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Mountain Lake Lodge promotes general manager to CEO

Mountain Lake Lodge, where 1987 hit movie “” was filmed, announced Thursday the of Heidi Stone to president and .

Stone has served as the ‘s general manager since 2013.

“Heidi Stone is a talented hotelier whose proven leadership and commitment is reflected through her team,” Giles County Administrator Chris McKlarney said in a statement. “Collectively, they have made into a premier Virginia destination, set for continued growth and translating to even greater opportunities throughout our community.”

In her more than 35 years in , Stone has served as director of sales and marketing for High Peaks Resort in Lake Placid, New York, and The Berkeley Hotel in Richmond. She worked with Doubletree, Disney World, Hilton, Omni Resorts and Peabody .

Stone holds a degree in hotel and restaurant management from The State University of New York.

Other executive promotions include Lyndsi Hale to vice president of sales, Jeremiah McKendree to vice president of recreation and retail, AJ Stephens to vice president of food and beverage, Marsha Stevers to vice president of finance and Bill Walker to vice president of facilities.

Texas-based Mary Moody Northen Endowment owns and operates the lodge.

ODU and IALR to launch manufacturing engineering tech degree

Old Dominion University will launch Virginia’s first four-year degree in manufacturing (MfgET) at its campus and a satellite campus at The Institute for Advanced Learning and Research (IALR) in , the university announced Thursday.

“This partnership reinforces Old Dominion University’s commitment to workforce and leadership in the maritime industry,” ODU President Brian O. Hemphill said in a statement. “Students across Virginia will be able to gain the necessary skills to fill essential , aligning talent with opportunity.”

The program will be housed in the engineering and technology department of ODU’s Batten of Engineering and Technology. IALR will offer on-site, virtual and hybrid third- and fourth-year undergraduate classes for the MfgET program.

“The manufacturing sector has grown into an extremely high-tech field with specialized talent needs, especially in the critical skill shortage areas of manufacturing engineering,” IALR Interim President Betty Jo Foster said in a statement. “We are delighted to partner with Old Dominion University, Patrick & Henry Community College and the Virginia Community College System to address the need voiced so strongly by the defense base, our regional employers and industry leaders.”

Students will be able to enter the program from community colleges, IALR’s Academy for Engineering and Technology and career and technical dual-enrollment programs. Patrick & Henry Community College in will launch a corresponding associate degree that will serve as a pipeline to the workforce and a pathway to ODU’s four-year degree.

“This initiative will help our nation remain competitive on the global stage as we prepare talent who possess the skills, knowledge and competencies that are essential for 21st-century manufacturers,” P&HCC President J. Gregory Hodges said in a statement.

The bachelor’s and associate degrees are part of the 32-member Virginia Maritime Industrial Base Consortium’s Talent Pipeline Initiative, which aims to develop talent for defense and industrial base employers through a K-12-to-university pipeline. The Virginia Office of Veterans and Defense Affairs leads the VMIBC, and the Department of Defense awarded the consortium a $5 million grant in October 2021.

The schools are developing the programs’ curricula, which will launch in the second year of the grant cycle.

Manufacturing industry partners joined the launch celebration on IALR’s Danville campus Thursday.

Gary Camper, chief operating officer of Lynchburg-based BWX Technologies Inc.’s nuclear operations group, said in a statement, “Our long-term forecast for naval nuclear propulsion work shows a strong demand for decades and having a consistent pipeline of skilled shop workers and manufacturing engineers is critical to our long-term growth.”

College sports wagering bill wasn’t good bet

RICHMOND, Va. — Six Virginia men’s and women’s basketball teams made it into March Madness, but state prevents fans and bettors from placing wagers on their favorite in-state teams.

Lawmakers attempted to change that law this session. Sen. Monty Mason, D-Williamsburg, introduced Senate Bill 576 that would allow Virginia bettors to bet on games played by Virginia colleges. The bill passed the Senate in a 23-17 vote, with legislators from both parties voting for and against it, but the measure died in the House General Laws Committee.

“ look at this issue backwards,” Mason said. “I believe that the biggest part of it [the bill] is making sure underground , that has always existed, is eliminated.”

Almost 30 states allow some form of online or in person since the U.S. Supreme Court struck down in 2018 the federal ban on sports betting, according to American Gaming Association, a trade group that also lobbies on behalf of the U.S. casino industry.

