Appointed/elected
The board of directors of Albemarle Area United announced the appointment of new members including Dr. Keith Parker, superintendent for Elizabeth City-Pasquotank Public Schools; Jamie Koch, executive director of the Outer Banks Family YMCA; and Deborah White, director of patient care services at Sentara Albemarle Medical Center.
Awards and honors
Amber Egyud, chief operating and nursing officer at Chesapeake Regional Healthcare, was inducted into the fellow designation program of The American Organization for Nursing Leadership during the organization’s annual conference in May. The designation recognizes a nurse leader’s sustained contributions to the specialty of nursing leadership, commitment to service and influence in shaping health care.
Dae-Hee Kim, a marketing professor at the Luter School of Business at Christopher Newport University, received the O’Hara Leadership Award in Education from the Direct Marketing Association of Washington and its Educational Foundation. He was selected for the award based on published research, innovative teaching in direct and indirect marketing and for mentoring several winning student competition teams.
Janele Marek, director of marketing at Chesapeake Regional Healthcare, was named a 2023 Top Hospital Marketer of the Year by Xpectives Health. The award recognizes health care marketers who drive innovation and work toward better patient health outcomes. She joined the health system in 2021 and managed the creation of a new brand platform, “Innovative for Life,” which increased brand awareness.
The following Pender & Coward attorneys were included in the 2023 list of Virginia Super Lawyers or Rising Stars by the Super Lawyer rating service: Dave Arnold, eminent domain; Jeff Gray, business litigation; Ra Hee Jeon, family law; Annie Lahren, immigration; Bryan Peeples, environmental; Jeff Rosen, business litigation; Bob Samuel, personal injury; Kerry Stolz, workers’ compensation; Diane Thompson, estate and probate.
Virginia Beach Parks & Recreation was selected as a finalist for the 2023 National Gold Medal Awards for Excellence in Park and Recreation Management by the American Academy for Park and Recreation Administration, in partnership with the National Recreation and Park Association. This is the third straight year that VBPR has been named a finalist, competing among the best park agencies from around the country. The final phase of judging, a five-minute video, will take place this summer and winners will be announced during the 2023 NRPA Conference, Oct. 10-12 in Dallas.
Grants and donations
Children’s Hospital of The King’s Daughters received a $50,000 Connecting Communities grant from Rite Aid Healthy Futures to provide low- and moderate-income patient families with healthy, shelf-stable food and assistance with referral for food and other needs. The organization provided more than $4.5 million in grant funding to children’s hospitals across the country, giving them additional resources to address hunger and food insecurity through innovative, community-rooted initiatives.
Norfolk State University announced that Conrad Hall, a member of the board of visitors, made a $1 million gift to support the creation of the Conrad M. Hall Endowed Chair in Constitutional and U.S. History at the university. The position will add to the department of history and interdisciplinary studies and the department of political science program offerings. It will allow the university to recruit renowned constitutional scholars as professors to enhance the degree programs. A native of Norfolk, Hall retired as CEO of Dominion Enterprises Inc., after a 40-year career in the media, marketing and information services industries.
The 2023 Supernova International Ska Festival received a grant for $9,930 from the Virginia Tourism Corp. Regional Marketing Program. The festival is the largest ska event in the United States. It will take place at Fort Monroe in Hampton Sept. 15-17. The festival is partnering with the city of Hampton and Fort Monroe Authority and will feature 36 bands from nine countries. The Grammy Awards named the festival as one of its Top 10 indie festivals for 2023.
New branding
In early May, Sentara announced new names and branding for its components. The health care system said the change to Sentara Health reflects its enhanced focus on promoting the overall health and well-being of its consumers including patients, members and communities. The change also represents the deepening alignment between its health care services and health plans. By the end of the year, Sentara will retire the Optima Health and Virginia Premier brands, unifying the plans under one brand, Sentara Health Plans.
New location
Nuts & Buds, a family-owned business, and the retail and online store for G. Ryan Howell Farms, celebrated a grand reopening at its new location, 6470 Caratoke Highway in Grandy, North Carolina, on April 20. The ribbon-cutting ceremony for the store, which specializes in CBD products, drew a large crowd of customers, vendors and supporters. For information, visit nutsandbuds.com.
