Roanoke Business- October 2016

Music and money p. 17

OCTOBER 2016

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growing downtown

Roanoke’s core is expanding and evolving

Accidental Roanoker p. 26

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CONTENTS SERVING THE ROANOKE/BLACKSBURG/ NEW RIVER VALLEY REGION

October 2016

F E AT U R E S COVER STORY

8

Growing downtown

Roanoke’s core is expanding and evolving, but its success offers new challenges. by Mason Adams

8

BANKING Business credit

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Credit unions are making more business loans.

by Jenny Boone

SPECIAL REPORT: ENTERTAINMENT Music and money

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The region’s increased number of entertainment venues attracts revenue and buzz.

by Mason Adams

HIGHER EDUCATION Virginia’s first community college

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Virginia Western celebrates 50 years of education and workforce development.

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by Shawna Morrison

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INTERVIEW: Ted Feinour Executive vice president Dixon, Hubard, Feinour and Brown Inc.

Accidental Roanoker Ted Feinour’s career is working with people and working in the community. by Beth JoJack

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COMMUNITY PROFILE Floyd County finds its niche Music, food and an eclectic mix of businesses. by Gene Marrano

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OCTOBER 2016

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NEWS FROM THE CHAMBER • Leadership Roanoke Valley Class of 2017 Selected • Chamber Champions • Event sponsorships • New members • Member news & recognitions

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FROM THE EDITOR

Business law

I

by Tim Thornton

n July, Virginia Attorney General Mark Herring came to Virginia Western Community College for what the Roanoke Regional Chamber called a public safety forum.

Herring, who is running for a second term, declared himself “a pro-business attorney general” who wakes up every day thinking about how he can use the law to make Virginia the best state to live in, to raise a family and to grow a business.

Some of Herring’s topics were clearly and directly related to business. He talked about establishing regulations that treat Uber and similar ride-sharing businesses like businesses. He said he has the tools now to aggressively pursue patent trolls who engage in what Herring called a “21stcentury shakedown.”

But Herring talked about other issues, too – sexual assault, domestic violence, police shootings and relations between police forces and the communities they patrol. He also talked about the growing problem of opioid abuse.

In 2007, 491 people died from opioid overdoses in Virginia. In 2014, the commonwealth had 733 opioid-related deaths, more than the number of people who died on Virginia’s highways that year. In 2015, according to the Virginia Department of Health, 801 people died from opioid use in Virginia.

The attorney general’s office is involved in all sorts of efforts to combat that, from going after heroin dealers and doctors who are too ready to dispense powerful painkillers, pushing for prevention and rehabilitation programs and even producing a documentary about opioid abuse.

The chamber sponsored the event, President and CEO Joyce Waugh told the 7:30 a.m. gathering, because Herring’s topics — particularly his focus on opioid use — matter to businesses. “If people cannot find people who can pass a drug test,” Waugh said, “that’s a workforce issue.”

Of course it is, but, as most successful business people know, Herring’s other topics are business issues, too.

Potential customers who don’t feel secure aren’t likely to spend a lot of time browsing and shopping. Employees who don’t feel safe — because they think the police can’t protect them and their loved ones or they believe they need protection from the police, along with employees who suffer domestic violence — are not likely to be as focused and efficient as they could be. It’s difficult for workers to put in a full day’s work when they’re afraid of the drive home or what waits for them when they get there.

Keeping people safe and making sure laws are applied uniformly and fairly are basic government functions. It’s as critical to business success as roads and other infrastructure are – and it’s something forward-thinking businesses should be at least as concerned about as they are about tax rates and insurance premiums.

4

OCTOBER 2016

SERVING THE ROANOKE/BLACKSBURG/ NEW RIVER VALLEY REGION Vol. 5

OCTOBER 2016

President & Publisher Roanoke Business Editor Contributing Editor Contributing Writers

Art Director Contributing Photographers

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

No. 10

Bernard A. Niemeier Tim Thornton Paula C. Squires Mason Adams Jenny Boone Beth JoJack Gene Marrano Shawna Morrison Adrienne R. Watson Don Petersen Matt Ross Natalee Waters Kevin L. Dick Karen Chenault Ashley Henry Hunter Bendall Lynn Williams

CONTACT: EDITORIAL: (540) 520-2399 ADVERTISING: (540) 597-2499 210 S. Jefferson St., Roanoke, VA 24011-1702 We welcome your feedback.

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on the cover Roanoke City Market Downtown Roanoke Photo by Don Petersen

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

Oct. 6 30th Annual Small Business of the Year Awards Dinner The Hotel Roanoke & Conference Center

The Roanoke Regional Chamber recognizes the accomplishments of small businesses in the Greater Roanoke Region at the 30th Annual Small Business Awards program. For more information, call 540-983-0700, e-mail business@ RoanokeChamber.org or visit

www.RoanokeChamber.org.

Oct. 8 Blacksburg Brew Do 1600 Innovation Drive in the Virginia Tech Corporate Research Center

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Oct. 28 RBTC Fall Gala Inn at Virginia Tech

The Roanoke-Blacksburg Technology Council’s 2016 Fall Gala features the annual State of the RBTC address, dinner, a keynote speaker and an after party. This year’s keynoter is Erik Pages, president of EntreWorks Consulting and co-author of the regional Innovation Blueprint.

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ROANOKE BUSINESS

7

COVER STORY

Downtown Roanoke can be a lively place for commerce and camaraderie.

Growing downtown

Roanoke’s core is expanding and evolving, but its success offers new challenges

by Mason Adams

Y

oung professionals and empty nesters flocking to new apartments in renovated warehouses and office buildings swelled downtown Roanoke’s population from fewer than 50 at the turn of the millennium to more than 1,700 today.

That growth, a series of public

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OCTOBER 2016

and private investments and the resulting changes to how businesses function downtown have not only turned the district into Roanoke’s crown jewel but also attracted the attention of a new wave of restaurants and retail businesses who spy a growing customer base.

“I think residential growth has

made it more attractive for new businesses downtown,” says Tina Workman, executive director of Downtown Roanoke Inc. “We have added a downtown drugstore, Roanoke Natural Foods Co-op and several other retailers to the mix of offerings. We have seen retailers extend their hours past the typical Photo by Don Petersen

5 p.m. closure to meet the demands of their patrons.”

While it is difficult to get solid numbers about the economic impact of this growing population, Downtown Roanoke does collect revenue from the city’s special service district tax of 10 cents per $100 of value. That figure has grown from about $330,000 in 2009 to $557,000 last year. However, last year’s figure also includes new areas added with the City Council’s expansion of the downtown district in 2012, so the comparison isn’t apples to apples. The figures also

don’t represent the many downtown buildings that have temporary tax abatements.

Yet there’s no question, leaders say, that downtown is growing economically, and that new residents are contributing to that growth.

Workman says the average age of a downtown resident is 33 with an average annual income of $50,000.

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the per capita income across the city from 2010 to 2014 was less than $24,000.

Despite the success and potential for more future growth, the pioneer wave of businesses targeting downtown residents faces challenges in developing a still uncertain market.

Take the Roanoke Natural Foods Co-op, which in 2013 opened a satellite location on the corner of the Historic Roanoke City Market.

“The biggest catalyst” to open the new outlet, says John Bryant, the co-op’s marketing manager, “was the location. Beyond that, it’s an upand-coming market. I don’t think you’d find a larger chain opening a grocery store in downtown Roanoke anytime soon. It’s an opportunity. We knew that with the [anchor] store on Grandin Road, we could give it a few years to grow into a self-sustaining profitable business.

It’s making its own money now.”

Getting to the point of profitability, however, took a few years and relentless tweaking of its product offerings.

“When we first started out, we wanted to make it a one-stop grocery shop,” Bryant says. “We had a lot of the items we had at Grandin, just in lesser quantity. It was really confusing, honestly, walking through a store with 2,000 items in only 800 square feet.”

Today, that selection has been winnowed down to a smaller selection of items that actually sell. Bryant says the average transaction at the downtown store is $8, which suggests most customers are using it more like a convenience store than

a grocery store. It’s added popular items like an all-natural smoothie machine, and it has a selection of on-the-go foods.

Bryant says the co-op has seen a few families who faithfully buy their groceries at the downtown co-op.

That may represent the store’s future — or it may remain a convenience store with a larger-than-average selection of food. In recent years, two other grocery stores opened downtown, but neither survived long. It’s hard to change customers’ habits, especially if those habits predate the wider availability of retail products downtown.

In 2014, the co-op was joined by Downtown Drug, the district’s first pharmacy. Most retailers still aim for a broader customer base, but some are making changes or additions to attract more residents. For example, Davidsons Clothing has maintained a downtown location since 1910 despite decades of competing against mall stores and, more recently, online retailers.

Four years ago, Davidsons leased space in the front of the store to Jack’s, which offers grooming and valet services for men. Since opening, Jack’s has grown to include eight stations, and Larry Davidson says the steady traffic for the barbershop has brought new customers to his clothing business as well.

Smaller shops The retail sector is evolving, says Joyce Waugh, president and CEO of the Roanoke Regional Chamber of Commerce. “The smaller spaces tend to be filled in more quickly. It’s almost the opposite of the mall, where the big stores are the anchors. In downtown, the bigger banks are the anchors, surrounded by a lot of small shops.”

David Trinkle, a two-time vice mayor and member of City Council since 2006, owns two restaurants, Fork in the Market in the heart of downtown, as well as Fork in the Alley. He used to own Fork in the City, which closed a year after he sold it.

That sort of churn is not uncommon in the restaurant industry, esROANOKE BUSINESS

9

Cover Story pecially in an increasingly crowded downtown. Another example: Ernie’s operated from the 1980s until closing in 2013, at which point its space was taken by Jack Brown’s Beer and Burger Joint. This year, however, one of Ernie’s old co-owners announced plans to reopen the restaurant in a space that was until recently occupied

by Blues BBQ Co. Fork in the Market sits in a corner of the City Market Building, a cityowned building that received a $7.9 million makeover in 2010.

