Here’s the press release from Community Housing Partners.

Christiansburg/Richmond, Va. – Community Housing Partners (CHP) was recently named to a list of the nation’s top 50 affordable housing owners by Affordable Housing Finance magazine, as presented in the periodical’s April/May, 2013 issue.
“For 38 years, CHP has worked to create economically, environmentally, and socially-sustainable homes in communities across the Southeast.  We are pleased to be recognized by Affordable Housing Finance magazine for our ongoing efforts to offer homes people can afford in  previously underserved areas,” said David Schultz, CHP’s Vice President of Development.

CHP’s portfolio of owned affordable units has grown from 31 in 1988 to almost 5,500 in 2013 — extending across Virginia, Kentucky, North Carolina, and Florida.  The types of properties include conventional and tax-credit properties, Section 8-eligible developments, and housing complexes designed to serve elderly and/or disabled people.

About Community Housing Partners
Community Housing Partners (CHP) is a 501(c)(3) community development corporation established in 1975 to serve the needs of low-income  and low-wealth individuals in the Southeast. Our mission is to create affordable, green, sustainable housing opportunities and services for the people and communities we serve. CHP’s activities include real estate development, architectural design, construction, energy services, homeownership, property management, and resident services.  We are a chartered member of NeighborWorks America, and a member of both the Housing Partnership Network and the Federation of Appalachian Housing Enterprises (FAHE).  To learn more about CHP, visit www.communityhousingpartners.org.

Here is a press release from Dollar General.

GOODLETTSVILLE, Tenn.—May 14, 2013— In its effort to hire 10,000 new employees in May, Dollar General will host a career fair at Dollar General located at 2312 Orange Ave. NE # 4 in Roanoke, Va. on Saturday, May 18 from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. to attract new store candidates to join its thriving and growing organization.  This event will be one of approximately 170 nationwide career fairs held on Saturday throughout the 40 states the retailer serves.

Dollar General representatives will be present to discuss opportunities, receive resumes and educate candidates on long-term growth and development opportunities at one of America’s fastest-growing retailers. Candidates are also encouraged to visit the Dollar General career website for information on current vacancies before attending the event, as well as bringing a resume copy to the event.

“With the long term career opportunities Dollar General provides its employees, we take great pride in being an employer of choice for external candidates,” said Bob Ravener, executive vice president and chief people officer for Dollar General. “Exceptional talent and internal promotions continue to fuel Dollar General’s growth and we look forward to the skills these 10,000 new hires will bring the company.”

A full list of nationwide career fairs on Saturday, May 18 is available at www.dollargeneral.com/careers.

Candidates interested in joining the Dollar General team who are unable to attend a career fair may apply for available positions online at www.dollargeneral.com/careers.

For additional information, please contact the Media Relations Department at 615-855-5210 or via email at crystal.ghassemi@dg.com.

About Dollar General Corporation
Dollar General Corporation has been delivering value to shoppers for nearly 75 years. Dollar General helps shoppers Save time. Save money. Every day!® by offering products that are frequently used and replenished, such as food, snacks, health and beauty aids, cleaning supplies, basic apparel, house wares and seasonal items at low everyday prices in convenient neighborhood locations. With more than 10,000 stores in 40 states, Dollar General has more retail locations than any retailer in America. In addition to high quality private brands, Dollar General sells products from America’s most-trusted manufacturers such as Procter & Gamble, Kimberly-Clark, Unilever, Kellogg’s, General Mills, Nabisco, Hanes, PepsiCo and Coca-Cola. Learn more about Dollar General at www.dollargeneral.com.

Here is the press release from the Roanoke Regional Chamber of Commerce.

The Roanoke Regional Chamber of Commerce is now accepting nominations for the 27th Annual Small Business Awards. The nomination deadline is June 24, 2013. Businesses must be at least three years old to qualify for the awards. Chamber membership is not required.

To receive a nomination form to nominate an outstanding small businesses, small business veteran or small business advocate, call 540.983.0700 x228, e-mail business@RoanokeChamber.org or visit www.RoanokeChamber.org.
All nominated businesses that complete the application process will be recognized in Chamber publications and at the Small Business Awards Dinner and Program on Thursday, October 3, 2013, at The Hotel Roanoke & Conference Center.

