On June 13, Virginia Business honored the winners of the 2024 Virginia CFO Awards during the magazine’s annual black-tie banquet at Richmond’s Jefferson Hotel. Photos by Rick DeBerry.
1.L to R: Virginia CFO Awards nominee Paul Huckfeldt of Hooker Furnishings and wife, Annette; 2024 CFO Awards winner Joel Flax of Cohen Investment Group and wife, Gail.
2.L to R: Courtney Browder, Virginia CFO Awards nominee Juanita Parks, Charlie Knight and Krista Gillespie of
3.L to R: Behrad Amirsoltani and wife, Anna, a Virginia CFO Awards nominee with Cassaday & Company; Craig Brown and wife, nominee BJ Brown, both from the Law Office of Craig A Brown.
4.On July 9, Colonial Williamsburg Resorts broke ground on The Shoe, a new, Rees Jones-designed, nine-hole, par 3 gold course. Colonial Williamsburg’s first new golf course in 33 years, it’s expected to open in summer 2025 at the Golden Horseshoe Golf Club. L to R: Jim Thomas of Williamsburg; Colonial Williamsburg Foundation President and CEO Cliff Fleet; Williamsburg Mayor Doug Pons; and Keith Jackson, Colonial Williamsburg’s vice president of hospitality. Photo courtesy Colonial Williamsburg Resorts.
5.L to R: Chris Harman and teammate Josh McCartney, workers for Kentucky energy company Iron Senergy, simulate performing first aid on a volunteer during a mine rescue contest in late June at the Southwest Virginia Higher Education Center in Abingdon. The event was co-hosted by National Mine Rescue Association Post 7, the Metallurgical Coal Producers Association, the Mine Safety and Health Administration, and the Virginia Department of Energy. Photo courtesy Virginia Energy.
The Colonial Williamsburg Foundation and William & Mary have partnered to form a leadership development institute in Williamsburg, the two entities announced Monday. Former Hewlett-Packard CEO and onetime GOP presidential hopeful Carly Fiorina will chair the Williamsburg Institute, which will have Walt Disney veteran Christopher Caracci as its executive director.
The institute’s mission is to “provide innovative leadership development opportunities rooted in history,” according to a news release announcing the launch. The new initiative will have programming aimed at three groups: high school seniors and college undergraduates seeking leadership skills; business professionals and community leaders; and lifelong learners. The Williamsburg Institute will hold one-to-three-day immersive programs held twice each year, as well as standalone conferences and “convenings.”
The institute hopes to educate and prepare individuals for effective leadership in their organizations and communities while promoting active civic engagement and drawing upon the history of Williamsburg to provide participants with a “deep understanding of the foundational principles of the nation and their contemporary application.”
“The Williamsburg Institute is a first-of-its-kind and unique learning organization,” Caracci said in a statement. “With Williamsburg as its context, it will act as a bridge connecting our rich historical leadership heritage to both the present and future, informing the way for more effective leadership and civic engagement.”
The institute’s governing board of directors includes Colonial Williamsburg Foundation President and CEO Cliff Fleet; former W&M rector Jeff Trammell; W&M Provost Peggy Agouris; and Kendrick Ashton, co-founder and co-CEO of The St. James, a sports complex in Springfield.
Fiorina, the first woman to lead a Fortune 20 company, also chairs the Colonial Williamsburg Foundation. A 2010 GOP candidate for U.S. Senate in California, she unsuccessfully sought the Republican presidential nomination in 2016. Caracci worked for The Walt Disney Co. for 32 years and oversaw Disney University and The Disney Institute. He serves on the faculty at W&M’s Raymond A. Mason School of Business and at Cornell University in executive education.
“The institute will play a crucial role in education and preparing individuals to lead, solve problems, engage with others and advance society,” Fiorina said in a statement. “Now more than ever, particularly as we approach the 250th commemoration of [our] founding as a nation, we need leaders who will create a more effective, engaged, civil and inclusive society.”
A corporate executive and college professor, Fleet became the ninth president of the world’s largest living history museum in 2020. He is charged with sharing America’s enduring story with new and diverse audiences, while improving its financial health.
