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December 2009
|
| Advance Auto
Parts celebrated the grand re-opening of the Vinton store on Thursday, November 19th at 10:00 a.m. at
401 E. Washington Avenue. Recently, the original retail store had been demolished and a new store was
constructed about 100 feet away. Twenty-four job positions were retained in the demolition/expansion
and three new positions were added.
The Vinton Advance Auto Parts store held the original opening in May 1986 and was the 100th store for the Advance Auto corporation. Today, in 2009, Advance Auto has 3,400 stores nationwide. President Jim Wade, Former CEO and President Garnett Smith, County Administrator Clay Goodman, Town Manager Chris Lawrence and Vinton Chamber President Hal Mabe all shared their congratulations from the podium to the store’s staff. Advance Auto also presented a check for $3,800,000 to the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation during the event. Vinton General Manager, Blair Clinebell Jr., cut the ribbon during the ribbon cutting ceremony and Clay Goodman and Chris Lawrence presented a framed certificate of appreciation to Jim Wade in honor of the Vinton store. The next day, David Page and Q-Bear helped celebrate the Grand Opening with the Q99/Valleydale Diner and the Q99 Prize Wheel for huge savings at the new store. Top Photo: During the grand opening, the Vinton Advance Auto Parts store showcased a photo from the original store opening. Bottom Photo: Garnett Smith, former President and CEO of Advance Auto Parts, congratulates the Vinton store manager and employees on the transition to the new store.
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Mennel Mill has announced expansion plans for their facility located off of Starkey Road in Southwest County. The $3.1 million expansion includes the construction of an 8,200 sf maintenance facility and two additional bins for wheat storage. The additional two bins contain 200,000 bushels each of wheat storage, which will increase their onsite storage from 800,000 to 1.2 million bushels. This equates to an increase from 34 to 52 days worth of wheat storage based upon their 23,000 bushel/day consumption. This project also prepares the mill site for the potential to add an additional 600,000 bushels of storage in the future if necessary.
To read more, click here.
| The new owners of Teaberry’s Cafe in Vinton, Brenda and Russ Johnson, commemorated the restaurant’s change of ownership with a Ribbon Cutting Ceremony on Thursday, November 5th at 11:00 a.m. at 129 E Cleveland Avenue. Vinton Councilwoman Carolyn Fidler and Town Manager Chris Lawrence participated in the ribbon cutting ceremony with Brenda Johnson, former Vinton Chamber President Hal Mabe, current chamber president Sabrina Weeks and chamber executive Judy Cunningham. Chris Lawrence and Carolyn Fidler also presented the Johnsons with a certificate of appreciation to acknowledge their contribution to Vinton’s economic development. Former owner and founder, Lisa Janney, sold Teaberry’s Café and the name of the restaurant to the Johnsons in October. |
(L to R) Former Vinton Chamber President Hal Mabe, Teaberry Cafe Owner Brenda Johnson, Vinton Town Councilwoman Carolyn Fidler and Vinton Town Manager Chris Lawrence celebrate the opening of Teaberry Cafe. |
Click here for the 2009 Existing Business Survey Results
Roanoke County Board of Supervisors Chairman, Mike Altizer, presented the State of the County address entitled “New Horizons” on November 17th. He reflected on the county’s accomplishments and projects to date and the opportunities and challenges presented in the future economy. Chairman Altizer spoke about the upcoming grand opening of the 75,000 square foot Green Ridge Recreation Center, the 30-mile connection route for Roanoke River Greenway, the new North County Fire and Rescue Station, the $9.2 million conversion of our public safety radio system from analog to digital capability, the opening of the new Fleet Service Center for Roanoke County and Western Virginia Water Authority, the groundbreaking for the County’s first new full-service library which will also serve as the new Headquarters Library. Chairman Altizer also shared how all projects were funded by bonds sold by the County before the economic downturn. Economic development locations and expansions were highlighted by Supervisor Altizer as well as reporting from the 2009 Existing Business Survey. He also talked about the partnership with surrounding localities and gave the example of this collaboration as the Roanoke Valley Regional Fire Training Tower dedicated on September 11th. Chairman Altizer concluded by highlighting the hiring of Clay Goodman as County Administrator and a report on the Roanoke County Public School System. To read more, click here. To view the video click here.