Awards will be presented in the following categories: Small Business Advocate (presented to an individual who supports small business); Construction/Real Estate; Manufacturing; Micro-Business (five or fewer employees); Technology; Business-to-Business Services; Business-to-Consumer Services; Wholesale/Retail; Legacy (continuously operating for 50+ years); Not-For-Profit Arts & Culture; and Not-For-Profit Health & Human Services.  An overall winner will be named the 2013 Roanoke Regional Chamber of Commerce’s Small Business of the Year.  This business will move on to statewide competition sponsored by the U.S. Small Business Administration.
The Roanoke Regional Chamber of Commerce, established in 1889, has nearly 1,100 member firms.  The Chamber serves its members with advocacy, networking, information and business assistance programs that maintain a strong business climate in the Greater Roanoke Region.

Can Do Award Shot (L to R): Suzanne Barnette, Dr. Matthew Marry, Eric Johnsen, Dr. Ray Tuck, Nathaniel Tuck, and Dr. Jennifer Rathmann

Tuck Chiropractic Clinic earned several awards by participating in The Can Do! food drive held during the Fork and Cork Festival in Blacksburg April 27. The clinic collected 1,107 cans of food and constructed an Etch-A-Sketch for the competition. Awards won by the staff include  Most Cans Collected, Most Nutritious, People’s Champion and Jury’s Champion.

Here is the press release from Tuck Chiropractic Clinic.

BLACKSBURG, VIRGINIA (May 8, 2013) – Doctors and Staff Members from Tuck Chiropractic Clinic participated in The Can Do! on Saturday, April 27, 2013.  Tuck Chiropractic Clinic staff members collected 1107 cans of food and built an Etch A Sketch featuring the Can Do! slogan.  The Tuck Chiropractic Team won the awards for Most Cans Collected, Most Nutritious, People’s Champion, and Jury’s Champion.

Can Do Finish Group Shot (L to R): Eric Johnsen, Suzanne Barnette, Elicia Heilbron, Dr. Ray Tuck, Laura Gilbert, Nathaniel Tuck, Mark Gilbert, Dr. Matthew Marry, Phil Cumbia, Bonnie Tuck, Dr. Jennifer Rathmann, Jack Johnsen, and Dr. Logan Brooke

“We are very grateful to all of our patients and the grocery stores across the New River Valley who generously donated food to our cause.  We are very thankful for these food donations that went directly to Feeding America, Micah’s Backpack, and Montgomery County Emergency Assistance Program after the building competition,” stated Dr. Matthew Marry of Tuck Chiropractic Spinal Sports Injury Clinic in Christiansburg and the Team Captain for the competition.

The Can Do! event is held in conjunction with the Fork and Cork Festival in Blacksburg.  Local teams are encouraged to design and build structures using canned and boxed food items.  This is an annual event that greatly benefits food pantries in need of supplies.

The mission of Tuck Chiropractic Clinic is to make a positive impact on every life we touch.  Tuck Chiropractic Clinic’s strong commitment to the community is essential in furthering our goal to make a significant, positive impact on as many lives as possible.  Visit us online at www.tuckclinic.com.

Lavery Hall has been awarded Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design silver certification for design, construction, operations, and management.

Another Virginia Tech building has been awarded a Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design Silver certification. Lavery Hall is the sixth building on Virginia Tech’s campus to earn a LEED certification from the U.S. Green Building Council. The building is home to a dining center, classrooms and offices.

Here is the press release from Virginia Tech.

BLACKSBURG, Va., May 2, 2013 – As innovative as it is inviting, Virginia Tech’s Lavery Hall has been awarded Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design Silver certification, as established by the U.S. Green Building Council.

Lavery Hall joins a growing list of university facilities that have been LEED certified.

LEED certification is a performance-oriented rating system designed to address specific environmental impacts inherent in the design, construction, operations, and management of a building.

“Even on a campus as committed to sustainability as Virginia Tech, this recognition stands out because it involved so many partners,” said Patty Perillo, vice president for student affairs. “Student and academic affairs and administrative services staff, including architects and designers, all collaborated to create this state-of-the-art facility that serves so many, in so many ways. LEED Silver certification for Lavery Hall is just another example of what a diverse group of committed people can accomplish when they share a common vision,” Perillo said.

Lavery Hall was opened in fall 2012. The three-story building has 77,301 gross square feet and includes Turner Place at Lavery Hall a trend-setting dining center; six general-assignment classrooms; and office space for Services for Students with Disabilities. It is named Lavery Hall in honor of the university’s 12th president, William E. Lavery.

“During construction, we diverted 94.65 percent of waste from landfills,” said David Chinn, project manager for Lavery Hall. “This began with the removal of the existing parking lot asphalt which, instead of going into dumpsters and then to landfills, was sent to a different plant where it was ground up and reused. Similar activities continued during construction, and items were reused and recycled as often as possible,” Chinn said.

The Lavery Hall project received LEED certification points for use of low-emitting adhesives and sealants, paints and coatings, carpet, and composite wood. It was also recognized for using recycled products and regional materials in construction, for water use reduction, and for use of certified wood.

