Roanoke County Business Partners Newsletter |
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July 2021: Volume 21, No. 7
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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Richfield Living Opens New Health Center |
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Richfield Living celebrated the grand opening of their new Health Center on their Salem campus in Glenvar, introducing a new model for care in Southwest Virginia. The Richfield Health Center offers a household model of care, which provides residents with freedom, dignity, and respect to live more independently. Inside the Health Center are a skilled nursing facility and four households, each with its own kitchen, living room, laundry room, four-season porch, and private bedrooms. Richfield Living is the first skilled nursing facility in Southwest Virginia to adopt the household model of care and is a leader of senior living in Roanoke County. The new Health Center is Richfield's second grand opening in two months, with their first celebrating the new Town Center, also on the Salem Campus. These recent expansions allow Richfield Living to provide high-quality healthcare and quality and poises Roanoke County as a great place for seniors and their families.
Learn about the Health Center Here
Read the full release Here
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Let Us Know How We Can ELEVATE Roanoke County |
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We want to hear from you! As Roanoke County continues the economic development strategic planning process for ELEVATE Roanoke County 2026, we want to know what other strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, or challenges Roanoke County may have in growing the local economy. You can submit your comments by emailing Marshall Stanley Learn more about the Strategic Plan Here
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Investment Opportunities in Roanoke County |
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Through the federal Opportunity Zone program, banks, communities, investors, companies, and others may create Opportunity Funds to direct tax-advantaged investments to one of several opportunity zones in the Roanoke Region of Virginia. Roanoke County has established an Opportunity Zone at the intersection of Interstates 81 and 581 and has published the Opportunity Zone Prospectus to promote the Zone. Inside the Prospectus, you will find an overview of the federal Opportunity Zone program, Roanoke County's Opportunity Zone and its districts, and a local and regional overview that explains why Roanoke County is a great place to do business.
Read the full release Here
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Pavement Stencil Grows in Economic Gardening Program |
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Roanoke County Economic Development recently aligned a County business, Pavement Stencil Company, with the Economic Gardening program from the National Center for Economic Gardening. The Economic Gardening program includes a team leader, specialists in the areas of database research, geographical information systems, and digital marketing, plus a quality control person and an administrative support person. Qualifying companies receive business development assistance that is tailored to the needs of the company. Listen to how the Economic Gardening program helped Pavement Stencil Company on the July episode of Roanoke County Business Partners.
Learn more about Economic Gardening Here
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Greater Williamson Road Area Business Assoc. Expands |
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The Greater Williamson Road Area Business Association celebrated 40 years of service and their new location last month! The Business Association can now be found at 5411 Williamson Road where the Roanoke County and Roanoke City line meets, ready to serve businesses in the greater Williamson Road area. Hear what Executive Director, Valerie Brown, has to say about the Association's mission to serve local businesses Here.
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Total You Health Celebrates 3 Years and Expansion |
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Total You Health, a local Red Light Therapy provider, recently celebrated a ribbon-cutting for their three-year anniversary and new location at 4370 Starkey Road, Unit 4A. Total You Health has helped introduce the Roanoke community to Red Light Therapy, also known as Photobiomodulation Therapy, which uses a red LED light to help provide relief for inflammation and near-infrared light for pain. It is used primarily to treat injuries, reduce pain, relax muscles/joints, and increase blood circulation, but it has also been used to help with anxiety, depression, PTSD, and more. Find out more about Total You Health on their website and learn more on the July episode of Roanoke County Business Partners.
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Wood Haven Technology Park Progress |
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Check out the progress being made at the region's largest developable site! Wood Haven Technology Park is ready for development to attract high-profile, value-added technology and manufacturing uses. This site includes:
- 111 acre planned technology park at the junction of Interstates 81 and 581.
- Site located within close proximity of the Roanoke-Blacksburg Regional Airport.
- Phase 1 of the property will feature a 53-acre pad.
- Property is municipally-owned and developed.
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VWCC Mobile Unit Brings Training Opportunities to Businesses |
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VWCC can bring training to you!
Virginia Western's School of Career and Corporate Training (CCT) is expanding its service to regional employers. In addition to popular corporate training in leadership and traditional HR topics, CCT can now bring even more technical training and industry credential programs to your shop floor. The CCT team recently visited Cardinal Glass in Vinton and shared just a few examples of the technical training they can bring to your site.
Examples of portable equipment include Festo and Snap-On tools to train in these topics: Electricity (AC and DC), use of Multimeters, Precision Measuring, Mechanical Systems, PLCs, Sensors, and we’ve recently added Snap-On Torque tools.
Call (540) 857-6076 today to learn more about training and custom solutions!
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Return to Earn Program Aims to Help Small Businesses |
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Governor Ralph Northam recently launched the Return to Earn Program, an initiative designed to help small businesses in the Commonwealth of Virginia incentivize available positions. Small businesses with less than 100 employees in the Commonwealth of Virginia may be eligible to receive up to $500 per new hire with the requirement to match with $500 toward the $1,000 hiring support per employee. Small businesses that provide childcare may qualify for up to $500 per new hire without the requirement to match.
New hires must:
•Be a W-2 employee
•Be offered a position that pays at least $15.00 per hour
•Can be either part-time or full-time
•Self-attest that they were unemployed prior to being offered employment.
Funding for this program is on a first-come, first-served basis.
