Business notes for the week of May 6

Appointed/elected

Gov. Glenn Youngkin announced additional board appointments. Jesse Monroe of Norfolk, lead curriculum developer and coach with Arc of Virginia, was appointed to the board of directors of the Assistive Technology Loan Fund Authority. Dr. Cynthia Romero of Virginia Beach, former state health commissioner and director of Brock Institute for Community and Global Health and family and community medicine professor at Eastern Virginia Medical School, was appointed to the Maternal Mortality Review Team. Paul Thomas of Norfolk, executive director of operations at Applied Laboratory Services, was appointed to the Virginia Board for Asbestos, Lead, and Home Inspectors. Howard Kern of Virginia Beach, CEO emeritus of Sentara Health, was appointed to the Virginia Air and Space Center board of directors.

Awards and honors

Mel Price, co-founder and principal at Work Program Architects in Norfolk, has been named to the College of Fellows by the American Institute of Architects. The fellowship is the highest membership honor for the organization and is bestowed on those who have demonstrated “exceptional work and contributions to architecture and society.” Only 3% of AIA members become fellows. The AIA identifies mentorship as a core aspect of the fellowship program. Price co-founded Work Program Architects with fellow architect Thom White in 2010. The firm seeks focuses on educational and municipal work, civic landmarks, places of business and any place where people gather. The firm’s multidisciplinary design process results in projects unique to their location that advance social, economic and coastal resilience.

The American Network of Community Options and Resources named Jonee Justin, a direct support professional at Hope House Foundation, the 2024 Virginia DSP of the Year. Justin, a direct support professional since 2009, joined Hope House Foundation in 2019 and has shown exemplary care for those she supports. She is also a strong advocate, leader and role model for her fellow DSPs. This year’s honorees were chosen nearly 500 nominations. Since 2007, the national nonprofit trade association’s awards have recognized outstanding DSPs who deliver long-term services and supports to people with intellectual and developmental disabilities. The awards also seek to raise awareness about a direct support workforce in crisis.

Coldwell Banker Premier in Hampton Roads was named a President’s Club Award winner by Anywhere Leads for its outstanding performance during the past year. Anywhere Leads is a dedicated organization within Anywhere Real Estate Inc., a U.S. real estate services company focused on delivering high-quality leads to its affiliated brokers and agents. The President’s Club recognizes the top 25 performers across the Anywhere Leads network of over 500 brokers, honoring the top 5% of brokers nationwide across the network.

Peggy Sanner, former Virginia Executive Director of the Chesapeake Bay Foundation, received a top statewide environmental award for the pivotal role she played in building partnerships and advancing legislative and regulatory policy for a healthier environment for Virginians. On April 11 during the annual Environment Virginia Symposium, Virginia Military Institute representatives presented Sanner with the Capt. Ron Erchul Environmental Leadership Award, which recognizes a Virginian who has made significant individual efforts to improve the environment. Nominations are judged based on their vision, expertise, commitment, integrity, communication skills, accomplishments and diplomacy.

Community service

In celebration of Women’s History Month, Newport News-based Drucker + Falk, a leading multifamily management company, organized six women-focused volunteer opportunities for employees during its annual Day of Giving. Each year, DF employees are given eight paid hours to volunteer with the philanthropic cause of their choice. Employees in Hampton Roads volunteered for HER Shelter, sponsoring a dinner for 50 women and organizing a diaper donation drive.

Donations and grants

The Mellon Foundation awarded $5 million to Old Dominion University to provide internship placements and related programming for 750 humanities students over five years. The funding is an effort to enhance awareness of the employability of humanities majors and to promote the study of the humanities among undergraduates. ODU will implement freshman learning communities that incorporate internship preparation, scale internship opportunities for humanities students, integrate work-based learning into the curriculum and develop an undergraduate humanities internship studio that will facilitate placement. The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation is the nation’s largest supporter of the arts and humanities.

Norfolk’s Department of Economic Development announced recent winners of the Façade Improvement Grant: 9 East Cummings LLC, Old Manchester Plaza P, New Africa Marketplace, 4019 Granby Holdings LLC, McDonald Montessori Inc. and Kramer Family Associates LLC. The city also announced Capital Access Program grant awards to: Transformed LLC, T&D Phlebotomy LLC, New Generation Daycare, Pearl’s Design Properties, Love Bride Boutique and Rich Port Coffee. The Façade Improvement Grants were awarded to 28 Norfolk businesses and property owners totaling $1.23 million since the program’s start in 2023. The Department of Development has also awarded 33 CAP grants and loans since 2022, totaling over $755,000 in awards to the small business community.

