• Former Advance Auto CFO James O’Neil Leftwich has been named vice president, finance and controller for LevelVision, a new media company based in portable displays. Leftwich has more than 20 years of experience in finance and accounting with the company. He was most recently chief financial officer for National Diabetic Pharmacies. Leftwich also spent 16 years at Advance Auto Parts as it grew from $365.3 million to $2.3 billion in annual sales.

• The Blue Ridge Chapter of the Employee Assistance Professional Association was awarded the national Outstanding Chapter of the Year at the annual EAPA World Conference. The award was presented for “remarkable support to the community and Virginia Tech following last spring’s tragic events.” Susan Swan, EAP Director at REACH EAP and Workplace Solutions in Roanoke, accepted the award. “We are a small chapter of regional EAPs that stepped up and supported the Virginia Tech community,” she said. “Responding to tragic events and providing support is what we are trained to do.” Ken Redick, president of the Blue Ridge Chapter and manager of Carilion EAP, said the award recognizes “that EAPs are duty-bound to provide for their client organizations. But, it is an honor to be recognized.”

• The LakeWatch Spa and Resort proposal has been narrowly approved by the Franklin County Board of Supervisors, giving owner Trey Park permission to advance his plan for the 605-acre project. It will be part of the LakeWatch Plantation development on opposite sides of Va. 122.

• Volvo Trucks North America has recalled all its trucks made at the Dublin facility between November 2002 and October 2007 because of a lighting system failure. About 125,000 trucks are affected.

• The Branch Group Inc., a Roanoke general contractor, has acquired R. Edward Daffan Inc. of Manassas, a general contractor founded in l968. The new company will operate under the name of R. E. Daffan, Inc. Daffan is recognized for its design-build services and is responsible for over $200 million of commercial and industrial projects in Northern Virginia.

• Hayes, Seay, Mattern & Mattern Inc. (HSMM) plans to lease office space at 10 South Jefferson Street in downtown Roanoke beginning in the summer of 2008. Approximately 140 employees from the firm’s Buildings Division at 1315 Franklin Road will move to the new downtown Roanoke office space. HSMM will lease three floors. Related project support services, including regional and division managers, project managers and business development, will also participate in the move. The company’s office space on Franklin Road will be refurbished and occupied by the firm’s Transportation and Civil/Environmental Divisions.

• Commercial Metals Company, a Texas-based steel and metal products manufacturer, recently announced plans to open a new facility in Amherst County, creating 45 new reinforcing steel detailing jobs over the next two years. The 6,000-square-foot facility at the Amelon Commerce Center will be constructed by the Amherst Economic Development Authority and will be a part of CMC’s rebar fabrication group in the Mid-Atlantic area. The new facility will allow the company to expand its detailing and project management operation in the region.

• The Bedford County Board of Supervisors has voted to allow construction of a nine-building condominium complex with 216 units on U.S. 221 in Forest. The council rezoned the 13 acres to make the construction of Gables of Jefferson Commons possible. The complex will be similar to the Gables of Wyndhurst project, developers say.

• Poe & Cronk Real Estate Group announced recently the signing of three new long term leases in the Wachovia Tower. They are: Hayes, Seay, Mattern & Mattern Inc. of Roanoke, which will relocate a major portion of its Roanoke operation to three floors in October 2008; Wachovia Bank, which will extend its occupancy; Catawba Capital Management, which relocated its headquarters to the Wachovia Tower in December.

• Olive Garden has opened a new restaurant on Franklin Street in Christiansburg, its first in Montgomery County.

• Bedford City Council has voted unanimously to contract American Municipal Power-Ohio for the next 50 years to provide 7.9 megawatts an hour of power beginning in 2012.

• PPL Corporation of Pennsylvania has agreed to work with UniStar Nuclear Energy to work out a combined construction and operation license application for the Nuclear Regulatory Commission. UniStar was created to market Lynchburg’s Areva’s power reactor in the U.S. PPL hopes to have the application ready by the end of the year.

• Centra, Lynchburg’s large hospital group, has prepared and circulated a “white paper” suggesting business ties with private medical practices that could lead to the purchase of some, establishing group practices and even making hiring suggestions. Centra CEO George Dawson says the plan is to “provide a comprehensive approach to improving health outcomes, lowering costs and driving efficiencies in how health care is delivered.”