“When the Market Building reopened, it was almost as if nobody knew it was open. It took a while,” Trinkle says. “Now it seems there are more people than two to three years ago.”

One of the restaurant’s best business days is Sunday, a day that used to signify an empty downtown. “We love Sundays,” Trinkle says. “For a while it was just us and Nawab [a nearby Indian restaurant]. Now it’s more and more. More restaurants and retail

David Trinkle says his downtown restaurant does great business on Sundays — a day downtown used to be dead.

shops are open on Sundays.”

Busier Sundays signify a broader shift in how downtown Roanoke does business. Through the 20th century and into the early 2000s, downtown served as a commercial and industrial center, open during 9-to-5 business hours. Its bars attracted customers on weekend nights, and festivals drew visitors on Saturdays, but otherwise

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the district was inactive on evenings and Sundays. Residential growth has changed that.

Besides the City Market Building, city government made a series of capital investments – $6 million for renovations and a new amphitheater in Elmwood Park; $6 million to update the Market Garage, which led to construction of a 127-room Hampton Inn & Suites above it, and $600,000 to transform Market Square, a key public space in front of the Market Building, from a surface parking lot into a pedestrian plaza.

Those public investments – along with private ones such as the $27 million renovation of Center in the Square, a multistory building beside Market Square that’s filled with museums – reinvigorated the downtown core and made it into a showpiece for visitors.

“Our downtown area is the place where, if you have people coming in from out of town, that’s where you take them,” says City Councilwoman Michelle Dykstra, who from 2013 to 2016 managed the City Market Building. “It’s important it be a centerpiece. It’s important it look good and be active and vibrant. Residents really help that.”

When economic development officials at the Roanoke Regional Partnership give tours to business prospects, they always include a visit downtown. “To see how alive Roanoke is downtown, there’s few who can claim what we have,” says Dennis Cronk, president and CEO of Poe & Cronk Real Estate Group in Roanoke.

“Things go on downtown that attract employers like Deschutes and Ballast Point [West Coast breweries that have announced plans to build production facilities in the Roanoke Valley].

That’s attractive to employers. They want to be where young people are.”

People continue to move downtown as new rental apartment complexes open in former warehouses or office buildings renovated with state and federal historic tax credits.

Last year, developer Lucas Thornton announced he would invest $10 million in construction of 85 residential Photos by Don Petersen

apartments and nearly 7,000 square feet of commercial space on a former surface parking lot at Williamson Road and Tazewell Avenue.

Yet downtown also faces challenges in the future. As the mix of businesses and residences continues to shift and evolve, many feel that Roanoke needs more retail and office space to better balance the mix.

“First and foremost, we’ve got to remember this is an urban downtown center that makes Roanoke, Roanoke,” Trinkle says. “We want to make it easy for commercial and retail and restaurants. That mix is what makes it an urban hub. We really need activity and reasons for non-residents to go downtown. Part of that is retail. My wife says what we need downtown is more people with bags on their arms.”

Will retail follow rooftops?

Brick-and-mortar retailers face immense challenges, not just from competition at the malls but from internet commerce. For that reason, as

The Hampton Suites construction followed the city’s updating of the Market Garage.

Roanoke real estate executive Dennis Cronk says scarce parking inhibits large businesses downtown.

well as the still relatively small population in and around downtown, you won’t likely see Banana Republic or other chain retailers opening big stores in downtown Roanoke.

“If I can buy a shirt in my living room, why would I worry about going to a store?” says Brian Townsend,

assistant city manager for community development. “Forget downtown, I’m talking about the citywide retail tax base. That’s a bigger issue than just retail downtown. Our retail downtown will almost always be local, niche, small-scale stuff.”

Then there’s the challenge of office space. Many vacant office buildings already have been converted into apartments. Changes to workflow stemming from technological advances have shifted how companies use office space, too. Allstate relocated 250 jobs from Roanoke County to downtown, for instance, but it also allows employees to work from home on Mondays and Fridays.

Cronk is part of the group marketing the building that until 2015 was occupied by Norfolk Southern administration. He says one of his biggest challenges is helping prospects locate enough downtown parking to accommodate 500 or more workers.

“Our firm has a real interest in being able to overcome any objections by potential buyers, and the first question that comes up is parking,” Cronk says. “We cannot attract large office users to move into downtown unless the city’s prepared to make a commitment of a number of parking spaces for their employees.”

Townsend, who notes that the city controls about 4,400 parking spaces downtown, said the Norfolk Southern building “was a unique ROANOKE BUSINESS

11

Cover Story circumstance. It had been about half full for 10 years, and the railroad provided parking for employees on property it owned … Whoever buys the Norfolk Southern building has to come to the table with an understanding that the parking solution will be mutil-faceted and multi-locational. That’s what our system is set up to be.”

The Valley Metro system runs out of downtown, and Amtrak passenger rail service will arrive in 2017. Aside from the occasional millennial using a skateboard to get around, however, downtown residents still rely on their cars, both to commute to jobs outside downtown and to obtain groceries and supplies not otherwise available.

“Almost all of them have at least one vehicle per household,” Townsend says of downtown residents, “so they’re not limited to where they can go for economic activity.”

In fact, Townsend suggests that the biggest beneficiary of the growth in downtown living isn’t even located

downtown, but several miles away at Towers Shopping Center on Colonial Avenue SW. Following a renovation in 2015, it’s home to a Kroger, CVS, Fresh Market, ABC liquor store and other amenities. The mall’s central location makes it convenient not just to residents downtown, but to those in the South Roanoke and Old Southwest neighborhoods.

“I’m shocked at how Towers has turned around, even since we’ve been back here,” says Dykstra, a city native who returned to the region in 2008. “In eight years they’ve almost filled that entire space. I think the downtown population growth and not having a full grocery store downtown has affected Towers.”

As president of the Mountain View Neighborhood Association, Dykstra also is concerned with another challenge facing downtown – hard geographic boundaries that may limit its potential growth. Aside from a few key properties such as the centrally located Heironimus

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OCTOBER 2016

building, most of the downtown core has been redeveloped. The railroad and Interstate 581 limit growth to the north and east, respectively.

To the south, Elm Avenue serves as the traditional edge of downtown.

Yet in 2012 the City Council expanded the downtown district down Jefferson Street to include Carilion Roanoke Memorial Hospital, Rivers Edge Sports Complex, Virginia Tech Carilion School of Medicine and Research Institute, and the Bridges, a 22-acre site that’s being turned into a multimillion dollar mixed-use development. The expansion gives downtown room to grow south, albeit around the railroad, river and I-581.

The most obvious direction for growth is to the west. The downtown service district currently ends at Fifth Street SW, but the Mountain View and West End neighborhoods beyond that boundary offer opportunities for more revitalization and a firmer link with Grandin Village.

“If you go to the west, there aren’t those physical barriers,” Townsend says. But it’s not without its challenges, too. “That’s an area that’s suffered more economically in the past and has further to come back.”

The last 20 years have seen a technological shift that’s dramatically disrupted the global economy and the way people live. The growth of the internet and advances in the devices used to access it have decentralized commerce and shifted the essential functions of urban cores.

“Downtowns will become what technology allows,” Townsend said.

“The traditional downtown had a densely developed core, then dropped off and had neighborhoods around it. Over the next 20 years, you will have a harder time discerning where downtown begins and ends. The core will be less intensely developed, with more residential, more commercial and more development on the fringe because it provides flexible space.

You will see what people perceive as a spreading out and maturation of downtown on the edges. There will be a blurring.”

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Mark Hudzik, Member One’s first director of business lending, says the economy — the Great Recession and the recovery — is driving the interest and the need for more business lending.

14

OCTOBER 2016

BANKING

Business credit Credit unions are making more business loans

by Jenny Boone

S

everal years ago, when a business owner went shopping for a loan, the owner may not have considered a credit union.

That mindset is changing.

Roanoke-based Member One Federal Credit Union launched a new business banking program last year, and small- and medium-size businesses responded quickly.

“I feel like somebody left the barn door open,” says Mark Hudzik, Member One’s director of business lending.

Member One’s story is a microcosm of what’s happening in credit unions in Virginia and nationally. They are launching or expanding business lending programs — to the frustration of the competing banking industry.

It’s a natural progression for Member One, particularly as the once slow economy has picked up, and some small businesses are on the rise, Hudzik says.

“We’ve seen downsizing of companies and companies leaving,” he says. “People get left behind.

They aren’t always able to obtain employment again for that skill set. A lot of our members have started small businesses.” Also, as the economy has improved, “a lot of people are trying to take their businesses to the next level,” Hudzik adds.

Yet, as credit unions expand their lending powers, a cap remains that limits the amount of money that these financial institutions can lend to a business. Credit unions can lend only up to 12.25 percent Photo by Matt Ross

of their total assets, according to legislation enacted in 1998 that allowed credit unions nationally to diversify membership groups.

For the past several years, the credit union industry has been pushing Congress to extend this cap. In January, a new ruling by the National Credit Union Administration will go into place that gives credit unions more autonomy in business lending. The ruling lifts limits on construction and development loans and exempts credit unions with assets of less than $250 million and those with small commercial loan portfolios from certain requirements. It also does not require credit unions to have a personal guarantee, which occurs when a business owner forms a separate entity — such as a limited liability company — to guard against personal financial risks.

Still, the ruling does not cover all credit union needs, such as raising the lending cap, says David Miles, senior vice president at the Virginia Credit Union League, a trade association that has offices in Lynchburg and Richmond and represents the industry. “As credit unions have grown and consolidated with mergers, their capacity from an underwriting standpoint and ability to manage risk is increasing,” Miles says.

