2018 February/March Issue
4 Things You Buy with Higher Health Insurance Premiums
Health insurance in the United States is expensive. That, by now, is a cliché. This...
10 Quick Steps to Initiate Branding Change to Coastal Virginia
A statewide initiative to rebrand the region from Hampton Roads to Coastal Virginia could strengthen...
Rebranding Hampton Roads to Coastal Virginia
How A New Statewide Initiative Could Strengthen Our Regional Identity To Drive Economic Growth By...
Best Places to Work: 1st Advantage Federal Credit Union
By Barrett Baker 110 Cybernetics Way, Yorktown 757-877-2444 | 1stAdvantage.org Founded: Chartered in 1951 Employees:...
Best Places to Work: Array Digital
By Angela Blue 660 Independence Pkwy., #310, Chesapeake | 888-338-8252 | ThisIsArray.com Founded: Originally launched...
Best Places to Work: Abbitt Realty
By Ryan Miller AbbittRealty.com Abbitt Realty has office locations in Gloucester, Hampton, Newport News and...
Best Places to Work: Atlantic Bay Mortgage Group
By Ryan Miller AtlanticBay.com Atlantic Bay has locations in Chesapeake, Gloucester, Virginia Beach, Yorktown, throughout...
Best Places to Work: Buzz Franchise Brands
By Angela Blue 2829 Guardian Lane, Suite 100, Virginia Beach | 885-275-2563 | BuzzFranchiseBrands.com Founded:...
Best Places to Work: Chesbay Distributing
By Ryan Miller 3928 Cook Blvd., Chesapeake | 757-558-8170 | ChesbayDistributing.com Founded: 1958 as Norfolk...
Best Places to Work: Entercom Communications
By Angela Blue 236 Clearfield Ave., Virginia Beach | 757-497-2000 | Entercom.com Other locations are...
Best Places to Work: GEICO
By Grace Silipigni 1345 Perimeter Pkwy., Virginia Beach | 757-222-3400 | Geico.com Founded: 1936 Employees:...
Best Places to Work: INIT Innovations In Transportation, Inc.
By Grace Silipigni 424 Network Station, Chesapeake | 757-413-9100 | INITSE.com Other locations are worldwide....
Best Places to Work: Kaufman & Canoles, P.C.
By Barrett Baker 150 W. Main Street, Suite 2100, Norfolk | 757-624-3000 | KaufCan.com Founded:...
Best Places to Work: Lions Bridge Financial Advisors
By Angela Blue 2110 William Styron Square S., Newport News | 757-599-9220 | LionsBridgeFinancial.com Founded:...
Best Places to Work: Office Furniture Outlet
By Grace Silipigni 5595 Raby Rd., Building 3, Norfolk | 757-855-2800 | OFOVa.com Founded: 1989...
Best Places to Work: Old Point National Bank
By Barrett Baker Corporate Headquarters: 101 East Queen Street, Hampton | 757-728-1200 | OldPoint.com Founded:...
Best Places to Work: Classic Air’s One Hour Heating And Air Conditioning
By Angela Blue 2680 Production Rd., Virginia Beach | 757-868-7600 | OneHourComfort.com Founded: 1979 Employees:...
Best Places to Work: Pembroke Commercial Realty
By Ryan Miller 4460 Corporation Lane, #300, Virginia Beach | 757-490-3141 | PembrokeRealty.com Founded: 1962...
Best Places to Work: RynohLive
By Ryan Miller 397 Little Neck Rd., #306, Virginia Beach | 877-467-9664 | Rynoh.com Founded: 2007...
Best Places to Work: Taylor Made Diagnostics, Inc.
By Grace Silipigni 801 Poindexter St, Chesapeake | 757-494-1688 | TaylorMadeDiagnostics.com Founded: 1995 Employees: 24...
Best Places to Work: USAA
By Grace Silipigni 520 Independence Pkwy., Chesapeake | 1-800-531-8722 | USAA.com USAA is based in...
Best Places to Work: Wall, Einhorn & Chernitzer, P.C.
By Barrett Baker 150 West Main St., Norfolk | 757-625-4700 | WEC-CPA.com Founded: 1989 Employees:...
Best Places to Work: Wilson Law, PLC
By Barrett Baker 430 McLaws Circle, Suite 102, Williamsburg | 866-603-5976 | WilsonLawPLC.com Founded: June...
Best Places to Work
Businesses With Fun And Fulfilling Company Cultures By Barrett Baker, Angela Blue, Grace Silipigni and...