Rayovac, Tetra announce plans
April 4, 2005 in Roanoke
The Rayovac Corporation has announced it has entered into an agreement to acquire the Tetra plant in Blacksburg. Headquartered in Melle, Germany, with operations in more than 90 countries, Tetra manufactures and markets food and products for fish and reptiles. The Blacksburg facility, which employs about 200 people, is used as a warehousing and distribution, research and development center. The sale is expected to close in June.

* The U.S. Small Business Administration has scheduled a regulatory fairness board hearing in Salem April 7, 1-3:30 p.m. at the National College of Business & Technology, in an effort to give small business owners an opportunity to voice their opinions on regulation. The SBA's ombudsman Peter Sorum, members of the Region III Regulatory Fairness Board and representatives of federal regulatory agencies will listen and comment.

* K & C Trucking owners, an employee and six tractor-trailer drivers pleaded guilty in U.S. District Court to falsifying drivers' logs and lying to federal investigators in March. Owners of the Rustburg-based trucking company include James E. Sanders, owner and operations manager, who pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy and 17 counts of intentionally submitting false writings to federal authorities; and Norvell Preston, owner and president, who pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy and one count of intentionally submitting false writings to federal authorities.

* A study of Lynchburg's midtown area, which will include the area comprising The Plaza, Miller Park, Lynchburg College, Lynchburg Hospital and the surrounding area, will give Lynchburg area residents an opportunity to participate in the outcome. Lynchburg City Council voted to draft a mid-town master plan after postponing a rezoning request for a proposed Walgreen's pharmacy at Langhorne and Murrell roads. Dover, Kohl & Partners, a planning firm headquartered in Florida, will conduct the $187,000 revitalization study.

* The owner of Lynchburg Ready Mix wants to open a new facility on two acres in Appomattox. The property is owned by Appomattox Oil Co., a company owned by Appomattox town councilman C. Lewis McDearmon. The Lynchburg-based concrete mixing company has plants in Bedford and Amherst.

* Bea-Maurer, the Fairfield- based maker of Base-X shelters for military and homeland security use, has been purchased by Hunter Defense Technologies, an Ohio-based maker of heaters and filters for the Base-X shelter. Bea-Maurer employs about 100 people, and no job loss from the sale is anticipated.

* Franklin County supervisors are slowing the pursuit of a general aviation airport in order to organize a series of discussions with owners of the property where the site is being considered.

* Roanoke has landed a United Hockey League franchise from Port Huron, Mich., thanks to a deal brokered by UHL President Richard Brosal with Roanoke Civic Center director Mina Boyd. According to Brosal, and City Manager Darlene Burcham, the success of the team will depend on the people and businesses of Roanoke. The civic center is in the process of working out a three-year lease agreement with Port Huron franchise owners Ken and Kristen Dixon.

* Approval of new rates by the State Board of Community Colleges means tuition is going up at Virginia's community colleges 6.7 percent this summer. For in-state students, the increase means the credit hour cost will go up from $63.70 to $68.

* Now that the Roanoke City Council has approved a $49 million residential and commercial development on city-owned land along Colonial Avenue, construction on the Colonial Green project could begin this summer. The 23-acre project will have 220 single-family houses, condos and apartments, and will include a small commercial district. According to developer Michael Hawes of Colonial Green LLC, homes could be ready for sale by spring 2006.

* Mark R. Kilduff, executive director for the Virginia Economic Development Partnership, will retire at the conclusion of his four-year contract, which expires in June. Kilduff, a 37-year state veteran, has served as executive director since 1999.

* According to Norfolk Southern Corporation's regulatory statement filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission, total compensation to NS' chairman and chief executive officer increased 7.5 percent to $11.5 million last year. The annual salary of Vinton native David Goode remained at $1 million, while his bonus increased 19.6 percent to $2 million. Other top executives had increases in compensation. 2004 was a strong year for Norfolk Southern, as revenue rose 13 percent to $7.3 billion, and earnings increased 72.5 percent to $923 million, or $2.31 per share.

* The City of Lynchburg and the Lynchburg Industrial Development Authority have announced that Automated Industrial Technologies in Bedford County will construct a new office and plant in the Lynchpin Industrial Center. The Project is expected to cost the company an estimated $1 million. The company employs 15 people, and anticipates the creation of 11 new jobs over the next two years.

