Appointed/elected
During its recent annual meeting, the Old Dominion University board of visitors elected Murry Pitts, entrepreneur, as rector; Andy Hodge, Atlantic Union Bank executive, as vice rector; and Rick Wyatt, corporate vice president and treasurer for HII, as secretary to two-year terms through June 30, 2026.
Gov. Glenn Youngkin announced board appointments. Beverly S. Ludford of Virginia Beach, co-owner of Ludford Brothers Oyster Co., was appointed to the Virginia Marine Products Board. State Sen. J.D. “Danny” Diggs of Seaford was appointed to the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission. Attorney Ida Outlaw McPherson of Suffolk was appointed to the Board of Education. Chelle Davis of Virginia Beach, director of board operations at University of Richmond, and Betsy Fowler of Williamsburg, retired Williamsburg Regional Library director, were appointed to The Library Board. Charity Volman-Winn of Norfolk, TowneBank Norfolk president, was appointed to the Chesapeake Bay Bridge and Tunnel Commission. Drew Mulhare of James City County, president of Realtec Community Services Inc., was appointed to the Common Interest Community Board. John Asbury of Richmond, president & CEO of Atlantic Union Bankshares; George H. Brown of Norfolk, president of GHB Consulting LLC; and Ellen Gajda of Williamsburg, owner and principal broker of Williamsburg Realty; were appointed to the Virginia Port Authority board of commissioners.
Awards and honors
Christine Piersall, chair of the Private Client & Fiduciary Services Practice at Williams Mullen in Norfolk, was recognized in the Chambers High Net Worth 2024 Guide.
The Coastal Multifamily Housing Council announced the winners of its 39th annual Awards of Excellence Competition July 18 at a ceremony held at the Virginia Beach Convention Center. Six individuals and two apartment communities were honored for Merit Awards their performance in the multifamily housing industry this past year. They include: Regional Property Manager of the Year, Monica Jackson, Frye Properties; Property Manager of the Year, Wendy Williams, Lawson Cos.; Leasing Consultant of the Year, Amy Gutterman, Lawson Cos.; Maintenance Supervisor of the Year, Demik Powers, Pembroke Realty Group; Maintenance Employee of the Year, Kenneth Tallarico, Pembroke Realty Group; Above & Beyond Award, Steven Dyer, Pembroke Realty Group; Residents’ Choice, Riverside Station Apartments, Franklin Group Cos.; Residents’ Runner-up, Two Hundred West Apartment Homes, Franklin Group Cos.; and Associate of the Year, Redi Carpet Sales of VA.
The Coastal Multifamily Housing Council also announced 2024 Awards of Excellence were also announced: Affordable Housing Gold, The Rivers Apartments, Lawson Cos.; Affordable Housing Silver, Renaissance Apartments, Franklin Group Cos.; Active Adult Communities (completed 1995 and before) Gold, John Knox Towers, Lawson Cos.; Active Adult Silver, Stonebridge Manor, Frye Properties; Active Adult (1996 and later) Gold, Era at PARK 216 Apartments, Pembroke Realty Group; and Active Adult Silver, Jamestown Commons, Frye Properties. Communities completed 1940-1959: Gold, Merrimack Landing Apartments, Lawson Cos.; Silver, Sterling Oaks Apartments, Frye Properties; and Bronze: Oakmont North, Lawson Cos. Communities 1960-1969: Gold, The Courtyards of Chanticleer, PRG Real Estate. Communities 1970-1974: Gold, Brookside Village Apartments, Clark Whitehill Enterprises; Silver, Chelsea at Lee Hall, Frye Properties; and Bronze, Admirals Way, Frye Properties. Communities 1975-1979: Gold, Linkhorn Bay, PRG Real Estate; Silver, Aspen Apartments, Clark Whitehill Enterprises; and Bronze, South Lake Apartments, Clark Whitehill Enterprises. Communities 1980-1989: Gold, Summer Station Apartments, Pembroke Realty Group; Silver, Willow Lake Apartments, Clark Whitehill Enterprises; and Bronze, Pembroke Crossing Apartments, Pembroke Realty Group. Communities 1990-1999: Gold, Campostella Commons, Lawson Cos. Communities 2000-2009: Gold, Belle Hall Apartments, Lawson Cos. Communities 2010-2015: Gold, Baker Woods Apartments, Lawson Cos.; Silver, The Residences at October Apartments, Lawson Cos.; Communities 2016-2019: Gold, Seaside Harbor Apartments, Lawson Cos.; Silver, Summer Haven Apartments, Lawson Cos.; and Bronze, The Villas at October Apartments, Lawson Cos. Communities 2020 and later: Gold, Park 216 Apartments, Pembroke Realty Group; Silver, The Apartments at Hallstead Reserve, Pembroke Realty Group; and Bronze, The Retreat at Harbor Pointe Apartments, Lawson Cos.
The Coastal Multifamily Housing Council also announced Platinum Awards, which recognized specific components of an apartment community: Best Model, Shoreline Apartments, Clark Whitehill Enterprises; Best Maintenance Shop, Seaside Harbor Apartments, Lawson Cos.; Best Amenities Package, The Apartments at Hallstead Reserve, Pembroke Realty Group; and Best Curb Appeal, Summer Station Apartments, Pembroke Realty Group.
Chesapeake Regional Medical Center received the American College of Cardiology’s Chest Pain-MI Registry Platinum Performance Achievement Award for 2024. The hospital is one of only 259 hospitals nationwide to receive the honor. Chesapeake Regional demonstrated sustained achievement in the registry for two consecutive years and performed at the highest level for specific performance measures.
