Rogers continued that hands-on approach when he moved in 1982 to Hampton Roads, following a brother who had left the Navy and decided to stay in the region. Starting with small remodeling jobs and handyman work, Rogers shifted focus to window replacements when an energy crisis made energy-efficient home upgrades popular.

“We got more and more replacement window requests and dropped everything else because of the demand,” Rogers said.

In 1986, he founded the company known today as Mr. Rogers Windows and Doors. It is an independently owned affiliate retail operation and member of the Renewal by Andersen LLC retail network.

Initially, Rogers and his brother installed windows a couple times a month. Today, Mr. Rogers Windows and Doors employs over 100 people, with crews who work on 15 homes daily, from Gloucester to Manteo, North Carolina.

A primary driver of Mr. Rogers Windows’ growth is the company’s “system of predictable, repeatable, trainable processes and procedures,” said Rogers, the CEO. “If we could plug the right people into that system, we could produce the same results over and over again.”

That system encompasses everything from how to answer the phone, schedule a meeting with a prospective customer, do an in-home presentation and install a window — including laying out a red carpet because “we want to give our homeowners the red carpet treatment,” Rogers said.

The company has outgrown its showroom and warehouse in the Greenbrier area of Chesapeake. In July, it broke ground on a site near the city’s Grassfield High School for a 52,000-square-foot facility where all the employees will be together. It is expected to open in early 2025.

Despite challenges faced during the late ’80s and early ’90s, including a recession, Rogers was determined to ensure the company’s survival and growth.

“Failure wasn’t an option. I wasn’t going to let my family down,” he recalled.

During tough times early on, Rogers took on additional jobs. He delivered pizza from 10 p.m. to midnight, slept a few hours and then supervised newspaper delivery routes from 4 a.m. to 7 a.m. before going to work at his company.

The company’s culture also has played a significant role in its growth, with Rogers emphasizing the importance of the team. The company’s profit-sharing plan gave back $1.5 million to employees last year.

“I’m blessed to be supported by some of the best people throughout the country in the window business,” Rogers said. “We have a culture within our organization that is world-class. I love those guys. I couldn’t do it without them.”

Rogers is proud of his company’s commitment to customer satisfaction. For example, it will fix broken windows and replace screens, even decades later — stemming from a promise made to one of the company’s first customers to make sure he was happy with the work.

Community involvement is a cornerstone of Mr. Rogers Windows. The company’s foundation supports local initiatives, such as Union Mission Ministries and Habit for Humanity, and global efforts, like World Vision.

“To whom much is given, much is required. I do believe I have been blessed with a lot,” Rogers said.

Rogers said he loves that his company’s name makes people think of the long-running children’s television program “Mr. Rogers’ Neighborhood” and its caring, trustworthy host, Fred Rogers.

“It gives people a little smile,” he said, “and it helps people remember us.”

“Every mom knows that, oh my gosh, something’s wrong,” James said. “You’re like, ‘Excuse me governor, I need to take this call.’”

James shared this experience as a panelist at an executive briefing on the economics of child care in Hampton Roads. The discussion highlighted the importance and challenges of accessible, affordable and quality early childhood education and services.

“We know that someone who has a good start in life through early childhood education has a successful life,” said James, now senior vice president for government and community relations at Sentara Healthcare.

The invitation-only event on May 21 drew over 100 business and community leaders, local and state legislators and federal legislative representatives. It was hosted by the Hampton Roads Executive Roundtable and Minus 9 to 5, a community coalition at Eastern Virginia Medical School that is focused on early childhood. The program aimed to educate attendees on these issues and encourage advocacy for policies and funding to support early childhood, said Jane Elyce Glasgow, executive director of Minus 9 to 5.

A recent survey of Virginia employers revealed that 76% said child care availability affects recruitment and retention, Glasgow said. She noted that despite state lawmakers recently passing a biennial budget that includes “historic investments in early childhood” totaling $1.1 billion, a child care workforce crisis persists.