Before joining the Colonial Williamsburg Foundation, Fleet served as CEO and president of 22nd Century Group and, prior to that, was president and CEO of Richmond-based tobacco manufacturer Philip Morris USA. He is also an adjunct professor in William & Mary’s Raymond A. Mason School of Business.
Fleet served as president of the Jamestown-Yorktown Foundation from 2014 to 2019 and had been a board member since 2009. Fleet earned his bachelor’s degree in history and religion, and graduate degrees in history, business administration and law from William & Mary.
In March, the Colonial Williamsburg Foundation and the Virginia American Revolution 250 Commission hosted the first planning event for America’s 250th anniversary in 2026. Nearly 300 representatives from 34 states and 50 Virginia localities gathered on the Colonial Williamsburg campus to explore ways to mark the anniversary and acknowledge the global significance of the founding of the United States in 1776.
Williamsburg, Jamestown and Yorktown are all significant parts of the nation’s foundation, and historic tourism drove the region’s economy during the 20th century. But Colonial Williamsburg hasn’t been enough to keep
big crowds coming to the area consistently in the 21st century, even before the pandemic.
Visitation dropped from 960,000 in 1999 to 534,000 in 2019, officials reported, although after running at a $4.6 million deficit in 2017, The Colonial Williamsburg Foundation’s net income improved to $87.3 million in 2020. One reason for the decline in visitor numbers is that fewer people today visit historic sites compared with earlier generations, the Colonial Williamsburg Foundation’s former president and CEO, Mitchell B. Reiss, said in 2019 upon his retirement. He also said that Colonial Williamsburg in particular needed to update its marketing efforts to meet today’s digital culture.
“There was a time when we as a community had a notion that Colonial Williamsburg would always take care of us, that Busch Gardens would always be enough, but that’s just not the case,” Williamsburg Mayor Doug Pons says. “When I was in the hotel business, I realized that Williamsburg was seeing declining visitation. It was no secret.”
So, in 2016, Pons decided to convert his Quarterpath Inn into multifamily affordable housing.
Over time, as visitation to Williamsburg and other historic attractions (including Jamestown and Yorktown) declined, it became apparent to civic leaders that the so-called Historic Triangle needed another large investment in tourism to maintain the region’s quality of life and to keep its economy humming.
And unlike John D. Rockefeller’s rescue of Colonial Williamsburg in the 1930s, which extended to $79 million in family support through the 1970s, “there wasn’t going to be another billionaire showing up to make that investment,” Pons says.
Using teamwork
One way the Historic Triangle region’s three localities — York and James City counties and Williamsburg — decided to invest in the area’s economic development was an indoor sports venue, which they hope also will give a boost to Busch Gardens, Colonial Williamsburg and other attractions.
In March 2022, officials formed the Historic Triangle Recreational Facilities Authority to spearhead the development of a 160,000-square-foot indoor sports complex with 12 basketball courts that can be converted into volleyball and pickleball courts. It represents the largest intergovernmental project ever undertaken by the three localities. One estimate projected the cost could be $45 million or more, but many of the final details are in flux.
In September 2022, the authority approved an interim agreement with MEB General Contractors of Chesapeake for $2.3 million to initiate the design of the core sports center complex, about 35% of the project, according to York County documents. The next decision, expected to come in the next few months, will be to choose a construction firm.
Officials have identified a preferred site for the sports complex. It would be located on underused property next to the Colonial Williamsburg Regional Visitor Center, a site that may also allow room for an adjoining performing arts center or amphitheater.
“It’s going to happen,” Pons says. “The funds to service the debt are already identified, it’s already coming in. And, there’s money in the bank to begin.”
While Pons says the visitor center will remain a hub for tourism activity, the sports complex will add a new dimension to tourism in the city and adjoining counties by attracting youth athletics and other events from around the country.
Meanwhile, the Colonial Williamsburg Foundation is working closely with the Historic Triangle Recreational Facilities Authority to determine the best uses for the visitor center campus, but emphasizes that the proposed sports complex will have no impact on the visitor center itself.
James City County’s economic development director, Christopher Johnson, notes that all three localities must approve funding for the indoor sports complex this year. James City’s tax revenues have been stable, offering the county some room to invest in the sports complex, Johnson says.
Although Williamsburg will likely benefit most directly from the venue if it’s sited at Colonial Williamsburg, Johnson says that in James City County, “one of our main revenue sources is hospitality and tourism, [and] the complex [also] provides additional space for activities during the week for James City citizens.”