VisitNorfolk Receives Grant from Virginia Tourism Corporation Crush Friday Program
VisitNorfolk received a $10,000 grant from the Virginia Tourism Corporation (VTC) Crush Friday program fund....
Union Bank & Trust Pavilion Announced as the New Name of Portsmouth Amphitheater
Union Bank & Trust Pavilion is now the new name for Portsmouth’s amphitheater under a...
4 Questions You Should Be Able to Answer About Your Employer-Sponsored Health Insurance
Health benefits enrollment is a once-a-year "event" for most folks in a traditional employer-sponsored model....
2018 ODU Lion’s Lair Competition Welcomes Hampton Roads Entrepreneurs
The 2018 ODU Lion's Lair Competition is accepting applications through March 2, welcoming entrepreneurs from...
3 Questions to Ask Your Doctor at Every Visit
The state-of-healthcare is essentially a ubiquitous water cooler conversation these days. Often, the conversation surrounds...
Girl Scouts Of Colonial Coast Receive STEM Grant From Newport News Shipbuilding
The Girl Scouts of the Colonial Coast received a grant from Newport News Shipbuilding, a...
BCF Agency Lands Big Clients Under New Ownership
Less than a year after long-term Creative Director Keith Ireland transitioned into the roles as...
Atlantic Shores Retirement Community Partners to Install Technology to Boost Hearing Quality
Atlantic Shores Retirement Community has embarked on a life-changing technology initiative designed to boost hearing...
SOLitude Lake Management Merges with Lake Masters
SOLitude Lake Management, a leading environmental firm specializing in lake, pond and wetland management, fisheries...
Virginia Wesleyan University Honored as Conservationist of the Year
Virginia Wesleyan University (VWU) was honored by the Chesapeake Bay Foundation (CBF) in February with...
Excellence In Leadership: J.D. Myers, Cox Communications
Senior Vice President And Region Manager, Cox Communications Virginia Operations By Barrett Baker J.D. Myers...
ivWatch Plans to Relocate to Newport News Tech Center
ivWatch, the exclusive provider of medical devices for the early detection of intravenous (IV) infiltrations...
Sentara Healthcare to Build New Cancer Center in Norfolk
Sentara Healthcare will begin a multi-year, $93.5 million construction project to build a cancer center...
Attorneys at Motorcycle Law Group Use Firsthand Experience to Defend Clients
By Chelsea Sherman It was 1992, and Tom McGrath had been practicing personal injury law...
Battling the Cost of Prescription Meds in Hampton Roads
As Spring arrives, we’re just now escaping (hopefully) a pretty ugly flu season. With that...
5 Tips for Managing Your Email Inbox
Many of us have a love/hate relationship with our email inbox. The form of communication...
Norfolk Growler Company’s Handmade Ceramic Growlers for Craft Beer
By Ryan Miller Norfolk Growler Company’s handmade craft growlers for craft beer resemble old fashioned,...
Trader Interactive Moves Headquarters to Norfolk’s Dominion Tower
Trader Interactive, a digital marketing company, moved its corporate headquarters to Dominion Tower in Norfolk...
ViBe District in Virginia Beach Awards Grants to Commune and 1701
The ViBe Creative District in Virginia Beach has awarded the first two matching grants to...
The White Papers
white pa·per (noun): A white paper is an authoritative report or guide that informs readers...
Businesses With Fun And Fulfilling Company Cultures
By Barrett Baker, Angela Blue, Grace Silipigni and Ryan Miller
Let’s face it. We spend a lot of time at work. We’re surrounded by our office walls more than our homes, and we see more of our coworkers’ faces each day than our own families. Therefore, it’s important to not only enjoy what you do but where you do it—and to also thrive on the company of those fellow coworkers contributing to the overall mission of getting things done.
This is why we highlight local businesses that “get it” in our annual Best Places to Work feature. The 20 companies featured below were nominated by employees and selected by our editorial staff for the quality of their work environments, general company culture, training and development opportunities, tangible and intangible benefits and employee satisfaction.
Congratulations to these companies for creating, advocating and implementing exciting, fulfilling and balanced atmospheres that strive to make work fun.
1st Advantage Federal Credit Union
1st Advantage has a diverse workforce that promotes growth and development and assesses its employee engagement through surveys every 18 months. In addition to taking care of its employees, the company also takes care of the community through volunteer efforts with nonprofit organizations.
Abbitt Realty
Since 1946 Abbitt Realty has helped families find their homes in Coastal Virginia. Abbitt conducts its business with the values of intergrity, honesty and knowledge, with a work culture that often involves company outings.