Rules and limitations of sports betting, including in-state college betting, is up to each state when creating . Currently 12 states that have legalized sports betting prohibit local college wagers, according to betting news website Play USA.

Virginia legalized sports betting in April 2020. The first sportsbooks – a place or online site that accepts sports bets – went live in January 2021. Virginia was at one point the fastest state to wager over $1 billion in bets, according to Play Virginia, a betting updates and news website.

However, lawmakers left out a provision that would allow in-state college betting, according to the bill.

Virginia citizens still have several ways to bet on in-state colleges, whether it be an offshore sportsbook or simply crossing the state border, according to Dustin Gouker, an analyst for the U.S. sports betting and sports fantasy news website Legal Sports Report.

“There’s so many ways to wager right now on colleges that carving them out from Virginia sportsbooks doesn’t really make a whole lot of sense,” Gouker said.

Multiple Virginia college presidents requested in a joint letter to lawmakers that in-state college betting be eliminated when lawmakers were in the process of passing sports betting legislation in 2020, according to Mason.

The safety of student athletes is an ongoing concern when creating new legislation, according to Carolyn Hawley, president of the nonprofit Virginia Council on Problem Gambling.

“A lot of dialogue is about the harm to student athletes, that being in their own state places more risk for illegal natures and sabotaging of games,” Hawley said.

However, manipulating athletes and the outcome of college games is not a common practice, according to Gouker.

“Trying to manipulate a college game for betting purposes is pretty hard,” Gouker said. “If there was a large wager, those things raise red flags in today’s regulated market.”

The concern isn’t just over college athletes. College students display higher rates of gambling addiction, according to Hawley.

“There’s a misconception in the general population that there is less risk associated with gambling,” Hawley said. “And that’s just not the case. So, we have to educate people that this is a highly addictive behavior.”

Calls related to seeking help for problem gambling increased 114% from 2020, according to Virginia Council on Problem Gambling’s 2021 annual report. Of the calls made, 15% were related to sports gambling.

Some students who participate in sports betting find it makes games more interesting to watch.

“I think sports gambling gets a bad rep because of the past,” VCU student Gabriel Aref said. “Random games I would never have interest in, if you bet on it, it’s more fun to watch.”

The conversation of in-state college sports betting remains alive even though the bill has died, according to Mason. Debates of in-state betting will appear as more states continue to pass legislation legalizing sports betting.

Prior to presenting to the House, Mason said he was doubtful that the bill would pass after the identical House Bill 1127 failed to advance from a House committee in February.

“Whether it works this year or next year, at some point this is going to happen,” Mason said. “Because you got to take the final step to try to do away with the gambling that have always been behind closed doors.”

Capital News Service is a program of Virginia Commonwealth University’s Robertson School of Media and Culture. Students in the program provide state government coverage for a variety of media outlets in Virginia

Salem names new economic development director

Salem’s new economic director, Tommy Miller, says he has “the entrepreneurial gene,” a trait that should come in handy with his new role.

Miller established Richmond Brewery Tours, a venture he ran from 2012 through 2020 to highlight the burgeoning craft beer industry.

“Any entrepreneurial venture should be both calculated and gut driven,” he said in a news release announcing his hire. “I certainly have an entrepreneurial gene in my DNA, and I am always interested in seeing what the next best venture is in the market.”

Miller, who begins April 18, comes to from the Virginia Partnership, where he spent five years as a senior business investment manager.

“We are excited to attract a candidate of Tommy’s caliber to Salem,” said Salem City Manager Jay Taliaferro in a statement. “He has a great skill set and work-related experiences on many different levels. Plus, he has the enthusiasm needed to enhance Salem’s business and industry-friendly reputation.”

Before joining VEDP, Miller was economic development director in Orange County, where he managed 10 existing and new business development projects that resulted in nearly 600 and more than $37 million in new capital investment in Orange County, according to the news release from Salem. He has worked as a marketing analyst and existing business manager in Hanover County and spent three years developing new businesses in the Franklin and Southampton County area.

“I’ve intentionally guided my career for new experiences related to all levels of economic development ranging from rural to suburban, local to state, existing business outreach to business attraction,” Miller said. “All of these experiences have helped open my network and expand my knowledge of how to provide the best resources and services.”