The pandemic forced many parents, especially mothers, to leave the workforce due to a lack of available child care, she said. Many families, particularly those with infants or toddlers, remain on long waiting lists, she said.

Without dependable care, employees can’t get to work or must reduce their hours, affecting productivity and profits, Glasgow said.

“Many of our local businesses feel the impact daily. Our military feels the impact daily,” she said.

Before the panel, pediatrician Dr. Natasha Sriraman emphasized the critical nature of the first five years of a child’s life. Ensuring access to high-quality early learning environments is crucial for development, she said.

“So, whether it’s in health care, the military sector, government, or businesses, we have to invest early and often in early childhood,” said Sriraman, an attending physician at Children’s Hospital of The King’s Daughters and associate professor of pediatrics at EVMS.

Sriraman, a mother of three, suggested measures like paid family leave, on-site daycare at workplaces, flexible work schedules and universal pre-kindergarten to help reduce disparities.

Nancy Grden, president and CEO of the Hampton Roads Executive Roundtable, highlighted the business implications of inadequate child care resources, noting that it significantly affects the ability to attract and retain talent.

“Businesses right now are challenged generally with getting the kinds of talent they need,” Grden said.

Child care and other “fundamentals of life,” such as housing, transportation and education, are becoming increasingly critical to companies as they consider where to locate, she said. Grden also noted that the child care industry struggles with issues such as low wages.

“The business of child care actually needs a reframing,” she said. “The economics just don’t work.”

The event included a panel discussion moderated by Glasgow, where strategies to address early childhood needs were shared.

Rick Dwyer, executive director of the Hampton Roads Military and Federal Facilities Alliance, pointed out that on-base child development centers cannot meet the demand. Joint Base Langley-Eustis, for example, has over 500 children on a waitlist for child care, the largest in the Air Force, he said, while about 2,000 children in Navy families throughout Hampton Roads are on waiting lists.

Dwyer noted that the lack of convenient child care can drive parents to leave the military, especially when service members are stationed far from family who might be able to help.

Tara Ramsey, president and CEO of Instant Systems Inc., a medical equipment manufacturer, said child care stress affects productivity and company performance as employees worried about child care struggle to focus on their jobs. Her company supports employees by offering 30 paid days off a year and paying above the living wage.

Ramsey said she doesn’t want her grandchildren to experience the “mom guilt that we feel when the phone rings and we have to decide, ‘Am I going to go and deal with the sick child or am I going to stay here at work?’”

Whitney Lester, senior director of talent development for the Hampton Roads Workforce Council, said affordable, quality child care is an intrinsic part of recruiting talent.

“The problem has become so exacerbated — we have to deal with it,” he said, adding that no amount of marketing will bring employers and employees to the region if the issue isn’t addressed.

Throughout the discussion, a consensus emerged on the necessity for sustained effort and collaboration to address child care gaps.

“It’s going to take all of us,” James said.

Burrowing of a new tunnel to help carry more vehicles between Virginia Beach and the Eastern Shore has resumed about 10 months after a gigantic boring machine struck an old ship anchor buried beneath a shipping channel.

Tunneling was suspended so workers could investigate the obstruction, excavate the 10-foot-long anchor — which was in several pieces — and replace machine parts damaged from hitting it.

The tunnel boring machine known as Chessie got back to work April 8, days before the 60th anniversary of the bridge-tunnel’s opening April 15, 1964.

“We’re making very good progress now that it’s back working,” Mike Crist, the deputy executive director overseeing infrastructure for the Chesapeake Bay Bridge and Tunnel District, said Friday during a visit to the work site. Chessie is tunneling about 50 feet a day and has bored 1,600 feet total, about 25% of the planned 6,400 feet.

While other construction work continued during the stoppage, the anchor added 241 days to the project, pushing completion from December 2026 to August 2027, Crist said.

