OUTLET: Inside Business
When Daniel Heatwole moved to Virginia Beach for the summer after college, he planned to stay for only three months. Now, nine years later, he’s not only made a life in Hampton Roads, he’s become a leader in the region.
The 31-year-old is vice president of CBDX, a young leaders group within the Central Business District Association, and he recently received the organization’s inaugural Founder’s Award. The group, which launched in June 2009, has 69 members and the award program was designed to recognize a CBDX member who has made significant contributions toward the success of the organization.
Heatwole, who originally hails from Waynesboro, is a development associate at Ripley Heatwole Co. Inc. in Virginia Beach, where his uncle is a partner. The company, he said, is about to start construction on 525 @ Historic Kempsville. The $30 million project will include 168 apartments at the corner of the Princess Anne and Kempsville roads.
“We’re going to be preserving and redeveloping the old Kempsville High School and building new apartments,” Heatwole said. “The high school will be 24 apartments, as well as our clubhouse and leasing center. The 144 new apartments will then be built west along Princess Anne Road.”
The project also includes 5,000 square feet of commercial space. Heatwole said construction is expected to start Sept. 1 and be completed by next summer.
Both the job and the region are keeping Heatwole in Hampton Roads.
“I just love this area,” he said. “There’s so much to do outdoors.”
He’s hoping CBDX will grow the next generation of leaders in the region. Someday, he said, he’d like to see CBDX members on the planning commission and city council. Here he talks about CBDX and the award.
How CBDX got started
About five years ago, Alex Divaris, Stephen Pfieffer, Danijel Velicki and Erica Rorrer were kicking around the idea of a young leaders group in Virginia Beach. We didn’t have any business association like that. So they kind of reached out to a few of us in the community and we got together and had a meeting about how we would go about doing this group and we decided that it would be best if it were under the Central Business District Association. That’s how CBDX came to be and it’s parked under the CBDA.
As the CBDA grew with their mission and their new executive director, they really started to incorporate our group. Now the folks who are on the executive board of the CBDX are all on the board of the CBDA. The president, vice president and immediate past president of CBDX are also on the executive board of the CBDA, so it’s really brought the two groups together and I think it’s been very beneficial to both. For CBDX, our folks really have a voice at the table now and for the CBDA, they have the younger group with their influence and energy helping to keep things going.
About the X in CBDX
Next, I guess, like the next generation. That’s one of our favorite parts, when people ask, “Does it actually stand for anything?” It’s kind of vague and we always thought that was neat. Next generation of business leaders is really where that comes from.
The organization’s goal
Really to further what’s going on in the city. I’ve been here nine years and when I first moved here, I lived in Town Center and I didn’t have to set an alarm because they were driving piles every morning for The Westin. To look at how that’s grown and how the Oceanfront is growing with all the things that are happening – the Cavalier redevelopment and the energy around the convention center. Virginia Beach is the largest city in the state and to start acting like it from a business standpoint, that’s really the goal – to help further that as we grow into the people who are in a position to lead.
Why it’s unique
One of the things that’s different is we really stress it’s not another networking group. The idea is to establish relationships both professional and personal with the other young leaders. A number of business opportunities have come out of it. I know we’ve done business with seven or eight companies because of people I’ve been involved with through CBDX. Two of our members formed their own company together. Danijel Velicki and Stephen Friddell started The Opus Group of Virginia, a financial management firm.
There was a bit of a disconnect. The folks who had been in the leadership positions of the CBDA had been doing deals together for 20 to 30 years. There wasn’t a lot to bring the next generation of business leaders together. We didn’t know each other. Alex Divaris and I had spoken on the phone for four years and we had never actually met until this group. It was just the right time for a group like this here.
Casino night
We’ve had five of them now and we’ve raised just over $140,000 for local charities. One of the things we really enjoy is the fact that we can give back. It’s been a very successful event. It’s usually in February at the Sandler Center. Proceeds have gone to support the Samaritan House, Toby’s Dream Foundation and Junior Achievement of Greater Hampton Roads.
On becoming a CBDX member
The requirements are that you be under 40, be an employee at a CBDA-member company and typically we like for you to have been at your company for at least a year or have been in your industry for at least a year, so you’re established somewhat. Anyone can join the CBDA. You don’t even have to be right in the greater Town Center area. We have CBDA member companies from the Oceanfront and from downtown Norfolk. We even have some from the Peninsula. Williamsburg Winery just joined. Dues are $100 a year for CBDX.
Why he joined
Getting to know the other young professionals in the area was important to me. Being in the real estate business, finding new projects, finding the right people to work with is all about who you know. Just having an opportunity to get my name out there and meet people is what drew me to it in the beginning. I enjoy leading and public speaking. It’s an opportunity to express my ideas.
What Virginia Beach needs
Jobs for young professionals. That’s what we need, whether it’s the STEM technologies or finding ways to encourage entrepreneurs with new technologies here. We’re stagnant in growth. The only reason our population seems to have grown in the last few years is because we’ve had more births than deaths. We aren’t getting a lot of people moving here. Growing ourselves into a 12-month city where there’s activity here all the time and jobs here that are careers, is really where we need to go.