Miller earned bachelor’s and master’s degrees from Virginia Commonwealth University, where he studied real estate and urban land development as an undergraduate. His master’s is in urban and regional planning.

“I have been given the opportunity to work with firms ranging from one-person startups to global Fortune 500 companies and industries ranging from life sciences to automotive,” he says. “Now, I really look forward to engaging with my new team members in Salem to see how we can work together to support the health and livelihood of the community.”

Dominion Energy solar, storage expansion projects approved

Dominion Virginia has gotten the go-ahead for 15 new solar and energy storage projects that are expected to increase the typical residential customer’s monthly bill by $1.13.

The approved several projects Tuesday that will provide nearly 1,000 megawatts of carbon-free electricity, enough to power as many as 250,000 homes, according to a Dominion news release. The expansion also includes power purchase agreements with two dozen projects owned by third-party developers.

Construction of the 15 new projects is expected to support nearly 4,200 and generate more than $880 million in economic benefits across the state, Dominion said. The projects are expected to be completed this year and in 2023.

“This is another significant milestone in Virginia’s transition to energy independence,” said President . “These projects will support thousands of good jobs and hundreds of millions in economic activity in communities across Virginia. This is a positive step forward for our customers, the environment and Virginia’s economy.”

Dominion is required, under the , to meet net-zero carbon generation by 2045.

Action sports festival coming to Va. Beach

One of Canada’s largest action sporting events, the Jackalope Festival, will make its U.S. debut in in June 2023, Mayor announced Wednesday at the annual address.

“Get ready for Jackalope!” Dyer shouted enthusiastically before a crowd of about 1,000 gathered at the Virginia Beach Convention Center.

The three-day event next June will include skateboarding, BMX, base jumping, bouldering and other action competitions. The announcement comes on the heels of other high-profile events — Something in the Water, the Rock ‘n’ Roll Half Marathon and the Patriotic Festival — ending or leaving the city.

Dyer and City Manager Patrick Duhaney shared the stage Wednesday, sharing the city’s accomplishments over the past year, including a $567 million bond referendum approved by voters in November 2021 that would cover the cost of flood protection programs dealing with stormwater and sea level rise issues, a new local election system, construction of a new city hall and vaccinating hundreds of thousands of city residents against COVID-19.

Wednesday’s event attracted two former governors, Attorney General Jason Miyares, mayors of several other Hampton Roads cities and other local elected officials, as well as state representatives. It’s the first of a series of five state of the city addresses sponsored by the Hampton Roads Chamber. , Portsmouth, Suffolk and Chesapeake mayors will each hold their addresses over the next few months in their respective cities.

“Virginia Beach is going to be the epicenter of economic development on the East Coast,” predicts the city's mayor, Bobby Dyer. Photo by Mark Rhodes
Dyer

During their joint speech, Dyer and Duhaney spotlighted DroneUp LLC, a Virginia Beach-based company that inked a deal with Walmart Inc. in December 2021 to begin offering drone delivery to customers around the country. A drone flew across the ballroom and delivered a package to Dyer.

Dyer recognized and thanked Howard P. Kern, the retiring president and of Sentara Healthcare, for all he did for the city during the pandemic.

The pair highlighted other business expansions in the city, noting more than 50 grand openings in 2021, Virginia Beach-based nonprofit Operation Smile opening an interactive learning center and an economic development deal between the city and Naval Air Station Oceana, would lease land to private businesses on the base.

They also spoke about a new small business capital access program granting $400,000 in loans to city businesses and opening three facilities to support business: The Hive, a small business resource center in Town Center; the Virginia Beach BIO accelerator; and an incubator supporting the of international businesses looking to come to Virginia Beach.

Dyer said he was looking forward to many of Virginia Beach’s signature events, such as the Shamrock Marathon this weekend, concerts, the Naval Air Station Oceana Air Show and the East Coast Surfing Championship, some of which are returning this year after being canceled during the height of the pandemic.

Smithfield Foods division makes new medical device

Smithfield Foods Inc.’s Cincinnati-based porcine-derived medical products unit, , and Atlanta-based company BioCircuit Technologies announced Wednesday that the two will produce a medical device for nerve repair after traumatic injuries.