Additionally, the county has benefited from its busy manufacturing sector, including Anheuser-Busch Inc., which saw an increase in demand during the pandemic. Also, the county is seeing more traffic from the Port of Virginia and hopes to have a shovel-ready industrial site prepared at Hazelwood Farms Enterprise Center by next spring.
Owned by SeaWorld Entertainment Inc., the Busch Gardens Williamsburg and Water Country USA theme parks are the Historic Triangle’s largest tourism draws. Photo courtesy Busch Gardens Williamsburg
New and old attractions
In addition to planning the sports complex, the three localities have also collaborated on the Edge District, a restaurant and entertainment-driven locale at the shared borders of York and James City counties and Williamsburg. Established in 2019, the Edge District offers high-end food and boutique shopping, and the resulting tax revenue from lodging and meals taxes have led to a joint fund to help finance the sports complex.
In the past two years, further cementing the spirit of regional cooperation, Williamsburg has begun including the area’s two largest employers, Colonial Williamsburg and William & Mary, in its annual State of the City events, inviting the chief executives from each to deliver addresses covering highlights from the year and future plans.
During the 2022 State of the City event, William & Mary President Katherine Rowe said that the 250th anniversary of Williamsburg in 2026 will be an important opportunity to remind the nation of the city’s role in U.S. history. “We’re going to make the case for Williamsburg’s significance as the best place in the country to understand our nation’s complex history,” she said.
Unsurprisingly, Colonial Williamsburg is also geared up for the anniversary.
“Williamsburg was host to an astonishing number of events leading up to and including 1776 that contributed to America’s founding,” Colonial Williamsburg Foundation President and CEO Cliff Fleet said during his State of the City address. “Today, this history positions our region to lead the commemoration effort on behalf of our nation. The impact of this moment will rest on the preparations we make today.”
It’s also a time to focus on the largely overlooked roles of Black and Indigenous people in our history, to provide “a fuller account of the founding of the United States,” Fleet said.
In February, the 273-year-old Bray School, believed to be the oldest surviving building in America dedicated to the education of Black children, was moved from William & Mary’s campus to Colonial Williamsburg, Fleet said, where it will be fully restored by November 2024. University and Colonial Williamsburg staffers are working with the descendants of students who attended the school during the era of slavery, “so that everyone can see themselves in America’s story.”
The First Baptist Church, one of the nation’s oldest Black churches, was founded in 1776, and Colonial Williamsburg Foundation is working with the congregation to uncover the church’s original site on Nassau Street, with a goal of reconstructing the building by its 250th anniversary.
Meanwhile, Rowe noted that this year will mark the 300th anniversary of the Brafferton Indian School, which educated Indigenous students over several decades and sits on W&M’s campus near the Wren Building.
“Like the Bray School, the Brafferton tricentennial offers an opportunity to provide a fuller account of the founding of the United States,” Rowe said in her State of the City remarks.
Colonial Williamsburg also has opened an interpretive Native American camp that explores regional Indigenous peoples’ relationship with the Colony of Virginia. One of Colonial Williamsburg’s major events this year will be the groundbreaking for the Colin G. and Nancy N. Campbell Archaeology Center, which will become the hub of all archaeological endeavors in the former colonial capital.
York County is looking forward to tourism income that will come from Princess Cruises making Yorktown a port of call beginning in spring 2024, county Supervisor Sheila Noll says. Photo by Mark Rhodes
Into the present
Busch Gardens Williamsburg also has ramped up its act, following the pandemic. Since 2022, the theme park has expanded its operating months to include January through March, making it a year-round attraction.
That’s been good news for the region’s hospitality industry, says Ron Kirkland, executive director of the Williamsburg Hotel & Motel Association.
The region’s hotel occupancy rate for 2022 was 50.4%, up from 45.2% in 2021 and better than 2019. Also, the average daily room rate was $148.76, “which was [an] all-time best,” Kirkland notes, compared with $125.51 in 2019.
Virginia Restaurant, Lodging and Travel Association President Eric Terry has seen some good growth in the region and believes the Historic Triangle’s larger tourism marketing budget has significantly aided its recovery.