“The cap in particular does create obstacles for credit unions to be able to grow and diversify their portfolios.”

Even so, the lending limitation

is not deterring some Roanoke Valley and state credit unions from launching and expanding commercial programs and services.

More than one-third of the state’s 146 credit unions offer business lending services, while such loans are one of the fastest growing segments of credit unions’ portfolios, Miles says.

Roanoke-based Freedom First Credit Union, with nine retail branches in the Roanoke and New River valleys, plans to open a new location at 102 Campbell Ave. in downtown Roanoke in November to serve as headquarters for its business banking and commercial lending division. The branch will employ 15 people who all will work in this division specifically, says Steve Hildebrand, vice president of marketing for Freedom First.

The credit union has been building its business lending brand in the Roanoke and New River valleys for several years. Its representatives often meet with business owners who come to the Roanoke Regional Small Business Development Center, which offers training and education programs for entrepreneurs.

“We do work with them regularly in regards to talking with clients, working through the process, meeting with them,” says Tom Tanner, a senior business counselor with the center. “They [Freedom First] are very active in the business community. They are interested in helping small businesses.” Freedom First declined ROANOKE BUSINESS

15

Banking to comment on its commercial lending program.

Meanwhile, Member One’s business lending services are picking up steam, though Hudzik would not reveal specific loan numbers. “The pipeline has a lot of loans in it,” he says.

The credit union began creating this program three years ago, after promoting Hudzik, who has worked at Member One for more than 20 years, to be the credit union’s first director of business lending. For two years, the credit union researched and built its program, visiting other credit unions for tips. Hudzik even enrolled in courses on business lending, and he continues to take them. “It’s not a switch that you turn on overnight,” he says. “It was a lot of due diligence.”

Member One’s 12 branches in the Roanoke and New River valleys refer businesses seeking loans to Hudzik, who works with

entrepreneurs to evaluate business models, balance sheets, cash flow and more. Two other Member One employees work in the business lending department.

“Our position is safety and soundness first,” Hudzik says. “You always want to manage portfolio risk. We need to make sure that we are making safe loans. In the world of business lending, if cash doesn’t flow, the loan doesn’t go.”

Most credit unions in Virginia lend money to small businesses, with the average loan totaling about $240,000, says Miles of the Virginia Credit Union League. “If you are making loans of that size, you have to have some size yourself to be able to risk that,” he says.

Even so, banks largely are opposed to efforts by credit union groups to raise the business lending cap. Credit unions, including many in Virginia, are growing at a rate that is out of line with their original mission — to serve

a specific population of people — says Bruce Whitehurst, president and CEO of the Virginia Bankers Association. “There is no rhyme or reason that business lending would fit into that,” he says, citing the approximately 6,000 banks in the country and 130 in Virginia that offer “sound” business loans.

Also, the nation’s not-for-profit credit unions do not pay taxes, while banks do. “They [credit unions] continue to press to expand powers, but they don’t want to have conversations about paying their fair share of taxes,” Whitehurst says. “We will remain at odds until there is a comprehensive solution that levels the playing field.”

Miles says credit union lobbying efforts will not stop anytime soon, because small business is a “growth sector. We believe from a consumer standpoint that raising the cap [on business lending] would have more benefit to the general economy,” he says.

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OCTOBER 2016

SPECIAL REPORT: ENTERTAINMENT The Mavericks are among a list of performers who’ve played the Harvester Performance Center that includes Robert Earl Keen, Arlo Guthrie and Merle Haggard.

Music and money

The region’s increased number of entertainment venues attracts revenue and buzz

by Mason Adams

T

he Roanoke region has rebranded itself as an outdoors destination over the past half-decade and at the same time has developed into a musical hot spot.

Music venues have popped up so rapidly it’s hard to believe the 2008 Roanoke City Council election split in part over the question of whether to build an amphitheater in Elmwood Park or along the Roanoke River.

Today, both sites are home to outdoor music venues that book a steady stream of acts through the warmer months. The Berglund Center — formerly known as the Roanoke Civic Center — is up-

Photo by Donna Winge

grading its facilities, and the Jefferson Center continues to serve as a cultural anchor for live music and performance.

Half an hour to the south, the town of Rocky Mount in Franklin County bought, refurbished and opened the Harvester Performance Center, which now books a steady stream of national acts. In the next county to the west, the Floyd Country Store is operating under new ownership with renewed dedication to live music. FloydFest, a multiday music festival, annually attracts crowds of more than 15,000 to see a variety of national touring acts, many of whom eventually return to play smaller regional ven-

ues. And across the Roanoke and New River valleys, bars and restaurants regularly open their doors to a wide variety of musical styles.

That’s a dramatic departure since the early ’90s, when Dylan Locke began booking music in Blacksburg. Since then, he worked at the Jefferson Center for 13 years until 2014, when he left to buy and operate the Floyd Country Store with his wife, Heather Krantz. “Ultimately, the reason I started doing what I was doing back in Blacksburg was because it needed to happen,” Locke says.

“We had a cultural void in western Virginia. To see what’s happened now is awesome.”

ROANOKE BUSINESS

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Special Report More entertainment options For music fans, the growing number of venues means a wider array of entertainment options on any given night. For localities, it translates to larger revenue from residents and visitors who spend money on food and lodging, both of which can be taxed. For economic development officials, the extra activity creates a sense of buzz and excitement attractive to business prospects looking for a rich local culture. And for neighboring businesses, these music venues generate spill-off activity, which builds their bottom lines.

“If there are people in the Roanoke Valley or New River Valley who say they don’t have anything to do, they’re not looking,” says Robyn Schon, general manager of the Berglund Center. “There’s so much to do on a weekly basis that you have to make a choice. That’s a great problem to have.”

Lisa Garst, director of Partnership for a Livable Roanoke Valley, says live music boosts the region’s quality of life, attracts visitors and supports businesses located near venues with increased traffic and marketing opportunities. There’s a deeper effect, too. “Surveys show millennials and younger residents are all about the experience of a place — that’s the main takeaway,” Garst says.

Jenna Lazenby, a marketing professional by day, created the website Blue Ridge Rocks (blueridgerocks.com) to collect show listings and regional music news in one place. “Roanoke’s done a good job with branding the outdoors and craft beer,” Lazenby says.

“I believe that music is the next piece of that puzzle to strengthen our brand and national allure. A robust music scene is an important community connector, and that’s a driver of economic development.”

The growth in the number of regional venues stems from a variety of factors. The creation of a residential neighborhood in 18

OCTOBER 2016

The line for the Bacon Brothers’ appearance at the Harvester Performance Center snaked around the block. Since the town opened the Harvester in 2011, Rocky Mount’s revenue from meals and lodging taxes has increased and the Harvester has had two profitable quarters in a row.

downtown Roanoke through the renovation of warehouses and office buildings starting in the mid2000s means that people spend more time there on evenings and weekends, which in turn has fueled nightspots such as Martin’s Downtown. When it opened in 2005, owner Jason Martin booked music one night each week. Today, bands play there five nights a week.

Jamie Booker began booking shows in the basement of The Bazaar of Roanoke in 2009. Since then, she’s booked more than 430 bands there and at other venues.

“Things evolved,” Martin says.

“We developed a reputation as a live music spot, and we’re bringing bands in from all over the country.”

LED hula hoops When Roanoke economic development officials were courting Deschutes Brewery, they took visiting company dignitaries on a tour that included a concert at Martin’s, where a Deschutes’ site consultant was smitten with a dancer in a LED-lit hula-hoop.

“A vibrant music scene is part of what they were interested in,” said Roanoke Regional Partnership Executive Director Beth Doughty of the Deschutes officials. “We went to Martin’s, which had these young women with LED hula hoops who would hula hoop in front of the band. The consultant thought this was the greatest thing … The hula hoops are not going to close that deal, but the emotional attachment which comes from a good cultural fit is what closes the deal.”

A few blocks down the street, the newly renovated amphitheater at Elmwood Park is attracting nationally known acts — Old Crow Medicine Show, Huey Lewis and Jamie Booker photo is by Matt Roos Crowd shot by Meagan Iwaniszek Reynolds

the News, Blondie and former Beach Boy Brian Wilson. Martin says shows at Elmwood aren’t really competition — they actually boost

his business.

“If more people are coming downtown, I’ll be busier, whether for music or for food,” Martin says.

“If Elmwood has a big show, we have a big night.”

It’s similar for shows at the Berglund Center, a city-owned facility with management outsourced to Spectra Venue Management, formerly Global Spectrum. Global operates venues around the country.

The city made that shift in 2009 and followed it up with investments to modernize the civic center, which opened in 1971. This summer, it tore up and replaced the center’s floor to accommodate the Roanoke Rail Yard Dawgs minor league hockey team. It’s also upgrading sound and lighting in the coliseum and performing arts theater.

The city also invests with an annual operating subsidy payment of about half a million dollars, though Schon says she’s aiming to get that lowered to a quarter million.

With the coliseum’s capacity of about 5,000 and 10,000, depending on its configuration, Berglund attracts the biggest drawing performers of any venue in the Roanoke and New River valleys.

“The Berglund Center keeps Roanoke on the map for promoters who are pushing the up and coming artists just on the verge of breaking big, and obviously the big artists,” Schon says. “We’re in that sweet spot with our venue, so we’ll continue to attract national artists who can sell that many tickets.”

Concerts tend to make up 25 percent of the Berglund Center’s event schedule, but they account for roughly 60 percent of attendance. Country music tends to be the music driver in the coliseum, with acts such as Jason Aldean, Eric Church and Brad Paisley drawing well, while classic rock and pop performers like Chicago, James Taylor, Michael Bublé and Harry Connick Jr., thrive in the smaller, 2,100-seat

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Special Report theater. In fiscal year 2015, the center held more than 400 overall events, attracted 360,000 visitors and generated $3.2 million in revenue.

