es Virginia, by the fall of 2017 there could well be a 16,000-seat arena, largest in the state, hosting major recording artists, sports tournaments, ice shows and other events that have traditionally bypassed Hampton Roads. It would be located in what is now the parking lot of the Virginia Beach Convention Center near the Oceanfront, and it would be one of the first arenas in the nation to be privately owned.

That’s one reason Beach City Council liked the plan. In fact, council members liked it so much that on December 9 they voted 10-0 to approve a term sheet with the ESG Companies to give the local developer the land, $52 million in infrastructure improvements around the site and a portion of existing tax revenues. The arena will generate other tax revenues, create business for hotels and restaurants and promote entertainment development in the vicinity of the project.

RCG’s job was originally to work with the news media, but because of our strong presence at the Beach and multiple skills, we took on much more. We have worked with city communications staff on town hall meetings, provided information to council members, written press releases as well as web and social media copy, furnished political strategy and produced videos. One video chronicles a late-October trip made by city officials and the development team to Lincoln, Nebraska to view that community’s year old and highly successful Pinnacle Bank Arena. ESG hopes Pinnacle Bank will be a prototype for the one it would build in Virginia Beach.

The Lincoln video, all or part of which was shown at key meetings, on local news and online, was instrumental in helping civic and business leaders appreciate how much an arena of that scale could benefit the City. I went along on the visit, hired a videographer in Lincoln to shoot the footage and then worked with JPixx in Virginia Beach to edit the text and interviews into a cohesive five-and-a-half minute narrated package.

There is yet another vote in early 2015 to solidify the deal between ESG and the City. All indications are that a couple years from now, Virginia Beach will have the largest arena between Washington DC and Raleigh and draw visitors and locals to the Oceanfront during the fall, winter and spring when tourists are back at home and school.

We love when clients come to us with a great idea of their own. The client this time? Beth Sholom Village.

RCG is no stranger to Beth Sholom. We’ve helped with miscellaneous marketing and public relations projects as well as designed materials for BSV for years. In fact, the entire Rubin family has longstanding ties with the facility and residents; Joel is a past president and both he and Danny lead religious services regularly.

Marcia Brodie, the director of marketing for Beth Sholom Village in Virginia Beach, reached out to us with a thought. Marcia shared she had just finished Sue Halpern’s A Dog Walks into a Nursing Home with her daughter. The book got her thinking about the many dogs that come to work each day with their owners or visit on a regular basis. The residents have always enjoyed canine companions, and the idea morphed into a 2015 calendar, “The Dogs of Beth Sholom Village.”

But the calendar had to be done on a budget. Enter photographer John Toomey. John graciously donated his time to take photos of the residents, each with a special furry friend, throughout Beth Sholom. The resulting pictures are adorable and show the special bond between man and his best friend.

With the high resolution images in hand, it didn’t take long for us to design the cover and template for the calendar. The final product was an instant hit, garnering attention from the Virginia Beach Beacon. With proceeds from calendar sales going back to the home, the publicity added to the calendar’s popularity in the facility’s gift shop.

In spring 2014, we sat down with our client, Midtown at Town Center, a Ripley Heatwole property, to discuss goals and strategies for the year. The Ripley team wanted to increase brand awareness and strengthen the relationship with Town Center businesses and patrons.

To complement the new “Midtown at Town Center” brand, RCG facilitated conversations between Midtown and Bagels and More to brainstorm new ideas and create an eventual partnership.

From there, the idea for the Midtown Muffin was born. The “taste-testing team” at Midtown sampled recipes throughout the summer and narrowed the choices to two flavors. Next, RCG planned and promoted an event at Bagels and More where Midtown residents and the Town Center community sampled both flavors and voted for their favorite.

In the end, the lemon-blueberry muffin won top honors and became a fixture on the menu, which helps to boost the “Midtown” name in Town Center. Plus, residents can enjoy the muffin seven days a week in the Midtown clubhouse.

So what’s the community relations lesson behind the Midtown Muffin?

Relationships are essential in business-to-business marketing. The muffin concept is just what Midtown needed to generate exposure, and it’s also given Bagels and More new traffic in the door. The early conversations and willingness to work together made the idea happen. Now it’s a win win — and everyone gets muffins!

For the past couple years, Joel Rubin and the team at Jpixx Video in Virginia Beach have been telling some great stories about young people who have found their callings in the shipyard trades.

They have produced what they call “SMART Choice” videos for the Southeast Maritime and Transportation Center, based at Tidewater Community College in Virginia Beach, which promotes apprentice programs and other educational pathways into those jobs.

Joel found two great subjects at Auxiliary Systems, a sizable marine repair operation off Church Street in Norfolk. The company, which is wiling to give any hard worker a chance, did just that with David Tong, who emigrated to the US from Vietnam in 1995. Tong was a cook at the restaurant on the Chesapeake Bay Bridge Tunnel island for 14 years when he heard about an apprentice opportunity at Auxiliary Systems. He completed the program, earning multiple certifications and soon an associates degree and is today one of the company’s best electricians.

Billy Erwin took an even more complicated route to success. After two years in prison for drug distribution, Auxiliary gave him a shot in their shop. Being in the apprentice program meant working during the day and attending TCC at night. But Billy had other mouths to feed so he continued a cook’s job at a local IHOP overnight, arriving at Auxiliary many mornings with little or no rest. But Billy persevered and became a superstar. He is now longer flipping pancakes but rather a foreman and looking forward to finishing his degree and someday running the company.