FOR THE UP AND COMING AND ALREADY ARRIVED $3 • ISSUE 33 • JUNE 2011 vbFRONT.com The Impact of Recreational Fuzzy Minnix, Sports Official Sports WELCOME to the FRONT When it comes to sports, there’s opportunity on all sides. You don’t have to be a “jock” to see it. That’s the message in this edition’s cover story. Although we talked to 16 individuals and looked into 14 organizations, we only wish we could have brought you the good news from many, many more sources. These are passionate people. Positive people. The story is one of re-creation of a community—through recreation. And with regions all across the country looking for a sporting chance at recovery and rebound, it’s good to hear we’re making that happen right here—on our own playing fields. Tom Field Dan Smith ”take a look at a piece of bylined “ reporting written by a journalist who also blogs. The differences between the two should be clear. — Page 30 Walk in. See Jimmie. If anyone knows floors, it’s Jimmie! • Carpet and Area Rugs • Hardwood, Cork and Bamboo • Resilient • Tile • Laminate Sales, Installation and Service. Jimmie Blanchard, owner 385 Radford St • Christiansburg, VA 24073 • 540-381-1010 • www.FLOOREDLLC.com vbFRONT / JUNE 2011 u 3 CONTENTS Valley Business FRONT COVER STORY DEPARTMENTS 8 TRENDS etiquette & protocol 18 workplace advice 19 business dress 20 FINANCIAL FRONT 22 LEGAL FRONT 25 WELLNESS FRONT 28 TECH/INDUSTRY FRONT 30 DEVELOPMENT FRONT 34 Inprint. Page 38 RETAIL FRONT 40 Instyle. SENIOR FRONT 42 EDUCATION FRONT 44 CULTURE FRONT 46 REVIEWS & OPINIONS dan smith 48 tom field 49 letters 51 Commercial Real Estate book reviews 52 Report Card Page 34 FRONT’N ABOUT 54 ECONOMIC INDICATORS 57 EXECUTIVE PROFILE 60 FRONTLINES career front 62 front notes 66 Bike Shop Dude Page 40 vbFRONT.com Cover photography of Fuzzy Minnix by morefront.blogspot.com Greg Vaughn Photography. Art direction by Tom Field. vbFRONT / JUNE 2011 u 5 JUNE Susan M. Ayers Kathy Bibb P.O. Box 1041 Salem, VA 24153 (540) 389-9945 www.vbFRONT.com Staff Publisher / Tom Field Creative Director tfi[email protected] (540) 389-9945 Janeson Keeley Gene Marrano Editor Dan Smith [email protected] (540) 556-8510 Account Executives Kathy Bibb (540) 293-2323 Judi Billups (540) 392-4178 Graphic Designer Nicholas Vaassen Nicholas Vaassen Greg Vaughn nvaassen@berryfield.com Production Berryfield, Inc. Biographies and contact information on PO Box 1041 each contributor are provided on Page 68. Salem, VA 24153 (540) 389-9945 Departmental Contacts Editorial Advisory Board Advertising [email protected] Valley Business FRONT has organized an Subscriptions [email protected] Editorial Advisory Board in order to help News / Releases [email protected] direct coverage. FRONT selected a group Admin / Ops [email protected] of 16 diverse business professionals, who will serve as a sounding board throughout (540) the 18 month rotational term that will 389-9945 turn over every year and a half. vbFRONT.com morefront.blogspot.com The board will be given the task of © Copyright 2011; Valley Business FRONT, LLC. helping FRONT understand the issues All rights reserved. Reproduction or use of this and develop coverage. “We’re journalists,” publication in whole or in part without written says Editor Dan Smith, “and not business permission is prohibited. Information within experts. This group of distinguished Valley Business FRONT is obtained from sources business professionals—whose range in considered reliable, but cannot be guaranteed. age, experience, level and specialty is Opinions expressed are not necessarily those of impressive—will give us a solid handle on the ownership. Valley Business FRONT is primarily how business runs and what the primary distributed to subscribers by mail and select issues and key players are in this region. locations throughout the Roanoke Valley, My guess is that our coverage of business New River Valley, and western Virginia. will be especially useful because of this group of people.” 6 t JUNE 2011 / vbFRONT CONTRIBUTORS Judi Billups Anne Giles Clelland Tom Field Kathleen Harshberger Anne Piedmont Erin Pope Dan Smith Kathy Surace ”the underwriting process is like “ peeling an onion — Page 22 ”the storm “ was Biblical, 2010 / 11 Members Nancy Agee Carilion (Wellness) a swirling, Laura Bradford Claire V (Retail) Nicholas C. Conte Woods Rogers (Legal) Warner Dalhouse Retired (Seniors) blowing, Cory Donovan NCTC (Tech/Industry) John Garland Spectrum (Development) Nancy Gray Hollins University (Education) Ellis Gutshall Valley Bank (Finance) heavy rain Nanci Hardwick Schultz-Creehan (Tech/Industry) George Kegley Retired (Seniors) John D. Long Salem Museum (Culture) Nancy May LewisGale Regional Health System (Wellness) that did not Stuart Mease Rackspace (Tech/Industry) Mary Miller IDD (Tech/Industry) Ed Walker Regeneration Partners (Development) stop the race. John Williamson RGC (Tech/Industry) — Page 