Learn more about Return to Earn and apply Here
Read Return to Earn FAQs Here
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Explore More with Roanoke County Parks, Rec & Tourism! |
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Blue Ridge Bike Center Opens |
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The Blue Ridge Bike Center at Explore Park opened with a ribbon-cutting ceremony on June 12, 2021. This marks the completion of the first phase of a progressive bike skills park development at the Park. The project provides connectivity to 14 miles of existing trails at Explore Park with a skills loop comprised of natural features, trail improvements, and a parking lot. The Bike Center serves as a starting place for individuals and families to ride, practice trail techniques, and build their mountain bike skills.
Visit Explore Park's website for more information about the Blue Ridge Bike Center, mountain biking, and trail maps at Explore Park.
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Adventure Saturday is back on August 7! Click Here to learn about more Adventure Saturday and upcoming activities from Roanoke County Parks, Recreation & Tourism.
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Splash into summer at Splash Valley Water Park as the 2021 operating season is underway! In 2021, operation will take place Friday through Monday, 11 AM - 7 PM.
Click Here for more information regarding the 2021 season!
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Student Talent Resources for Employers |
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Finding the right workers can be challenging. For some roles, student interns and apprentices are a great match — providing assistance now, while connecting with and recruiting potential permanent hires for the future. Several programs in Roanoke County can help businesses find and engage student workers.
Click Here to learn about employer resources for local student talent including internships, apprenticeships, and more.
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Catawba Valley Farmers Market Gears up for 2021 Season |
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In observance of National Farmers Market Week, the Catawba Valley Farmers Market (CVFM) is holding their second Farm-to-Table Dinner on Saturday, August 7, at 6 PM at the Catawba Community Center Picnic Shelter, 4965 Catawba Creek Road (Rt. 779), in Catawba.
Click Here for more information.
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Thank You to IRONMAN 70.3 Volunteers and Participants! |
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Photo credit, Brian Wells |
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IRONMAN 70.3 Race Recap
The inaugural Carilion Clinic IRONMAN® 70.3® Virginia's Blue Ridge triathlon was held on June 6, 2021. We'd like to thank all the local organizations, businesses, and volunteers who helped make this event a success and a great introduction to Virginia's Blue Ridge for visitors from around the world. We look forward to next year, Sunday, June 5, 2022. Click Here to view photos and a video from the race.
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The U.S. Small Business Administration is still offering programs that can help provide your business relief as we continue to recover. Find more COVID-19 relief options Here.
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THE GAUNTLET Celebrates the 2021 Cohort!
Seven years ago, Roanoke County and the Town of Vinton became the launching grounds for an extraordinary entrepreneur ecosystem. The first GAUNTLET Business Program and Competition, powered by The Advancement Foundation, began in Vinton with 15 entrepreneurs. The program now has over 650 alumni and spans across 32 communities!
Click Here to hear what GAUNTLET alumni have accomplished.
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Roanoke County 200 Plan
The Roanoke County 200 Plan is a 15-year plan to mark the County's bicentennial in 2038. The Plan provides guidance for public policies about land development, public services, and resource protection. Fall meetings will be held online and/or in-person dependent on Covid-19 public safety recommendations at that time.
With community meetings planned for Fall 2021, we invite you to sign up for our email list to stay in the loop about upcoming public input opportunities!
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The Employee Experience
July 22, 9-10:30 AM
The future of work is remote, hybrid, increasingly automated, and continually evolving. Greg Kihlström, employee experience thought leader and author of the books The Center of Experience (2020) and The Agile Workforce (2021), details how to deliver a great employee experience combined with measurable business results that are consistent and continually improving.
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BR Parkway - Roanoke River Bridge Rehab Project
National Park Service officials announced the full closure of Roanoke River Bridge, at Milepost 114.7, on the Blue Ridge Parkway for a major rehabilitation project.
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RAMP 2021 Fall Cohort
Applications are now open for the RAMP fall cohort to begin in September 2021.
RAMP is looking for technology startups with scalability and coachable entrepreneurs who have a desire to do the work.
Application Close Date: August 15
Cohort Start Date: September 13
DEMO DAY (tentative): December 9
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Events, Workshops, and Resources
Upcoming Roanoke Regional SBDC events include:
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Leaders of Conscience –
Diversity, Equity & Inclusion (DEI)
August 11, 9-11 AM
As workforce demographics continue to diversify and concerns over equity and workplace climate gain more national attention, understanding diversity, equity, and inclusion in the workplace is more important than ever. The Leaders of Conscience workshop will give you the practical knowledge and skills needed to address diversity, equity, and inclusion issues in the workplace.
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Virginia Tech Roanoke Center Leadership Academy
The Leadership Academy is a 9-month, once-per-month training series focused on developing skills necessary for navigating 21st century challenges and opportunities. During their monthly interactive and engaging classes, participants will experience discussions that provide valuable feedback, examine case studies that are relevant to workplace situations, and be introduced to materials that identify best practices to guide today's leaders.
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Get OSHA Certified
The Roanoke Higher Education Center is offering the next round of OSHA certification courses.
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Virginia Western Offers Leadership Training Opportunity
Become a competitive candidate with Virginia Western Community College's academic and certification programs. View the Supervisor prep course Here, and see all course offerings Here.
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Roanoke County Business Partners on RVTV |
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On this month’s show, we visit Richfield Living at their Salem campus in Glenvar for their second ribbon-cutting in two months to celebrate their new Health Center. Then we speak with the team at Pavement Stencil Company to hear how the National Economic Gardening Program helped them grow their business this past year. Finally, we visit Total Youth Health, a Red Light Therapy provider in Roanoke County that recently celebrated three years of doing business and the opening of their new location on Starkey Road.
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(540) 772-2069
P.O. Box 29800, Roanoke, VA 24018-0798
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