It also added $60 million to the project’s $756 million cost. Insurance is expected to cover most of that extra expense, he said. Funding for the project — which began in 2017 and was to be finished by 2022 but has experienced several delays — comes from toll revenue.

The 17-mile-long bridge-tunnel now has two lanes of traffic in each direction. Traffic converges into one lane each way in the two tunnel portions, each a mile long. The expansion project is adding a parallel tube to the Thimble Shoal Channel. The new tube will carry two lanes of southbound traffic; the original tube will carry two lanes of northbound traffic. The northern tunnel is expected to undergo a similar expansion in the 2030s.

Tunnel construction comprises the remaining portion of the current expansion. Chessie is building the tunnel liner. The machine has a steel cutter head 43 feet in diameter and about 300 feet long — the length of a football field minus the end zones.

Chessie began mining the tunnel in February 2023 and had tunneled about 750 feet by that May, when workers spotted large pieces of steel on a conveyor belt that carries muck from the tunnel to the bay’s surface. More pieces were excavated later.

One piece was engraved “W.L. Byers & Co.” That company, based in Sunderland, England, produced anchors from the 1860s to about the 1950s, Crist said.

How the anchor got buried and to which ship it belonged are unknown, Crist said.

“No one has claimed it,” he said, adding that the anchor was of a very common type. It weighed about 3.5 to 5 tons and likely was intact before the boring machine “chewed it up and snapped it into pieces,” Crist said.

Chessie “was grinding on it before we knew it was there,” he said.

All that grinding damaged Chessie as well; 389 of the 442 tools, such as discs and scrapers, on the cutter head had to be replaced, said Tom Anderson, deputy executive director in charge of finance and operations for the bridge-tunnel. So did 48 wear plates.

From June to December, crews created a safe haven for accessing the cutter head from inside the machine without fear of a cave-in or blowout. They grouted the ground in front of Chessie to pressurize an excavation chamber and prevent water and sand from flowing in. While not in water, the workers were under the kind of pressure divers experience, Anderson said.

January through March was spent restoring the cutter head to working condition.

“The plan that the workers developed to remove the anchor, execute that removal and fix the cutter head in those conditions was pretty incredible work,” Crist said. “It was an unexpected challenge, but they’ve overcome it.”

“Now we’re back to tunneling. Everybody’s relieved.”

Despite being spread out across seven states, the more than 700 employees of The Franklin Johnston Group “still work and act as a family and a team,” said Angela Lombardi, vice president of marketing.

The multifamily developer and property management firm maintains a close-knit atmosphere through team-building, open lines of communication and regular employee recognition.

For example, employees can nominate anyone within the company for the weekly Be the Solution award. Each winner is announced companywide and receives a $100 gift card and an extra day of paid time off. The award’s mascot is a bee because bees look out for each other and work together as a team.

“It really does personify the way we all work together,” Lombardi said. “There is a lot of interdepartmental collaboration, a lot of teamwork.”

The Franklin Johnston Group, which recently celebrated its 10th anniversary, builds and manages apartment communities from Rhode Island to Florida. Its portfolio includes 170 properties owned by the company and those managed on behalf of strategic partners.

“We have a unique culture,” Lombardi said. “When we look to add members, we look for people who are aligned with our goals and believe in our core values, who are passionate about serving the communities and the residents who call them home every day.”

The company’s low turnover rate and preference for promoting from within fosters a sense of pride and ownership among employees.

The company has a “work hard, play hard mentality,” Lombardi said, but also ensures that team members spend time with families and have a work-life balance.

That includes offering surprise early office closures before holidays or even on a Friday after a really busy time, and two paid wellness days per year so employees can relax at the beach, get a message or otherwise engage in self-care.

Employees also get two paid community service days a year to volunteer or support whatever organization is dear to their hearts, reflecting the company’s core belief in giving back.

