Share Email Print RSS

Odds and Ends

ACCOLADES

MeadWestvaco Corp. has been named to Corporate Responsibility Officer magazine's 100 Best Corporate Citizens 2008, which is the ninth annual ranking of top corporate citizens among U.S.-headquartered public companies. MeadWestvaco is recognized for its business practices that exemplify a higher level of corporate integrity, accountability and stewardship. In partnership with IW Financial, a Portland, Maine-based research and consulting firm in environment, social and governance issues, CRO ranked the corporate responsibility efforts of large-cap companies from the Russell 1000 Index in eight categories: Climate Change, Employee Relations, Environment, Financial, Governance, Human Rights, Lobbying and Philanthropy. CRO determined the final ranking as a weighted average of these eight categories.

 

CarMax Inc. has been named to Training magazine's Training Top 125. This was the first year CarMax applied to and placed on the prestigious list. CarMax was one of only five new companies to achieve a top 50 ranking. Training magazine, the training industry's premiere publication, annually selects 125 organizations that excel at associate development. These companies are chosen based on criteria such as best training practices, evaluation methods and outstanding training initiatives.

 

Williams Mullen has been named a "Go-To Law Firm" for Leading Technology Companies by American Lawyer Media (ALM), based on a recent survey. ALM asked General Counsel at the leading technology companies which outside law firms they turn to for assistance. ALM's research department also investigated and gathered data on technology company's "Go-To Law Firms" from various resources such as public records including court dockets and securities filings, key publications and well-respected commercial databases. According to ALM, the surveys and research focused on several areas of legal services, including litigation, corporate transactions/mergers and acquisitions, labor and employment, intellectual property, securities and international.

 

Chesterfield County has earned national recognition for the second year in a row by placing 45th on Training magazine's Top 125 for 2008, an annual ranking of organizations leading the way in employee training and development. Chesterfield County remains the only local government recognized and also moved up from a 53rd place ranking in 2007. On Feb. 6, the county also received a Best Practice Award from Corporate University Xchange in the Alignment Category, recognizing Chesterfield University's annual report, metrics and measurement strategy, learning governance and ties to the county's strategic plan.

 

AWARDS

Rainbow Station is one of the five finalists for the 2008 Better Business Bureau International Torch Award for Marketplace Excellence. Rainbow Station provides early education, emergency backup care and after-school and summer recreation programs. The BBB International Torch Awards recognize companies in North America for consistently demonstrating high integrity in their business practices toward their customers, employees, suppliers, industry peers and the communities in which they do business. In 2006, Rainbow Station received the Torch Award from the BBB of Central Virginia. Gail Johnson, owner and CEO, founded Rainbow Station in 1989.

 

ACCOUNTING

Goodman & Company relocated to a new Chester office on Jan. 28. The move culminates the recent merger of Chester-based West, Crawley and Winn with Goodman & Company. The new office is located in the Chester Village Green development. Goodman & Company will occupy all three floors of their building which will include added space for their staff, expanded conference rooms for meetings with clients and a new training center for staff and clients.

 

HOME IMPROVEMENT

Richmond-based gutter protection company Gutter Genius LLC has signed on as a sponsor with "Homefront with Don Zeman", a nationally syndicated home improvement talk show broadcast in more than 300 markets across North America to more than two million listeners every Saturday morning. Zeman is a nationally recognized home improvement and home maintenance expert who is a frequent guest on television news programs across North America.

 

MANUFACTURING

Chesterfield County announced that Mazda Motor Corporation is opening an engine and transmission remanufacturing facility in the County. The facility will also include a dealer training center and information call center. Mazda will lease 133,000 square feet of space from Weingarten Realty in Enterchange @ Walthall, Building A. The building is located at the Walthall interchange on Ruffin Mill Road and is in the Walthall Enterprise Zone. Mazda will invest approximately $1.6 million on building improvements, equipment and will initially hire 20 employees. In addition to Chesterfield Economic Development, Mazda was assisted in the site selection process by the Staubach Company, Virginia Economic Development Partnership, Virginia Jobs Investment Program and the Greater Richmond Partnership.

 

MARKETING

On March 1, PUNCH will have a new address. The creative advertising and design firm will be doing business from 3224-A W. Cary St., in the heart of Carytown. PUNCH will occupy the second floor of the building at the corner of Cary Street and Dooley Avenue. Phone numbers and other contact information will remain the same for PUNCH.

 

ONLINE PUBLICATIONS

Richmondmom.com recently launched its inaugural Web-based issue. The new online publication will serve as a resource for Richmond-area parents and will include information about child care, flexible jobs, fun activities for moms and kids, shopping, home needs and special needs children. The publication's focus is on empowering and inspiring women to pursue opportunities, such as flexible work arrangements, that allow mothers to have work-life balance.

 

PROPERTY TRANSACTIONS

Thalhimer/Cushman & Wakefield announced several recent transactions:

1.65 acres of land situated at 13025 Jefferson Davis Highway in Chesterfield County was purchased by Virginia Credit Union from The Rebkee Company for $1.05 million. The credit union has plans to develop a banking office at the location, which is adjacent to a new CVS Pharmacy. Lee Warfield and Lindsey Floyd handled the sale negotiations.

Hannover Properties, L.P. purchased a 2,352 square-foot condo unit at 2018 John Rolfe Parkway in Henrico County from John Rolfe Commons, L.L.C. for $258,980 as an investment. The 22-unit John Rolfe Place is now sold out. Millard F. Jones II handled the sale negotiations.

 

MISCELLANEOUS

In December, SFVA , The State Fair of Virginia Inc. , received a major grant from the Elis Olsson Memorial Foundation to support the construction of the Equine Complex at The Meadow Event Park. SFVA will recognize the grant by honoring the name of Sture G. Olsson on one of two 143-stall Horse Stall Barns to be built at the Event Park. Olsson, who lived in West Point, passed away Sept. 10 of last year at the age of 87. He was a member of the board of directors of SFVA (when it was formerly known as 'Atlantic Rural Exposition') from 1960-1971. Seeking to raise awareness of the importance of the horse industry in Virginia, Olsson helped establish the Virginia Equine Educational Foundation. The VEEF raised its own funds to conduct a comprehensive study of the economic impact of the horse industry in the state. The VEEF report was instrumental in efforts to gain support for horse-related initiatives in Virginia and was held up as a model for similar reports in other states.