Michael Innacelli has been named social media manager of Oyster Pointer, replacing Melanie Occhiuzzo, who graduated from Christopher Newport University in May. A rising junior at CNU, Innacelli is pursuing a bachelor’s degree in communication with a concentration in media studies and aesthetics. Innacelli is currently managing editor of CNU’s television news organization, CNUTV. He also participates in club soccer on campus and works for CNUSports live broadcasting.
Elizabeth McCoury has been hired as a Newport News redevelopment project manager. A Hampton Roads native, McCoury is responsible for working with entrepreneurs and small business owners on useful resources and programs. She was formerly executive director for the Coliseum Central Business Improvement District in Hampton.
Leonard C. Heath Jr. and Joseph F. Verser, partners with the law firm of Heath, Overbey, Verser & Old, PLC, have been selected for inclusion in the 2018 edition of Virginia’s Super Lawyers. Heath was selected for his practice of business litigation. Verser handles civil litigation in Virginia’s state and federal courts and was named as a “Rising Star” for 2018.
Paul Criner, production manager at Criner Remodeling, has been featured on the cover of Professional Remodeler magazine as one of the remodeling industry’s top 40 Under 40. Professional Remodeler is the leading business resource for the remodeling and home improvement market. Criner Remodeling is a licensed and insured Class A contractor, serving the Virginia Peninsula for more than 40 years.
Thirty-two Howard University Master of Occupational Therapy students visited Dr. Phyllis Ross at Pinnacle Hand Therapy, where Dr. Ross conducted a for-credit hand therapy, lymphedema therapy labs and lecture. The students also had the opportunity to interact with volunteer patients.
Impact 100 Greater Peninsula recently received the Civic Champion Award from Transitions Family Services. Impact 100 members shown receiving the award are (left to right) Sidney Jordan, co-chair; Brynn Beal, grant co-chair (Education); Rosemary Hobart, membership engagement coordinator; Tricia Russell, co-chair; Brooke Tiller, wealth advisor, Wells Fargo and co-project coordinator of Impact 100 Greater Peninsula; Courtney Gardner, executive director, Peninsula Fine Arts Center and president of CE Gardner Consulting, LLC and co-project coordinator of Impact 100 Greater Peninsula; and Jennifer Wells, director of grants and fund management, Peninsula Community Foundation.
Sentara Healthcare, the third largest employer in the Commonwealth of Virginia, has been recognized as one of America’s Best Employers in 2018 by Forbes. Ranking in the Best Large Employers category, Sentara is No. 177 of 500 companies categorized into 25 industries. Sentara was named alongside only 24 other large organizations in the healthcare and social industry group. Sentara Healthcare was also recently named a Top 15 Health System for 2018 by IBM Watson Health.
Chase Brown has joined SOLitude Lake Management’s Newport News office as an aquatic biologist. Brown has extensive experience managing private ponds, cultivating trophy bass and analyzing fisheries data. He holds a Bachelor of Science degree in biology from Bridgewater College in Bridgewater, Va. Prior to joining SOLitude, Brown managed a remote weir camp for Sockeye and Coho Salmon for Cook Inlet Aquaculture Association in Kenai, Alaska, and worked with Texas Parks and Wildlife.
Jesse Morton has joined PBMares, LLP as director of organizational growth and development. For the past 18 years, Morton has led organizational growth and development initiatives for regional and national firms. His experience includes the development of industry and specialty practice teams, brand awareness campaigns, talent marketing and career growth initiatives. He is a graduate of the U.S. Coast Guard Academy.
PBMares LLP was honored as a Good Corporate Neighbor by VOLUNTEER Hampton Roads at its Corporate VOLUNTEER Excellence award ceremony held in May. Recognition was given to companies with workplace programs that strengthen the community and the workforce. The firm received one of three small business awards for its firm’s wide volunteer program, PBMares Cares Day.
Newport News Public Art Foundation has relocated to Work/Space at 733 Thimble Shoals Boulevard, Suite 170. Contact numbers and email addresses remain the same. The new fax number is 757-534-9188.
Johnna Taylor has joined CENTURY 21 Nachman Realty. Taylor moved to the Peninsula from Louisiana in 2018 with more than 18 years of real estate experience specializing in the sale and purchase of residential homes.
The top April agents for CENTURY 21 Nachman Realty’s Peninsula Office were Melanie Whitehead, top listing agent; Dee Karlsson, top selling agent; Carol Sobieski, top closing agent; Donna Bösze, top producing agent; and Jamie Coldsnow, top referring agent.