Array Digital
Array Digital values having a fun and collaborative work environment and communication between its employees on the company’s biggest decisions. Instead of standard employee reviews, the company’s “kudos system” is a chance for employees to thank colleagues with “kudos” points that they can redeem for a cash bonus.
Atlantic Bay Mortgage Group
Consistently ranked and awarded as a top mortgage company in America, Atlantic Bay Mortgage Group nurtures an open-door policy, emphasizes a work-life balance and has a fun work environment. There are ample opportunities for career advancement as well as plenty of work perks.
Buzz Franchise Brands
Buzz Franchise Brands could describe its own company culture as fun, inclusive, performance-based and putting the employee first. Employee involvement and engagement are priorities for the business, which hosts activities and outings every month.
Chesbay Distributing
Having an open door policy, inward engagement with its employees, outward engagement with the community and positive leadership are all part of the work environment at Chesbay Distributing. While it’s a fast-paced environment, the work proves to be rewarding for its employees.
Entercom Communications
Even with a large reach with its radio stations, Entercom makes the atmosphere personal at work, where good ideas are encouraged, utilized and rewarded. And there are plenty of opportunities for employees to come together for events that further ensure that work is both fun and fulfilling.
GEICO
GEICO’s Virginia Beach office is equipped with social spaces, fitness centers and wellbeing programs that establish an interactive community at work while also boosting employee morale. The company places an emphasis on gratitude, outreach and keeping a healthy work-life balance.
Photo by Yuzhu Zheng
INIT Innovations In Transportation, INC.
With one of the most technologically advanced office spaces in the area with stand-up desks, interactive conference spaces and private work-capsules, INIT prides itself on the work environment it creates for its employees. Further, there is a paid continuing education program and there are professional development opportunities for career advancement.
Kaufman & Canoles, P.C.
A long-standing member of the communities the law firm serves, Kaufman & Canoles believes in creating a richer life for everyone, including its own employees. The law firm is dynamic as it provides excellent services for its clients, maintains involvement with the community through nonprofit volunteering and regularly conducts surveys for employee satisfaction.
Lions Bridge Financial Advisors
While the work is fast-paced and constantly changing, employees at Lions Bridge are able to adapt and thrive as a result of its positive atmosphere. Listening to ideas and openly complimenting the success of colleagues helps steer the financial advisory company’s success.
Office Furniture Outlet
A focus on family has played a large role at Office Furniture Outlet, where each employee feels valued as an individual and their opinion counts. There are frequent celebrations, constant recognition for achievements and even designated days for employees to bring their pet in to work.
Old Point National Bank
Old Point provides its employees with quarterly rewards, tuition assistance, annual bonuses, incentive programs, open communication and more. It’s about people first at Old Point, which has been a part of the Coastal Virginia community since 1923.
Classic Air’s One Hour Heating & Air Conditioning
There are plenty of refreshing aspects about working at One Hour Heating & Air Conditioning, including an all-expenses paid trip to the Dominican Republic as a thank you for hard work. Beyond this, management keeps a pulse on the company culture through one-on-one meetings.
Pembroke Commercial Realty
Years of dedicated service from its employees serves as proof for Pembroke Commercial Realty’s excellent atmosphere. Every month there are meetings for engagement and regularly there are outings that help promote a strong and healthy culture.
RynohLive
RynohLive has an inviting and casual work environment and sets itself apart with its open door policy and communication that isn’t based on a hierarchy of commands based on titles. With a diverse workforce, maintaining morale means having a fun workplace and realizing each individual has a voice.
Taylor Made Diagnostics, Inc.
Innovation, responsiveness and commitment to customer service excellence are the core values for Taylor Made Diagnostics. Employees bond through celebrating and supporting one another, as well as participating in a number of activities outside of the workplace.
USAA
USAA’s appreciation luncheons, volunteer events and celebration of the diversity of its employees all contribute to its positive culture and innovations as a company. As a result, the work environment becomes a motivator for its employees to give clients exceptional service.
Wall, Einhorn & Chernitzer, P.C.
A work-life balance, mentoring program and activities for engagement at the workplace and during outings all boost the morale and make for great incentives for employees building their careers at Wall, Einhorn & Chernitzer. The public accounting firm features an open floor plan for unity, while promoting equality among team members.
Wilson Law, PLC
Covering a number of practice areas, Wilson Law rewards its employees with bonuses, paid days off during birthdays and quarterly team building exercises. Leaders act as mentors, though everyone is treated equally and works together towards a common goal.
