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:...
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...
By Ryan Miller
AbbittRealty.com
Abbitt Realty has office locations in Gloucester, Hampton, Newport News and Williamsburg
Founded: 1946
Employees: 200
For over seven decades, the locally-based Abbitt Realty has assisted families in their search for their home on the Peninsula and Southside in addition to providing services in financing and property management. Its first office opened in Newport News in 1946 when Meredith “Monk” Abbitt wanted to help in providing homes for families with a company that conducted its business with the values of integrity, honesty and knowledge. With a workforce devised of realtors, brokers and sales associates as well as an administrative and marketing staff, employees have often found their vocation with Abbitt Realty as a result of its family values advocated by management and ownership, comfort with colleagues and numerous incentives for career advancement for agents and other personnel.
“Real estate is definitely a people business, so when you have a good working environment like we do here, it permeates out to the public,” remarks Michael Gleason, the managing broker for Abbitt Realty’s Williamsburg office, who has worked with the company for a combined six years. “The company takes care of their agents, which in turn allows us to take care of our clients,” says Angela Stellute Ballard, director of recruiting for Abbitt Realty.
The real estate business credits its own company adage, The Abbitt Advantage, for retaining professionals for the duration of their careers by creating a more simple, paperless office, devoid of franchise fees, while providing timely commissions, ample opportunities for training, extensive access to marketing materials and convenient office locations.
The company’s work culture is characterized by its accessibility to management through direct interaction on an individual level, including with President Charles W. Wornom and the Abbitt family, Carolyn Abbitt and her sons Matthew and Stephen. Gleason refers to the quarterly chairman’s circle meetings as an advantageous approach for engaging real estate agents within the company, where some of the less experienced and new agents are able to learn more firsthand from the guidance and direction of primaries and upper management.
“I can’t say enough about the honesty, integrity and sound business policies of this real estate organization,” exclaims Gleason. Consistently the company rapport between employees is built upon through involvement during company outings, team building exercises at work and the demonstration of its core values through the various capacities, whether that’s serving its clients individually or the community as a whole.
Work Perks
- Comprehensive benefits, including legal expense insurance
- Continuous training and coaching opportunities
- Fun team building activities
- Company outings and activities, including luncheons, office potlucks, oyster roast at Gloucester office, after-work socials with business partners Old Virginia Mortgage and Movement Mortgage
- Opportunities for community involvement with local nonprofit organizations
Why I Love My Job
“There’s always someone here to offer a helping hand or give you advice … there’s no question that the family feel and the culture and environment is what keeps me here.”
—Angela Stellute Ballard, Sales Associate and Director of Recruiting, seven years with Abbitt Realty
