When Joe Harowitz died in late 2018 at the ripe age of 98, he left behind a legion of admirers at Beth Sholom Village where the Richmond native and longtime Hampton Roads resident lived out the last years of his life.

But that wasn’t all.

When staff cleared out Joe’s room, they found four composition books filled with poems, many of which Joe himself had composed in the 1940’s, before, during and after World War II.

Joel Rubin happened to be in the social work director’s office a few weeks later when she showed him the poems, many of which were quite romantic in nature, odd it seemed for a man who never married. “Apparently Joe was a confirmed bachelor, but I learned he was still quite a ladies man in his youth, and the poetry certainly indicated that he longed for a mate,” said Joel. “His niece later told me Joe didn’t want to burden a wife with his emphysema so he stayed single for life.” Ironically, Joe Harowitz, who worked in auto parts for 25 years but never had a driver’s license, probably outlived every woman he ever met.

Joel told the staff that he was confident he could convince a reporter for The Virginian-Pilot to write a story about Joe for Valentine’s Day. The newspaper agreed, and Katherine Hafner came to Beth Sholom, interviewed the niece and staff members and published a beautiful profile, complete with excerpts of Joe’s verses….on February 14.

Timing is everything when it comes to media relations. But so is creativity and relationships, which Rubin Communications Group put to work on behalf of client Beth Sholom Village.

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!