In 2018, the General Assembly passed a special Historic Triangle tourism tax, an added 1% sales tax that helped create Visit Williamsburg, a marketing organization with an annual budget of about $15 million, Pons says. “It really changed the landscape in how we are able to promote ourselves in a broader reach. Before that, we had budgets of $2 [million] to$3 million.”
In neighboring York County, tourism is also a big draw, and Supervisor Sheila Noll says that she was energized by a February announcement that Princess Cruises will be making Yorktown a port of call in late spring 2024, opening the door to potentially thousands of new visitors coming to the region and boosting historic tourism.
The cruise ships, which can carry between 2,000 and 3,000 guests each, will land at Yorktown on the York River five times next year, and the Virginia state Senate’s budget proposal this year includes $7.5 million to build a permanent pier to accommodate the cruise ships. Currently, the river has just floating docks.
“History is very, very important to people who visit here and to people who live here,” Noll says. “We have the benefit of the past.”
Historic Triangle at a glance
James City County, York County and the city of Williamsburg make up the Historic Triangle. Located between Hampton Roads and Richmond, the area includes historical attractions, the Busch Gardens Williamsburg theme park and William & Mary, the nation’s second oldest institution of higher learning, chartered in 1693. Joint Base Langley-Eustis is a U.S. military installation formed by the 2010 merger of Langley Air Force Base and the U.S. Army’s Fort Eustis. In use since 1917, Langley is the world’s oldest continuously active Air Force base.
Population
James City County: 76,484
Williamsburg: 15,590
York County: 68,890
Top employers
William & Mary
Colonial Williamsburg Foundation
Sentara Healthcare
York County
Walmart Inc.
Williamsburg-James City County School Board
SeaWorld Entertainment Inc.
Major attractions
The American Revolution Museum at Yorktown tells the story of the nation’s fight for independence. Yorktown Battlefield, the site of the Revolutionary War’s final major clash, offers a visitor’s center and guided tours. Colonial Williamsburg, a popular living history attraction showcasing Colonial American life, features museums, lodging, restaurants and shops. Historic Jamestowne is the site of America’s first permanent English settlement and features an archaeological museum with 17th-century artifacts unearthed on site. Jamestown Settlement features a rebuilt interpretation of America’s first permanent settlement. The nearby Busch Gardens Williamsburg and Water Country USA theme parks are the region’s biggest tourism draws.
Top convention hotels
Williamsburg Lodge, Autograph Collection 323 rooms, 45,000 square feet of event space
DoubleTree by Hilton Hotel Williamsburg 295 rooms, 42,089 square feet of event space
Fort Magruder Hotel –Trademark Collection by Wyndham 303 rooms, 26,000 square feet of event space
Boutique/luxury hotels
Kingsmill Resort
Williamsburg Inn
Wedmore Place
Notable restaurants
Fat Canary,American fatcanarywilliamsburg.com
Food for Thought,American foodforthoughtrestaurant.com
“Cooperation” is a word Jim Noel uses a lot these days when speaking about the Greater Williamsburg region, which encompasses the city of Williamsburg and York and James City counties.
As York County’s economic development director, Noel has watched as one of the most historically significant areas of the nation has worked to revive and diversify its economy in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic and its devastating effects on tourism.
In 2020, overnight visitation to Virginia declined by 33%, shrinking from 44 million visitors in 2019 to 29.3 million visitors, according to the Virginia Tourism Corp.
The Williamsburg region performed even worse.
“Williamsburg is still one of the lowest occupancy markets in the state,” says Eric Terry, president of the Virginia Restaurant, Lodging & Travel Association (VRLTA). The major reasons, Terry says, are fewer visitors and shorter stays at Colonial Williamsburg.
“I think it’s a little more challenging to sell historic tourism these days,” he notes. “Vacations have now become four-day weekends, as opposed to weeklong.” Also, new hotels and resorts — which Williamsburg lacks, compared with nearby Virginia Beach, for instance — often tempt vacationers.
In October 2020, Williamsburg’s occupancy rate was 31.2%, the lowest of the 13 Virginia markets surveyed, according to VRLTA data. It rose to 52.5% by October 2021, but was still ranked lowest among markets surveyed and was below the state average of 64%.
