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Business Partners Newsletter
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April 2017: Volume 17, No. 4
The E-newsletter of the Roanoke County Economic Development Department is designed to showcase the investments and achievements of our existing business partners. For additional information about doing business in Roanoke County, visit our
website
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| Reimagine 419 Plan Revealed! |
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Roanoke County set a Reimagine 419 record with over 200 people in attendance at the community meeting for the Draft 419 Town Center Plan Reveal on March 23. The South County Library auditorium was standing room only as the planning team presented draft implementation strategies and potential town center development for three "catalyst" sites: Tanglewood Mall, Old Country Plaza and Madison Square. Afterwards, participants used dots to vote on their priorities for the first phase of implementation.
How can you participate? Before the end of the 30-day comment period on April 21:
- View the community meeting presentation
- Read the draft 419 Town Center Plan
- Complete the Implementation Exercise
- Comment on the draft Plan
The next step for the 419 Town Center draft Plan is a Planning Commission public hearing on May 2 at the Roanoke County Administration Center. The Planning Commission and the Board of Supervisors will hold a joint work session to discuss the draft Plan in May or June, followed by a public hearing by the Board of Supervisors to consider adoption of the Plan by July.
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General Inquires
P: 540-772-2069
Economic Development
5204 Bernard Drive, SW
Room 421
PO Box 29800
Roanoke, VA 24018
Manager
Specialist
Specialist
Administrative Assistant
Mission
To design and implement innovative economic development programs and services that leverage community assets, create wealth and prosperity, and embrace the region's
future.
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Roanoke County Seeks Partners for Explore Park
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Tech Tour to Officially Begin April 28th
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Students Learn From SyCom and Graham White
The Roanoke County Economic Development Department has been working with Roanoke County Public Schools to organize a technology tour for high school students at the
Burton Center for Arts and Technology. We have had a great response from local businesses with over 70 businesses offering to participate in the Tech Tour.
While the Tech Tour will officially kick-off with a tour of
Appalachian Electric Power facilities on April 28th, SyCom Technologies and Graham-White have graciously offered to serve as "Beta" tours in order to test the tours and help workout tour details.
The first "Beta" test for the Roanoke County Tech Tour was held at
SyCom Technologies. Cybersecurity students from the Burton Center witnessed cybersecurity threat simulations, phishing demos, and learned about social engineering threats.
The second "Beta" test for the Tech Tour was held at
Graham-White Manufacturing Company. Engineering and Mechatronics students learned about the various careers available to them in manufacturing and witnessed firsthand the entire manufacturing process and
Graham-White.
One aspect of the Tech Tour that sets it apart from other school/business visitation programs is that the Tech Tour is tied to the Commonwealth and Roanoke County Schools curriculum. In addition, students and companies are matched according to the specialized course of study that the students are enrolled in and the industry/trade that the company is involved in. In other words, cybersecurity students will visit with cybersecurity companies and mechatronics students will visit manufacturing facilities. A major differentiating factor is that in many cases, students will be given a project to complete or problem to solve in conjunction with their business visitation. This gives students real world projects that coincide with their what they are studying in the classroom.
Tech Tours will be carried out throughout the entire school year with the ultimate goal of having business visitation a regular part of the curriculum.
In the first round of Tech Tours the Burton Center is concentrating on businesses that can offer students tours that relate to the career fields of Mechatronics, Information Technology, Computer Networking, and Cyber Security, but many other career fields will be part of the upcoming rounds of tours.
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| Site Selector Wins Community Economic Development Award |
Roanoke County's Site Selector Wins CEDA Award
At the spring conference of the Virginia Economic Developers Association (VEDA), Roanoke County Ec
onomic Development received a Community Economic Development Award for the
Site Selector
application in the category of Population 40,001-100,000. The award was presented by Debbie Melvin (
left)
, Virginia Economic Development Partnership and president of VEDA, to Jill Loope (right), Roanoke County Economic Development Director.
Read More
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| Gauntlet Business Plan Competition |
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The Gauntlet:
Bigger & Better This Year
With well over 70 participants in The Gauntlet and upwards of $200,000 in cash and in-kind prizes available, Annette Paterson says the competition is bigger and better this year.
In March, Roanoke County Economic Development partnered with Botetourt County Economic Development, City of Roanoke Libraries, and Virginia Community Capital to facilitate a workshop for Gauntlet participants. Entrepreneurs learned how to access community resources to start and grow their businesses.
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Awards Ceremony
Thursday, May 11 at 6:00 PM
Vinton War Memorial
The Gauntlet award ceremony is free and open to the public.
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| Former Allstate Office Up for Auction! |
165,808 Square Feet on
20.75 +/- Acres
For property information, registration details
and contact information to view the property visit:
Tours will be held by request and with 48 hours advanced notice.
Auction Starts: 04/24/2017
Auction Ends:
04/26/2017
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Companies need GREAT CFOs. Does yours deserve recognition?
Nominate your top financial executive for the annual Virginia CFO Awards! Each year, Virginia Business celebrates the contributions of the commonwealth's top financial executives. Nominate a deserving CFO via our
online form or use our
PDF form to send via mail or fax.
