Tage Counts interviews business leaders, entrepreneurs and non-profit executives on his podcast “Tage Talks” for the Hampton Roads Chamber of Commerce. RCG’s Danny Rubin was on to discuss his professional journey in public relations, media and communications, provides an overview of the public relations field and how it serves the needs of businesses of all types, working with the local media and news sources, and managing the ever changing media & public relations landscape.
OUTLET: The Virginian-Pilot
NORFOLK — One of the tallest office buildings in downtown Norfolk, built for one of the region’s biggest companies, Norfolk Southern, is now owned by Hampton Roads’ largest bank and Virginia’s only freestanding children’s hospital.
TowneBank, which had entered an arrangement last year as McKinnon Tower LLC to buy the 21-story tower at 3 Commercial Place from the railroad, announced Wednesday that it and Children’s Hospital of The King’s Daughters had partnered together to buy the building.
TowneBank and Children’s Hospital of The King’s Daughters (CHKD) have finalized the purchase of the Norfolk Southern Tower at 3 Commercial Place in downtown Norfolk as well as the adjoining Commercial Place parking garage at 520 East Main Street owned by the City of Norfolk. Closing on both the office tower acquisition and the garage occurred simultaneously on June 23. While TowneBank and CHKD now jointly own the tower and the garage and will share the space equally, Norfolk Southern will continue to occupy several of the floors until the end of 2021.
“TowneBank and CHKD are both respected corporate citizens and assets to our community,” says Norfolk Mayor Kenneth Cooper Alexander. “Their significant investment reinforces Norfolk’s downtown as the urban employment hub of the region.” Alexander is pleased that nearly 900 people will eventually work in the tower, several hundred more than are presently there from Norfolk Southern. (more…)
OUTLET: 13NewsNow
PORTSMOUTH, Va. — It was a win-win on Wednesday for a lot of people struggling due to coronavirus.
It was an effort called “Pizza for Providers.” Queen of Virginia Skill paid six restaurants who are struggling to make pizzas and give them away to 13 nursing homes and a hospital emergency room around the area.
It didn’t cost the restaurants or nursing homes a dime.
Queen of Virginia runs those skilled games you see in bars and restaurants, so the company said it was important to work with local restaurants and find a way to support front line workers.
If you’re wondering about safety at those nursing homes, only certain people were allowed inside and they all wore masks.
What? Employees at 13 Nursing Homes in Hampton Roads and a Hospital ER** Will Receive Free Fresh Pizzas From 6 Local Restaurants*, Delivered by Fire Trucks in 3 of the Cities***, Courtesy of Queen of Virginia Skill & Entertainment
When? Wednesday June 3 from 11am-Noon
Why? To Support Restaurants and Nursing Homes Hard Hit by COVID-19
Where? Best Places for Media Coverage are Norfolk or Portsmouth. Crews can meet at restaurants (Azalea Inn/Norfolk or Amici’s/Portsmouth) and follow to nursing homes
Who? Randy Wright (Norfolk) and Joel Rubin (Portsmouth) representing Queen of Virginia, Local Elected Officials, Representatives of Restaurants and Nursing Facilities
At lunchtime on Wednesday June 3, Queen of Virginia Skill & Entertainment, Powered by Pace-O-Matic, will boost beleaguered small businesses while feeding the staffs at 13 nursing homes and one hospital emergency room in Hampton Roads.
Dubbed “Pizza for Providers,” the company is partnering with six restaurants in the region, which until their dining rooms had to close due to the coronavirus were popular places to eat, drink and play Queen games. On June 3, those establishments will prepare pizza to feed day shift employees at the nursing homes and hospital ER. Queen of Virginia Skill is covering all costs to support the restaurants that have suffered financially more than any other segment of the economy because of government ordered restrictions.
***Fire departments in Norfolk, Portsmouth and Newport News have agreed to deliver the pizzas to the health care facilities in their cities. The restaurants will thank the firefighters by providing free pizzas to their station houses.
*Participating restaurants are:
News media can meet the fire engines at a restaurant and follow to nursing homes or just at nursing homes where staff will receive the food and take it into the buildings. No one else is allowed into the facilities.