Meals and lodging revenues up in Rocky Mount The Harvester Performance Center is the region’s newest municipality-owned venue, purchased by the town of Rocky Mount in 2011 for about $246,000 in an effort to take advantage of its location on the Crooked Road Virginia Music Heritage Trail. Construction began in spring 2013, and it opened a year later. The Harvester hired Gary Jackson, formerly of the Kirk Avenue Music Hall, to book shows.

“We’ve been running full blast ever since,” says Rocky Mount Assistant Town Manager Matt Hankins. Today the venue runs about 180 shows per year. Over its first 27 months, it drew roughly 90,000 people. The Harvester posted its

Cyrus Pace, the Jefferson Center’s executive director, says the Jefferson hosts more than 100 events annually.

first profitable quarter in 2016, and officials say it performed even better in the second quarter, earning more than a $29,000 profit.

The town budgeted a $331,146 subsidy for the Harvester this year.

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Hankins says the music venue helped push lodging tax revenue up by nearly 7 percent last year, from $97,632 to $104,350. During the first four months of 2016, the town saw its meals tax hit a record high of just over $500,000.

From June 2015 to June 2016, out-of-town visitors spent almost $2.1 million in short-term lodging in Rocky Mount, an increase of half a million dollars over three years.

The Harvester probably attracts more name artists than any other venue in the region, booking a steady series of performers from the worlds of Americana, improvisational rock, classic rock, blues and more. Since opening its doors, bookings have included shows with Dave Rawlings and Gillian Welch, Buddy Guy, Keb Mo and John Hiatt.

Coincidentally, all of those acts previously played shows at Roanoke’s Jefferson Center, which continues to present shows as well. Executive Director Cyrus Pace says the Jefferson’s Shaftman Performance Hall hosts events about 110 days each year, though only about 25 of those are for events put on by the Jefferson itself. It also hosts Opera Roanoke, the Roanoke Symphony Orchestra, the Roanoke Children’s Theater and other cultural organizations.

Photo by Matt Ross

Programming and events account for only a third of the Jefferson Center Foundation’s income, Pace says, but they’re by far the most visible face of the organization. He says it tries to showcase cultural events with affordable prices; its highest-ever ticket price was $95 for a gala event.

“Our model is to present things that might not otherwise be presented in the community, do so with an emphasis on the highest quality of art and do it in a way that’s accessible to the community,” Pace says.

The Jefferson Center Founda-

tion was founded in 1989 — 27 years before one of the city’s newest nonprofits was established in 2016. The Bazaar of Roanoke has existed since 2009, when owner Jamie Booker opened it as a record and consignment store that hosted small shows in its basement. It expanded in 2014, and then earlier this year shifted to a nonprofit model that emphasizes live music.

The basement shows, booked for a maximum capacity of 30 people, simultaneously exposed Roanokers to small touring bands while also allowing those bands to showcase their records. Soon,

Booker started hosting shows at other venues: Kirk Avenue Music Hall, Billy’s Barn and, bringing things full circle, the Spot on Kirk.

Since 2009 she’s booked more than 430 bands at the Bazaar and elsewhere.

Booker, like Locke, clearly books shows not in pursuit of profits but for a love of music. Along the way, however, these music buffs in the Roanoke and New River valleys have grown the region’s entertainment industry, building business and presenting music aficionados an ever-expanding palate of concerts and shows.

Entertainment venues Backstreet Cafe 356 Salem Ave. SW Roanoke, VA 24016 540-345-1542 Historic Roanoke LGBT bar that now books regular punk and metal shows.

The Bazaar of Roanoke 675 Brandon Ave. SW Roanoke, VA 24015 540-309-0928 bazaarofroanoke.com Nonprofit record and consignment shop hosts small indie and alternative acts.

Billy’s Barn 1790 Thompson Memorial Drive Salem, VA 24153 540-728-0270 facebook.com/BillysBarn-220993324614802/ Hosts a variety of musical acts, often partnering with the Bazaar of Roanoke.

The Berglund Center 710 Williamson Road, Roanoke, VA 24016 540-853-2241 theberglundcenter.com Formerly known as the Roanoke Civic Center, the multipurpose arena has multiple venues, capacity of more than 10,000 and hosts the valley’s largest acts.

The Coffee Pot 2902 Brambleton Ave. SW, Roanoke, VA 24015 540-774-8256 facebook.com/ Roanokesroadhouse Historic Roanoke roadhouse books a wide variety of musical acts.

Dogtown Roadhouse 302 S Locust St., Floyd, VA 24091 540-745-6836 dogtownroadhouse.com Wood-fired pizza restaurant also stages shows at its Sun Music Hall.

Floyd Country Store 206 S. Locust St., Floyd, VA 24091 540-745-4563 floydcountrystore.com

The Q 8118 Plantation Road, Roanoke, VA 24019 540-362-8437 theqlive.com

Long-running general store/ venue with a small stage, dance floor and food.

North Roanoke restaurant and pool hall with music throughout the week.

Harvester Performance Center 450 Franklin St., Rocky Mount, VA 24151 540-484-8277 harvester-music.com

Salem Civic Center 1001 Roanoke Blvd, Salem, VA 24153 540-375-3004 salemciviccenter.com

Town-owned venue with a main room with capacity for 475 seated and 700 standing.

Dr Pepper Park at The Bridges 9 Old Whitmore Ave, Roanoke, VA 24016 540-206-2414 drpepperpark.com

Jefferson Center 541 Luck Ave., Roanoke, VA 24016 540-345-2550 jeffcenter.org

Outdoor festival venue near the Roanoke River, by Walnut Street Bridge.

Former high school now home to music and other shows in Shaftman Performance Hall.

Elmwood Park 706 S Jefferson St, Roanoke, VA 24011 540-853-2000 downtownroanoke.org/go/ elmwood-park

Martin’s Downtown Bar & Grill 413 First St. SW, Roanoke, VA 24011 540-985-6278 martinsdowntown.com

City-owned outdoor amphitheater in the heart of downtown park.

Downtown restaurant with a steady lineup of musical acts throughout the week.

Municipal arena that’s slightly smaller than the Berglund Center but still hosts national acts.

Sidewinders Steak House and Saloon 16 W. Campbell Ave., Roanoke, VA 24014 540-904-2777 sidewindersaloon.com Country music in the heart of downtown Roanoke.

The Spot on Kirk 22 Kirk Ave. S.W., Roanoke, VA 24011 thespotonkirk.org Intimate, nonprofit venue with capacity for 130 people.

ROANOKE BUSINESS

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EDUCATION

Virginia’s first community college

Virginia Western celebrates 50 years of education and workforce development

by Shawna Morrison

H

alf a century ago, the school that would later be named Virginia Western Community College became the first community college to open in the state of Virginia. But only by a few hours.

This year, Virginia Western is celebrating its 50th anniversary.

Events kicked off at the beginning of the school year in August and will culminate with a 50th anniver-

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sary-themed graduation ceremony May 12, 2017.

“We think that is a legacy to be first,” says Robert Sandel, who has served as the college’s president since July 2001. “Over the past 50 years, we have seen dramatic, dynamic growth and events happen at Virginia Western that made a difference in the Roanoke Valley.”

The college got its start in 1966, when Virginia Gov. Mills E.

Godwin Jr. created the Virginia Community College System, funded by the state’s first ever sales tax and with a purpose of providing residents with affordable schools where they could learn trades and skills that would translate into jobs.

Both the Community College of Roanoke and the Northern Virginia Community College were ready to open. The first chancellor of the Virginia Community College SysPhotos by Natalee Waters

Virginia Western Community College — Virginia’s first community college — is celebrating its 50th anniversary.

tem had ties to Roanoke, however, and had served as the president of the Roanoke Technical Institute. So, the story goes, he made sure the Roanoke school held its opening ceremony before the Northern Virginia school.

“So Virginia Western can claim we were the first by a few hours before Northern Virginia,” says Josh Meyer, director of marketing and strategic communications at Virginia Western. The name was changed from Community College of Roanoke to Virginia Western Community College the year after it opened.

According to Meyer, the campus has seen $100 million worth of growth over the past decade.

Among the largest projects were the 2013 construction of the $26 million Fralin Center for Science and Health Professions and renovations to Brown Library and other

buildings. The Student Life Center, which includes a physical fitness center, food court and a career center, was created for students who said they wanted more from the college than just a place to take a class. It led to the creation of club sports, a student government association and other groups that have been very popular with students.

It also sets Virginia Western apart from other colleges; of 23 community colleges in the state, Sandel says he knows of only five that have a student center.

Late this year or early next year, Virginia Western plans to break ground for a new $30 million STEM — science, technology, engineering and math — building set to open in fall 2018 or spring 2019. The STEM complex “is going to be a major upgrade for us,” Sandel says. “It’s going to offer the sorts of labs and hands-on training that will really get people prepared for strong careers.” The building will cover part of the current parking area along Colonial Avenue, and a parking garage will be constructed, so “the whole side of campus over there is going to change dramatically,” he says.

The college also is expanding facilities for its popular culinary program. It plans to open them in spring 2018. “It will give us an opportunity to meet the needs of our downtown restaurants as well as Carilion and other health-care-related facilities to have chefs and sous chefs,” says Deborah Yancey, dean of the School of Business, Technology and Trades at Virginia Western.

The program began in 2007 in the Roanoke Higher Education Center so students would be close to downtown Roanoke restaurants.

Since then, Yancey says, “we have added not only a two-year culinary program but a career studies in culinary arts and also one in baking and pastry. And we’re doing all of this in one kitchen, so expansion has got to happen.”

The expansion will have three

additional kitchens and will allow about 60 more students per semester to join the 100 who are part of the program, Yancey says.

