People – June 2016

EASTERN VIRGINIA
 Kenny Alexander , a state senator and Norfolk native, will become Norfolk’s mayor in July. He will be the first African-American to hold the post. Elected in May, Alexander will succeed Paul Fraim, the city’s mayor since 1994. (The Virginian-Pilot)

 Jennifer Boykin , vice president of engineering and design for Newport News Shipbuilding, is a recipient of a 2016 YWCA Women of Distinction Award. The award honors women who have blazed a trail for other women through professional leadership, volunteer efforts and civic involvement. (News release)

 Victoria Dietz  has been promoted to vice president of The Curtis Group in Virginia Beach. She joined the firm in 2013 as a consultant. (News release)
Norfolk Planning Director George M. Homewood was named to the American Institute of Certified Planners College of Fellows for his achievements in urban planning. (Daily Press)

 Mary Ann Melchers  received the James P. Kirsch Lifetime Achievement Award from the Virginia Credit Union League. She is a longtime credit union volunteer and current board member of ABNB Federal Credit Union, which has locations in Hampton Roads and North Carolina. (Daily Press)

[INSERT PIC]  Tom Warburton , promoted to senior vice president, marketing and communications, at Beacon Health Options. Warburton, who is based in Norfolk, was vice president, marketing and communications, at Beacon and its predecessor company, ValueOptions. (News release)

SHENANDOAH VALLEY
 Mike Ahrnsbrak  has been named general manager of The Lexington Golf and Country Club. Ahrnsbrak has served as general manager at the Blue Ridge Shadows Resort and Golf Club in Front Royal and the Musket Ridge Golf Club in Myersville, Md. (News release)

Front Royal Mayor  Tim Darr  announced in April that he will not seek a fourth term. Darr, a security specialist with the Department of Defense, was elected mayor in 2010 and re-elected in 2012 and 2014. The election will be held in November. (The Warren Sentinel)

The Shenandoah Valley Electric Cooperative has hired  Michael Hastings  as president and CEO. He will begin work by Aug. 1, succeeding Myron D. Rummel, who is retiring. Hastings is president and CEO of Jo-Carroll Energy in northwestern Illinois. (Daily News-Record)

The Virginia Hospital & Healthcare Association elected a slate of officers to its board of directors. Appointments include Augusta Health President and CEO  Mary N. Mannix  as chair and Valley Health System President and CEO Mark H. Merrill as secretary-treasurer.  (News release) 

Bradley Polk was named director of Shenandoah County’s community development office. Polk was a staff planner and proffer auditor for Loudoun County. (The Shenandoah Valley-Herald)

SOUTHERN VIRGINIA
Danville Regional Medical Center (DRMC) announced that    Dr. James Klena    — a Duke Medicine-affiliated cardiothoracic surgeon now practicing at Danville Heart & Vascular — has joined its medical staff. Klena comes to DRMC from the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center, where he was assistant professor of surgery and medical director of the adult intensive care unit. (Work It, SoVa)

Hargrave Military Academy in Chatham has named    Dewitt “Hunter” Powell    academic dean. Powell previously led schools at three locations around the country and also served as an instructor at Virginia Military Institute and a TAC Officer at St. Jones Military Academy. His military experience includes service with the Marine Corps and the Army National Guard. (Work It, SoVa)

All four Danville City Council incumbents —    Lee Vogler   ,   Sherman Saunders  ,  Larry Campbell  and Fred Shanks —   were re-elected in  May and will be joined by Madison Whittle. Sheila Williamson-Branch also was elected the city’s next treasurer. (Danville Register & Bee)

Greyhound Lines Inc. is pulling out of Danville. “I can confirm that effective today, we have eliminated service in Danville due to very low ridership,” Greyhound spokeswoman Lanesha Gipson said in an email written in April. “Our operating expenses have exceeded our revenue in this location for some time.” (Danville Register & Bee)

