Anniversary
M.D. Express Urgent Care, the Peninsula’s largest urgent care provider with five locations in Gloucester, Hampton, Newport News, Williamsburg and York County, celebrates 20 years this year. The health care provider is accredited as a National Urgent Care Center. Over the years, services expanded to include illnesses such as the common cold, flu and COVID-19; injuries from fractures to sprains and burns; vaccines; physicals; on-site digital X-ray; and pediatric treatment.
Appointed/elected
Hampton Roads Sanitation District commissioner Stephen C. Rodriguez was reelected to serve a third term as chair of the eight-member, governor-appointed commission. Commissioner Willie Levenston Jr. was elected as vice chair. Rodriguez of Chesapeake is the retired owner and president of Cruco Inc., which provided construction services in Hampton Roads. He works in the construction division for the Virginia Department of Transportation. Levenston of Portsmouth retired from Norfolk Naval Shipyard there in 2008 after more than 40 years.
Awards and honors
Virginia Beach-based Chartway Credit Union was recognized as one of America’s Best-In-State Credit Unions by Forbes and Statista for the third year in a row. The list is based on independent surveys of current or past credit union users and publicly available member reviews. This year, 207 credit unions were recognized by Forbes. Chartway was one of three credit unions recognized from Virginia.
Hampton Roads Transit was recognized for excellence in community engagement and outreach, including a unique partnership with the Norfolk Tides baseball team and the city of Norfolk that provides fans with free rides on light rail on game days. The Virginia Transit Association presented HRT with the Outstanding Community Program Award for Multifaceted Community Engagement and Outreach. The association also recognized HRT’s Transit Equity Day and Student Freedom Pass for making riding transit easier. In honor of civil rights icon Rosa Parks, Hampton Roads Transit provided free rides on all bus, light rail, ferry and paratransit services on Transit Equity Day on Feb. 5. The Student Freedom Pass provides teens 13-17 years old with unlimited free rides on bus, light rail and ferry in HRT’s six service cities.
Virginia Beach-based Pender & Coward announced that attorney Diamond Royster has received the Honorable R. Edwin Burnette, Jr. Young Lawyer of the Year Award. The Virginia State Bar Young Lawyers Conference board of governors selected Diamond for this award for her dedication to the YLC and commitment to the community, including her coordination of the Bench Bar Relations Program and her volunteerism with the Urban Renewal Center Project in Hampton Roads. At Pender & Coward, Diamond focuses her practice on civil litigation, local government, eminent domain/right of way and waterfront law matters.
Victoria Bartelme, a fraud analyst in the risk management department at Chesapeake-based ABNB credit union, recently received her certified fraud examiner credential. She has passed the rigorous requirements and tests related to financial transactions, fraud schemes, investigations, fraud prevention and deterrence. Bartelme has been an employee at ABNB for three years and previously worked as a member service representative at its York County location.
Four local high school students were awarded a total of $40,000 from the Coastal Virginia Building Industry Association Scholarship Foundation. Each received a $10,000 four-year scholarship: Alquinton Beamon Jr. of Lakeland High School in Suffolk plans to major in aeronautical science at Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University. Jada Brittle of Windsor High School in Isle of Wight will pursue an associate degree in engineering before transferring into construction engineering at Virginia Tech. Jasmine Bruce of Maury High School in Norfolk intends to major in environmental engineering at the University of Vermont. Lauryn Kenney of Hickory High School in Chesapeake plans to major in environmental engineering at the University of Virginia. The 2024 Young Designers’ Scholarship Competition, a program for high school students interested in drafting, architecture or homebuilding, awarded four scholarships this year: Brendan Power of Ocean Lakes High School/Advanced Technology Center in Virginia Beach received the first-place $1,500 award for his home design. Jocelyn Ricker of Kempsville High School/Advanced Technology Center received the second-place, $1,200 award. Bria Beamon of the Advanced Technology Center received the third-place, $800 award and Alannah Helm of Kempsville High School/Advanced Technology Center received the Honorable Mention, $500 award.
Grants and donations
The Peninsula SPCA received a $3,500 donation from the Enterprise Mobility Foundation to support their ongoing efforts helping animals in need in the community through adoption services, preventative veterinary care and humane education programs.
The BayPort Foundation today awarded $100,000 in 11 different scholarship types to a total of 38 member students in the surrounding local communities attending a college, university, trade or vocational school.