Yancey says the school’s business programs are popular with students in the transfer program.

These programs, which also are being expanded, include accounting, management, information systems technology and administrative management technology. Transfer students typically attend Virginia Western for two years before transferring to a four-year college.

The welding program outgrew its facility on campus and moved in the spring to an expanded facility at Greenfield Education and Training Center in Daleville. For the first time, Virginia Western now offers American Welding Society certifications and can get students through a 27-credit welding program in one semester. “The certification is something employers are looking for; it’s well-respected and will get them a higher paying job,” Yancey says.

Even though ground hasn’t been broken yet on the new STEM complex and the expansion to the Deborah Yancey, dean of Virginia Western’s School of Business, Technology and Trades, says the expanding culinary arts program will serve restaurants and health-care facilities.

ROANOKE BUSINESS

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education

Students Noah Cornett (from left), Jessica Gober and Hannah Jones spend time in Virginia Western Community College’s Student Life Center.

culinary program has a long way to go, Sandel is excited about the college’s next chapter. “Our next big complex will probably be a workforce center,” he says. “In this complex, we will have programs that give us automotive, diesel, welding, HVAC, industrial electricity, machining, construction, maintenance mechanics. There’s a tremendous demand for these.”

Sandel says the Roanoke Valley is seeing an increased need for peo-

Virginia Western Community College President Robert Sandel after the unveiling of the portraits of the presidents. The college celebrates its 50th anniversary this year.

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OCTOBER 2016

ple skilled in those areas, but not enough people are trained to do those jobs. He calls it a “skills gap.”

The community college is working with school superintendents across the region to try to get “a stronger pool of people taking those type programs in K-12. We need a greater pipeline,” he adds.

According to the Virginia Community College System, the state will need to fill 1.5 million jobs over the next 10 years, the majority of which

will require an associate degree and certification or licensure. To meet that demand, the state’s community colleges are aiming to triple the number of credentials that students earn by 2021.

Sandel estimates that Virginia Western offers 10 times as many programs today as it did 50 years ago and caters to a much wider variety of people. “We change with the needs of our community. We offer programs that you can go anywhere with in nursing, health, engineering. But a large majority of our programs are geared toward the workforce needs in our region, whatever they may be. We’ve expanded in an unbelievable number of new programs and choices for students.

And we have maintained our affordability over those 50 years.”

For the fall 2016 semester, the tuition rate is $169.74 per credit hour for Virginia residents, meaning a fulltime course load of 12 credit hours would cost Meyer $2,036.88 per semester.

By comparison, Virginia Tech’s tuition rate is $449.50 per credit hour for Virginia residents, or $5,393.50 plus $1,000 in fees for a full-course load. Also, Meyer notes, many community college students already have living arrangements or live at home, so they save on things like housing and parking.

Sandel says he believes money should never be a barrier to someone who wants to attend college. “Ninetynine percent of the time, we can take care of that person,” he says. “We’ve got the resources and the financial know-how to help students be able to come to the college. There’s no reason that any young person or an adult who is looking for a better job should not come to further their education because of money.”

Although many changes have taken place over the past five decades, Sandel says Virginia Western has stayed true to its original mission. “We are a college that was put in Photos by Natalee Waters

place to be able to fill the workforce needs of our region. That’s our main purpose.”

One-third of the college’s 12,000 students take classes as part of the transfer program. Students who attend Virginia Western Community College for two years and maintain a certain grade point average are guaranteed admission into colleges that include Virginia Tech and the University of Virginia. Virginia Western students who maintain a certain GPA within the college’s engineering program are guaranteed admission into Virginia Tech’s engineering program. The majority of students, however, complete one of the school’s more than 70 programs — nursing, dental hygiene, welding, communication design, administration of justice, for example — that take them straight into the workforce.

Of the students who attend Virginia Western, 80 percent stay in the region to work, Meyer says. “They truly benefit our local economy.”

Virginia Western Community College • Established in 1966 as the first community college in the state.

• Has grown from initial enrollment of 1,352 to more than 12,000.

• Located on a 70-acre campus in Southwest Roanoke.

• Offers more than 70 programs.

• Service region includes Roanoke, Botetourt, Craig and Franklin counties and the cities of Roanoke and Salem.

• The Community College Access Program provides graduates from regional high schools with up to two years at Virginia Western, tuition-free.

• One-third of students transfer to four-year colleges; two-thirds go straight into the workforce.

• Virginia Western’s cybersecurity program is new this semester.

Source: virginiawestern.edu, Josh Meyer

As part of its 50th anniversary celebration, the school is giving back to the community. On dates to be determined, each of the college’s four schools — health professions; liberal arts and social sciences; business,

technology and trades; and science, technology, engineering and math — will have an opportunity to offer two free classes to the community.

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Individuals & Families Trusts & Estates Retirement Plans Endowments & Foundations Businesses W. Stebbins Hubard, Jr. Edwin R Feinour C. Whitney Brown, Jr., CFA, CIC Walter M. Dixon, III, CMT Jonathon E. Grace James E. Hall, Jr. Walter M. Dixon, Jr., Founder

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25

Ted Feinour came to Roanoke for a “very temporary” posting. That was 41 years ago.

26

OCTOBER 2016

INTERVIEW: Ted Feinour, executive vice president Dixon, Hubard, Feinour and Brown Inc.

Accidental Roanoker E

Ted Feinour’s career is working with people and working in the community

by Beth JoJack

xecutives at First & Merchants National Bank moved Ted Feinour from Richmond to Roanoke in 1975 to oversee the merger of two trust departments. “‘We promise it’ll be very temporary,” the bank told him.

A couple years later, they made good on that vow, calling Feinour back to Richmond. By then, though, he didn’t want to go. Feinour and his wife, Susie, had taken an active role at Second Presbyterian Church on Mountain Avenue.

The United Way of Roanoke Valley and The Roanoke Valley Chapter American Red Cross had both tapped Ted Feinour for leadership positions, and the couple stayed busy volunteering.

“It was a very easy place to become involved in community activPhoto by Matt Ross

ities,” he says. “It wasn’t the kind of place where you had to have been raised in that community or risen to great heights of business before you were allowed to participate.”

Feinour politely declined First & Merchants’ call to Richmond.

“Our family just really fell in love with Roanoke,” he says.

Feinour spent several years working for Dominion Bankshares Corp. before joining what is now called Dixon, Hubard, Feinour & Brown in 1988. The independent investment counseling company has $575 million in assets under management.

He remained a familiar face on Roanoke Valley boards and commissions. Feinour also served as a member and chair of Roanoke City’s school board in the 1980s when his three children attended

city schools.

Feinour, 71, recently talked with Roanoke Business about his career and community work.

Roanoke Business: Did you go to the University of Virginia planning a career in investment management?

Feinour: No, originally I started out pre-med, but then I became a government and foreign affairs major at Virginia. I really enjoyed government. Really enjoyed political science. That’s when I decided to go to law school. When I was in law school [at Washington and Lee University], I had to leave to do a stint in the Marine Corps. I had nine hours left of law school, and I was going to be drafted, so I joined the Marine Corps Reserves.

I came back after doing my acROANOKE BUSINESS

27

interview tive duty to finish law school. Upon graduating from law school, I went to work for [First & Merchants National Bank] in the trust department in Richmond. First & Merchants was a great opportunity for me. I could start as soon as I graduated.

I thought, at first, it was only going to be very temporary.

RB: You took the job so you could go ahead and start making some money right after graduation?

Feinour: That’s correct.

RB: What did you think you really wanted to do?

Feinour: Some kind of law-related field. But really, I enjoyed it so much [at First & Merchants] and the people were so great that I decided I just wanted to stay there.

RB: What did you enjoy about the work?

Feinour: It was great to become very close to clients and feel like you were really helping them. Basically, most of it was the one-on-one personal relationships you were able to develop. One of my really strong suits in law school was estate and trust administration. Of course, that was all done in trust departments. In the early 1970s, it was really a time when the financial services industry [was taking full advantage of technical advances with computers]. Operationally, there was a tremendous amount of information you could [gather]. You had so much information at your fingertips. You could really work with other members of the staff and feel like you were helping bank clients.

RB: In the late 1970s, you moved to a job in the trust department of First National Exchange Bank because the headquarters was in Roanoke.

Feinour: I took that opportunity. A couple of years after that, I became one of the executives in charge of the trust department. We started 28

OCTOBER 2016

Dominion Trust Co. as a subsidiary of Dominion Bankshares Corp back in 1983.

RB: You were president of Dominion Trust Co. and then later served simultaneously as executive vice president of Dominion Bankshares Corp. You left because you wanted to work for yourself?

Feinour: Walter Dixon and Stebbins Hubard. We had all worked together. Walter had left First National Exchange Bank to form his own investment management firm and Stebbins left the bank about four years later to join Walter. I decided what I wanted to do was go into business with a couple of my really good friends. [It was an] opportunity to spend more time on personal relationships with clients, specifically on their investments.

RB: After three decades, do you still like those guys?

Feinour: Yes, very much so. Walter has retired. Stebbins and I still work together. Whitney Brown joined us a few years after I came. We now have 11 employees working for us.

We still like each other. We still work very closely and the company has just continued to grow.

RB: If you’d stayed at Dominion Bankshares Corp., you would have seen a lot of transitions.

Feinour: After Dominion had been bought and became so many different banks, I don’t know if through all those transitions, if I would have stayed there anyway. The main thing was we loved Roanoke so much.

When I joined Walter and Stebbins, we really wanted to have a firm to work closely with individuals but also be able to support a great number of community activities.

RB: So Dixon, Hubard, Feinour & Brown shares your interest in service?

Feinour: Very much so. The firm has always been committed to be-

ing a great community supporter in a wide variety of activities.

RB: You told me the firm has 100 percent participation with the United Way. Does Dixon, Hubard, Feinour & Brown manage funds for area organizations?

