford, Allison says, “We’re here to stay, and we look forward to a future of growth.”
HUMAN RESOURCES
Consider starting at the beginning. Orientation is what you do on your first day with your new hires. Completing W-4’s, direct deposit, and I-9 forms are “orientation-type” activities. Does your New Employee Orientation Program include more than that? It can certainly contain the elements of completing all of the required paperwork, but what else should be included? Ask yourself: What are the important things new employees need to know about your organization and its culture, and who do they need to meet before they start working? Build your orientation program around these items. Here’s an easy one: Is your new employee’s workstation (desk, area on shop floor, etc.) welcoming, clean, well-stocked and containing all of the essentials the employee will need? For example, take steps to ensure if the employee needs a phone and a computer that those items are ready and waiting. This is
Essential Elements of
EMPLOYEE RETENTION BY PAU L KO PAC K
H
ave you ever wondered why some of your organization’s new hires are not a good fit and leave in less than a year? If so, you’re not alone.
THE IMPACT
According to Julie Kantnor, President and CEO of Twomentor, LLC, losing a
Millennial employee can cost the company $15,000 to $25,000. It’s actually a lot more when you weigh in a few additional variables. A study by the Society for Human Resource Management states that employers will need to spend the equivalent of six to nine months of an employee’s salary in order to find and train their replacement. That means an employee salaried at $60,000 will cost the company anywhere from $30,000 to $45,000 to hire and train a replacement. Other research shows the average costs could be even higher. In a study conducted by the Center for America Progress, the cost of losing an employee can be anywhere from 16 percent of their salary for hourly, unsalaried employees, to 213 percent of the salary for a highly trained position. Whew! So, what’s an organization to do?
ORIENTATION: It’s a Start When new employees start working at your organization, what’s that experience like? A gamut of answers may have come to mind, from “not much” to “a fairly comprehensive orientation program.” If your answer is, “We’re probably not where we’d like to be”—don’t despair. Most of us either have been or are currently in this place. Or, some might say, “We don’t have time for a formal orientation program.” I would counter with, “You don’t have the time or the money not to have a formal orientation program.” Recall the employee turnover statistics referenced above.
certainly preferable to having your new employee hunt for these essential tools. Does your organization offer your employees any branded items such as pens, mugs or t-shirts? If so, have them available on day one for your new employees. Introduce the policies, procedures, functions, and people that your new employees need to know up-front. Remember, we want to “set our employees up for success.” To quote the late Maya Angelou, “I’ve learned that people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel.” This is certainly the case with your new employees.
ONBOARDING: Making an Investment Another way to increase the likelihood that you will retain new employees is to create an onboarding program. New employees, particularly those who recently graduated from a technical or clinical program, may very much appreciate an opportunity to “shadow” a veteran employee or two for a period of time. Using newly-acquired skills learned in academia, and then suddenly applying them on the job, is a daunting proposition for most of us. Human Resources should partner with the organization’s business leaders to create a structured, customized onboarding schedule for the new employee to shadow, learn, ask questions, and receive answers from their fellow employees before we expect them to fly solo. Who are the people your new employee needs to meet and the systems your new employee needs to know? Tailor an onboarding program to the new hire’s position. It could last anywhere from a couple of weeks to a couple of months. This will help build an employee’s knowledge, skill level, confidence and networking contacts in their new organization.
WHAT’S IN IT FOR ME? Try crafting new hire orientation and onboarding programs, and compare the results against the turnover of your employees who did not receive these programs. It’s like anything else—the more time and attention you put in to it, the better your result. Ask your new employees for feedback and incorporate it into your programs. They will appreciate your efforts. Paul Kopack is the Director of Human Resources at Johnson Health Center and is the Lynchburg Regional Society for Human Resources Management’s President-Elect. Follow his blog at thehrmeister.wordpress.com
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MADE IN LYNCHBURG
HIGHLIGHTING LOCAL PRODUCTS AND MANUFACTURING THROUGHOUT THE REGION 2000 PARTNERSHIP
INTERCON, INC. CUSTOM CABLE ASSEMBLIES & WIRE HARNESSING Intercon has carved its niche by providing custom cable assemblies, wire harnesses and electromechanical sub-assemblies to manufacturers since 1987. With 100 employees, the company prides itself on the capability to build overmolded cables, discrete wire harnesses, radio frequency (coax) cables, fiber optic cable assemblies, flat cable assemblies, and conduit cables according to customer specifications. Intercon’s products support numerous industries including factory automation, life sustaining medical
devices, commercial kitchen appliances, satellite systems, railway safety and the elite military. “We’re proud to have served the Nation in wartime, specializing in custom cables for defense and physical protection to our homeland security and armed forces,” said Vice President Joe Stephens. PICTURED: RF Cable Assemblies (above), wire harness (left), fiber optic assembly (middle), overmolded assembly (right)
434-525-3390 | www.interconinc.com
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Do you know of a product manufactured locally? Let us know at shelley@lynchburgmag.com.
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