Also, notes Old Dominion University’s 2021 State of the Region report, June 2021 hotel revenue in Williamsburg was at $17.7 million, a 514% increase from the previous year but 6% below June 2019. Some of this is due to lower per-room prices that sank to an average of $88 per night in July 2020. Prices rose to $163 in July 2021, with 67% occupancy, says Ron Kirkland, executive director of the Williamsburg Hotel and Motel Association.
But group and business travel are still lagging, Kirkland says, because many people aren’t yet ready to convene in large groups. Barring any further setbacks, he thinks it will be another year to 18 months before tourism and occupancy rates fully recover.
Colonial Williamsburg, historically one of the bellwethers of the Williamsburg region’s tourism industry, has seen a precipitous drop in ticket sales since a high point of 1.2 million tickets in 1988. By 2018, tickets sales plummeted to 550,171, the lowest point since the 1960s. And in 2020, due to the pandemic, the living history attraction was closed from mid-March to mid-June, reopening under state capacity limits for nearly a year.
“I’m happy to report that visitation to Colonial Williamsburg’s historic area and art museums has been strong through the summer and is gradually returning to pre-COVID-19 visitation levels,” notes Ellen Peltz, public relations manager for The Colonial Williamsburg Foundation, although she declined to provide current numbers on visits, financial data and employment.
Virginia Restaurant, Lodging & Travel Association President Eric Terry says sports tourism could help diversify and boost Williamsburg’s hospitality sector. Photo by Mark Rhodes
From COVID to cooperation
Regional cooperation is seen as part of the path toward recovery and diversification in the region.
The city of Williamsburg and York and James City counties have shared interests that encourage cooperation, says Noel with York County: “We work together a lot, and it makes sense. Our economies are intertwined and while we have a mixed economy, the hospitality industry is important to all three of us.”
Food and drink and good times never seem to lose appeal, and Williamsburg-area localities are excited about the Edge District, a developing hospitality- and entertainment-driven area on the borders of the three localities, sited along Second Street, Merrimac Trail, Capitol Landing Road and the Virginia Route 143 corridor.
The district has drawn support from local governments and in short order has become an example of increasing regional cooperation in the face of economic adversity.
Robby Willey, who co-founded The Virginia Beer Co. brewery in 2016 on Second Street, is the Williamsburg Economic Development Authority liaison for the district. “The municipalities put their money where their mouth was,” he says, including setting up a website promoting the district to the public. Also, businesses in the area are planning to form an association to work on securing signage and infrastructure to attract more people to the district, he says.
Noel began promoting the Edge District in 2019 when he started thinking about ways to spur economic development on a regional level.
“It occurred to me that this is a real cool corridor,” says Noel, who took the idea to his local economic development counterparts, who also were enthusiastic about the concept. So were owners of restaurant and beverage businesses, which were hit harder than other sectors during the height of the pandemic and have encountered hiring difficulties during the widespread labor shortage.
“Both from an EDA and business perspective, we couldn’t do what we do without our visitors,” Willey says, noting that the localities’ marketing encourages residents and tourists to “step out of their comfort zone,” and try out new businesses.
Although the three local economic development authorities each donated $2,000 to create a starter fund for the Edge District, the big push came after the Environmental Protection Agency announced in June 2019 that it was awarding the Greater Williamsburg Partnership a $600,000 brownfields grant, which would be used to conduct environmental assessments in the Edge District, Grove, Tabb Lakes and Lightfoot, and make properties suitable for redevelopment.
“Redevelopment and revitalization” is the primary goal of the brownfields grants, says Tom Laughlin, a senior associate with Draper Aden Associates, the Blacksburg-based engineering, surveying and environmental services firm that was hired to manage the brownfields grant. The firm also hired Consociate Media of Gloucester to brand and market the Edge District.
Part of the grant funds an assessment process that identifies any potential hazards such as lead paint, asbestos or underground tanks so that potential buyers or developers of a distressed property know what they might face.
The grant also provides for conceptual designs and renderings of what a distressed property could look like after rehabilitation.
York County Economic Development Director Jim Noel has led regional efforts to promote the Edge District, which features 20 restaurants. Photo by Mark Rhodes
About a dozen projects have been examined so far, but Laughlin says he isn’t able to discuss them yet. Nevertheless, he adds, “projects are in motion, and we expect tangible evidence in a year or two.”