40 You will note that the Board is comprised of experts in many different business / industry “fronts.” This is intentional, as we are reporting on all the areas that affect our regional economy and are important to you. In keeping with our policy of being “the voice of business in the valleys” we ask each reader to join us as an editorial partner by calling or e-mailing us your ideas. You know Web site: www.vbfront.com more than we know about your business—or you certainly Facebook: vb front Twitter: @vbfront should—and that inside knowledge shared with our Blog: morefront.blogspot.com readers will make us all better at what we do. Editor's blog: editrdan.blogspot.com vbFRONT / JUNE 2011 u 7 Greg Vaughn Photography I’m at the airport, leaving for a business trip. There, in If you play recreational sports the terminal is a fourteen year old girl—one I coached in anywhere throughout the region, basketball and softball a few years back. “Hey, Amanda,” it’s more than a good chance I say, “Are you heading for vacation?” No. It turns out you’ve run into Odell “Fuzzy” Minnix. (Perhaps literally, at she is headed to Texas. And then Florida. Pennsylvania. home plate.) He serves on the And more. She’s playing softball tournaments through Roanoke County School Board the summer. Just one season of many. Because no one and plays our umpire FRONTcover knows if your team will win games or be quickly eliminated, model on this edition. Are people around here fanatic about their her parents have to book hotels and make their airline sports? Among his examples: reservations for the whole weekend. One out-of-state “A grandma hit one of the stadium tournament can easily cost $2,000 or more (even with officials with a lawn chair.” discount travel) counting the hotel, airfares, meals, team costs, tournament fees and expenses. Throw in a family with siblings, and the cost only multiplies. For Amanda, and the many kids on travel teams, a typical season The business can cost between $10,000 and $25,000. Recreational or not—that’s serious business. of recreation sports > Where does the money go? Most of it ends up in the communities that provide the venues, host the events, and the local businesses that surround the games. Hotels, restaurants, convenience stores and gas stations. Executive Summary: It’s apparent recreational Many families mix their personal vacations (or substitute them) sports have become more with travel teams and their kids’ sports schedules. than recreational. Communities and the Long gone are the days where kids picked up a used bat and a businesses within them ball, gathering at the nearest open yard in the neighborhood to are cashing in on the play a pickup game, catching barehanded with barely enough opportunities kids to make up one team. And you dared not do anything to anger the kid who had the ball; otherwise, he would take it and go home. Game over. by Tom Field Though the “Little Rascals”, “Mayberry”, and “Bad News Bears” days seem to have disappeared in neighborhoods across suburbia— that doesn’t mean today’s organized sports is a bad thing. 8 t JUNE 2011 / vbFRONT COVER STORY In fact, the organizations that have stepped up to the plate to serve children, their parents and the community at large can point to many benefits and advantages to all “stakeholders”... including the players, the families of the players, the education system, the businesses and sponsors, and the entire local citizenry and community at large. Presented below is hardly a complete list of such organizations. It’s just a scratch on the surface. But the examples illustrate how important recreational and volunteer sporting Tom Field activities (we’re not even including the collegiate or professional arena) can “This is our 22nd year,” contribute to our region— Lampman says. In 2010 in the same fashion as any we had 58 sports and 9,092 Municipalities other business or economic athletes. They come from ” are chomping at enterprise. the east, north, central, “ west... and the biggest the bit to get this portion from right here in [Commonwealth the Valley. Our goal is Games] around 10,000 [athletes] —Peter Lampman Commonwealth and our age breakdown is President, Games—emphasis 19–24, 25–39, 44+, with Virginia Amateur Sports on “wealth” about 75 percent under the age of 18.” $4,000,000“We just can’t let an Lampman says the operating IN LOCAL SALES event like this leave.” budget is $550,000. About So says two-thirds of that comes from Peter sponsors, and the rest from Lampman entry fees, special events, of the Virginia local government and Commonwealth funding. Games (officially, the Coventry Commonwealth The games—modeled after Games of Virginia). the Olympics—generates The games director and $3.5 to $4 million dollars in president of Virginia Amateur local spending, over what Sports says “municipalities is essentially one weekend are chomping at the bit” to in July.