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.

The rain fell steadily and sometimes heavily at Peninsula Town Center on September 17, 2011, but nothing was going to stop the dedication of Marys Park.

It had to happen that Saturday because it was the 150th anniversary of the day that Mary Peake performed an audacious act at that time, teaching the children of escaped slaves how to read and write.

That occurred near Fort Monroe, which was held by the union during the Civil War. Peake died a year later, but her legend has lived on in Hampton, site of Fort Monroe and Peninsula Town Center.  Now she is one of four women, all with the same first name, associated with a beautifully landscaped park at the Hampton town center.

Mary Passage, who died in 2003, was the first female principal of a large high school in Virginia. That was Ferguson High in Newport News. Mary Johnson was a teacher who also led the fight to preserve an historic African American chapel in Hampton. She passed away in July. And Dr. Mary Christian was a teacher who became dean of the school of education at Hampton University before becoming the first black female to represent Hampton in the Virginia House of Delegates. She served eight terms.

Born in 1924, Christian, still strong of voice, delivered a stirring tribute to educators in brief remarks at a ceremony on September 17, attended by a large crowed that included legislators, mayors and councilmembers representing Newport News and Hampton.  The orchestra from Passage Middle School in Newport News played and historian John Quarstein memorialized Mary Peake and her contributions to the cause of public education.

Dr. Christian said she was “truly blessed to be the last Mary standing and to be able to embrace the spirit of the other Marys”, who she said were “speaking to us through the raindrops.”  She recalled the words of Mary Johnson who told her in 2008, at the announcement of the park, that “everybody else gets all the attention but it’s the teachers who do all the work.”  She praised the Peninsula Town Center for its “foresight and vision” in honoring teachers with the naming of the green space.

We were proud to hear that since it was Rubin Communications Group that conceived Marys Park.  “I was afraid the rain would keep many people away,” says Joel Rubin, “but we had a very nice crowd of friends, family and admirers of Dr. Christian and the other Marys.  We plan to do more events in the park focused on education.  The dedication was a wonderful start.”

RCG’s yearlong 2012 “BecomeEMS.org” campaign was a success.

So says Tidewater EMS (TEMS) and Peninsula EMS (PEMS), the two agencies that hired Rubin Communications Group to design a year-long program to draw attention to the ongoing need for career and volunteer emergency medical professionals in Hampton Roads.  The funding came from a state grant, and TEMS and PEMS turned to RCG for advice on how to put the money to best use.

“Rather than simply producing TV and radio spots and buying ads with a limited budget, we sought out media partners,” says Ashley Martin, account manager with RCG.  “WAVY TV and Sinclair Stations viewed this as more of a ‘public service’ partnership than a straight media buy, so we were able to obtain a significant return in exposure in exchange for the financial investment.”

The collaboration led to promotional spots and even news coverage, as BecomeEMS.org reunited victims and “lifesavers” to tell stories of the role EMS providers play in near death situations.  Often, these reunions were the first opportunities victims had to thank the paramedics for saving their lives.

“The success of this project is due in large part to the work of Rubin Communications,” says Bruce Nadelka of Virginia Beach EMS who led the coordination of the program on behalf of TEMS and PEMS. “They went way above and beyond to keep it on track, on budget and focused.”

All media coverage directed viewers and listeners to BecomeEMS.org, which provided contact information and opportunities to become involved with fire and rescue squads throughout eastern Virginia.   The WAVY TV stories, most of them produced by reporter Eric Harryman, are available for viewing on that site and at www.wavy.com under Health News.

Bill Bischoff was in a hurry. He and fellow Virginia Beach attorney Kevin Martingayle decided to leave the law firm that was their home for the past two decades and start their own. Besides office space, they needed a complete new branding package – name, logo, tagline, website, pictures, press release, newspaper ads – in a month, by July 1.

Bill called Joel Rubin. Joel contacted Jarrett Beeler of the start-up firm Sway Creative, and the producer and creator were off and running.  Bischoff Martingayle would be the new name. After much haggling, A Reputation for Results, would be the theme around which copy would be drafted.  Because both lawyers had UVA connections, they wanted some orange and blue; and Sway knocked out a perfect logo, that included the requested colors plus three column-looking bars (Mr. Jefferson would be proud).

Joel wrote the words for the website, ads and media advisory, Jarrett staged the photo session and then did yeoman’s work on the website, fashioning pages that captured Bill and Kevin’s fun spirit but aggressive advocacy on behalf of their business and individual clients.

Joel begged for one more week to be sure the website was right and because July 4 fell on a Wednesday, killing the week, Bill and Kevin agreed to a July 9 launch.  We made it. Press releases went out, announcement cards too. And check out the website, www.bischoffmartingayle.com, and tell us you wouldn’t consider hiring one of these veteran litigators to represent you in court.

Bischoff and Martingayle were great clients. They knew we were up against the wall and made sure we received approvals in a timely manner. It was a good partnership and the “results” speak for themselves.