The device, called Nerve Tape, will allow nerve repair without stitches. It is an implantable device made from pig small intestinal submucosa, a tissue layer within the organ, embedded with micro hooks for tissue attachment. The tape can be wrapped around two ends of a severed nerve to form a connection to promote regeneration.

Nerve Tape will be prepared from tissue harvested by Smithfield in the United States.

“Our work with BioCircuit demonstrates our expanding portfolio and the value we are creating in a variety of markets through Smithfield’s vertically integrated and expertise,” Smithfield BioScience President Courtney Stanton said in a statement. “By harvesting porcine bioproducts for medical applications, we have the ability to improve lives through the of innovative and medical devices like this one.”

Created in 2017, Smithfield BioScience provides porcine-derived products to the pharmaceutical and medical device industries that are traceable to their farms of origin. The division also manufactures heparin, a blood thinner.

Based in Smithfield, processor and hog producer was founded in 1936 and employs more than 60,000 globally.

Fairfax County developer John ‘Til’ Hazel Jr. dies at age 91

John T. “Til” Hazel speaks to real estate students at George Mason University on February 10, 2014. Photo by Craig Bisacre/Creative Services/George Mason University

John T. “Til” Hazel Jr., a major force behind the of Corner and several planned communities in in the late 20th century, as well as a significant booster of George Mason University, died Wednesday at age 91.

An Arlington native, Hazel was also an attorney and graduated from Harvard University and Harvard School. After graduation, he joined the U.S. Army’s Judge Advocate General’s Corps. When Hazel returned to the region, he worked as a private-sector attorney in Arlington. Fairfax County, where his family owned a farm, was then a rural outpost of Washington, with 150,000 residents and a “significant number of dairy farms,” he recalled in a 2017 video celebrating his career by the Virginia Law Foundation, of which he was a 1988 fellow.

In the 1950s, Hazel began promoting commercial and residential growth in Fairfax County, and specialized in real estate and property law. One of his early projects involved acquiring land for the future Capital Beltway in the area, providing an impetus for growth.

“I became one of two lawyers that tried contested cases in the courts,” Hazel says in the video. “So, I began to get very much involved with land use, zoning, land regulations. That was, of course, the business of Fairfax County in those years, because the county was just developing and I mostly did land use law of various kinds.”

Defeating “no-growth” opponents in Fairfax was one of the most meaningful parts of Hazel’s career, he said in the video, noting how different the county would be today had foes to development prevailed. Fairfax is now the state’s most populous county, with more than 1.2 million residents, as well as a hotbed for corporate headquarters, no doubt with growth that had an early assist from Hazel.

In 1962, working with developer Gerald T. Halpin, Hazel got county supervisors to allow rezoning on more than 100 acres in Tysons. He also was instrumental in bringing in Tysons Corner Center and the Tysons II mixed-use development.

In the 1970s, Hazel pivoted from law to development and formed the Hazel/Peterson Cos. with Fairfax developer Milton V. Peterson, who died last year at age 85. The two developed several planned communities, including Burke Centre, Franklin Farm, Fairfax Station, Fair Lakes and Centre Ridge. Often, Hazel worked closely with his late brother, William A. Hazel, who owned the Chantilly-based construction firm William A. Hazel Inc. William Hazel died in 2012 at the age of 77.

“Fairfax County and Northern Virginia lost a visionary today,” Victor Hoskins, president and of the Fairfax County Authority, said. “Til Hazel was as important as anyone in seeing Fairfax County’s potential to become one of the preeminent locations in the nation for corporate headquarters — and in reminding those who followed about continuing to invest in the assets that business needs in order to be successful here.”

Hazel’s son Richard M. “Dick” Hazel said Wednesday that his father was a hard worker and spoke openly about his thoughts and ambitions for Northern Virginia.

“The things he supported were so obvious,” Dick Hazel said, noting that and prosperity were among his major priorities for the region. His father’s chief advice, his son said, was always, “Keep doing, keep going.”

In his spare time, Hazel enjoyed raising cattle on his Fauquier County farm, which was a lifelong occupation. “He characterized himself as a farmer,” Dick Hazel added. “He was a really good guy. He was widely, widely read, and really loved [Winston] Churchill. I think he had a great admiration of that driving spirit.”

