Deb Yeng Collins is a first generation American whose family has lived the dream of entrepreneurship. Last year, she took the bold step to open her own law firm — Yeng Collins Law, PLLC — and already her hard work is making the firm a great success.

After graduating from VCU with a degree in human resources, Deb attended law school at William and Mary with the goal to practice employment law. One of the requirements is to complete a trial advocacy class. "In this course, you go through all the steps of a trial," Deb says. "One day my professor pulled me aside to ask me what kind of law I wanted to practice. I told him probably employment law or corporate law, but I knew I didn't want to practice criminal law. He responded that I should consider criminal law because he thought I would be a good litigator, and I would build my trial skills."

Deb took his advice and after graduating from law school, spent three years as a prosecutor in the Norfolk Commonwealth Attorney's office practicing criminal law. From there she became a partner at a firm that specialized in employment law before making the decision to go out on her own and start Yeng Collins Law. Her firm specializes in employment law, business disputes, and civil litigation, and she represents both employees and employers.

"It's been wonderful," Deb says. Despite opening her firm in the midst of the COVID pandemic, Deb says, "It has been really busy, and the clients have been great. Owning my own firm has given me a lot of flexibility and autonomy to choose the type of cases I want to work on and to have a flexible schedule." Her firm is growing, as she is looking to hire another attorney.

A number of honors have already come Deb's way — she has been recognized as a Top Lawyer by Coastal Virginia, as a Legal Elite by Virginia Business, and recognized by Super Lawyers.

Deb and her husband, Joe, who provides outsourced financial management services to nonprofits, have two children, a five-year-old daughter and a seven-year-old son. "They are a handful and very loveable," Deb laughs. Bike riding, reading, and cooking fill Deb's life outside of work. Her family enjoys their weekend getaways, and she is planning a trip in the future. "My husband is originally from England, so we'd like to take our kids 'across the pond' soon."

Michelle Butler, director of private banking, introduced Deb to TowneBank. "I set this firm up pretty quickly and Michelle and all of TowneBank have been extremely responsive and supportive," Deb says.

For more information, visit YengCollinsLaw.com.

Portsmouth-based Mercy Chefs has worked over the last few months to provide more than two million pounds of food and resources to Ukrainian residents and evacuees. In March, Mercy Chefs deployed to deliver immediate food relief for Ukrainians crossing the border into Romania and for those running out of supplies in Ukraine. The organization secured a warehouse space on the Ukrainian border in Romania, which made an immediate impact in their ability to receive and then distribute groceries and other products.

When Mercy Chefs founders Gary and Ann LeBlanc first arrived in Ukraine, they had no idea that Mercy Chefs would serve as one of the key relief organizations providing food and critical supplies to those on the front lines of the war. They have traveled with their teams to devastated cities and helped distribute food to families hiding in basements and subway stations.

The teams traveled to serve a large orphanage housing children, mothers, and others searching for a safe haven. "We will never be the same," Gary says. "In our hearts, we seek to provide them with hope. People who felt abandoned are handed food that will feed their family for a week and suddenly they no longer feel alone in this war."

They received a heartwarming note from some residents of a village inside Ukraine.

"Dear Mercy Chefs team. We are so thankful for the fact that at this difficult time for us you set your hearts towards us and gave us a hand. Thanks to you, the inhabitants of a remote village received food which is really necessary for us to survive. We wish you prosperity and well-being."

"We're celebrating the needs that have been met, and the lives that have been touched by our efforts as our mission holds steady," Gary says. That mission from the beginning — Just Go Feed People. Gary founded Mercy Chefs in 2006 after seeing the devastation of Hurricane Katrina and the lack of good quality food available to people after the disaster. He returned home to Portsmouth and worked with his wife Ann to create Mercy Chefs.

As a faith based, non-profit disaster relief organization, Mercy Chefs provides professionally prepared, restaurant-quality meals to victims, volunteers, and first responders in natural disasters and national emergencies. They partner with existing like-minded organizations to further their mission by providing food service in underserved communities across the country.

Mercy Chefs has served over 20 million meals in response to natural disasters, national emergencies, and ongoing community outreach. More than 10,000 volunteers have assisted in providing hot, nutritious meals to people in need. TowneBank is honored to partner with Mercy Chefs and also provided a special contribution to the Ukrainian Relief Effort. For more information on how you can help, visit MercyChefs.org.

