THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Monday, October 30, 1995 TAG: 9510280212
SECTION: BUSINESS WEEKLY PAGE: 04 EDITION: FINAL
TYPE: TALK OF THE TOWN
LENGTH: Long : 119 lines
Barbara P. Jump was more than a little pleased when she saw the request for proposal sent out by Newport News Shipbuilding.
The staid old Peninsula yard was searching for an ad agency to provide creative and production services. Jump submitted a bid.
``They asked me, `How would you announce these changes and these plans we have at the shipyard?' I told them what I'd do,'' Jump said. ``I won the bid. I was surprised.''
Jump is president of the ad agency B Creative Inc.
She's the chief creative director, phone answerer, floor sweeper, pencil sharpener and, when the kids get sick, head nurse. She runs the solo operation from her Norfolk home with a Rolodex for office companionship. A Rolodex?
The spindle that holds business cards? That's right
She thumbs through the note cards searching for other solo performers she signs for assistance on projects.
``Rolodex businesses like mine are becoming more common,'' Jump said. ``Over the years you get to know people.
``Most of them have been with ad agencies and they've been disillusioned by the politics and the backstabbing and they've left to go out on their own.''
Calling Gov. Allen: If life were fair, this would be Tidewater's turn, but apparently we're left out of Virginia's latest foray into the world of computer chip manufacturing.
Richmond landed the first big plum this year when Motorola Inc. said it will build a $3 billion plant employing 5,000 for the fabrication of computer chips.
Then IBM Corp. and Toshiba Corp. announced plans for a $1 billion advanced computer chip plant in Manassas.
Just as crews began to clear the Motorola site on the west edge of metro Richmond last week, reports surfaced of another massive venture.
Motorola and Siemens AG together intend to construct a $1.5 billion computer chip plant on some undisclosed site in the United States.
What captivated Virginia was a separate article originating in the Richmond Times-Dispatch. Quoting sources it refused to identify, the newspaper reported Virginia state officials were working hard to attract a $1.5 billion manufacturing complex.
No one the Times-Dispatch quoted identified the mystery plant as the Motorola-Siemens venture, but the two reports seemed like more than random happenings.
One source told the newspaper the mystery venture would be like the west Richmond Motorola complex, only built east of the city.
What was troubling about the Times-Dispatch report, troubling from the standpoint of Tidewater, was that state officials appeared to be pushing the Richmond area. You have to wonder why.
When it comes to technicians and engineers capable of staffing a high tech plant, Hampton Roads' workforce surpasses Richmond's.
W&M Tech: ``A year ago, the state never thought about the impact William and Mary could have on economic development,'' said Stewart Gamage, vice president for university relations at the College of William and Mary in Williamsburg. ``Now, simply put, we've become a player.''
W&M, Old Dominion University in Norfolk and Christopher Newport University in Newport News hope to fashion the Hampton Roads Technology Crescent. W&M's share includes 50 acres in the Oyster Point district of Newport News near the CEBAF federal physics lab.
The college markets the site as an advanced technology park, and also works with private business. Solarex Corp., maker of thin film photo cells, recently was lured to James City County in part through W&M's promise of research and training.
``It's a whole new relationship between the public and the private sector,'' said W&M economic development director Ted Zoller. ``No one can afford to go it alone anymore.''
Car Czar: Quite a few car dealers do business in Virginia. At least count there were about 5,000. So when the General Assembly last session decided to regulate the industry, a lot of folks wondered, who'll be the Car Czar.
Well, the first director of the new Motor Vehicle Dealer Board is Daniel B. Wilkins, former chief financial officer and director of Pearson Cos. Inc., one of the state's largest car dealers.
``Who's better able to manage car dealers and talk their language than someone who has been in the industry?'' Wilkins said.
Hampton Road happenings: Farmer Jack supermarket marked its 1 millionth customer in the Newtown Baker Crossing Shopping Center in Virginia Beach. The store was opened in October '94 as a new marketing concept by A&P....
Sweet City International Inc., a Virginia Beach-based franchiser, said its freestanding candy dispensers have been installed in several southeast Virginia Video Express stores. The dispensers are part of the company's Sweet City Express line....
Best Corporate Pumpkin is the name of a seasonal event scheduled in conjunction with the United Way in Selden Arcade in downtown Norfolk.
NASA ambitions: NASA Langley Research Center in Hampton hopes the annual tech fair it had a week ago hatches something far more ambitious - a technical center open to every company in Hampton Roads. It envisions an independent center that would serve as a clearinghouse for information technology. Companies would provide information to the center and turn to it for help.
``We are here because of the American taxpayer,'' said Gretchen Gottlich, head of NASA's World Wide Web team. ``We are making it easy for the American taxpayer to do business with us.''
College health: Norfolk State University renewed its contract with Norfolk Community Hospital to provide health services to the school's 8,700 students. The original contract went in place in 1983.
``This contract is a classic example of the beneficial use of private contractors,'' said Clementine Cone, Norfolk State vice president for finance and business. ``The students receive improved services for less than it would cost the university ti provide these services.''
Community Hospital, founded in 1915, is said to be one of only six hospitals in the nation owned and operated by minorities.
ValuJet boom: Travelers are driving to Newport News to board airliners. Passenger traffic has declined at Norfolk International Airport and Richmond International Airport. Officials blame the end of Continental Airlines' low fares.
Passenger volume increased 16 percent in September at Newport News/Williamsburg International Airport, where discount carrier ValuJet Airlines has begun service.
Meanwhile, the Capital Region Airport Commission plans to sell $51 million in revenue bonds to pay for improvements at Richmond International. About $27 million will pay for a parking garage under construction. It will be the airport's first covered parking garage. by CNB