“We are excited to see this budding foodie/shopping destination get the attention that it deserves,” Yuri Adams, Williamsburg’s acting economic development director, says of the district.
“Chef-driven restaurants and destination boutique shopping are the central focus of the Edge District, and we wanted to create a way to market and celebrate all that these businesses offer our community — not just through the products they offer, but also through the community development and philanthropic efforts they provide our Greater Williamsburg region,” Adams says.
Growth through collaboration
Industrial development is another area where the Greater Williamsburg localities are finding opportunities for collaboration.
In 2018, the three principal Williamsburg-area localities, as well as seven other localities, including the cities of Chesapeake, Franklin, Hampton, Newport News and Poquoson, formed the Eastern Virginia Regional Industrial Facility Authority (EVRIFA).
“What a RIFA does is to allow localities to invest in an economic project and share the revenue,” Noel says, “but not everyone has to participate.” In 2020, the Eastern Virginia RIFA approved the $1.35 million acquisition of a 432-acre one-time naval fuel depot in York County, property formerly owned by the state.
The site, which is accessible to Interstate 64, will be occupied by a solar farm and an industrial park. CI Renewables of New Jersey, formerly known as KDC Solar, was slated to pay $1.35 million to EVRIFA for the site in a deal that was expected to close in mid-December 2021. In addition to building the 20-megawatt solar farm, CI Renewables will lease about 180 acres of the property for the construction of Kings Creek Commerce Center, a light industrial park.
Another potential cooperative effort between the localities is a proposed indoor sports complex. The Colonial Williamsburg Foundation has offered its underused, 100-acre regional visitors center property as the site for the project.
Williamsburg city government has been discussing the idea of an indoor sports complex since 2014 and more recently broached the idea of forming a Historic Triangle Recreational Authority with James City and York counties that would oversee the complex. In November, the counties officially joined the authority.
The localities also have cooperated on other objectives, but the proposed sports tourism complex would represent the largest intergovernmental project ever undertaken by the three governments.
Utah-based Victus Advisors, a consultant hired by the city, recommended in March 2021 that the facility be at least 150,000 square feet, which would accommodate 12 basketball courts that would convert into 24 volleyball courts. The project’s cost and timeline for construction and opening are still under study, according to a Williamsburg official.
Terry says sports tourism could be a big help to diversify and boost Williamsburg’s hospitality sector, especially during off-seasons, as it has in other localities.
“As we’ve seen the facilities built around Hampton and Virginia Beach, it’s been a real shot in the arm for them,” Terry says.
In October 2020, for example, Virginia Beach opened the $68 million Virginia Beach Sports Center, a 285,000-square-foot facility near the Oceanfront with seating for 5,000 spectators.
Rick Overy, chair of the Williamsburg Economic Development Authority, emphasizes the need for diversity in the economy and reiterates the growing importance of sports tourism.
“To host large athletic tournaments — that’s something [we’re] hoping to build on and not just rely on the historic tourism, which has been the stalwart of what we’ve had for 50 years,” he says. “When everybody thinks of Williamsburg, they think of historic tourism, so we’re trying to diversify that.”
Formed in 2016, the Greater Williamsburg Partnership is a yet another example of regional cooperation to attract business and industry to Williamsburg and York and James City counties.
James City County Economic Development Director Christopher Johnson says the partnership celebrates no matter what regional locality is selected for a new business or expansion. “It benefits us all.”
With the ongoing expansion of Interstate 64, the buildup of the Port of Virginia and the $3.8 billion Hampton Roads Bridge-Tunnel expansion, Johnson says cooperation will benefit the entire region.
“Development is a long game,” says Johnson, “not just a quick win.”
“When everybody thinks of Williamsburg, they think of historic tourism, so we’re trying to diversify that,” says Rick Overy, chair of the Williamsburg Economic Development Authority. Photo by Mark Rhodes
Overy also sees a higher degree of cooperation between Colonial Williamsburg, the city of Williamsburg and William & Mary.
Williamsburg City Council has asked the EDA to help make Williamsburg a Virginia Main Street community and to establish a downtown business association.
“We are seeking to unify not just businesses but also interested individuals, nonprofits — anyone who cares about our downtown,” Overy says.