SOUTHWEST VIRGINIA
Marc Edwards, a Virginia Tech civil engineering professor who was instrumental in exposing a water crisis in Flint, Mich., was named to Time magazine’s list of 100 most influential people. (The Roanoke Times)

The Roanoke Valley Convention & Visitors Bureau announced the following awards: Vicki Gardner, Smith Mountain Lake Chamber of Commerce, Tourism Ambassador Award; Matt Hankins, Harvester Performance Center, Golden Star Award; and Jeff Marks, Gray Television Inc. (formerly with WDBJ), Chairs’ Tourism Excellence Award. (The Roanoke Times)

Radford University President Penelope W. Kyle was honored April 22 with a series of commemorative events at the university, including the dedication of Kyle Hall, the home of the College of Business and Economics. Kyle will retire in June. (News release)

The Roanoke-Blacksburg Technology Council inducted into its Technology Hall of Fame a new member, Joe Meredith, president and CEO of Virginia Tech Corporate Research Center. (VirginiaBusiness.com)

Former U.S. Rep. Jim Moran has been named a professor in the School of Public and International Affairs in the College of Architecture and Urban Studies at Virginia Tech.  He will be located at the Old Town Alexandria campus in the National Capital Region. (VirginiaBusiness.com)

NORTHERN VIRGINIA
McLean-based Hilton Worldwide said Thomas J. Baltimore Jr. will become president and CEO of the hotel chain’s real estate business. Hilton announced in February that it would spin off its real estate and timeshare businesses to create three independent companies. Hilton also has named Sean M. Dell’Orto chief financial officer of the new real estate investment trust (REIT). Dell’Orto will continue to serve as senior vice president and treasurer of Hilton Worldwide. (VirginiaBusiness.com)

Spotsylvania Regional Medical Center has appointed Michael Clark as its CEO, effective June 1. Clark was president of LifePoint Health’s American Division, overseeing a 14-hospital system. (Fredericksburg Free Lance-Star)

Arlington-based BAE Systems Inc. has added retired Navy Adm. Jonathan W. Greenert to its board of directors. Before his retirement in October, Greenert served a combined six years as the chief of naval operations and vice chief of naval operations, the two most-senior military positions in the Navy. (VirginiaBusiness.com)

Karen McKee, senior account executive with WUSA 9, and Tracey White, vice president of community and government relations for Reston Hospital Center, have been named new members of the board of directors of the Northern Virginia Chamber of Commerce. (Inside NoVa)

Nova Medical Group has announced a partnership with Inova Medical Group, a division of the Inova Health System. Founded by Dr. Grace Keenan in 1988, Nova Medical Group has locations in Ashburn, Sterling, Leesburg and Gainesville.  The partnership with Inova is intended to increase medical access while providing a patient portal and foreign language assistance services, according to Nova’s website. (Loudoun Times-Mirror)

CENTRAL VIRGINIA
Bon Secours Richmond Health System has named Christopher Accashian CEO of St. Francis Medical Center in Midlothian. Accashian was CEO of Parkland Medical Center in Derry, N.H., which is part of the Hospital Corporation of America. (VirginiaBusiness.com)

Toni R. Ardabell has been named CEO of Bon Secours Virginia Health System, which has eight acute-care hospitals in Richmond and Hampton Roads. She remains CEO of Bon Secours Richmond. (News release)

Ann Huckle Mallek has been named to the Virginia Board of Workforce Development. She is on the Albemarle County Board of Supervisors and operates Currituck Farm in Earlysville with her husband. (News release)

Michael J. Schewel, a former Virginia secretary of commerce and trade, has joined Chesterfield-based Tredegar Corp. as vice president, general counsel and corporate secretary. He was with McGuireWoods LLP. (VirginiaBusiness.com)

Virginia Commonwealth University announced that Meredith Weiss will become vice president for administration on Aug. 1 and that Karol Kain Gray is now vice president for finance and budget. Weiss has been senior associate vice chancellor for finance and administration at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Gray was chief financial officer at Applied DNA Sciences Inc. in Stony Brook, N.Y. (Richmond Times-Dispatch)