Feinour: We do manage several endowments for nonprofits.

RB: That was part of the original mission for the firm?

Feinour: That was one of the things. We really wanted to spend a lot of time supporting the community. And that’s why we really wanted to stay a regional investment firm.

RB: You wanted to stay a certain size?

Feinour: There are some investment organizations that bid on management of retirement accounts or big investment all over the country.

We didn’t want to do that. As investment firms go, we certainly wouldn’t be considered to be real big. We wanted to be in a situation where we could go throughout Southwest Virginia or up through Bath County, Eastern Tennessee, Northwest North Carolina over to the Charlottesville area up to Harrisonburg.

Kind of in a two-hour [radius]. So we could still meet individually with our clients and get to know our clients. We didn’t want to be pests, but we wanted them to be in a position where they could feel very comfortable with us in managing their investments. While some of our clients have moved to other states and have continued relationships with us … basically, I would say almost 90 percent of our business is in Roanoke and Southwest Virginia, which we really have loved because we’re devoted to the area.

RB: Personally, you’ve served on numerous boards and committees. What made you interested in that?

Feinour: My wife and I have just always been very community orient-

ed and have really enjoyed participating in numerous volunteer activities, and I still enjoy that. In the last several years, I’ve had the honor of serving on Friendship Foundation Board of Directors and I’ve been the chairman for about 12 years.

RB: The firm manages funds for Friendship Foundation, which owns health-care and senior living facilities?

Feinour: We do manage the reserves for Friendship. Friendship has grown so substantially. We just opened that new Rehab South [in Southwest Roanoke County] ‌ RB: How long do you plan to keep working?

Feinour: I have absolutely no consideration of retirement. I enjoy working with people. I enjoy working with clients. And I really still also enjoy being supportive of a tremendous number of community activities. A lot of clients say, ‘Gosh, you’re 71 years old. Aren’t you even considering slowing down?’ The answer is an emphatic no. I really enjoy what I’m doing.

RB: How has doing business in Roanoke changed since you moved here in 1975?

Feinour: When I first came down, of course, the railroad was headquartered here and so much revolved around the railroad. And then Roanoke Electric Steel Corp. was headquartered here. Advance Auto Parts just mushroomed and became a wonderful, wonderful company. Over the years, companies have left, and so this has become Southwest Virginia’s medical headquarters. The growth of the retirement centers — [Medical Facilities of America], Friendship and Richfield. So many of the banks which were headquartered here merged or were bought by larger banks and so much of the personal investment work has been moved or headquartered in places like Dallas or Charlotte or Atlanta.

RB: How has that impacted your business?

Feinour: It really helped us in our firm because people who had very close relationships in bank trust departments all of a sudden they weren’t dealing with [local] people. [Before] they could just pick up the phone and call and talk about their investments. [Now] they were dealing with somebody out of Charlotte or out of Dallas or Atlanta. So we were able to pick up a tremendous amount of business because we stay so close to our clients.

RB: Is there enough money in Roanoke?

Feinour: People say you never have enough money. Roanoke doesn’t have a lot of the family wealth like Richmond or New York or other places like that. Roanoke has a very nice amount of wealth and Southwest Virginia certainly does.

RB: As one of Roanoke’s biggest fans, how can the Star City improve?

Feinour: What kind of concerned me is that my children went away to college, and they didn’t really come back here to work. I would like to see opportunities to develop in Roanoke where more and more of our children, once they’ve been trained, would come back and work in Roanoke, so Roanoke would continue to grow. I think with some of the new businesses that have been developed in Roanoke, especially in the Southwest Virginia and Blacksburg area, new hightech firms and drug development and with [the Virginia Tech Carilion Research Institute] here, hopefully that will bring a lot of the people raised here, back here [to live] or people who studied here, would stay here. The future for Roanoke, I think, will be really bright.

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ROANOKE BUSINESS

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Autoharp player Janet Turner gathers with other musicians for a Friday night of music in Floyd.

30

OCTOBER 2016

COMMUNITY PROFILE

Floyd County finds its niche

Music, food and an eclectic mix of businesses

by Gene Marrano

T

he Republic of Floyd Emporium is both a business and a state of mind. The business, located in the town of Floyd, offers a wide selection of merchandise. There’s wine, chocolates and craft beer along with T-shirts designed as tourist souvenirs.

Its laid-back state of mind permeates this community. Located 40 miles southwest of Roanoke on U.S. 221, Floyd isn’t far from the more developed Roanoke and Montgomery counties, yet it may as well be a million miles away.

There’s only one stoplight in the rural county. The town’s population is fewer than 500 people while the county’s population as a whole totals just more than 15,000.

Incorporated in 1892, the town is the county’s focal point.

It’s home to two venues on the Crooked Road, a music trail that celebrates the region’s heritage of mountain music. The Friday Night jamboree at the Floyd County Store attracts a packed house, and musicians spill out, playing on the sidewalks outside.

Downtown Floyd offers a farmers market, art galleries and curio shops, even an eatery called Oddfella’s Cantina. It was created (but later sold) by Kris Hodges and Erika Johnson, the co-founders of FloydFest, a 15-year-old, four-day festival that draws music lovers

Photos by Natalee Waters

and performers from across the country. This year’s Floydfest, held in late July, drew 18,000 people.

Kayla Cox, Floyd’s town manager, says the eclectic nature of Floyd’s businesses – from an industrial manufacturer of filtration products to Cox local artisans and bakers, helps draw visitors. “We are always hoping to keep a diverse group of businesses in town.” The Floyd Country Store is a big part of that draw, she adds. “What it brings not only to the town but to other businesses.”

Hundreds of people show up on Friday nights for the jamboree. All weekend long people drift in and out of the Country Store, looking through music CDs and checking out the extensive candy selection. Nearby shops, galleries, restaurants and the farmers market all benefit from that traffic.

Recent improvements to the town include the Heritage Trail, a “mini greenway” running between the two main drags — U.S. 221 and state Route 8 — along with some streetscaping and small facade grants that have spruced up storefronts. According to Cox, the town is working to secure VDOT funding that would enable completion of a sidewalk network in

the downtown corridor.

The town has no specific branding campaign to help attract more tourists, notes Cox, although the Floyd County Tourism Development Council has explored that idea. Established in 2013, the FCTDC is described as a partnership between Floyd County government, the town of Floyd, the Floyd County Chamber of Commerce and private businesses.

It was created after the development of the first Floyd County Tourism Strategic Plan in 2010.

The office got off the ground with some funding from local businesses but is now funded by the town and county. Fifty-one thousand of the current $70,000 budgeted for the effort comes from the local area, with the town of Floyd kicking in $30,000, and Floyd County putting up $21,000.

Another goal is finding ways to better support businesses outside the peak tourist season, by “getting our locals to come into the stores more.”

Many owners of the creative businesses in Floyd are now nearing retirement, and that concerns Tourism Director Pat Sharkey. “[We] need to be aware of that and look at what it takes for those businesses to be passed to younger folks or be replaced by similar businesses with young entrepreROANOKE BUSINESS

31

community profile

The Floyd Country Store is a gathering place for musicians, townspeople and tourists.

neurs in the lead.”

Sharkey appreciates the way leaders in Floyd County and the town seem to be on the same page concerning economic development and where tourism, including daytrippers from Roanoke and elsewhere, figure in. “We are having continual conversations. We’re

team tagging.”

One of the challenges for spurring economic development in Floyd is that some people don’t want to see too much growth that would mar the area’s bucolic quality of life. It’s “a delicate conversation,” says Sharkey.

Lydeana Martin, a native who Pat Sharkey, Floyd County’s tourism director, says the community and its governments are having “continual conversations” about economic development and tourism.

32

OCTOBER 2016

is the county’s community and economic development director, serves as a staff member for the boardappointed Economic Development Author- Martin ity and also works with supervisors on business-related projects. One EDA program offers small business loans (typically around $10,000) that are targeted at firms with nine or fewer employees. Martin says a recent focus on local food producers has been added to the arts and music mix as a way to draw visitors. “The next wave that I see here is health and healing arts — retreats and things along those lines.”

Buffalo Mountain Kombucha is one example. The fermented tea product, known for its health properties, is bottled in Floyd and sold at stores and restaurants from Abingdon to Lynchburg. Martin says Buffalo Mountain Kombucha, named for the highest peak in the county, “is an exciting little company with so much potential.” It was also an EDA loan recipient.

Taking care of existing businesses such as Hollingsworth & Vose, which makes filtration media and related products, is another goal. The company, with two sites in the county and 140 employees, is always high on the priority list, says Martin, who was hired as the county’s first economic development director in 2004.

Another very different business in Floyd is Wall Residences. Based at the Floyd EcoVillage, Wall Residences places people with developmental delays into private homes all over Virginia instead of institutionalizing them. “They’re growing rapidly,” says Martin. The EcoVillage, which has an events center, art studios and an off-the-grid lodge, was developed by the founders of Wall Residences, who also own the Hotel Floyd.

A home-grown Citizen’s Telephone Cooperative provides a 200-gigabit open access fiber optic Photos by Natalee Waters

Floyd County broadband network that serves the town of Floyd and county business parks. “One of our targets is companies that could capitalize on that broadband,� says Martin, who figures the proximity to Virginia Tech and possible grants from the Virginia Tobacco Commission are also enticements.

With average wages for those working in Floyd County the sixthlowest of any locality in Virginia ($583 a week, according to the Virginia Employment Commission in the fourth quarter 2015), and with 75 percent of the county’s workers currently traveling outside the county to find work, Martin believes new business prospects might find that mix attractive. Still, Martin says it’s much more likely that a small business rather than a big box will open in the county.

That’s where the Floyd Innovation Center comes in handy.