Brad Grose, Mayor of the Town of Vinton, presented the State of the Town address on November 17th at a Vinton Chamber luncheon. Topics covered a partnership with the Virginia Department of Housing and Community Development to secure funding for a master plan to revitalize sections of Vinton. Grose also applauded the efforts of the Downtown Management Team for their efforts in spearheading the master plan and securing a $35,000 planning grant which will be used for an economic marketing plan, branding effort and physical improvement plan for downtown. He announced that an additional grant of $10,000 has been secured through the efforts of Billy Vineyard, the Virginia Housing Development Authority and the Town of Vinton to study the former Vinton Motor Company location. Grose shared the podium and address with Town Manager, Chris Lawrence, who elaborated on the grants mentioned by the Mayor that will allow the development of a 20 Year Vision and a 10 Year Strategic Plan. Lawrence also addressed the Vinton Corridor Project. The Mayor informed the audience that over $9.1 million of construction permits had been issued for the town and recognized Kroger, Advance Auto, Vinton Appliance, Vinton Voice, Teaberry’s, Citizens Upholstery, The Trading Post, Super Dollar Discount Food Store, cupboard Antique Shop, Network Services, Creative Occasions and M&W Fire Apparatus for their investment in the Town and raising the profile of the Town’s business community. He concluded by announcing the Vinton War Memorial has brought approximately 13,000 people to town (no repeats) and that all of the town festivals were successful.
www.town.vinton.va.us
23rd ANNUAL SMALL BUSINESS AWARDS
HOTEL ROANOKE AND
CONFERENCE CENTER
OCTOBER 1, 2009
| COMPANY | CATEGORY | AWARD CLASSIFICATION |
|
Robert M. Brudzinski |
Small Business Advocate | Nominee |
|
Burris Computer Forms |
Wholesale/Retail | Award Winner |
| Chocolatepaper | Wholesale/Retail | Nominee |
| Creative Occasions Florals & Fine Gifts | Wholesale/Retail | Nominee |
| Trapezi Casual Dining Furniture | Wholesale/Retail | Nominee |
| No Nominees | Construction/Real Estate | |
| Windsor Gifts | Micro-Business | Nominee |
| M & W Fire Apparatus* | Manufacturing | Award Winner |
| Tecton Products, LLC | Manufacturing | Nominee |
| Eastern Motor Inns, Inc. | Business-to-Consumer Services | Nominee |
| Home Instead Senior Care** | Business-to-Consumer Services | Award Winner & Overall Award Winner |
| Varsity Landscaping & Grounds, LLC | Business-to-Consumer Services | Nominee |
| Blue Ridge Beverage Co. Inc. | Legacy | Award Winner |
| TMEIC | Technology | Nominee |
| Kreger Components, Inc. | Technology | Nominee |
| Vinton War Memorial | Not-for-Profit, Arts & Culture | Nominee |
| St. Francis Service Dogs | Not-for-Profit, Human Services | Nominee |
| Good Samaritan Hospice | Not-for-Profit, Human Services | Nominee |
* Congratulations to M & W Fire Apparatus for winning this award for the second consecutive year.
** Congratulations to Home Instead Senior Care Named 2009 Small Business of the Year and will represent us at the state level competition.
Entrepreneurs, entrepreneurial companies and the local/state agencies that assist these ventures is the theme of our current feature show on Roanoke County Business Partners.
Tom
Tanner, Professional Business Counselor from the Roanoke Regional
Chamber's Small Business Development Council, shares an overview of
services his organization provides to entrepreneurs.
www.roanokechamber.org
Jamal
Millner, President of M3:GRAFIX, tells how he started his business while
recovering from an accident based on advice from his father to expand
his business again.
www.m3grafix.com
John
Lewis, President & CEO of DaProSystems, celebrates his 25th anniversary and a
new office expansion in his story of how he started his business and recruited
his family.
www.daprosystems.com
Mike
Tesoro, Chief Operating Officer of Keltech, Inc., introduces how Keltech was
founded in a chicken coop, became an ESOP organization and how they keep the
entrepreneurial spirit alive company wide.
www.keltech-va.com
Pat
Green, President of Intergrity Burial Boxes, LTD., and a partner in Green &
Associates, relates how his first entrepreneurial experience lead him to his
second business which is only made in Virginia.
Sandy
Ratliff, Business Services Manager with the Virginia Department of Business
Assistance, addresses how her organization works with entrepreneurs and provides
assistance from one-on-one counseling to workshops.
www.dba.state.va.us
Join Roanoke County Business Partner's hosts, Melinda Cox and Doug Chittum as they explore entrepreneur assistance programs available to county business partners on the local and state level. Roanoke County Business Partners airs every Tuesday at 9:30 a.m. and 8:00 p.m. on RVTV Channel 3. For additional programming information, please click here.
Roanoke County Links
Roanoke County
Economic Development
General Inquiries
p: (540) 772-2069
f: (540) 772-2030
Address
Department of
Economic Development
5204 Bernard Drive, SW, Room 421
PO Box 29800
Roanoke, Virginia 24018-0798
Contacts
E.
Douglas "Doug" Chittum
Director
Jill
Loope
Assistant Director
Joe Zielinski
Economic Development Specialist
Melinda
J. Cox
Manager
Existing Business Program
Glenna Ratcliffe
Administrative Assistant
Mission
To design and implement innovative economic development programs and services that leverage community assets, create wealth and prosperity, and embrace the region's future.