** The nursing homes/hospital ER are:
“Queen of Virginia owes a great deal to the restaurants, bars and convenience stores that have hosted our games,” says Randy Wright, a former Norfolk City Councilman and consultant to the skill gaming company. “We want to help them while also assisting some very hard working employees in senior care facilities who have been on the frontlines of the pandemic crisis.”
On April 22, the General Assembly voted to delay for a year a ban on skill games and instead tax the terminals to generate revenue for a special COVID19 Relief Fund to be administered by Governor Ralph Northam. In announcing the fund, the Governor said one beneficiary would be nursing homes. “A number of nursing homes have become ‘hot spots’ for coronavirus cases and in some cases deaths,” says Joel Rubin, Public Relations Manager for Queen of Virginia and a past president of a Virginia Beach non-profit nursing home. “That has put an extra burden on their employees to protect residents, many of whom are very vulnerable because of their weakened conditions, as well as themselves. They are true heroes, and this situation is far from over.”
“Once Virginians can return safely and in numbers to their favorite bars and restaurants,” says Randy Wright, “we hope they will have a meal and play our games, knowing that 84% of the tax collected on the terminals will benefit the COVID-19 Relief Fund with an additional 12% going to the city or county where the bars and restaurants are located.”
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At RCG, we are always on the lookout for positive public relations and media coverage for our clients in Hampton Roads.
When the Covid-19 crisis forced companies and organizations to adjust how they do business, we took the moment as an opportunity to land stories in newspapers and on local news.
Habitat for Humanity of South Hampton Roads: Stories on WTKR NewsChannel 3 (CBS affiliate) and Suffolk News Herald about a new home build on Pitchkettle Road in Suffolk and how volunteers continue to build the house for a deserving family.
Access College Foundation: Multiple stories in print and broadcast on how Access is helping students remotely with the college application process, financial aid and other guidance. Coverage appeared in Suffolk News Herald, Tidewater News, WVEC TV (ABC affiliate) and a pending story in The Virginian-Pilot.
Beth Sholom Village: Story on the front page of the Sunday Break in The Virginian-Pilot on how the long-term care facility keeps residents’ spirits upbeat and communicates through Facebook with positive photos of resident life.
Wolcott Rivers Gates — Attorneys at Law: Provided guidance on how to communicate via email with clients during this challenging time.
Kudos to 94.9 The Point for having community leaders on their show to discuss pressing topics affecting Hampton Roads during the Coronavirus pandemic. Our client ACCESS College Foundation was on this morning and Bonnie Sutton, ACCESS President and CEO, shared pertinent information for students graduating this year and heading to college in the fall. Check out the full interview HERE.
As soon as the state ordered Virginians to curb outdoor activities because of the coronavirus, the staff at Beth Sholom Village in Virginia Beach started thinking of ways to crank up the fun indoors.
Beth Sholom has more than 200 senior residents in its Terrace assisted living home and the Berger-Goldrich Health Care and Rehabilitation Center. In mid-March, the residents could no longer have visitors, dine together, go on field trips or participate in group activities.
Josh Bennett, recreation therapy director, said that he didn’t want his residents to see themselves as shelved and forgotten as only a high-risk group. (more…)
By Tracy Agnew
Suffolk News-Herald & Tidewater News
During a time of uncertainty and disappointment for a lot of high school seniors, the ACCESS College Foundation wants students to know it’s still available to serve them.
Bonnie Sutton, president and chief executive officer of the ACCESS College Foundation, said the organization’s advisors are still working from home and helping students and their families remotely. They’re handling things like interpreting financial aid award letters, filing applications for federal aid, resolving college application issues and more.
The Foundation has 25 advisors serving 33 high schools in the area, including Franklin and Southampton high schools. There are even some advisors in middle schools throughout the area, and the organization has college success advisors as well to help ACCESS scholars who have already made it to the next level. (more…)
March 24, 2020 (Norfolk, Va.) – Most Hampton Roads residents will return to their normal lives and careers when the COVID-19 pandemic passes.
But not the thousands of high school seniors in the area who will be in college next fall, some far from home. The months between now and then are critical, particularly regarding where they are accepted, choose to attend, and how they will pay for their higher education. (more…)
