Business notes for the week of Feb. 20 – Daily Press

Virginia Beach’s Central Business District Association’s board of directors elected the following individuals to serve as officers for 2023-24: Steve McNulty, executive vice president of Towne Bank, is president. Dan Heatwole, senior vice president and a partner in Ripley Heatwole Company Inc., is vice president. Dave France, vice president at Kimley-Horn and Associates, is secretary. Ali Gunbeyi, vice president and chief operating officer at Jones CPA Group, is treasurer. Bert Poole, a shareholder, director and secretary at Poole Brooke Plumlee PC, is immediate past president.

The Hospice House of Hampton Roads, which is building its first inpatient facility, the Dozoretz Hospice House of Hampton Roads in Virginia Beach, added four new members to its board of directors. They include from left in the back, retired cardiologist Dr. John Kenerson; Bobby Beasley, vice president at Harvey Lindsay; and from left in the front, Carolyn Williams, a retired licensed clinical social worker and grief counselor; and Shari Dozoretz Friedman, CEO of Lifetime Solutions Plus and the organization’s capital campaign chair. (Courtesy photo)

Regent University’s School of Business & Leadership ranked No. 34 on The Princeton Review’s “2023 Top 50 Online MBA Programs” list. The publication compiled its eighth annual ranking of online Master of Business Administration programs based on survey data gathered from business school administrators across the country that offer online MBAs. More than 60 data points were weighted to determine rankings. Surveys from students enrolled in the programs were also factored into the rankings, which considered five core areas: academics, selectivity, faculty, technical platforms and career outcomes.

The Virginia Society of Human Resource Management State Council recently awarded the Peninsula Chapter of SHRM two Best Practices IMPACT Awards for the categories of “Advancing the HR Profession” and “Thrive.” The chapter earned the award based on its work with diversity, equity and inclusion. It set an intention to incorporate those topics into chapter and conference programming and launched the first 21 Day Equity Challenge to generate awareness about them.

Stihl Inc., which maintains its U.S. headquarters in Virginia Beach, dedicated its auditorium to former President Fred J. Whyte, who died in July 2017 at age 70. On Jan. 10, Whyte’s wife, Karen Whyte, and Stihl President and CEO Terry Horan unveiled the newly named Fred J. Whyte Auditorium in the 80,000-square-foot administration building that opened in 2019.
Under Whyte’s presidential tenure at Stihl Inc., the company experienced 22 years of annual increases in sales and revenue and became the top-selling brand of gasoline-powered handheld outdoor power equipment in America. He retired in December 2015 and then worked in an advisory role as sole director and chairman of the board. (Courtesy of Stihl)

Armada Hoffler, the Virginia Beach-based real estate investment firm, was assigned a BBB rating with a stable trend by DBRS Morningstar. It is an endorsement of its diversified real estate portfolio and corporate leadership and opens a new avenue to raise investor funds. Factors supporting the investment grade credit rating include the company’s market position in the mid-Atlantic region; the asset quality of its multifamily portfolio; the quality and diversification of its commercial tenant base; and the longer-term weighted average lease terms of its office and retail assets.

Incoming and current students at historically Black colleges and universities in the Norfolk and Hampton Roads can apply for a McDonald’s Black & Positively Golden Scholarship to receive up to $15,000 for the 2023–24 academic year. With mental health and wellness being an integral part of a holistic educational experience, students will also be offered a yearlong subscription to Alkeme, a Black-owned streaming platform that provides therapist and expert-led well-being courses, guided meditation and livestream sessions. Students can apply through March 27 at tmcf.org.

O’Brien et al. Advertising produces the advertising and marketing communications for Virginia Beach-based Chartway Credit Union. From left, creative director Billy Foglia; video editor Katie King and account manager Jeff Doy put the finishing touches on a Chartway checking spot. Last year, Chartway launched its new branding initiative with a commercial during the Super Bowl broadcasts in Hampton Roads and Utah. This year, its Super Bowl ad allowed Chartway to cast a wide net to folks who could benefit from its new high-performing checking account. (Courtesy photo)

Glo Fiber, powered by Shenandoah Telecommunications Co., formed a partnership with the Homeowner’s Association of Ford’s Colony to deploy next generation fiber-to-the-home broadband services to the more than 2,700 homes in the Williamsburg development. Construction will begin the second quarter of 2023, with plans to complete the project in early 2024. Installation enables multigigabit internet access with symmetrical upload and download speeds ensuring high speeds, low latency and increased reliability.

Funds managed by global investment firm Carlyle and private equity firm Stellex Capital Management announced a definitive agreement to sell Titan Acquisition Holdings, a bicoastal provider of ship repair services and marine and heavy complex fabrication, to an affiliate of Lone Star Funds. Titan is comprised of Vigor Industrial LLC, an infrastructure, defense and maritime services company based in Portland, Oregon; MHI Holdings LLC, a ship repair, maintenance and husbandry services company based in Norfolk; and Continental Maritime of San Diego. Key Titan customers include the Navy, Coast Guard, Military Sealift Command, Boeing, cruise lines, fishing fleets, barges, ferry services for local and state governments and other commercial government customers.

Priority Automotive tapped Davis Ad Agency in Virginia Beach to create and produce two commercials that debuted during the Super Bowl broadcast. Flagship Visuals Co., also of Virginia Beach, shot the footage. One 30-second commercial highlights Priority’s support for advanced cancer care at Chesapeake Regional Health Center through the Priority Toyota Cancer Center. It follows a woman’s emotional walk with her husband down a hospital hallway — to the applause of her caretakers — as she rings a celebratory bell to signal that she’s finally cancer-free. The other ad highlights Priority’s long-running partnership with area animal shelters, riding along with a man and a new tail-wagging best friend that he just adopted. Priority’s donations to local animal shelters, including the Virginia Beach SPCA, has provided funding for over 5,000 shelter pet adoptions in Virginia. (Courtesy of Davis Ad Agency)