Franklin Johnston is committed to providing quality, comfortable living spaces for people from all walks of life, including senior citizens, individuals seeking luxury accommodations and those in need of affordable housing.

“We believe that everybody deserves a nice place to live,” Lombardi said.

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About the company

Address: Headquarters: 300 32nd St., Suite 310, Virginia Beach; 2900 S. Quincy St., Suite 150, Arlington

Phone: 757-965-6200

Website: tfjgroup.com

Top executives: Wendell Franklin, co-founder and chairman; Taylor Franklin, co-founder and CEO; Tom Johnston, co-founder and chief development officer

Employees: 340 team members in Hampton Roads, 741 across seven states

Benefits include: Health, dental, vision, supplemental insurance options, employee assistance program, 401(k), 10 paid holidays, paid time off, two paid wellness days off, bonus days off and gift cards

Fun factor: Team holiday parties and award ceremonies; surprise early office closures prior to holidays; regional team building events like horseback riding, field day competition, Top Golf; career development; cell phone discounts; group workouts and TFJG softball team; multifamily housing industry events; culture committee gathers feedback to address challenges and help implement new ideas.

Community service: Since our inception, we have donated over $1.5 million to a myriad of charities ranging from health care to education to animal welfare. Each team member receives two paid community service days per year. We participate in the United Way workplace giving campaign and the United Way Day of Caring. Every year, our owners donate money to buy school supplies for children that live at our communities to help set them up for a great school year. Our community managers and their teams will set up events at the communities so the children can come “shop” for their supplies. Several of our team members serve on nonprofit boards and/or event committees.

A strong sense of community service, collaborative culture and commitment to military personnel and first responders are deeply ingrained in the identity of ADS Inc.

The military equipment supplier specializes in tactical equipment, procurement, logistics and supply chain solutions. It offers an extensive range of equipment, from tactical gear to laptop-operated drones to cater to diverse deployment requirements.

The company began more than 20 years ago by outfitting Navy SEALS with dive equipment. It now works with federal agencies, state and local law enforcement, fire departments and first responders.

Julia Cooke, chief growth officer, stressed the company’s pivotal role in ensuring high-quality equipment reaches deployed service members, enabling them to complete their missions successfully.

“To be able to support that mission is far greater than any other common goal that I’ve been part of in my career,” said Cooke, who has been with the company just over three years.

Her role includes recruitment, training and development.

Alan Miller, performance manager, said the company has a highly collaborative environment, coupled with a deep understanding of customer needs that starts with the sales team and goes all the way up the chain of command. Employees include many veterans, former first responders and retired police, he said.

Employee recognition and engagement occupy a central role at ADS. Peer-nominated awards celebrate individuals who embody the company’s core values of accountability, attitude, commitment, drive, initiative and innovation. ADS also prioritizes a family-friendly atmosphere, extending engagement activities to include employees’ families.

“We work really hard but also incorporate play,” Cooke said. “We value all customers, suppliers and employees, we reward and recognize effort and we have fun doing it.”

Cooke highlighted the company’s involvement in initiatives such as participating in Habitat for Humanity builds, assembling Troopster care packages and organizing events to benefit the Eliza Hope Foundation. Employees also have arm-wrestled each other to raise funds for Battle Dawgs, an outdoor rehabilitation program for wounded service members.

The company’s dedication to teamwork and support is further underscored by participation in events such as 5K races and log carrying challenges, symbolizing collective efforts to overcome challenges.

At a 5K in San Diego, Cooke was struck by how “at the finish line, whether you walked, limped or were carried, everyone was standing there and waving and clapping you on.”

“We’re all there to support each other go get across the finish line,” Cooke said. “It’s a metaphor for what we do every day.”

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Special award

Direction — Employees believe this company is going in the right direction.