Expansion

Waters Edge Winery & Bistro of Norfolk’s wine is now available for purchase at the Norfolk Navy Exchange Package Store. Jason Witt, who owns the business with wife Dyan, served in the Navy for 21 years.

Tidewater Physicians Multispecialty Group, a network of over 240 physicians and advanced care providers in over 85 locations across the Tidewater area, announced that TPMG Coastal Endocrinology will expand its service offerings with a new location in Newport News. Following TPMG Newport News Endocrinology’s closing on April 30, TPMG Coastal Endocrinology will resume offering endocrinology services from the same location on May 1. The location will offer a range of services tackling complex endocrine disorders to improve patient quality of life. The practice has two companion locations in Virginia Beach and Suffolk.

Film

The Mariners’ Museum and Park has been selected for the first annual Fredericksburg Film Festival. The museum’s short film, “In the Name of the Oyster,” was submitted in the Documentary Short category. This honor is the first of its kind for The Mariners’ and the film’s director, Kyra Duffley. The film was originally released as an installment of the museum’s Beyond the Frame series in October 2023. It is based on paintings by Clifford Warren Ashley and features the woman-owned Matheson Oyster Co. in Hayes and the all-female oyster team at the Chesapeake Bay Foundation. Uniting the paintings’ subjects with real-world oyster harvesting and restoration practices, the film shines a light on environmental sustainability in a historic industry with considerable regional impact. The Fredericksburg Film Festival will be held May 2-5.

Fundraiser

1700 Brewing in Newport News and Billsburg Brewery near Williamsburg signed on to brew their own unique versions of Homefront beer as a fun and unique way to support U.S. service members, veterans and their families with national nonprofit Soldiers’ Angels. The annual fundraiser runs Memorial Day (May 27) through Veterans Day (Nov. 11) and is open to all interested breweries and homebrewers. All net proceeds from sales of the beer will be donated to Soldiers’ Angels. For more info, visit SoldiersAngels.org/HopsForHeroes.

Opening

Kusina Filipino Cuisine celebrated its opening at 6550 Hampton Roads Parkway, Suite 107, in Suffolk on April 17. The women-owned restaurant aims to showcase traditional Filipino food with a rotating menu with various favorites along with family-sized servings of pancit and lumpia. Hours are 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday-Saturday.

Miss Lilly’s Trading Post, a one-of-a-kind consignment shop and market housed in a historic 1910 building, opened on April 20 at 6707 S. Quay Road in Suffolk. The store sells a diverse array of products sourced from over 30 consignors, ranging from local crafters and artisans to collectors of vintage treasures.

Virginia Car Wash Co. opened its first location at 4830 Portsmouth Blvd. near Lowe’s in Chesapeake on April 26. The business offers both interior and exterior services and plans to sponsor Western Branch Little League with initiatives year-round.

Raising Cane’s opened its 13th restaurant in Virginia at 1304 Greenbrier Parkway between Volvo and Eden Way in Chesapeake on April 23. The restaurant is known for chicken fingers, freshly squeezed lemonade, buttery Texas toast and signature Cane’s Sauce. The dining room features graphics that reflect the history of the city and the restaurant boasts a large, outdoor mural of Chesapeake. The location employs more than 140 people.

Partnership

ESA and Apex Clean Energy reported an update on their partnership with New Vision Youth Services in Chesapeake through a $2,500 grant awarded last year as part of the Land of Promise and Pocaty River Solar projects. This funding has been instrumental in reconstructing the GED program at New Vision, enabling essential curriculum improvements that cater to students facing educational challenges. The program supports 19 students, with six on the verge of completing their GED. This initiative is part of ESA’s and Apex’s ongoing commitment to community engagement and educational support when developing solar projects.

Remodel

The Walmart Neighborhood Market at 475 Kempsville Road in Chesapeake celebrated the completion of its remodel on April 18 with Chesapeake City Council member and former NFL player Don Carey. Upgraded features include improved store layouts, expanded product selections and innovative technology that allows Walmart employees to better support customers and make shopping more convenient.