Opened two years ago, it’s located at the Floyd Regional Commerce Center, a business park that’s home to seven companies, including Dreaming Creek Timber Frame Homes, which built the main stage at FloydFest.

The 13,000-square-foot Innovation Center offers space for a variety of small businesses. “It helps us target a niche of small companies that are doing a high-end service,� says Martin. The county held its first series of business development seminars for startups last year at the center, capped off with a “Shark Tank� style event and prize money.

Floyd County also has lent assistance to companies that needed to update equipment. For instance, it helped set up a leasing program for Mountain High Tie-Dye Co., which needed higher-yield screen printing equipment to keep up with a packaging order for Red Rooster Coffee Co., another Floyd-based business. “We try to do things like that to build capacity,� says Martin.

Martin is pleased that the Board of Supervisors, the EDA,

Founded: 1831 Area: 382 square miles Population: 15,279 (2015 census estimate) Government: The Board of Supervisors consists of five members, each representing a district. The board also appoints the county administrator.

Largest employers: Floyd County Schools, Strengthening Our System Inc. (a nonprofit supporting individuals with disabilities), Hollingsworth & Vose, Floyd County, Wall Residences, Chateau Morrisette Winery. About 1,200 people in the county are self-employed, according to its economic development director.

Fast facts: Tradition has it that Floyd County was one of the first regions explored when colonists ventured into the mountains from coastal settlements in the mid-1600s. It was named for Virginia Gov. John Floyd, who came from Montgomery County. Construction of the Blue Ridge Parkway during the Great Depression helped usher in a new influx of visitors and provided an economic boost, as Floyd County turned away somewhat from small manufacturing to businesses catering to those tourists.

Sources: Floyd County government website, Virginia Employment Commission

the Floyd County School Board and Floyd Town Council have been meeting monthly, “looking down the road at [the] big picture. We’ve got things to look at in terms of workforce development.�

Apparently no niche is out of bounds for Floyd County or too

small. One tenant at the Innovation Center, Henry’s Healthy Pets Food, makes nutritional supplements for small animals including squirrels, mice and rats. Henry’s sells products online in dozens of countries. “Floyd,� Martin says, “is a little bit of a unique place.�

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ROANOKE BUSINESS

33

SPONSORED CONTENT | Roanoke Regional Chamber of Commerce Got information about your company or employees that you would like to share?

Send to Pennie Anderson at panderson@roanokechamber.org.

MEMBER NEWS AND RECOGNITIONS

Leadership Roanoke Valley Class of 2017 Selected The Roanoke Regional Chamber’s Leadership Roanoke Valley Class of 2016-2017 has been selected, and the 36 members began the 10-month program with an opening breakfast on Aug. 10. Graduation will be held in June 2017. The class includes: Angie Austin, Member One Federal Credit Union; Tiffany Beheler, Center in the Square; Christopher Bever, Roanoke County; Julianne Blake, Anderson, Desimone & Green, PC; Rebekah Bradley, North Cross School; LaTron Brown, Social Security Administration; Courtney Campbell, Virginia House of Delegates, Office of Delegate Sam Rasoul; Kathryn Conner, Virginia Tourism Corp.; Betsy Crow, Roanoke Redevelopment and Housing Authority; Lane Dellinger, GJ Hopkins Inc.; Kristen Gorman, Carilion Clinic; William Harden, UBS Financial Services; Letitia Hawkins-Beatty, DePaul Community Resources; Leah Hatcher, Lutheran Family Services of Virginia; Milan Hayward, Virginia Western Com-

munity College; Kathleen Herndon, Feeding America Southwest Virginia; Rachel Hopkins, Science Museum of Western Virginia; Britteny Jenkins, Spilman Thomas & Battle, PLLC; Emily Jimerson, SFCS Inc.; Wendy Jones, Williamson Road Area Business Association Inc.; Mark Lambert, Jefferson College of Health Sciences; Wade Layton, BB&T; Andrea Martin, Hollins University; Joseph Martin, Member One Federal Credit Union; Lauren Mason, Southeast Rural Community Assistance Project Inc.; Amelia Matheny, The Roanoke Times/BH Media; Jennifer Pittman, Virginia Western Community College; Kevin Reeder, First Bank and Trust Co.; Jared Schweitzer, Miller, Long & Associates Inc.; Tony Segovia, Comcast Spotlight; Keith St. Peter, HomeTown Bank; Marci Stone, City of Roanoke; Mark Tuck, Roanoke County Police Department; Catherine Underwood, Branch & Associates; Douglas Vinci, Wells Fargo; and Lisa Walters, Carilion Clinic.

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

2016-2017 CHAMBER CHAMPIONS Montgomery & Pulaski Counties

BNC Bank

Facilities of America)

Brown Edwards

MB Contractors

Cox Business

Pepsi Bottling Group

Elizabeth Arden

The Roanoke Times

Spilman Thomas & Battle PLLC

Gentry Locke Attorneys

Rockydale Quarries

Trane

LifeWorks REHAB (Medical

Servpro of Roanoke,

Woods Rogers PLC

EVENT SPONSORSHIP Thursday Overtime – Aug. 4 Elephant Walk Restaurant – Holiday Inn Tanglewood

Roanoke Regional Chamber Cup – Aug. 11 All Star Impressions Ardagh Metal Packaging USA Inc.

Bank of Floyd Delta Dental of Virginia Friendship Retirement Community Rockydale Quarries Corp.

Spilman Thomas & Battle PLLC Shentel, a Sprint Affiliate Appalachian Power Carilion Clinic

King Screen Omnisource SE Servpro of Roanoke, Montgomery & Pulaski Counties Martinsville Speedway

Women of the Chamber Luncheon – Aug. 16 The Hotel Roanoke & Conference Center

NEW MEMBERS The following new members joined the Roanoke Regional Chamber between July 9 and Aug. 12, 2016.

Bankers Insurance LLC Botetourt County

34 3 4

Park Roanoke/Lanier Parking Solutions Roanoke Valley Broadband Authority

OCTOBER 2016

Virginia Hospital & Healthcare Association

Advance Auto Parts has announced that George Sherman, who served as the company’s president, stepped down from that role Aug. 13 but will remain with the company to assist with an orderly Greco transition through the end of the year. Tom Greco has been named the new CEO of Advance Auto Parts.

Apptech Solutions has announced the development of a new proprietary technology for selenium removal to meet the stringent EPA-mandated limits that have a major impact on the coal industry. The new technology ensures that selenium removal from mining and industrial wastewater is no longer limited to expensive biological processes and space-intensive wetlands. Apptech Solutions has developed the most advanced solution for removal to date with the Integrated Reductive Metals Treatment system.

The Telly Awards has named B2C Enterprises as a bronze winner in the 37th Annual Telly Awards for its submission titled “Bank of Botetourt Television Campaign: Community.” B2C Enterprises was one of more than 13,000 entries from all 50 states and numerous countries. B2C Enterprises created and produced the series of commercials for Bank of Botetourt to highlight the bank’s focus on the community. The firm wrote, filmed and produced the series of commercials.

Big Brothers Big Sisters of Southwest Virginia has announced a partnership with the Virginia Tech Corporate Research Center and the beginning of a brand new mentoring program that’s all about STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Mathematics).

The Virginia Tech Corporate Research Center Mentoring Program aims to connect children in Montgomery County with one-to-one mentors in the STEM industry at the VTCRC. Carilion Clinic President and CEO Nancy Howell Agee was recently selected by the American Hospital Association’s board of trustees as its chair-elect designate. Agee will assume the chairmanship Agee in 2018, becoming the top elected official of the national organization that represents America’s hospitals and health systems and works to advance health in America. Currently a member of the association’s executive and operations committees, Agee is a past member of the AHA’s Health Care Systems Governing Council and previously served on Regional Policy Board 3.

Cox Communications recently announced that Lisa White was promoted to vice president of outside plant for the Virginia region. White will oversee construction and HFC (hybrid fiber coax) performWhite ance and field network technician teams throughout the state, including Northern Virginia, Hampton Roads and Roanoke.

Delta Dental of Virginia has announced that Katharine Claytor, vice president of human resources, was named one of the 100 Most Influential Global HR Professionals sponsored by Times Ascent Claytor and CHRO Asia. Claytor received the recognition at the Global HR Awards ceremony in Mumbai, India.

DePaul Community Resources has named Pamela Ringley as the organization’s new director of day support services. Ringley has been with DePaul since 1999 and has served in the developmental disabilities division in Ringley a number of capacities. In her new role, she will be responsible for the oversight of each of DePaul’s four day support centers.

Vance W. Adkins, who joined HomeTown Bankshares Corp. in 2010 as the senior risk officer, has been promoted by the board of directors to serve as the company’s next chief financial Adkins officer. HomeTown Bankshares is the parent company of HomeTown Bank in Roanoke.

Jones

February.

The Roanoke County School Board has appointed Donald T. Butzer as the new Catawba District member for the school board. Butzer will fill a portion of the unexpired term of Tom McCracken, who resigned from the Catawba District school board seat in June. Butzer will serve on the school board until the November 2016 special election is certified. He is a retired manager from Verizon.

Virtual and augmented reality technologies are changing the research landscape. Scientists can now be transported to any place in the universe, physically explore massive sets of data, visualize and interact with spatial structures of molecules, and walk through a building before it has been constructed. Virginia Tech faculty members have access to these technologies, which are housed in the Cube, a four-story experimental theater and data exploration laboratory located in the Moss Arts Center. Here, researchers can explore and interact with anything in the world in real-time and in full-scale virtual and mixed-reality environments. Research activities in the Cube are led by the Institute for Creativity, Arts and Technology, which recently hired Zach Duer, the university’s first immersive environment specialist.

Adel

The law firm LeClairRyan has expanded into Rhode Island, opening a Providence office.

With the new location, LeClairRyan now has offices in 15 states and the District of Columbia. The firm has approximately 390 attorneys nationwide.