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About the company

Address: Headquarters: 621 Lynnhaven Parkway, Suite 160, Virginia Beach; warehouse: 2505 Aviator Drive, Virginia Beach

Phone: 866-845-3012

Website: adsinc.com

Top executives: Ryan Angold, CEO; John Dunn, chief finanicial officer/chief operating officer; Mark Libonate, chief sales officer; Julie Cooke, chief growth officer; Brad Anderson, EVP-contracts and projects; Levi Wilson, VP-customer focus

Employees: 302

Benefits include: 401(k), medical, dental, vision, group term life insurance, short/long-term disability, Volunteer Day

Fun factor: ADS has an employee engagement manager who ensures ADS has a great employee-centered culture. Events range from tickets to ODU football and basketball games, Norfolk Tides, annual holiday party and company outings to Busch Gardens.

Community service: ADS Inc. Virginia Beach Warrior 5K supporting Navy SEAL Foundation; ADS Mission Giveback Foundation’s arm-wrestling fundraiser Over the Tap at New Realm Brewing Co.; fundraiser for nonprofit Battle Dawgs; Red Cross blood drives; Troopster military care packages; Eliza Hope Foundation and Therapy Center; Trick or Treat event; Habitat for Humanity

Virginia Natural Gas has maintained a close-knit, small business atmosphere even while being part of a larger organization, Southern Company Gas, said Michele Potter, human resources business partner.

“When we go to our corporate office in Atlanta, you break out your business suit,” Potter said. “It’s a little more casual in Virginia. We’re part of a large organization that offers great benefits, but you also get that homegrown feel where everybody knows each other. It’s like a family.”

In fact, it’s not unusual to find relatives working together at the company, Potter said, such as an operations manager father whose daughter is a business coordinator.

Virginia Natural Gas dates to 1850, when City Gas Light Co. received the charter to illuminate Norfolk’s streets with gas lights. Today, the company serves more than 310,000 residential and business customers in southeastern Virginia.

The employer fosters a strong sense of community within its ranks. The company takes pride in hosting family-friendly events as well as putting safety at the forefront of its operations.

The company understands the importance of equity and flexibility, especially after the challenges of the pandemic. Virginia Natural Gas embraced remote work and flexible schedules, accommodating employees with family commitments and caregiving responsibilities.

Virginia Natural Gas fosters growth from within, offering ample opportunities for career development. Many employees start right after high school and receive the education, training and experience to build successful careers. Recently, the company organized mock interviews to help employees develop their professional skills and take the next step in their career journey.

Inclusivity is a core value for Virginia Natural Gas, which strives to make sure everyone in its workforce has the ability to participate in events and activities, such as training, education and networking, Potter said. Everyone is encouraged to participate in employee resource groups, such as for women and veterans. These groups are an important part of the company’s diversity and inclusion strategy.

Virginia Natural Gas’s apprentice program offers a pathway for young individuals who are eager to work with their hands, with valuable on-the-job training and tuition reimbursement.

“You can build a really successful career at the company,” Potter said.

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Special award

Clued in Senior Management — Senior managers understand what is really happening at this company.

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About the company

Address: 544 S. Independence Blvd., Virginia Beach

Phone: 866-229-3578

Website: virginianaturalgas.com

Top executives: Robert Duvall, president; Robert “Rus” Hayslett, vice president of operations; George Faatz, director of growth and strategic planning; Ken Yagelski, director of gas supply; Tyler Lake, director of regulatory affairs; Morgan Whayland, director of government affairs; Karen Bradley, director of corporate communications; Donovan Jones, director of southern regional operations; Brendan Summers, director of northern regional operations

Employees: 350

Benefits include: Medical, dental and vision benefits; paid vacation, holidays and sick leave; wellness program; 12 weeks paid maternity leave; up to 12 weeks paid adoption leave and reimbursement up to $5,000 per eligible child; tuition reimbursement; short/long-term disability; life insurance; 401(k) and pension plan

Fun factor: Family-friendly activities such as Family Movie Night and company socials. Employees are encouraged to participate in employee resource groups that provide learning events and volunteer opportunities.