Lester L. Hudgins, Jr. started Hudgins Contracting in 1971 at the age of 30. In the middle of a recession in 2011, Lester became ill and he asked his wife, Marsha, to take over the company. Marsha wasn't sure how to respond, but she decided to trust her skillset of understanding opportunities and seeing a vision for the future. Marsha was appointed CEO in 2012. The move was unexpected, but Marsha knew she just needed to roll up her sleeves and do what her late husband asked. She figured she could tough it out for two years or so; it's now been eleven years.

Hudgins Contracting is now a woman-owned business that was honored this year by CoVa BIZ magazine as one of the Best Places to Work. They were also selected for a national award by Associated Builders and Contractors (ABC) as a Top Performer for the second year in a row.

Hudgins Contracting has been a TowneBank member since 2004. When Marsha became the sole stockholder in 2011, she chose to stay with TowneBank because "it's very much a community bank." Marsha says, "There was no other bank with the ability to have relationships with their customers like TowneBank. In the worst of times, you need the most support and I've always felt that TowneBank has our back. The bank had no idea if I was going to keep the business or sell it, but they took the approach that I was still a valued customer and they would be there if I needed them. At TowneBank, your banker is a partner, not an adversary." Marsha continues, "Towne takes the same approach that I do: a business relationship is a partnership. You become family. I don't think another bank could come close."

Marsha shares that while the company operates to make a profit, they aim to share that profit with their employees and their community. The company focuses on their employees because they do the work that makes the business successful.

In the community, Hudgins Contracting has served as a presenting sponsor for the annual Here for the Girls golf tournament fundraiser, which supports young women affected by breast cancer. Marsha also makes numerous individual contributions to the Hampton Roads community as a board member of An Achievable Dream, CNU, Mariners' Museum and Park, and the Strome College of Business at ODU. In 2014, Marsha was a founding member of the Women's Initiative Network (WIN) at ODU, and she has served as President of the program since 2020. WIN takes an active role in the empowerment of female students through mentorship, professional development, networking, community engagement, and philanthropy. Marsha wants female college students to see that times have changed. Women can thrive in work environments that have a history of bias, and male business leaders are eager to learn how to attract women to their industries. It's about educating men and women on what each brings to the business environment.Marsha says, "We all carry preconceived ideas of what we can or should do, but it's wonderfully rewarding when you ignore these ideas and embrace unexpected challenges, such as I did." For more information, visit https://hudginscontracting.com/.

Sometimes a horse can make a change in a young boy when all else seems to have failed. Cole was diagnosed with autism when he was four years old. It was shocking news to Dr. Megan McGavern and her husband Dr. Huy Tran. "It was devastating to say the least," Megan says. "At times so difficult, frustrating, and isolating that I wasn't sure I could survive another minute." But then Megan shifted into what she calls "warrior mode" and began to look for ways she could help her son.

Megan read the book, "The Horse Boy" written by Rupert Isaacson, and it was life changing. The author tells of his journey with his son who was diagnosed with an autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and how contact with horses helped him. The book focuses on treatments that create a no-pressure environment through nature, movement, and following a child's interest. After reading the book, Megan and her husband took Cole out of public school, where he was not doing well, and created a homeschooling Movement Method program and a Horse Boy Method program, both programs that had been developed by Rupert Isaacson.

Then in 2019, they bought 18 acres of land in Yorktown and transformed it into C.H.A.T.S., a haven for horses and children. C.H.A.T.S. — which stands for Cole's Horse Autism Therapy Station — now has three specially trained therapy horses and provides a variety of programs including group play dates, private horse boy method play dates, and Sensory Saturdays. "We do things that are highly sensory-seeking that we know really help stimulate and keep the autistic child interested and happy," Megan says.

Some Sensory Saturdays have a holiday theme like Halloween, Easter, and Christmas. Megan explains that many traditional holiday activities like standing in line to visit Santa at a shopping mall, Trick-or-Treating, and Easter egg hunts are difficult for children with an ASD to handle. "We make our events low key so the children can decide what and how much they want to do."