To date, Virginia Tech has received LEED certifications for five projects on the Blacksburg campus: the Visitor and Undergraduate Admissions Center the Theatre 101/Henderson Hall renovation, the football locker room addition, and ICTAS  II a facility of the Institute for Critical Technology and Applied Science

In addition, the Virginia Tech Research Center — Arlington is LEED certified Gold for core and shell and has Silver certification for the interior.

Dedicated to its motto, Ut Prosim (That I May Serve), Virginia Tech takes a hands-on, engaging approach to education, preparing scholars to be leaders in their fields and communities. As the commonwealth’s most comprehensive university and its leading research institution, Virginia Tech offers 215 undergraduate and graduate degree programs to more than 30,000 students and manages a research portfolio of $450 million. The university fulfills its land-grant mission of transforming knowledge to practice through technological leadership and by fueling economic growth and job creation locally, regionally, and across Virginia.

Primary Residential Mortgage, Inc. and Salem-Roanoke County Chamber of Commerce cut the ribbon at the official Grand Opening at their new location on Electric Road.

Primary Residential Mortgage has relocated its Roanoke office. The office moved from Peters Creek Road to Electric Road in Roanoke. A grand opening and ribbon cutting was held Thursday.

Primary made the decision to move based on the company’s continued growth, according to a press release from the mortgage company.

More information about Primary Residential Mortgage can be found online at www.YourPrimaryLender.com.

- Danielle Dunaway

Edward Boes, a Virginia Tech alumnus who earned a degree in mechanical engineering from the College of Engineering, spoke at the inaugural TEDxVirginiaTech event in November 2012.

The deadline for TEDxVirginiaTech submissions is May 30. University faculty, staff, students, alumni and New River Valley community members are invited to apply for the talk that will take place Nov. 9. Submissions will be accepted through the TEDxVirginiaTech website at www.tedxvirginiatech.com.

Here is the press release from Virginia Tech.

BLACKSBURG, Va., April 30, 2013 – TEDxVirginiaTech is seeking university faculty, staff, students, alumni, and New River Valley community members as speakers for its second annual event to be held Nov. 9, 2013.

The deadline for submissions is May 30.

Interested persons can nominate themselves or another person as a speaker for the fall event which will focus on the theme of Beyond Boundaries. This year’s event expands from the inaugural  TEDxVirginiaTech event to include community members within the New River Valley who are not directly affiliated with the university.

The organizing committee seeks to broaden the TEDxVirginiaTech events as encompassing the university and all of the community together.

“The Virginia Tech community has many engaging stories to tell and important, innovative knowledge to share, and we invite people to submit a proposal,” said Melissa Richards, a co-chairwoman with the TEDxVirginiaTech executive committee and assistant vice president for marketing and publications for Virginia Tech.

Nominations will be accepted at the TEDxVirginiaTech website until May 30, with a short list of prospective speakers being invited to pitch their talks to selection committees in July. Final speakers will be announced in the fall. Nominations should include: The potential speaker’s name, affiliation with Virginia Tech, email address, description of idea worth spreading, how the idea relates to the event theme, and information about why the nominee is a credible speaker.

Speakers at the event will be allotted up to 15 minutes to address a topic that has broad appeal, relates to the event’s theme, and is an idea worth spreading — a central principle held by the nonprofit organization. Dynamic, highly visual presentations coupled with a storytelling speaking style are encouraged. TED celebrates great speakers, thinkers and doers — people with ideas that are passionately held and clearly stated, said Richards.
As with TED guidelines, speakers are disallowed from addressing political and/or religious agendas, or promoting a company, and also precluded from using podiums or notes during their talk.

TEDxVirginiaTech talks will be streamed live via the Internet. The talks also will be recorded, and the resulting files will become part of the larger TEDx Talks archive. As a result, allotted times will be enforced. To assist with the requirements of speaking at a TEDx event, speakers will receive mentoring in the development of their presentations and their presentation delivery by the TEDxVirginiaTech steering committee.

The “Beyond Boundaries” theme is intentionally broad, thereby meant to inspire a range of interpretations and proposals in line with TED principles, such as:

*   What happens when we think beyond boundaries?
*   What types of boundaries exist? Geographic, spatial, cultural, art, social, gender, economic, perceptual, self-imposed, ethical, political, emotional, etc.
*   What happens when we cross a boundary?
*   How are boundaries represented?
*   Why do we share and reinforce boundaries?
*   Who challenges boundaries?
*   How do boundaries hinder us, or help us?