The Department of Energy’s Thomas Jefferson National Accelerator Facility is accepting registration for its Summer Science Camp for Deaf and Hard-Of-Hearing Youth, scheduled for August 13–17. The camp is designed to meet the needs of rising fourth- through eighth-grade students who are deaf or hearing impaired, and it also welcomes siblings of deaf and hearing-impaired youth and children of a deaf adult. The camp offers hands-on science activities presented in a barrier-free environment. The camp will be held at Jefferson Lab, and American Sign Language (ASL) (no voice) will be used. Youth may attend the camp for as little as one day or for the entire week. The program is free to participants; advance registration is required. To register, visit the camp website for email instructions: education.jlab.org/sciencecamp. Registration is encouraged no later than August 3.
Dr. Matt Hettche, associate professor of marketing and academic chair for the Department of Management and Marketing in the Luter School of Business at Christopher Newport University, received the 2017 O’Hara Leadership Award in Direct and Interactive Marketing Education from the Direct Marketing Association of Washington (DMAW) at The Best of Direct Award Ceremony in Washington, D.C. This prestigious award recognizes a professor who promotes life-long learning in general and specifically promotes direct and interactive marketing as a career choice to students. Hettche has been a member of the DMAW Educational Foundation since 2010 and he has served as faculty advisor for several winning Collegiate Marketing Award for Excellence and Innovation competition teams. He is also a regular participant and contributor to the DMAW/EF’s Professor’s Institute.
James L. Windsor, of Kaufman & Canoles, P.C., has been named among the 31 attorneys of the firm for inclusion in Virginia Super Lawyers 2018. Super Lawyers is an annual listing of outstanding lawyers who have attained a high degree of peer recognition and professional achievement. Windsor’s practice focuses on real estate law. Attorney Sarah Messersmith has been named a Virginia Rising Star 2018. Messersmith practice area focuses on estate and probate. Rising Stars are chosen by their peers as being among the top up-and-coming lawyers (40 years old or younger or in practice 10 years or less) in the state. Only 2.5 percent of Virginia attorneys are given this honor.
Bon Secours Health System has received the 2018 Gallup Great Workplace Award, which honors organizations dedicated to optimizing employee engagement and embracing it as a fundamental foundation of their business. It is Bon Secours’ seventh consecutive year receiving the prestigious award.
The Executive Board of the Colonial Virginia Council, Boy Scouts of America selected Clinton Hammett as Newport News scout executive. Hammett began his scouting career as a district executive at Revolutionary Trails Council in Utica, New York. Current executive board members include Jim Hughes, president; David Singletary, vice president of programs; Marsha Smith, vice president of membership; Travers Edwards, vice president of district operations; Bill Goggins, vice president of finance; Andy Mullins, vice president of risk management; Bill Newton, vice president of marketing and public relations; Bill Spence, vice president of council operations; and Jeff Wassmer, vice president of fund development.
Dr. Anthony Carter, orthopedic surgeon with Hampton Roads Orthopedics and Sports Medicine, performed a live streaming hip surgery at Bon Secours Mary Immaculate Hospital. Carter, a pioneer surgeon in the anterior hip approach, frequently travels to train other surgeons and with the live stream, was able to teach his technique to the Anterior Hip Foundation 2018 Innovation Symposium in Las Vegas.
The Warwick Club at City Center Rotary Club continued its support of the Virginia Living Museum (VLM) by participating in its Earth Day clean up. Club members and volunteers spread mulch and washed dinosaurs in the Dinosaur Discovery Trail in preparation of VLM’s Earth Day activities. The club was not only a partner in the founding of VLM but it also contributed to the purchase of the dinosaurs for this exhibit. Shown here are (left to right) front row: Jennifer Daknis, club president; Morgan Morris; Leslie Burwick; Jennifer Goudy and Jesse Hutcheson. Second row: Kevin Lyles; Will Hoskins; Carol Davanay; Judie Hines; Erlinda Gleason and Davetta Reinhart. Third row: Kari Heffner; Rebecca Kleinhample, executive director of VLM/club member; Bob Kleinhample; Bill Reinhart; Michael Gleason and John Murray. Not in the photo: McKenzie Morgan, volunteer.
The club welcomed retired pastor Allen Kemp at its April meeting. Kemp transferred his Rotary membership from his former club in New York. Pictured with Kemp are (from left) Jennifer Goudy, membership chair; Sharon Martin, club programs chair and Kemp’s sponsor; and Jennifer Daknis, club president.
Members of the Virginia State Reading Association (VSRA) Leadership Team traveled to Newport News and were joined in May by principals and media specialists from the First District for a reception to celebrate the dedication and hard work of one of their greatest literacy champions, the twice-honored recipient of the VSRA “Friend of Literacy” Award, the late Senator John Miller. Many of those present shared pictures and warm memories of his visits to their schools. In his memory, two books, Wolf and Woodrow for President, were donated to all elementary and Early Childhood Center libraries in his district. Shown here (from left to right) are Jenny Kitchen and Sharron Kitchen Miller, family members, with Marilyn Schempf and Troilen Seward, VSRA representatives.
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