Community service: Each year, VNG donates money through charitable giving, organizes fundraisers and volunteers our time with a focus on supporting many charitable and community projects centered on improving the lives of those living in Coastal Virginia. Employees guide charitable giving. Community support focuses on children and education, energy assistance, environmental stewardship, military and veterans and community enrichment, including social justice and equity for all people. The company provides volunteer time for employees to give back to their local communities through annual participation in Salvation Army’s Angel Tree, school supply drives, Special Olympics Polar Plunge fundraisers and the United Way.

Since 1996, Atlantic Bay Mortgage Group has helped more than 150,000 families find homes with an approach that focuses on caring for people — both customers and employees.

Based in Virginia Beach, Atlantic Bay Mortgage has more than 800 employees across 17 states working to help families achieve their homeownership dreams. From first homes to investment properties and refinancing, the company aims to deliver tailored mortgage experiences with transparency and integrity.

“We genuinely care, we inspire growth and we have fun,” CEO Brian Holland said in an email, citing the core values that guide Atlantic Bay’s approach to serving clients and creating an environment in which team members thrive.

Atlantic Bay is quick to respond to market shifts and evolving client needs so its offerings remain relevant and effective. It also leverages technology for operational efficiency and values transparent communication from executive leadership to cultivate employee trust. The company is committed to fostering a cohesive team culture, embracing continuous learning and promoting diversity and inclusion.

Through flexible schedules and an atmosphere of camaraderie, Atlantic Bay gives its employees freedom to take time off when needed.

The industry can be stressful, so the company offers ways to help employees combat that, including free health and wellness sessions, virtual Happy Half Hours, annual costume contests and holiday parties.

“Our employees’ happiness means more to us than the dollar,” Brian Holland said. “Our people are the keys to Atlantic Bay being a Top Workplace.”

Atlantic Bay also encourages employees to support the community in many ways, for example, with its AB Cares’ More than a Game fundraiser for Boys & Girls Clubs of Southeast Virginia.

President Stan Holland, Brian Holland’s brother, envisions a future in which Atlantic Bay continues to innovate and expand while maintaining a focus on team well-being and community impact.

“If we keep our team members happy and put an emphasis on the things that are important to them inside (and outside) the workplace, we stay innovative and welcome ideas and continue to give back, then we hope to grow exponentially in the future,” Stan Holland said in an email.

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Special award

Leadership — Brian Holland. Employees have confidence in the leader of this company.

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About the company

Address: 600 Lynnhaven Parkway, Suite 100, Virginia Beach

Phone: 757-213-1660

Website: atlanticbay.com

Top executives: CEO Brian Holland, President Stan Holland

Employees: 850

Benefits include: Medical, dental, vision, etc.; wellness credit program employees can submit their credits for completing wellness initiatives for a monetary reward; generous health savings account match; paid time off donation bank where employees donate their PTO to co-workers who may be experiencing a crisis.

Fun factor: Annual virtual Halloween costume party (Zoom-A-Ween), annual Holiday party, Happy Half Hours, Employee Appreciation Week (a weeklong event full of giveaways, games and more), free health and wellness sessions, Virtual Couch to 5K, Friday Morning Meetings and more

Community service: Philanthropic opportunities include building playsets and hosting ready-bag packing parties and the Roc Run 4 Fun 5K for Roc Solid Foundation, annual Week of Service with project ideas submitted by employees, AB Cares’ More than a Game fundraiser for Boys & Girls Clubs of Southeastern Virginia

From helping patients manage chronic conditions such as diabetes to addressing behavioral health and social needs, the Sentara Community Care program is working to reduce barriers to access by bringing care to underserved communities in Virginia.

The initiative, launched last year by Sentara Health, aims to improve health and well-being by addressing social drivers of health, such as housing, food security, behavioral health and access to education and career training.