TED is a nonprofit organization devoted to “ideas worth spreading.” It started out as a conference bringing together people from three worlds: Technology, Entertainment, and Design (thus, TED). Since then, its scope has broadened significantly. TED also collaborates with communities to bring TED-like experiences to those contexts; they are called “TEDx events.”
Dedicated to its motto, Ut Prosim (That I May Serve), Virginia Tech takes a hands-on, engaging approach to education, preparing scholars to be leaders in their fields and communities. As the commonwealth’s most comprehensive university and its leading research institution, Virginia Tech offers 215 undergraduate and graduate degree programs to more than 30,000 students and manages a research portfolio of $450 million. The university fulfills its land-grant mission of transforming knowledge to practice through technological leadership and by fueling economic growth and job creation locally, regionally, and across Virginia.

Here is a press release from Access.

Roanoke, Va. (April 29, 2013)—Created by Access Advertising & Public Relations, the Virginia Tech ‘I Invent’ campaign has been recognized with a Special Merit Award in the category of Communications and Marketing Branding/Identity Program or Campaign by the Council for the Advancement and Support of Education (CASE) District III 2012-2013 Advancement Awards program. The awards were presented in Feb. 2013 in Atlanta, Ga.

“Virginia Tech is an outstanding institution of higher learning with much to offer virtually any student,” said Todd Marcum, President of Access Advertising & Public Relations. “We feel fortunate to have the opportunity to help share the unique story to students from other states.”

The ‘I Invent’ campaign helped reinvigorate Virginia Tech’s brand with internal audiences by reintroducing them to the University’s brand tagline, ‘Invent the Future,’ as part of their daily lives. With the use of a photo booth and giveaway incentives, the campaign captured stories from students and uploaded and shared them on Facebook (www.facebook.com/virginiatechinvents). Featured stories were then repurposed for an advertising campaign to support out-of-state student recruitment efforts. The campaign captured hundreds of ‘likes’ on Facebook, 500 ‘I Invent’ statements and anecdotal evidence of a brand reinvigorated.

CASE District III advances and supports educational and professional institutions in the southeastern United States by enhancing the effectiveness of the alumni relations, fund raising, communications, marketing and other advancement professionals who serve them. For more information about CASE District III, visit www.casethree.org.

Previously, Access’ work for Marshall University and Roanoke College has been recognized with CASE awards. For more information about Access, visit www.visitaccess.com.

Access Advertising & Public Relations, based in Roanoke, Va. and founded in 1996, provides advertising, design and public relations services and has served hundreds of regional, national and international clients ranging from healthcare to higher education to technology.  The firm has won more than 450 advertising, design, and public relations awards, as well as international awards for exhibit design and TV commercial productions and CASE awards for work with higher education.  Access has been recognized as a featured workspace in HOW Magazine and in PRINT Magazine’s Regional Design Issue.  Learn more about Access at www.visitaccess.com.

House of Strength was originally located in the Iron Sports location near Breckinridge Middle School in Roanoke.

Munsey is a 2002 Lord Botetourt High School graduate who earned a degree in dietetics in food science and human nutrition from Clemson University.

An open house for the gym will be held May 4 from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. Open house activities will  include the  Strongman Saturday workout, mini-challenges, tours and consultations.

For more information, visit houseofstrengthgym.com.

-Danielle Dunaway

Here is a press release from Plastics One.

In a continued effort to bring quality support and products to their customers, Plastics One is pleased to announce the achievement of Quality Management System ISO 13485 certification for medical device manufacturers as well as the recertification of the ISO 9001. President and Chief Executive Officer of Plastics One, David Wallenborn, states that “ISO 13485 certification is a proud accomplishment for all of us at Plastics One and reflects our deeply held commitment to excellence in manufacturing and service to our customers worldwide.”

Plastics One is a contract manufacturer specializing in injection and insert molded components for the medical device industry.

Located in Roanoke, VA the ESOP Company currently employs 325 exceptional employee owners.  The facility encompasses 85,000 square feet and boasts an in-house design department that utilizes three-dimensional software, a fully equipped mold making shop, prototyping, ISO 7 & 8 cleanrooms and the latest injection molding technology.

The company has been partnering directly with OEMs and Neuroscience researchers worldwide since 1949 by working together to provide solutions to industry needs. The company specializes in the design, molding, and assembly of components and electronics for the medical device industry. Each product is designed with tight tolerances to fit even the smallest device including parts that are assembled under a microscope. Plastics One also manufactures and assembles innovative devices for patient diagnostics and monitoring, nerve integrity monitoring, hearing enhancement, audio and communications, as well as sleep and respiratory studies. Their specialty is the design and build of custom cable assemblies with unique and complicated design requirements.