On the philanthropic side, Hazel was a strong supporter of George Mason beginning in the 1950s, when the Fairfax County university was a branch of the University of Virginia. He was instrumental in purchasing land for its main campus in Fairfax and was on GMU’s Board of Visitors from 1972 to 1983, serving as rector for different periods during that era. He also served on the GMU Foundation’s board for 32 years and was a force behind the university’s establishment of a law school in 1979. He was also a co-founder of the Virginia Business Higher Education Council.

Dan Clemente, another developer who has been instrumental in molding Northern Virginia, met Hazel when he was trying to grow George Mason. Hazel, he said, recognized the power of what bringing affordable, public higher education could mean in the fledgling region.

“He saw it,” Clemente said in an interview with Virginia Business. “He was brilliant with it, and everything [that] happened going forward was something from him.”

Hazel was married to Marion “Jinx” Engle until her death in 1995, and his second wife, Anne Barnett Merrill, died in December 2021, according to The Washington Post. Survivors include four children and two stepsons, as well as grandchildren and great-grandchildren.

Booz Allen to acquire Reston-based cyber firm

McLean-based global management consultant Inc. announced Wednesday that it plans to acquire , a -based government solutions contractor. Terms of the deal were not disclosed.

The deal will allow Booz Allen to speed delivery of classified software and analytics capabilities for national security clients and complements its artificial intelligence and cyber portfolio, the Fortune 500 company said in a news release.

It is expected to close in the first quarter of Booz Allen’s fiscal 2023, which runs from April 1, 2022, through June 30, 2023.

EverWatch provides intelligence, and mission solutions for national security agencies. It was founded in 2017 and is a portfolio company of private investment firm , which provides capital and strategic support to companies in aerospace, defense, government and .

After the deal closes, EverWatch will operate as a wholly-owned subsidiary of Booz Allen and work with its national security sector led by Judi Dotson, executive vice president of the firm’s national security business.

“U.S. national and economic security depends on secure, trusted and resilient technology, and in the most dynamic threat landscape of our time, delivering advanced solutions with speed and agility is essential for mission success,” Dotson said. “Combining Booz Allen’s mission experience and advanced technologies with EverWatch’s classified software development and analytics capabilities will help implement faster and more comprehensive solution delivery to help defense and intelligence agencies transform and stay ahead of threats.”

Coal waste project launches in SW Va.

A public-private project to evaluate the critical minerals in coal waste products in Virginia, West Virginia and Kentucky launched Wednesday with a community meeting in the Virginia Highlands Small Business Incubator in Abingdon.

The project, Evolve Central (Evolve CAPP), is part of an almost $1.5 million grant from the U.S. Department to the Virginia Center for Coal and Energy Research (VCCER) at . VCCER Director Michael Karmis estimates the first phase of the project — a study analyzing what minerals the areas have and how they can be extracted — will take about three years.

Critical minerals — used in computers, household appliances, clean energy technology and other products — are vital to the nation’s economy but the supply is vulnerable to disruptions. Such minerals native to the United States include rare earth elements plus lithium and cobalt.

After researching which minerals are present in the region, Evolve CAPP will present its findings to the Energy Department. If the department provides funding for a second phase, researchers would look into extraction technology and commercial , which could help the U.S. reduce its dependence on other countries’ production.

“The project is focused on developing and opportunities for the coalfields,” Karmis said. Evolve CAPP seeks to develop the processing of coal waste and advanced needed to create usable critical minerals in the three involved states — not just export raw materials.

The project has nearly 50 partners across varying sectors: academia, government, private research, , private technology and energy and power. Karmis and Richard Bishop lead the Virginia Tech team, and Mountain Empire Community , the University of Kentucky and West Virginia University are academic partners. Virginia’s Energy Department, the U.S. Geological Survey and Oak Ridge National Laboratory are government partners, and other groups involved include , Coalfield Strategies LLC, LENOWISCO Planning District, Dominion Energy Inc., Kentucky-based Blackhawk Mining LLC and ‘s Separation Technologies LLC.

Will Clear, deputy director of the Virginia Department of Energy, says he appreciates that Evolve CAPP has environmental benefits as well, providing a use for “gob” piles — short for “garbage of bituminous” — made of waste products from mining before federal regulations were in place.

“We think there’s a parallel track with what we’re doing to sort of remediate this environmental problem but also look at ways to really utilize these gob piles as a resource,” he said.