The changes in Cole were dramatic. "We went from him speaking 10 words a day to 300+ words an hour when he was on the horse," Megan says. "He can now ride a bike and a scooter. And he loves going to the beach when he used to not be able to tolerate the sand. We are so grateful to be able to share C.H.A.T.S. with those in our community who are going through similar struggles. "

Also mother to twin boys, Dr. McGavern is an internal medicine physician at Riverside Regional Medical Center. WAVY-TV recently chose her as the winner of their Remarkable Women of Hampton Roads contest, a well-deserved honor.

TowneBank is honored to support C.H.A.T.S. as they work to help children. Volunteers are always welcome to help with Sensory Saturdays as well as working in the barn, feeding and grooming horses, cleaning stalls. For more information, visit CHATS757.com.

Congratulations to Getem Services, selected as the 2022 Regional Small Business of the Year as well as the Norfolk Small Business of the Year by the Hampton Roads Chamber of Commerce!

Getem Services is celebrating their 100^th anniversary this year. In 1922, Luther Church, Sr. started his own business serving the Norfolk community and beyond. In those days, Getem Manufacturing specialized in the production of pesticides and cleaning products. Today, Getem Services is the oldest family-owned and operated pest control company in Virginia, serving the Southside and the Peninsula for residential and commercial pest control including treatments for rodents, mosquitoes, bed bugs, ants, termites, and for moisture control.

When a Getem technician visits a local home or business, they're a familiar face, especially since most Getem employees have been with the company for decades. "The team knows to treat our customers like family because, in a lot of instances, that's the relationship we've built," Charlie Church, president and owner, says. "We care for their homes and businesses, but we also create a safe environment for their children and pets. We've watched generations of families grow up, just as they've seen Getem Services grow along with them."

Charlie is the third-generation owner of Getem. He is well known in Hampton Roads as a community advocate. He supports Old Dominion Athletics, numerous youth sports leagues, while also serving on the boards for the YMCA and Festevents. He is past president and current board member of the Virginia Pest Management Association and is a member of the Virginia Board of Agriculture and Consumer Services, appointed by Governor Northam. We are honored to have Charlie as a member of the TowneBank Norfolk board of directors.

Now the fourth generation is hard at work at Getem. After graduating from James Madison University, Charlie's son Chaz and daughter Carley have come on board with Chaz as the head of outside operations and Carley as head of marketing and human resources.

Reflecting on the Hampton Roads Chamber of Commerce Small Business of the Year Award, Charlie says, "We are grateful to the Chamber for celebrating the work of small businesses in our area. Small businesses are the backbone of every community. We are thrilled to receive the regional award. I am so thankful to our employees for their hard work and dedication. We couldn't do it without them. We hope to continue to serve Hampton Roads for another 100 years."

For more information, visit GetemServices.com.

In May, golfers gathered at the TowneBank headquarters in Suffolk before hitting the links at Riverfront Golf Club. Once again there was a sold out field, and Mother Nature allowed the full tournament to take place. In total, $195,000 was raised in support of the TowneBank Foundation, which brings the grand fundraising total to almost $2 million since the first golf outing in 2001. These funds will be dispersed to local charities and non-profits by the TowneBank Foundation, a nonprofit organization that provides grants and donations to well over 200 organizations each year.

Before hitting the course, golfers had the opportunity to have their ball engraved and enjoyed lunch outside of our Member Service Center. After pros from Riverfront Club explained the rules, Bob Aston, TowneBank executive chairman, welcomed the golfers and wished them luck.

"On behalf of our Towne family, thank you for coming out and supporting us," said Bob. "Play straight, play fast, have fun, and thank you all so much for continuing to support the foundation that allows us to do great things in the community."

Long-time co-chairs John Fruit and Andy Rivenbark coordinated the tournament, leading our volunteers and ensuring the event was once again a success. "Our players had an absolute blast and we are thrilled to have been able to turn a great golf experience into almost $200,000 that goes right back into serving our neighbors in the local community," said John.

Thank you to our amazing sponsors, including our presenting sponsor Howard Hanna, for their continued support in our mission to serve others and enrich lives.

"The TowneBank Foundation is very grateful for the support of our annual Golf Tournament," said Andy. "Our sponsors, patrons, and workers made the 2022 event another great success in being a good steward to our community partners. The efforts of our team helped to prove the TowneBank Foundation is a community asset."

We look forward to seeing everyone in 2023 for the next TowneBank Foundation Golf Tournament!

Congratulations are in order for two members of our Norfolk Board of Directors!

