DATE: Tuesday, September 16, 1997           TAG: 9709160287

SECTION: BUSINESS                PAGE: D2   EDITION: FINAL 

                                            LENGTH:   72 lines

LOCAL SCENE

VIRGINIA BEACH

FIVE JOIN THE TAF GROUP: C. Greg Morris was named an architect at The TAF Group, an architecture, engineering, surveying and design/build company. He was an education supervisor at ITT Educational Services. Scott Anthony Graver and Donald N. Jennings were named civil engineers. Graver was an engineer in training at Langley & McDonald in Virginia Beach. Jennings was a design engineer for Patton, Harris, Rust & Associates. Robert Ray Rooks Jr. was named construction project manager. He was vice president of design for Tidewater Inn Management for six years before joining the company. Valerie Kay Schmidt was named interior designer. She will create interior designs for commercial, educational, financial and health care projects. She was employed by Builders Design & Leasing Inc. in Gaithersburg, Md.

HAMPTON ROADS

GTE, 360 ANNOUNCE INITIATIVES: 360 Communications has begun offering bundled communications services including cellular, residential long distance and paging. Customers may receive reduced paging fees and reduced cellular and long-distance rates, the company said. ``They can pick and choose the services that suit their lifestyles best,'' said Greg Rabchuk, general manager of 360's Hampton Roads market. Meanwhile, GTE Network Services Wholesale Markets group, which offers third-party billing and collection for more than 70 carriers, said it is starting a program to improve customer service by those carriers. ``GTE is the interface with the end user, and customers look to GTE to resolve their problems,'' said Betty Plocharczyk of GTE.

NORFOLK

FOODBANK TO MOVE: The Foodbank of Southeastern Virginia has signed a contract to purchase a 75,000-square-foot building at 800 Tidewater Drive. The Foodbank has applied to the Industrial Development Authority of the city of Norfolk for $1.6 million of tax-exempt bonds to finance the acquisition and renovation of the facility. Upon completion in January, the Foodbank and its affiliated programs, Justine's Clothes Bank and SHARE Mid-Atlantic, will consolidate all of their operations at that one location. The Foodbank is currently located in the 2300 block of Granby St.

BUSINESS FAIR FOR START-UP AND SMALL BUSINESSES: Norfolk's Department of Development, Crestar Bank and other sponsors are hosting the Norfolk Enterprise Community Business Fair for start-up and existing small businesses on Sept. 18. The fair, held at the Norfolk Waterside Marriott Conference Center from 8:15 a.m. to 4:50 p.m., will offer seminars on creating and expanding businesses. Topics: getting a loan, preparing a business plan and financing sources. The cost is $10 and it's open to the general public. For information, call Katie Brown at 624-8650.

HAMPTON

BBB OPENS NEW OFFICE: The Better Business Bureau of Greater Hampton Roads has opened its new Peninsula office in Coliseum Mall. The bureau's office was in the Small Business Incubator in Hampton. The mall office will offer company reliability reports and general assistance to walk-in consumers. The office will be open from 9 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. Monday-Friday. Consumers may call 531-1300 from the Peninsula or 872-9140 from Williamsburg.

NEWPORT NEWS

MORGAN NAMED ASSISTANT CITY MANAGER: Newport News City Manager Ed Maroney has named Neil A. Morgan as his third assistant city manager. Morgan most recently served as assistant director of the city's department of planning and development.

VIRGINIA

MILLER BREWING TO BE SPONSOR FOR COLONIAL DOWNS: Miller Brewing Co. has a three-year agreement to become an official sponsor and exclusive beer sponsor for the Colonial Downs race track in New Kent. Miller's benefits include Miller Lite television advertisements within the facility and at Virginia off-track betting sites, track and facility signage, as well as Miller Lite signage and logos on programs and tip sheets. Specific terms of the agreement were not disclosed. ILLUSTRATION: Morris

Jennings

Rooks

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