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| Events: Business Tools for Success |
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Business Basics
April 11
Roanoke Small Business
Development Center
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International Shipping with UPS
April 13
Montgomery County
Government Center
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Marketing Basics
April 18
Roanoke Small Business
Development Center
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International Trade Consultants
One-on-one Meetings
April 19
Staunton, Virginia
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Social Media for B2C
April 25
Roanoke Small Business
Development Center
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Website Basics
May 9
Roanoke Small Business
Development Center
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| Learn More |
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Learn More |
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Camp Roanoke
Open House
April 8
6498 Dry Hollow Rd.
Salem, VA
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Explore Park Visitors
Center Season Opening
April 15
56 Roanoke River Pkwy.
Roanoke, VA
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Roanoke Valley Greenway Plan Public Input Meeting
April 6 & 10
Various Locations
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| Learn More |
Press Release
Learn More |
Learn More |
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Robert McAden, Roanoke Blacksburg Technology Council
Roanoke-Blacksburg Technology Council (RBTC) / Roanoke Blacksburg Innovation Network (RBIN) appointed Robert McAden as their new President & CEO. Mr. McAden has been part of the RBTC since its inception and has served on the Board's Executive Team for over 3 years, first serving as Treasurer before becoming Board Chair in 2015.
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Celebrate: Groundbreakings and Ribbon Cuttings
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Plantation Road Improvement Project
On March 8th, leaders from Roanoke County, Double Envelope, Harris Corporation, and Wells Fargo were on hand to break ground on the first phase of the Plantation Road Bicycle, Pedestrian and Streetscape Improvement project. This phase encompasses the section of Plantation Road (Route 115) from Walrond Drive to Williamson Road (Route 11). The corridor holds the largest concentration of employees within Roanoke County with more than 3,000 employees.
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Roanoke Valley Orthodontics
Roanoke County celebrated the newly renovated office of Roanoke Valley Orthodontics, Dr. Jones and his family and team, with a ribbon cutting event hosted with the Roanoke Regional Chamber. Dr. Jones was presented with a Certificate of Appreciation on behalf of the Roanoke County Board of Supervisors. This is one of two locations RVO has in Roanoke County, the second location is on Starkey Road.
Roanoke Valley Orthodontics
6220 Peters Creek Road
Roanoke, VA 24019
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chocolatepaper express inside Wine Gourmet
An open house event was held at Wine Gourmet in Promenade Park on March 22, 2017 to mark the opening of the chocolatepaper express boutique. This collaboration marks chocolatepaper's re-entrance into Roanoke County.
Read More
Wine Gourmet & chocolatepaper express
3524 Electric Road
Roanoke, VA 24018
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EZ Rampz Mobility Solutions
A ribbon cutting and open house for EZ Rampz Mobility Solutions was held on March 28, 2017 with the Roanoke Regional Chamber of Commerce and Roanoke County Economic Development to celebrate their new location. David Todd, President, noted that the move to this facility allowed the company to more than double their space.
EZ Rampz Mobility Solutions
5119 Hollins Road
Roanoke, VA 24019
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William Byrd High School placed on Virginia Landmarks Register
At the Virginia Department of Historic Resources March meeting, the William Byrd High School nomination was approved, placing the property on the Virginia Landmarks Register. The next step is for the National Park Service to approve the site for the National Register of Historic Places. This is expected to occur within the next 90 days.
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Ballyhack Golf Club sees new construction
Almost eight years after it opened, Ballyhack is starting to see significant new home construction. Four houses, each in the $500,000-and-up range, are under construction on the perimeter of the golf course. Construction on at least two more homes is expected to begin this spring.
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Governor McAuliffe hosts economic development directors
In early March, Governor Terry McAuliffe and First Lady Dorothy McAuliffe hosted Virginia Economic Development professionals at a reception at the Executive Mansion in Richmond. The appreciation event was convened by Governor McAuliffe to elevate the awareness, impact and value of economic development in the Commonwealth. Highlights included collaboration among state, local and regional partners to promote business development wins for Virginia. Jill Loope, Roanoke County Economic Development Director, is shown with Governor and First Lady McAuliffe.
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Virginia's Blue Ridge Visitor's Guide and Map Now Available!
This new 64 page magazine format guide represents Virginia's Blue Ridge and is complete with information on things to do, accommodations, shopping, outdoor recreation, events, maps and more.
Click here for more information or to obtain a copy.
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Virginia Western to provide Leadership Bootcamps in downtown Roanoke
Virgi
nia Western Community College will offer a comprehensive one-day Leadership Bootcamp monthly beginning in late spring at the RAMP business accelerator in downtown Roanoke. The eight-hour workshop will be held on the first Friday of each month, except for July, and will help individuals build important leadership skills such as teamwork, communication and soft-skills.
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Join Virginia's booth to exhibit your company's products and services at this international trade show.
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ISDEF: Defense & Security Show
June 6-8, 2017
Tel Aviv, Israel
Register by
April 7, 2017
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Does your business recycle? Let us know
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Roanoke County General Services is looking to connect with businesses in the County that have in-
house recycling programs. Every five years, Virginia DEQ requests that we try to quantify the recycling activity within the County by material. We are happy to report any recycling activity - no matter the quantity. Please contact
Nancy Duval, Solid Waste Manager, with any data, questions or concerns.
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Roanoke County Business Partners On RVTV
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In the Roanoke County Business Partners April show,
we witness the Plantation Road Improvement Project groundbreaking and hear from Harris Corporation about the positive impacts improvements along Plantation Road will bring. We learn more about St. Francis Service Dogs and how the organization has been improving the lives of individuals with disabilities for over 20 years. And, we
attend the final 419 Town Center community meeting to reveal the draft plan which includes recommendations for implementation.
The show is now about 15 minutes and there is a new show each month. Consult the RVTV website for the viewing schedule.
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Stay Connected
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