* Davidsons Clothing for Men of Roanoke is opening a new location in Westlake Towne Center at Smith Mountain Lake. Davidsons, which was recently named one of the best men's shops in the country by Esquire Magazine for the second straight year, will join 24 other companies already housed throughout the Westlake Towne Center campus. The company is planning a grand opening in May 2005.

* Roanoke College is celebrating the completion of its newest academic facility, a $1.2 million renovation of Trout Hall, completed in January. Originally built in 1867, Trout Hall is one of the college's oldest buildings.

* Larry York has been named assistant general manager at the new Inn at Virginia Tech and Skelton Conference Center and is the man responsible for the day-to-day operation of the center. York had been general manager of Virginia Tech's Donaldson Brown Center. He has also worked at the Hotel Roanoke & Conference Center. The center opens in July.

* Roanoke's Eades & Lower Insurance Company recently celebrated the 75th anniversary of its founding, March 30, 1930 by Irad B. Lower Sr. and Frank A. Eads. The business is being operated by a third generation.

Southside Community Hospital and Centra Health
January 1, 2005 in Lynchburg
Southside Community Hospital and Centra Health in Lynchburg have signed a letter of intention to become affiliated. The organizations will now develop an agreement, which could be reached by late summer, officials say.

* Composite window frame manufacturer Tecton of Fargo, N.D., will place its second plant in the Roanoke County Center for Research and Technology. It will employ 58 people when it opens and projects 93 employees within six years. It plans to open this summer. Tecton will supply-among others-Roanoke County's Integrity Windows and Doors.

* Leaders of the technology and business community will gather for the sixth annual NewVa Corridor Technology Council Awards Dinner on Wednesday, May 4 at the Hotel Roanoke and Conference Center. TechNite 6.0 will offer an insider's look at the hottest technology companies in our region and the leaders charting their growth. Robert L. McDowell of Microsoft Corporation will be the keynote speaker.

* Two Blacksburg-based businesses, Anderson & Associates (A & A) and Tele-Works, have formed a partnership that will utilize the specialty of each firm. A & A will write a geographic information systems (GIS) plug-in to ESRI, to accompany Tele-Works software. The GIS module is expected to be an add-on component that Tele-Works can use in conjunction with their database, allowing users such as rescue workers, to visualize the location of people in relation to an event such as a tornado or flooding.

* In an effort to persuade Roanoke City to relax zoning restrictions on farmers markets, approximately 275 residents who want their fruit and fiber, but don't want to deal with the limited space and downtown traffic to get it, have signed a petition asking the city to allow farmers markets and community gardens at various locations throughout the city. At present, zoning allows for a permanent farmers market within the confines of the city market only. While city officials have drafted changes to Roanoke's overall zoning ordinance, they have yet to recommend changes to the farmers market guidelines.

* Access Advertising/Design/PR received a gold ADDY for Total Action Against Poverty's Dumas Center Project poster, and one silver ADDY for its interactive Access Halloween Mini Site at the American Advertising Federation (AAF) third district competition, held in Greenville, S.C. Dawn Stein, an Access designer in both print and interactive, won three gold ADDYs and one silver, as well as Best in Show, in the student category for her work while enrolled at Virginia Tech. Stein joined Access in May 2004.

* Bedford County has hired deputy administrator Kathleen D. Guzi to replace Bill Rolfe, who left the job as county administrator recently after 16 years on the job. Guzi has been with the county since 1986. She had been finance director and assistant county administrator before earning the deputy title.

* The Highland Region Jaycees, with the help of their parent organization, are recruiting members for the launch of a new Jaycee chapter in the greater Lynchburg area in April, which is National Volunteer Month. The Greater Lynchburg Jaycees held its inaugural activities on April 3 at the American Legion Post 16 Pavilion.

* After much arguing in court over who would get the chance to offer its cash and management expertise, Carilion Health System has become the jilted suitor in its planned affiliation with the Wythe County Community Hospital. The hospital has chosen an affiliation with LifePoint Hospitals Inc., an eastern Tennessee hospital system that wants to modernize the facility.

* Hayes, Seay, Mattern & Mattern (HSMM) of Roanoke and D.C. has won Craftsmanship Awards from the Washington Building Congress (WBC) for design supervision and project management. One award was for construction of a water mist fire suppression system at the National Gallery of Art on the Washington Mall. The second award was for electrical work installed on the Blue Line Extension of the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority (WMATA) Metrorail system.

* ITT Night Vision in Roanoke has won a $10 contract for night vision goggles from the U.S. Army.