“SCC is a new model of care designed to facilitate medical access and improve individual and community health and well-being at the neighborhood level,” said Heather Strock, executive director of operations.

A key component is the Sentara Mobile Care RV, a “doctor’s office on wheels” that brings health care to communities where access is limited. A mobile team of health care professionals provides a wide range of services and assistance.

“It’s not about asking the patients to come to us,” Strock said. “We’re going to the community.”

Sentara already had a mobile team in Northern Virginia and folded that into Sentara Community Care, Strock said.

In addition, brick-and-mortar SCC centers were established in Norfolk’s Berkley neighborhood and at the Union Mission, which provides help for people experiencing homelessness.

The care centers serve as medical homes for Medicaid patients and individuals who cannot afford insurance. Community health workers hired from the neighborhoods act as liaisons between the patients and the care team to make sure needs are addressed, Strock said.

By providing a consistent health care presence, the centers help patients manage chronic conditions, adhere to prescriptions and reduce the need for hospitalizations. Since the opening of the care center at Union Mission, for example, emergency medical service calls and transports of Union Mission residents to Sentara emergency departments have been reduced by 80%.

By the end of this year, the Sentara Community Care program expects to have six RVs on the road and six care centers, Strock said.

Strock emphasized the significance of partnerships in the program’s success. She said health departments, food banks, faith-based leaders and others have provided additional support and resources.

Sentara Community Care’s impact can be seen in the lives of individual patients. In one example shared by Sentara, a 34-year-old woman with Type 1 diabetes and chronic pancreatitis was living in a motel room with her partner and three young children. After being discharged from a hospital around the holidays, she received vital support from the SCC team.

The team provided a home physician visit, referrals to specialists and connections to resources such as housing options and social workers, as well as food and clothing, a small Christmas tree and gifts for the children.

Another example involves a 60-year-old woman who sought assistance at Union Mission. She had stopped taking insulin because she was unable to afford her monthly co-pay. She had just asked to have her blood sugar level checked. Instead, she received financial support to help cover those co-pays, diabetic food and referrals to community health workers for further assistance and education.

Without the team’s actions, the woman could have ended up in the hospital, Strock said.

Sentara Community Care is “a little bit of medicine, a lot of other things,” Strock said. “We center around trust and relationships.”

Dr. William Owen has attended many funerals for young patients, especially early in his career. But as treatments for blood disorders and cancer have improved, he’s found himself celebrating more with current and former patients as they graduate from school, get married and have children of their own.

Owen came to Children’s Hospital of The King’s Daughters in Norfolk 30 years ago to treat children at the Children’s Cancer and Blood Disorders Center and to be the medical director of the sickle cell disease program. He also is the academic medical director of the division of pediatric hematology and oncology at Eastern Virginia Medical School.

“Yes, I’ve attended funerals,” Owen said. “But we’re also able to see kids who grow through cancer treatment and have good outcomes. … There’s a lot of downs, but there’s a lot of ups.”

Owen said he entered medicine “on the upswing of better outcomes” for children with cancer. In the 1960s and 1970s, children with cancer didn’t do well, and care was largely aimed at relieving suffering, he said.

Today, with major treatment advances, 85% of children with cancer survive five or more years, according to the American Cancer Society.

Sickle cell treatments also are improving, but not as quickly. The disease, which mainly affects Black patients, did not get the same attention, federal funding or research dollars as other diseases, Owen said.

“It’s always been kind of an underserved population,” Owen said. “I like helping underserved populations, figuring out mysteries. That goes along with my interest in global health.”

Sickle cell is a group of hereditary blood disorders that result in lifelong issues with anemia, chronic organ damage and pain episodes. Many patients used to die before they reached adulthood.

Owen has been involved in clinical research that’s led to some of the treatments helping patients to live longer. He also has promoted sickle cell screening and education in this country and in Haiti and the Dominican Republic.