“There aren’t that many areas that have a national college [and] a national museum in a historic city and they all try to work together, and that’s one of the strengths that Williamsburg has that we’re all trying to build on,” he adds. “That cooperation is now as good as it’s ever been in my 40 years in Williamsburg, and that bodes well for the future.”
Virginia Business Deputy Editor Kate Andrews contributed to this story.
The Colonial Williamsburg Foundation announced Friday that J. Thomas Savage will become its director of educational travel and conferences, effective July 12.
Currently, Savage serves as director of external affairs for Winterthur Museum, Gardens and Library in Delaware.
“Tom Savage is an internationally known and respected expert who will bring new vigor and creative energy to our venerable conference and travel programs,” said Ronald Hurst, the foundation’s chief curator and vice president for museums, preservation and historic resources. “A frequent collaborator with members of the Colonial Williamsburg team, his new position will in many ways be a homecoming.”
Previously, Savage worked as senior vice president and director of Sotheby’s Institute of Art for North and South America and as curator and director of museums for the Historic Charleston Foundation.
Savage holds a bachelor’s degree in art history from William & Mary and a master’s degree in history museum studies from the Cooperstown Graduate Program of the State University of New York.
He serves on the Board of Governors of the Decorative Arts Trust and is a member of the Furniture History Society.
An expert on the British country house, Savage plans to expand the foundation’s popular educational symposia and conference series, which includes programming featuring topics like historic woodwork, ales and gardens.
“I am honored and humbled to join the extraordinary team at Colonial Williamsburg, a place that has inspired me since earliest childhood,” said Savage. “Colonial Williamsburg fostered my education and career path. It is a privilege to serve a cherished institution to which I owe so much.”
Former GOP presidential candidate Carly Fiorina has been selected as chair of the Colonial Williamsburg Foundation’s board of trustees.
The former chairman and CEO of Hewlett-Packard, Fiorina was the first woman to lead a Fortune 20 company and made an unsuccessful bid for the 2016 GOP nomination for president.
Fiorina has served on the Colonial Williamsburg Foundation’s board of trustees since 2017. According to a statement from the foundation, Fiorina will “guide the museum’s continued evolution into a destination that celebrates diverse and inclusive viewpoints through programming that explores the social and political complexities negotiated by America’s founding generation.”
The foundation is planning its centennial in 2026, coinciding with the nation’s 250th anniversary, and Fiorina will counsel the foundation through its “renewed commitment to tell the country’s complete story and embrace freedom.” The foundation also expects Fiorina to shepherd “its digital presence and continuing to deliver inclusive programming that confronts sensitive topics through thoughtful and engaging discussion.”
“I’m truly honored to assume the role of chair of the board for Colonial Williamsburg and will embrace the continued collaboration with my fellow trustees and our executive team, our skilled and dedicated employees, and generous and committed donors,” Fiorina said in a statement. “In this moment, there is tremendous anticipation around building a better future by learning from our ancestors’ stories and struggles, seeking inspiration from their aspirations and ingenuity, and reflecting upon the nation they built. This historic destination is uniquely suited to play a pivotal role in helping Americans understand the complexities and contradictions of our past and how they inform our future.”
Fiorina also ran unsuccessfully for the U.S. Senate in 2010, and oversaw HP’s acquisition of Compaq in 2002 in what was the largest technology sector merger in history at that time.
She has also served as chairman of Good360, an Alexandria-based global nonprofit that galvanized the U.S. business community to provide supplies to West Africa during the 2014 Ebola crisis. She has also been chairman of Opportunity International, a micro-finance organization that has lifted millions out of poverty. Presently, Fiorina is founder and chairman of Carly Fiorina Enterprises, which counsels companies on building high-performance teams, developing leaders at every level, and creating equitable and inclusive workplace cultures.
“Carly has an innate ability to help others reach their highest potential, and we are fortunate to have such a forward-thinking, approachable leader serving as chair. Under her leadership, we will advance our educational mission in exciting new ways as we approach our centennial, and the nation’s 250th anniversary, in 2026,” said Cliff Fleet, president and CEO of Colonial Williamsburg.
The Governor’s Inn, a former 200-room hotel in Colonial Williamsburg, sold for $3.05 million, Cushman & Wakefield | Thalhimer announced last week.