The Hampton Roads Community Foundation awarded $638,968 in grants at its June board of directors meeting. For cultural vitality, the grants awarded were: $45,000 over three years to KD Entertainment to expand its drum classes; $50,000 over three years to the Sandler Center for the Performing Arts Foundation for its Leveling the Performing Field ballet program; $32,000 over two years to the Hurrah Players to support its new television and film academy; $31,275 over three years to the Tidewater African Cultural Alliance to bring the Youth African Dance program to two Virginia Beach schools; $1,000 to studio 360 Performing Arts Inc. to support a new dance program at a Norfolk elementary school; and $21,000 over three years to Tidewater Winds to help children with reading comprehension through the arts. For educational success, the grants awarded were: $50,000 over two years to the Armed Services YMCA of Hampton Roads to expand the Operation Little Learner school readiness program for military children; $96,000 over three years to Community Outreach Coalition to expand the Remediation Effectively Supporting Educational Teachings program; $30,000 over two years to Joy Ministries to grow its summer reading camps; and $108,198 over three years to Life Enrichment Center of Norfolk to support its literacy program at four new elementary schools. The foundation awarded $174,495 to Tidewater Community College Educational Foundation to support the Academy for Nonprofit Excellence, which provides professional development programs focused on the latest trends and best practices for nonprofits.
Historic district
Two more Virginia Beach sites were added to the Virginia Landmarks Register. Chesapeake Beach Historic District is associated with the growth and suburbanization of the city formerly known as Princess Anne County during the early 20th century. One of the area’s earliest bayside beachfront neighborhoods, the historic district’s development pattern was influenced by its surrounding natural environment including the Chesapeake Bay and Pleasure House Lake. Pleasant Ridge School Historic District consists of a one-room schoolhouse, a church built around 1949 and a cemetery with burials dating to approximately 1904. Pleasant Ridge School, constructed around 1886 as part of a larger school for white students, was moved to its current location around 1918 to serve Black children in first through seventh grades during the Jim Crow era in Virginia’s public education system. The school closed in 1956 as the result of the city’s efforts to consolidate and desegregate public schools.
In June, Segment 3C of the Suffolk Seaboard Coastline Trail was awarded $5.3 million from the Rebuilding American Infrastructure with Sustainability and Equity discretionary grant program. It will fund the engineering design, right-of-way and construction for the 2.2-mile piece of trail from the northern terminus of Segment 3B to Nansemond River High School, completing the gap between Segments 3A and 3B of the trail. The project will protect non-motorized travelers from safety risks by providing a multi-use path that is separated from vehicular traffic.
Market
The Hampton Flea Market debuted July 27 at the Power Plant of Hampton Roads shopping area in Hampton with more than 80 vendors. This market will be held every last Saturday of the month and promises to establish itself as a hub for vintage enthusiasts, crafters, artists and families. Interested in being a vendor? Apply at hamptonfleamarket.com.
Opening
Hampton-based VersAbility Resources celebrated the opening of its new Lewis B. Puller Center at 6750 Main St. in Gloucester in June. To better serve the communities of the Middle Peninsula and Northern Neck, the nonprofit organization relocated its day support services to the new location. The site is only minutes away from the former Puller Center location and will provide a more welcoming atmosphere for program participants. VersAbility began operating the Puller Center in 2001 to provide long-term employment, training and day support services for adults with disabilities.
Avenues Recovery opened an addiction treatment center at 1516 Harmon St. in Norfolk and celebrated with a ribbon-cutting ceremony in June. The national drug and alcohol addiction treatment program has 14 inpatient facilities across the country.
The Picklr, a fast-growing indoor pickleball franchise headquartered in Utah, announced its Williamsburg club is scheduled to open later this summer in the former Dick’s Sporting Goods building in The Marquis at 120 Gristmill Plaza in upper York County. The 45,000-square-foot facility will offer unlimited open play, leagues and tournaments across 14 fully fenced indoor courts with outdoor-style surfacing and a fully stocked pro shop. It also has space for corporate events and parties. For more info, visit thepicklr.com/location/williamsburg/.
757 Colonics, a spa offering colon cleansing, held a ribbon-cutting ceremony at 500 S. Battlefield Blvd. in Chesapeake.
A Better Way Realty held a ribbon-cutting ceremony for its first Chesapeake office at 701 Greenbrier Parkway.
Mathnasium opened its first franchise location in Suffolk at 5849 Harbour View Blvd., Suite 420, on July 1. The learning center provides children with a customized learning plan and personalized instruction. “Our goal is simple: to teach math in a way that makes sense to kids, accommodating different learning styles with a variety of teaching techniques, ” said Tom Seymour, owner and center director of Mathnasium of Suffolk. Learn more at mathnasium.com/suffolk or contact Seymour at 757-337-1885.