The Norfolk Employees’ Retirement System and the Department of Finance have been honored by the Government Finance Officers Association for their fiscal year 2023 annual financial report. NERS received the Certificate of Achievement for Excellence in Financial Reporting, marking the 19th consecutive year it has earned this achievement.
Naval Air Station Oceana and Dam Neck Annex received Hampton Roads Sanitation Department’s Pretreatment Excellence Award during a July 30 ceremony at the Hilton Norfolk The Main hotel. The award recognizes businesses and organizations in Hampton Roads that exhibited exemplary permit compliance and pollution prevention measures in 2023. To be considered, organizations must treat their industrial water before it is discharged into HRSD’s system, which helps to protect the region’s waterways and natural resources. NAS Oceana and NAS Oceana Dam Neck Annex received HRSD’s Pretreatment Excellence Gold Award, which means the installation has one to four years of perfect compliance and no administrative or technical violations
Contract
The Lane Construction Corp., the U.S. subsidiary of Webuild Group, won a contract valued at $207.8 million for taxiway pavement repairs at Naval Air Station Oceana in Virginia Beach starting this fall and through early 2028. This is the second contract in recent years that the Charlotte, North Carolina-based company is completing at Oceana. Earlier this year, Lane landed a $110 million contract for the Newport News segment of the Interstate 64 Hampton Roads Express Lanes.
Closing
AIGA (American Institute of Graphic Arts) Hampton Roads announced its closure in July as membership dwindled to fewer than a dozen people. Chapter memberships will be assigned to AIGA Richmond.
Financing
Hampton Roads Sanitation District sold Wastewater Revenue Bonds Series 2024B on July 23, raising $268 million to fund capital projects, including HRSD’s Sustainable Water Initiative for Tomorrow (SWIFT) projects. The bonds were sold at an overall interest rate of 4.15% via a negotiated sale process with Bank of America Securities Inc. as the senior managing underwriter and will be repaid through 2054. Strong demand included orders from 27 diverse investors.
Grants and donations
The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development awarded Norfolk Redevelopment and Housing Authority and the city a $2.5 million Choice Neighborhoods Initiative grant. Funding will be used to complete the last phase of the St. Paul’s Area/Tidewater Gardens initiative, scheduled for completion in 2026-27. Redevelopment of the Tidewater Gardens area was made possible with an original 2019, $30 million CNI grant as well as an investment of more than $150 million in local and private funding. Of the total 383 new units, one-third are available for rent-subsidized housing, one-third for affordable housing and one-third for market-rate housing.
Chesapeake Bay Academy, an independent school in Virginia Beach, received $15,000 from Sentara Health to support the use of virtual reality to improve social and emotional learning for students with learning differences. The gift will support CBA’s work in implementing a social-emotional curriculum delivered in the Metaverse. Through their research arm, the Center for Educational Research and Technological Innovation, CBA will work with tech startup, aloeVR, on the implementation and evaluation of a tool to build mental resiliency through virtual mindfulness experiences.
Openings
Outer Banks Surfing, owned by passionate surfers and Outer Banks residents Dalton Mann and Reagan McClain, celebrated its grand opening at at 101 Town Hall Drive in Kill Devil Hills, North Carolina, on Aug. 1. The business conducts small group surf lessons.
Brightway Insurance announced the opening of The Farley Perkins Agency in Chesapeake. Farley Perkins, with over 25 years of experience in management and sales, chose to open a Brightway agency to offer exceptional service and support to customers. Specializing in the automotive industry, he led sales teams to surpass monthly targets and implemented effective training programs that enhanced team skills and performance. He is a member of the Norfolk State University Alumni Association and the Norfolk State University Athletic Foundation. For more information, visit BrightwayFarleyPerkins.com or contact Farley Perkins at 757-271-6655.
BeBold Recovery, an outpatient drug rehabilitation center, opened at 957 W. 21st St. in Norfolk. BeBold blends traditional and innovative treatment methods in a supportive setting where clients and staff come together as a family. Services include individual and group therapy, yoga, family counseling and holistic wellness practices. The programs are designed to integrate seamlessly into clients’ daily lives,
promoting sustainable recovery and long-term success. For more information, contact 757-921-8111 or email info@beboldrecovery.com.
Retail rebrand
Hampton-based St. George Brewing Co., the oldest operating brewery in Hampton Roads, announced an updated look and name for its award-winning brew Honey Lager, formerly known as Honey Meade Lager. The goal is to avoid consumer confusion by dropping the word “Meade.” The beer has been a bestselling staple for nearly 16 years. The brand refresh will be the first in a number of updates to the company’s family of brands over the course of the next year, which will also include a revamped Oktoberfest beer in early fall and the annual Scotch Ale in November. The brewery’s main goal is to bring a more cohesive brand identity to all of its brews and to create a more consistent look that better stands out on retail shelves.
RetirePath
RetirePath Virginia reported about 1,000 Virginia employers registered for the program in the first year, with 10,000 private-sector workers automatically contributing a portion of their paychecks to individual retirement accounts and collectively saving close to $5 million. RetirePath gives eligible employers a simple way to help their employees save for the future, with no employer fees, no fiduciary responsibility and minimal administrative requirements. Under state law, Virginia businesses with 25 or more eligible employees and operating for more than two years are required to either register for RetirePath or offer their own qualified retirement plan. Visit RetirePathVA.com.