Charlottesville-based real estate investment company Castle Development Partners LLC purchased the property from The Colonial Williamsburg Foundation and plans to raze the property and redevelop it into a 162-unit apartment community. Built in 1964, the hotel closed permanently in February 2019.
At the time of its closure, The Colonial Williamsburg Foundation no longer considered the hotel a “strategic asset related to its core educational mission,” according to reports. In March, the foundation offered The Governor’s Inn as a potential emergency housing and care facility to assist city and public health officials during the cornavirus pandemic’s early stages.
“We are very pleased with Castle’s plans for the new development and look forward to welcoming many new neighbors to downtown Williamsburg,” Jeffrey A. Duncan, The Colonial Williamsburg Foundation’s vice president of real estate said in a statement.
Located at 506 N. Henry Street in downtown Williamsburg, the property is located less than 1 mile from Merchants Square and the Resort Historic District. The new apartment complex will include one- and two-bedroom apartments that will match the neo-Georgian style of the surrounding district, according to Cushman & Wakefield | Thalhimer.
Drew Haynie and Dawn F. Griggs of Cushman & Wakefield | Thalhimer handled the sale on behalf of the seller, while G. David Butchello, also with Cushman & Wakefield | Thalhimer represented the buyer.
William & Mary’s associate vice president for development has been named chief development officer at the Colonial Williamsburg Foundation. Earl T. Granger III will start his new position Aug. 2, the foundation announced Thursday. His hiring comes after a national search.
A 1992 William & Mary graduate, Granger has served in various roles over the past 15 years at the university, including as associate provost for enrollment. He was instrumental in the $1 billion “For the Bold” fundraising campaign and served on the university president’s Task Force on Race and Race Relations, and he serves as a Williamsburg Health Foundation trustee.
“We are extremely fortunate to have Earl join us at Colonial Williamsburg to advance our mission, as he is a dynamic and engaging leader committed to our mission,” Colonial Williamsburg President and CEO Cliff Fleet said in a statement. “His long and impressive record of successful fundraising, passion for education and commitment to organizational diversity will help us to ensure the bright future we see ahead for the foundation.”
Granger will oversee all fundraising activities for the foundation, including major, principal and planned giving, corporate and foundation relations, government grants, the CW Fund and donor society engagement.
“William & Mary has profoundly shaped my personal and professional life, and I will always be a proud supporter of my alma mater,” Granger said in a statement. “Leading the fundraising efforts of the Colonial Williamsburg Foundation, an organization whose educational mission I have long admired, represents an opportunity I feel I have been preparing for my entire career.”
The Colonial Williamsburg Foundation announced Friday that it will open for limited public programming at some of its historic sites on June 14 while the state moves into Phase 2 of Gov. Ralph Northam’s “Forward Virginia” plan.
“We are eager to welcome employees and guests back to Colonial Williamsburg, but reopening our public sites requires that we work together so that we all remain safe,” Colonial Williamsburg Foundation President and CEO Cliff Fleet said in a statement. “Our phased reopening plan is based on state guidelines and is fully supported by our regional partners. With this plan in place, we can move at a measured pace toward our shared goal of a return to normal operations.”
For the more than 700 employees who were placed on administrative leave or furlough in March and April, some will be called back during reopening. Anyone who remains on administrative leave or furlough will continue to receive health insurance coverage and other benefits. Those who are still working can continue to do so at home, but pay reductions for salaried employees will stay in place.
As part of Phase 2, most of Colonial Williamsburg’s programming will be moved outdoors. Doors, faucets and other high-traffic touch points are now touchless. Face coverings are still required inside foundation-owned buildings and guests are encouraged to limit their interaction with foundation staff.
In total, Colonial Williamsburg has nearly 50 historic sites. The following sites will open on June 14, with reduced capacities:
The Art Museums of Colonial Williamsburg
Governor’s Palace
Capitol
Courthouse
Weaver trade shop
Carpenter’s Yard
Peyton Randolph Yard
Colonial Garden
Magazine Yard
Armoury Yard
Brickyard
George Wythe Yard
Custis Square, including tours
The Market House, Colonial Williamsburg’s outdoor market on Duke of Gloucester Street, reopens Friday. The Williamsburg Lodge is also open.
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