Member One Federal Credit Union, a fullservice credit union headquartered in Roanoke, has announced the appointment of Patience O’Brien to the newly created position of vice president corporate projects. O’Brien will be responsible for managing infrastructural and procedural projects throughout the credit union. A licensed professional counselor, O’Brien comes to Member One from the Roanoke County Department of Social Services, where she held the position of assistant director.

Roanoke City Manager Chris Morrill announced the appointment of Tim Jones, a 35-year veteran of the Roanoke City Police Department as the chief of police. Jones had served as acting chief for four months. He replaced Chief Chris Perkins, who retired in

Ahmed

Bieri

Gregory Adel, professor of mining and minerals engineering in the College of Engineering at Virginia Tech, has been conferred the title of professor emeritus by the Virginia Tech board of visitors. He has been a member of the university community since 1982.

Ansar Ahmed has been named associate dean for research and graduate studies at the Virginia-Maryland College of Veterinary Medicine at Virginia Tech. He had served as head of the Department of Biomedical Sciences and Pathobiology.

David Bieri, associate professor of urban affairs and planning in the College of Architecture and Urban Studies at Virginia Tech, has been awarded the Program in Real Estate Junior Faculty Fellowship by the Virginia Tech board of visitors. He holds a

joint appointment in the School of Public and International Affairs and the Global Forum on Urban and Regional Resilience in the College of Architecture and Urban Studies.

Mark Blanks has been named the director of the Virginia Tech Mid-Atlantic Aviation Partnership (MAAP) and Virginia Tech’s test site for unmanned aircraft systems. He succeeds Rose Mooney, who had served as the executive director of the Blanks Virginia Tech Mid-Atlantic Aviation Partnership since April 2014. She will remain with MAAP as a senior adviser.

Marcie Boucouvalas, professor of human development in the College of Liberal Arts and Human Sciences at Virginia Tech, National Capital Region, has been conferred the title of professor emerita by the Virginia Tech board of visitors. She has been a member of the Virginia Tech community since 1980.

Virginia Buechner-Maxwell, professor and large animal internal medicine specialist in the Department of Large Animal Clinical Sciences at the Virginia-Maryland College of Veterinary Medicine at Virginia Tech, has been appointed the new director of the Center for Animal Human Relationships.

Laurence W. “Bill” Carstensen Jr., professor and head of the Department of Geography in Virginia Tech’s College of Natural Resources and Environment, has received the 2016 Distinguished Mentor Award from the National Council for Carstensen Geographic Education. The award honors university faculty who have been exceptional at mentoring students of geography and geography education and who have contributed to the professional development of geography teachers.

Scott Case, professor of biomedical engineering and mechanics in the College of Engineering at Virginia Tech, has been awarded the Reynolds Metals Professorship by the Virginia Tech board of visitors. The professorship was Case established in 1979 by a gift from the Reynolds Metals Company and recognizes teaching and research excellence. Recipients hold the professorship for a period of five years.

Davalos

Rafael Davalos, professor of biomedical engineering and mechanics in the College of Engineering at Virginia Tech, has been awarded the L. Preston Wade Professorship by the Virginia Tech board of visitors. The professorship

ROANOKE BUSINESS

35

SPONSORED CONTENT | Roanoke Regional Chamber of Commerce MEMBER NEWS AND RECOGNITIONS, continued was established by its namesake, a member of the class of 1955, to recognize teaching and research excellence.

and research, who provide strategic direction and ensure the mission of the Hume Center is carried out.

Marc Edwards, professor of civil and environmental engineering in the College of Engineering at Virginia Tech, has been reappointed the Charles P. Lunsford Professor of Civil and Environmental Engineering by Virginia Tech President Edwards Timothy D. Sands and Executive Vice President and Provost Thanassis Rikakis. The professorship was established in 1976 to recognize and reward an outstanding faculty member in the College of Engineering’s Charles Edward Via Jr. Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering. Edwards has held the Lunsford Professorship since 2004.

Chang Lu, professor of chemical engineering in the College of Engineering at Virginia Tech, has been awarded the Fred W. Bull Professorship in Chemical Engineering by the Virginia Tech board of visitors. The professorship recognizes excellence in teaching and research in chemical engineering, and recipients hold the professorship for five years.

George Filz, professor of civil and environmental engineering in the College of Engineering at Virginia Tech, has been reappointed the Charles E. Via Jr. Professor of Civil and Environmental Engineering by Virginia Tech President TimoFilz thy D. Sands and Executive Vice President and Provost Thanassis Rikakis.

The Via Professorship is funded through an endowment established in 1987 by Marion Via Bradley in honor of her late husband to recognize excellence in faculty research.

H. Clay Gabler, professor and chair for biomedical engineering graduate studies in the Department of Biomedical Engineering and Mechanics in the College of Engineering at Virginia Tech, has been awarded the Samuel Herrick Gabler Professorship by the Virginia Tech board of visitors. The professorship was established with proceeds from the sale of land donated in 1986 by Betulia Herrick, wife of Samuel Herrick, to honor her late husband.

The American Geophysical Union’s Volcanology Geochemistry Petrology section has awarded its 2016 Hisashi Kuno Award to Esteban Gazel, assistant professor in the Virginia Tech Department of Geosciences. Gazel joined the Virginia Tech College of Science faculty in 2011.

Virginia Tech alumna Letitia A. Long, former director of the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency, has joined the advisory board of the Ted and Karyn Hume Center for National Security and Technology. The Hume Center adLong visory board is made up of defense and intelligence professionals with significant experience in science, technology 36 3 6

OCTOBER 2016

Travis Mountain, assistant professor of agricultural and applied economics in the Virginia Tech College of Agriculture and Life Sciences and Virginia Cooperative Extension specialist, has received two national awards for his Mountain outstanding work that examines family and consumer finances. Mountain was presented the 2016 Robert O. Hermann Ph.D. Dissertation award and the AARP Public Policy Institute’s Financial Services and the Older Consumer Award, both from the American Council on Consumer Interests.

Professor of Architecture Susan Piedmont-Palladino has been appointed director of the Washington-Alexandria Architecture Center, the urban extension of the School of Architecture + Design in the College Piedmont-Palladino of Architecture & Urban Studies at Virginia Tech. She succeeded Jaan Holt, who had held the position for 32 years. Piedmont-Palladino joined Virginia Tech in 1991.

Padma Rajagopalan, professor of chemical engineering in the College of Engineering at Virginia Tech, has been awarded the Robert E. Hord Jr. Professorship in Chemical Engineering by the Virginia Tech Rajagopalan board of visitors. The professorship was established by a gift from the late Robert E. Hord Jr., a 1950 graduate of the College of Engineering.

Read

Dustin Read, assistant professor of apparel, housing and resource management in Virginia Tech’s College of Liberal Arts and Human Sciences, has received the William and Mary Alice Park Junior Faculty Fellowship from the Virginia Tech board of visitors.

Yuriko and Michael Renardy, professors of mathematics in the College of Science at Virginia Tech, have been reappointed as the Virginia Tech Class of 1950 Professors by Virginia Tech President Timothy D. Sands and Executive

Vice President and Provost Thanassis Rikakis.

The professorship was established in 2000 on the occasion of the 50th reunion of the class of 1950. Both professors have held the professorship since 2000.

Over the past 45 years, Virginia Tech professor Eugene Seago’s career has included many accomplishments. In addition to teaching accounting and tax classes to thousands of graduate students, Seago is an accomplished auSeago thor, a trusted consultant and a nationally recognized expert in the field of accounting. He is one of seven Virginia Tech employees who were honored for 45 years of service to the university during the 2016 Service Recognition Program.

Virginia Tech’s Advancement Division has appointed Monecia Taylor as associate vice president for principal gifts.

In this role, she will oversee fundraising by the university’s principal gifts and gift planning operations as a Taylor member of the Advancement Division’s senior leadership team, reporting directly to the division’s vice president, Charlie Phlegar.

Theresa Thompson, associate professor of biological systems engineering in the College of Engineering and the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences at Virginia Tech, has been awarded the Elizabeth and James E. Turner Jr. Thompson 1956 Faculty Fellowship in Engineering by the Virginia Tech board of visitors. Elizabeth and James Turner created the Turner Fellowships in 2011 with a $1 million gift to recognize faculty excellence.

Pamela VandeVord, interim department head and undergraduate program chair of biomedical engineering and mechanics in the College of Engineering at Virginia Tech, has been awarded the N. Waldo Harrison Professorship by the Virginia Tech board of visitors. She has been a member of the Virginia Tech faculty since 2011.

Virginia Western Community College has announced a nearly $50,000 grant from the Tobacco Region Revitalization Commission that will help students pursuing careers in health care through new classes at the Franklin Center in Rocky Mount. Human Anatomy & Physiology I (Biology 141 in Fall Semester) and Human Anatomy & Physiology II (Biology 142 in Spring Semester) will help students build off introductory biology courses already offered at the Franklin Center’s biology lab.

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Commercial Lending 540-484-0338 NMLS # 476223

One Bank. One Company. Trusted Since 1979.

First Bank & Trust Company The Bank That Puts You First www.FirstBank.com

Member FDIC

ROANOKE ∙ 3130 Chaparral Drive, Suite 203 ∙ 540-774-0269 ROCKY MOUNT ∙ 740 Old Franklin Turnpike, Unit 4 ∙ 540-484-0338 VIRGINIA: Abingdon | Bridgewater | Bristol | Christiansburg | Fairlawn | Harrisonburg | Lebanon | Lynchburg | Norton | Staunton | Verona | Waynesboro | Wise | Wytheville LOAN PRODUCTION OFFICES: Roanoke | Rocky Mount | Winchester | Woodstock TENNESSEE: Bristol | Gray | Johnson City | Kingsport