Sickle cell is difficult to manage because of all the problems it causes, Owen said. Treatments initially prolonged lives without improving them but in the last decade, progress has been made in decreasing complications, he said.

Tymiere Grayson has been a patient of Owen’s for 17 of his 18 years. By the time he was 9 months old, he had been hospitalized 17 times for sickle cell, said his mother, Genene Milligan.

They were living in New Jersey when Milligan did some research and learned about Owen and CHKD’s sickle cell program. Knowing nothing about Norfolk, she moved here so Owen could treat her son.

Grayson has had kidney and lung damage and needed a hip replacement, and he suffers from overall chronic pain. Owen has brought him “a long way,” Milligan said.

Grayson used to spend three out of four weeks a month in the hospital. Now he’s there about once every six months, Milligan said.

“Dr. Owen is just passionate about what he does,” she said. “I don’t know what we would have done without him.”

“He’s done so much for Tymiere, and also for me,” said Milligan, who was diagnosed in February with non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma, a cancer that begins in the lymph system.

Grayson was in the hospital for a pain episode, and Milligan was with him when she received her biopsy results.

“Dr. Owen was there on the floor and took the time to translate the results for me,” she said.

Owen cheered Grayson for graduating high school this June. Inspired by Owen, Grayson plans to be a sickle cell nurse.

Owen said it’s an honor to care for young patients like Grayson and be so involved in their lives.

“To see these kids get to normal milestones and be the given the opportunity to celebrate with those kids makes it all worthwhile,” he said.

Sarah Mielke began volunteering at Children’s Hospital of The King’s Daughters in Norfolk at the suggestion of her mother, a registered nurse.

Now, 23 years later, Mielke has accumulated more than 8,300 hours of volunteer service at CHKD. She has more hours than any of this year’s 400 volunteers — and 2,500 more than the volunteer with the next highest amount of hours.

“I love the job,” said Mielke, 45, of Virginia Beach, who has put together parent education packets, admission folders for parents and surgical charts. “I love seeing the people.”

In 2000, Sarah’s mother, Pam Mielke, was working in CHKD’s nursing education department when she noticed volunteers filing papers and collating packets. She thought her daughter, who has Down syndrome, would excel at those tasks.

So, she asked Sarah what she thought about volunteering at the hospital and her daughter enthusiastically embraced the opportunity. For years, she came with her mother to work two days a week.

“Sarah likes the people she’s doing the work for. It’s important work. They appreciate her,” Pam Mielke said. “She embodies the satisfaction of doing a job that people are happy you are doing.”

Sarah Mielke is dedicated, dependable, enthusiastic and outgoing, said Joy Parker, director of volunteer services at CHKD. Mielke has endeared herself to many at CHKD with her interest in getting to know people and her knack for remembering details about them, Parker said.

“I look forward to seeing her on the mornings I know she is coming in,” Parker said. “She always takes time to have a conversation on a personal level before she goes to work. You can’t help but smile.”

“She’s a delight. She pulls you in,” Parker continued. “She knows my birthday. She knows my husband’s birthday. She always asks me about my family. She knows so many things. When you walk down the hall with her, I feel she knows more people than I do.”

Sarah Mielke continued to volunteer after her mother retired in 2016. Volunteer services were suspended for a time during the pandemic, but Mielke now is back volunteering one day a week, helping CHKD’s surgery services get charts ready for outpatient surgeries at CHKD’s main hospital. Her tasks include getting labels for the charts from the admitting office.

“You don’t forget Sarah once you meet her,” Parker said. “And she doesn’t forget you, either. She’s made a ton of friends while she was helping us to accomplish the work that needed to be done.”

Sarah Mielke also has worked for 13 years at Target, where she is a cart attendant. Outside of work and volunteering, she enjoys swimming and participating in Special Olympics. She also is well traveled, having visited places including London, Paris, Rome, Ireland and Saint Martin.

Asked what she enjoys most about volunteering, Mielke said, “I like it all.”