Business notes for the week of May 29

Appointed/elected

Gov. Glenn Youngkin announced additional administration and board appointments. Glenn Davis, of Virginia Beach, was appointed director of the Department of Energy. Taylor V. Adams, Virginia Beach’s deputy city manager for agriculture, Convention & Visitors Bureau, economic development and planning and community development, was appointed to the Virginia Tourism Authority.

Advanced Aircraft Co., a Hampton-based developer and manufacturer of distributed electric propulsion tilt-wing and multirotor uncrewed aircraft vehicles, announced the appointment of Rob McDonald, aerospace technical consultant and former head of vehicle engineering at Uber Elevate, to its board of advisers.

Howard Hanna Real Estate Services announced that its manager broker, Sherry Maser, was elected treasurer of the Virginia Association of Realtors. She has been a real estate agent for more than 26 years. She was 2023 chair of VAR’s Professional Standards and Grievance Committee and serves on the Virginia Leadership Academy Alumni Committee. She was appointed vice-chair of the National Association of Realtors’ Resort & Second Home Committee and will chair the committee in 2024.

ABNB Federal Credit Union held its 63rd annual business meeting on April 25. During the meeting, Marvin Brangan and James Young were reelected as directors, each serving a three-year term. Clay White Jr. was elected to a three-year term as director. Mary Ann Melchers was reelected for a two-year term as director. Herman ‘Mac’ Quattlebaum was reelected for a one-year term as director. The following officers were announced: Marvin Brangan, chairman; Randolyn Patterson, vice chairman; Wesley M. Parker, treasurer and secretary. Other board members include Richard M. Cheliras and Martha Smith.

Awards and honors

TowneBank in Hampton Roads received the annual Virginia Community College System Chancellor’s Award for Leadership in Philanthropy. The company was nominated by Tidewater Community College President Marcia Conston for its continuing support of the college. TCC’s Educational Foundation received a $500,000 grant from TowneBank. The funds are supporting the development of the TCC Visual Arts and Design Center in downtown Norfolk. The donation also supports TCC’s Regional Automotive Center in Chesapeake. An additional $250,000 gift from the bank helped launch Community Feed at TCC’s campuses in 2020. By working together, the college, the bank and Foodbank of Southeastern Virginia and the Eastern Shore provide meals, staples and fresh produce for students and community members through on-site pantries on TCC’s campuses and MacArthur Center in downtown Norfolk.

Williams Mullen announced that 29 attorneys were selected to the 2023 Virginia Super Lawyers list and 17 attorneys were selected to the 2023 Rising Stars list. No more than 5% of the lawyers in a state are named to Super Lawyers, and no more than 2.5% are named to the Rising Stars list. Super Lawyers from Norfolk include George H. Bowles, business litigation; Alyssa Carducci Dangler, real estate; Howard E. Gordon, real estate; William L. Nusbaum, real estate; and Christine Nguyen Piersall, estate planning and probate. Super Lawyers from Virginia Beach include David C. Burton, employment and labor, and Craig L. Mytelka, intellectual property litigation. Rising Stars from Norfolk include Elizabeth S. Chapman, real estate, and Grayson T. Orsini, real estate. Rising Stars from Virginia Beach include Ryan A. Hanson, business/corporate; Yiorgos L. “George” Koliopoulos, employment and labor; and Tyler J. Rosá, business litigation.

Springdale, Arkansas-based Tyson Foods and individual plants received 80 awards from the North American Meat Institute. The protein producer received the Community Wellness Award for its leadership in fighting hunger and food insecurity through protein donations to regional food banks and community pantry partners across the nation. In fiscal year 2022, the company donated more than 18 million pounds of protein, the equivalent of 72 million servings of protein, to food banks, pantries and hunger relief organizations in Tyson Foods plant communities and across the nation. Its Temperanceville facility is among the 78 plants recognized for its positive environmental impact through the Environmental Recognition Award — honoring a company’s dedication to continuous environmental improvement as witnessed by the development and implementation of Environmental Management Systems.

Hook Law attorney and shareholder Letha Sgritta McDowell has been named a fellow by the National Academy of Elder Law Attorneys. It’s the organization’s highest honor and makes McDowell one of three attorneys in North Carolina and six in Virginia to hold the distinction. McDowell has been a member of the organization’s board for several years, and served as board president in 2021-22. To be named a NAELA fellow, attorneys must be members of the academy for at least three years, concentrate their careers on elder law and/or special needs planning and distinguish themselves by making exceptional contributions to the needs of older Americans.

Development

Richmond-based Shamin Hotels is developing a Home2 Suites by Hilton near downtown Suffolk, with construction to start next year. The extended-stay hotel, targeting both business and leisure travelers, will feature 96 suites, each with a fully equipped kitchen. It will also offer complimentary breakfast, a fitness center and an indoor pool, the company said. The hotel will be located at 1035 Centerbrooke Lane next to to Shamin’s Hampton by Hilton, which opened in 2015.

Education

Williamsburg-based Index AR Solutions, a creator of digital workforce training, announced that Des Moines Area Community College is doubling the class size of a new digital curriculum-based line mechanic course in the fall of 2023 following positive results and feedback from its first offering. The course is part of the school’s new Electric Utility Technology Program and is positioned to help address the acute shortage of skilled workers facing.