Names and changes: Business recognitions and promotions for the week of May 12, 2024

Christine A. Smith, CDFA a financial adviser with Ameriprise Financial Services LLC in Blacksburg, has qualified for the company’s Circle of Success annual recognition program and will be honored for the achievement this year.

Only a select number of advisers earn this distinction.

Smith has 26 years of experience with Ameriprise Financial.

Shannon Abell, a Roanoke AARP volunteer, has received the Gordon Morton Award for Community Service.

Abell was among the volunteers recognized for their work at the 2024 AARP Virginia Awards Celebration in Richmond.

His award is named in honor of Morton, who served as the first president of the Kempsville chapter, and served a four-year term as AARP director for Virginia before there was a state office or staff in the commonwealth.

This year’s awards honored individuals committed to community service.

Abell serves as a representative and an advocate. His roles with AARP include disseminating information on topics such as fraud prevention and Medicare; serving as a project lead for Grandparent’s Day at the Virginia Museum of Transportation; and assisting with Movies For Grownups.

Bob Broyden, interim vice president for Campus Planning, Infrastructure, and Facilities at Virginia Tech, will retire June 24 after 30 years of service to the university.

Broyden’s service to Tech has primarily focused on the strategic planning, funding, and execution of the university’s capital projects. During his tenure, Broyden organized the strategy and development of the past 16 capital outlay plans to drive more than $2 billion of new funding to advance 200 capital projects, which more than doubled the size of Tech in the last 30 years.

He has also served as the lead on strategic initiatives that engaged the Virginia Tech Foundation Inc., community leaders, private partners, corporations, and the Commonwealth of Virginia on behalf of the university.

Broyden earned a bachelor’s and master’s degree from Tech and then worked for Johnson & Johnson and Gaston County, North Carolina, prior to joining the university in 1993.

In retirement, Broyden looks forward to spending more time with his family, making a return to competitive cycling, volunteering with the community to advance child health and fitness, and remaining a loyal Hokie.

His replacement at Tech will soon be announced.