Dr. Angela Reddix, who joined the TowneBank board of directors in 2020, was named to the EBONY Power 100 List for 2021. The program recognizes African Americans across industries and spanned ten categories, highlighting leaders from business, sports, media, activism, music, and entertainment, and more. Dr. Reddix was one of ten people named as an Innovation Leader, with other notable recipients including Shaquille O'Neal and Hampton Roads' Timbaland. Dr. Reddix is the owner of Norfolk-based ARDX, a healthcare management and IT consulting firm, and serves as the director of the Hodge Institute for Entrepreneurship at Norfolk State University. She is also the founder of Envision, Lead, Grow, a nonprofit program for teen girls.

Norfolk native Susan Pilato was recognized with two awards at the National Commercial Furniture Design Show last October. Pilato founded Mantra Inspired Furniture, an American-made line of furniture that is created from sustainably sourced products, like wood and steel. Mantra was recognized with the Best of NeoCon Gold in the benching category and received Interior Design's HiP award for pioneering and innovative product design. Pilato co-owns PC&A Business Environments and has completed countless projects in our region, including designing many of the TowneBank offices and locations.

The two Norfolk-based entrepreneurs are longtime fans of each other's success. Their mutual admiration led them to launch their podcast, The Vine Experience, in September 2020. Tune in on Spotify!

If you have visited an Outer Banks restaurant or business recently, you may have seen a purple seahorse sticker displayed on the front door. That emblem means the restaurant or business has participated in training conducted by the Outer Banks Dementia Friendly Coalition.

The training helps staff identify individuals with dementia and helps foster a supportive environment for them and their caregivers. Employees watch a presentation about dementia, what to look for, and how to respond. They also participate in different role play scenarios.

All six TowneBank offices in northeastern North Carolina — Duck, Southern Shores, Nags Head, Grandy, Moyock, and Camden — went through training and are now certified Dementia Friendly. Dianne Denny, Anne Kelleher, and Jan Collins taught Towne employees at each location how to approach a person with dementia, diffuse a situation, and provide support to caregivers.

"Banks have a special role in assisting customers with dementia as individuals with dementia are more vulnerable to scams and other types of financial exploitation," says Jan, one of the cofounders of the Outer Banks Dementia Friendly Coalition. "In our area, TowneBank is known for its exquisite member service, where local bankers know members by name. Being aware of a member's spending habits can be very helpful in safeguarding the individual with dementia. Signs to look for can include frequent overdrafts, bounced checks, atypical math errors, sudden changes in spending that are either higher or lower each month, and large sums of money being withdrawn or transferred to another person."

The goal of the Coalition is to make the Outer Banks one of the first dementia friendly communities. "We are so grateful to Taylor Sugg for making the commitment to put TowneBank and all of its Northeastern North Carolina locations under our umbrella of Dementia Friendly," Jan says. "TowneBank's support also helped us with our first Caregiver's Day Out program. This event is held every Monday at the Kill Devil Hills Parks & Rec Center. Caregivers enjoy a few hours of respite and there is no charge for the program."

Last fall, the Outer Banks Dementia Friendly Coalition held its first Love to Remember Tennis Tournament to raise funds for their programs, including respite care for dementia patient caregivers, support groups, counseling, and educational outreach. TowneBank and Towne Insurance were honored to help sponsor the event. The next Love to Remember Tennis Tournament is scheduled for October 20-23, 2022.

The purple seahorse was selected since purple is the nationally designated color for Alzheimer's, and seahorse is translated from the Latin word "hippocampus," which is the portion of the brain that plays a major role in memory.

For more information about the Coalition and their training opportunities, visit OuterBanksDementiaFriendlyCoalition.com.

When Doug Sims decided to purchase C. E. Thurston & Sons from the previous owners, he knew it was a chance to lead a great company into the future. The company now has locations in Norfolk, Hampton, and Richmond. Doug has never been afraid to take a risk because he trusts his heart. He knows what he loves and where he's most comfortable spending his time and energy.

Doug has a passion for resurrecting businesses and a nostalgia for architecture. He is inspired by history and vacant buildings, and enjoys bringing entities back to life. He embraced the challenge of resurrecting two 100-year old companies because of their historical ties to the area. He feels it's important to keep these businesses running.

