Nine newsroom employees to be laid off at Roanoke Times
Nine newsroom employees at The Roanoke Times were notified of their pending layoffs Monday by parent company Lee Enterprises Inc., according to the newspaper’s local newsroom union and multiple staff writers who spoke with Virginia Business. The layoffs, set to take effect April 23, would cut the editorial staff to 37 positions, a nearly 20% […]
TMEIC Corp. in Roanoke consolidates with Texas operation
The parent of Roanoke-based TMEIC Corp. is merging its two United States operations effective April 1, the company announced this week, naming Manmeet S. Bhatia president and CEO of the new entity, TMEIC Corporation Americas. Dale Guidry is stepping down as president and CEO of TMEIC Corp. and into an advisory role until retirement, the […]
Eight over 80
What keeps a person working at an age when most of us are happy to let others take care of business? These overachieving Virginians, all over age 80, have remained hard at work mostly for one or more of three reasons. The first is being able to continue work with family. Retirement is rarely mandatory […]
Northam seeks to include part-time workers in state IRA fund
Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam has proposed a change to a bill to allow part-time employees to participate in a newly created state-administered retirement fund for workers without 401(k) access, the governor’s office announced Friday. Northam also has signed legislation expanding an existing broadband pilot program to increase internet access in underserved areas of the state, […]
Roanoke, New River Valley organizations form tech alliance
The Valleys Innovation Council (VIC), the Roanoke-Blacksburg Technology Council (RBTC) and the Regional Accelerator and Mentoring Program (RAMP) have formed an alliance called Verge. In July 2020, the three groups announced they were developing the alliance, which is aimed at supporting the region’s technologists, innovators and entrepreneurs. VIC focuses on research commercialization and [...]
Roanoke Valley office occupancy increases by 1%
The Roanoke Valley office market saw a 1% increase in office occupancy in 2020, ending the year with an 88% occupancy rate, according to Poe & Cronk Real Estate Group’s 34th Annual Office Market Survey. These figures are a promising sign “in one of the most challenging years in recent memory,” Poe & Cronk states, […]
Roanoke College taps alumna for resource development VP
Roanoke College announced this week it has appointed an alumna to become its new vice president of resource development. Kimberly P. Blair, a 1993 graduate, will join the college on May 22 and serve in President Michael C. Maxey’s Cabinet. Blair is currently Virginia Tech’s assistant vice president of advancement for Roanoke, where she leads […]
First Bank to acquire The Bank of Fincastle
Strasburg-based First National Corp. (the bank holding company of First Bank) announced Thursday it will acquire The Bank of Fincastle. Financial terms of the transaction were not released, but the combined bank is expected to have approximately $1.2 billion in assets, $868 million in loans, $1 billion in deposits and 20 branch offices across Virginia. […]
Roanoke Regional Partnership names new executive director
The Roanoke Regional Partnership announced Tuesday that John Hull has been named as its executive director. He succeeds Beth Doughty, who retired in December 2020 after 22 years with the organization. Hull has worked with the partnership since 2010, most recently serving as its director of marketing intelligence. He was previously the acting director of […]
Branch Builds names president
The Branch Builds subsidiary of Roanoke-based construction company The Branch Group announced Wednesday it has promoted Catherine Underwood to president. With 20 years of experience at the company, she was most recently the senior vice president. She began her time with Branch Builds in 2000 as an estimator and has also served as a project […]
Roanoke, local credit union launch small business relief fund
The city of Roanoke and Roanoke-based credit union Freedom First announced Tuesday a partnership that will disburse small business relief grants of up to $25,000 to those affected by the coronavirus. The $416,250 program will use Community Development Block Grant-Coronavirus (CDBG-CV) federal funding. The program is intended for businesses that are at risk of closing […]
Roanoke medical office building sells for $1.3M
A medical office building in Roanoke sold for $1.3 million, Cushman & Wakefield | Thalhimer announced last week. The 27,363-square-foot, three-story Fountain Square building sold to Fountain Square Partners LLC from Johnson Family Investments Corp. The building is located at 1315 2nd Street SW and was constructed in 1973, according to Roanoke property records. It […]

