When the previous owners were looking to retire in 2010, Doug purchased C. E. Thurston & Sons, an industrial and marine insulation contractor. C. E. Thurston & Sons was founded in 1919. In 2012, the company relaunched their industrial distribution business, and they acquired Empire Machinery & Supply in 2014, in order to expand their distribution customer base. Empire Machinery & Supply was a well-established industrial distribution company based in Norfolk, Virginia, and founded in 1914. Today, its contracting and distribution divisions provide both insulation contracting and industrial products to industrial and ship repair customers throughout Virginia and Eastern North Carolina.

Doug attributes his business success to surrounding himself with people who are better than he is at what they do. He says assembling the right team, throughout the entire organization and not just management, is critical to turning a business around. To date, C. E. Thurston & Sons has 150 associates with an average tenure of 15 years.

In the community, the company is a member of the Virginia Ship Repair Association (VSRA) in Norfolk and Portsmouth. When residents of the community are in need of emergency relief during natural disasters, they donate supplies and volunteer.

When supply chain issues emerged during the Coronavirus pandemic, the company was fortunate because they are not solely dependent on external sources. With so much inventory stocked locally, and additional inventory purchased to sustain the contracting division, they were able to avoid major supply chain issues and customer order disruptions. Additionally, because of their experienced team of local associates, they were able to quickly locate alternative sources and offer them to their customers.

C. E. Thurston & Sons has been a TowneBank member since 2019. The company banked with another financial institution for 30 years, but when Charity Volman joined TowneBank to form the commercial division in Norfolk, they knew they had to join her. Doug says, "Charity, Laura Morgan, Sonya Boston, and Lisa Perkins, I've worked with all of them for may years, and I trust them. They told me how good Towne was and I trusted them. So we came right over, based on their word. They are a great team." Doug continues, "TowneBank proved the rest and proved them right. Towne reminds me of the old fashioned way of banking, with all the tools and resources needed in today's market, much like C. E. Thurston & Sons. It's truly been a breath of fresh air."

Doug says Charity and her team have supported the company from day one. He has business and personal accounts with the bank because everyone is reliable and responsive. When asked if he recommends TowneBank to others, "I do, I have, and I'll continue to do so." For more information, visit CEThurston.com.

Not having a place to call home is hard for anyone, but especially difficult when your organization's mission is to inspire and enable young people to realize their full potential. The Boys & Girls Clubs of the Albemarle (BGCA) in Elizabeth City has been on the move for more than a decade as they occupied one after another temporary site. Now the Club is moving to a large facility that will definitely make some dreams come true.

Elizabeth Mitchell serves as executive director of the Boys & Girls Clubs of the Albemarle. She oversees two clubs — one in Edenton and one in Elizabeth City. The Elizabeth City club is one of North Carolina's oldest, dating back to the 1930s. "We have certainly moved a lot — from the Pasquotank County Middle School to another temporary home, then to a strip mall which was less than ideal since we could only serve about 50 children there," Elizabeth explains.

Now the Club is moving into the former DDJ Family Fun Center, a 6,800 square foot building on a more than two-acre site that will be perfect for the hundreds of young people the BGCA serves. The former event center is filled with fun things for children to enjoy — skee-ball, arcade games, video games, pool tables, ping pong tables, and outdoor space with a basketball court, volleyball court, and more. "It also has a kitchen and that will allow us to serve dinner to the kids, something we haven't been able to do at the Elizabeth City Club," Elizabeth says. "That's huge because for many of the kids the meal they enjoy at the Club is the last one they will have until they go to school in the morning."

TowneBank helped the Boys & Girls Clubs of the Albemarle secure the building. "They worked with us so we got the building for an amazing price and then Towne made a very generous donation back to us," Elizabeth says. "Without Towne's help, we would never have been able to make this move to a new location that will have a tremendous impact on our kids."

BGCA provides a variety of programs that focus on academic success, character and leadership, and healthy lifestyles for young people ages six to 18. The Clubs in Elizabeth City and Edenton can use volunteer help especially with tutoring and homework help through their Power Hour program. And they rely on donations from businesses and individuals in the communities they serve so they can continue to offer programs to help young people.

"The kids are great," Elizabeth says. "Many of them live with a lot of uncertainty and chaos. The Club provides a consistent and constant presence in their lives where they can feel safe, have fun, and just be kids."

To find out more and to see how you can help, visit BGC-Albemarle.org.