Roanoke County is proud to have been recognized as one of CNN Money's top 10 places for jobs and among the top 100 places to live.

9. Roanoke County, Va.

Towns include: Cave Spring
Best Places to Live rank: 89
Unemployment rate: 5.6%

Don't underestimate this popular retirement community nestled in the Blue Ridge Mountains. Thanks to the Carilion Health Clinic, a number of nursing facilities and a large hospital, job opportunities are thriving.

"It doesn't matter if it's a boom or bust time," said economic development specialist Joe Zielinski. "People come here for the jobs."

Even outside the health care arena, banking, defense contractors and insurance companies provide thousands of additional jobs for working families. Some of the area's top employers include Wachovia, Allstate Insurance and ITT Night Vision.

Source: CNNMoney On-Line

www.cnnmoney.com

On January 13th, Synchrony received $10 million in venture capital from Third Security LLC in Radford. The company develops and delivers world-class products that maximize the ROI, energy savings, and environmental benefit of its customers’ machines in industrial and defense applications. Since 2006, $25 million has been awarded to Synchrony from Third Security and NewVa Capital Partners. This news augmented a November announcement about a $16 million dollar contract in sales with McQuay International in Minnesota.

Synchrony also has a new website which includes a blog by its founder, Dr. Victor Iannello, who recently authored an op-ed article in IndustryWeek that was published on January 13 and was followed by a feature article in The Roanoke Times on the 15th. In addition, The New York Times published an article on Synchrony and Fusion® magnetic bearings the first week of January. This good news was preceded by Dr. Iannello being named a SuperExec in the FRONTList 2009 for Valley Business Front in November 2009.

Congratulations to Victor Iannello and his colleagues!

www.synchrony.com

After 26 years at the helm of Precision Fabrics Group in Vinton, Ali Khan actually embraced the “R” word. Well almost, although his official “retirement” as Plant Manager was October 1, 2009, he will still be involved on a consultant basis with the plant in 2010.

What did Ali Khan do to keep the only textile mill in Roanoke County competitive and located in Vinton into the 21st century? He did his homework and diversified the plants’ products. The PFG plant transformed from a typewriter ribbon manufacturer to a performance materials manufacturer. Performance materials are used by engineers in clean rooms, doctors and surgical staff in the O.R., by the aviation industry in aircraft design and in the uniforms of our troops. Ali is one of those rare individuals who has the vision and knows how to use this ability in dealing with bricks and mortar, human resources and technology. He is a change agent who understands the altering nature of his industry. PFG’s Vinton Plant specializes in weaving some of the most technically challenging fine-denier fabrics in the world.

Ali is passionate about what he does and the people with whom he works. A pet project of his was incorporating recycling projects to protect the environment and save money. This passion has also resulted in the company planting 1,100 hardwood trees in 2007 on the front lawn to help improve water quality in Tinker Creek. In the past decade, PFG underwent an “internal expansion” that did not require bricks and mortar but created space for new high tech looms that significantly reduced the use of water causing the plant to be labeled as a state of the art shuttleless weaving facility. To tour the plant with Ali would show his involvement with his employees. He would call each employee by name or nod as he passed in the high decibel weaving area. If time allowed, he stopped for a few personal words, questions about the job or the employee’s family. Ali Khan is an incredibly talented, hard working gentleman with a vision and we are grateful for his leadership at Precision Fabrics Group and in our community.

Thank you, Ali, for making a difference.

www.precisionfabrics.com

Neely's Accounting Services was founded in 1983 for tax preparation. In 2003, owner Chuck Neely left his corporate job and began to grow his accounting firm. The Roanoke Office is located on 5524 Williamson Road.

(L to R) Christopher Lawrence, Vinton Town Manager; Sabrina Weeks, President, Vinton Chamber of Commerce; Todd Creasy, Office Manager, Neely's Vinton Branch; Cheryl Neely, Owner's Wife, Neely's Accounting Services, Inc.; Chuck Neely, CPA, President, Neely's Accounting Services, Inc.; Shannon Hester, Administrative Assistant, Neely's Vinton Branch; Brad Grose, Mayor, Town of Vinton; Kathleen Ledger, CPA, Neely's Accounting Services, Inc.; and Susan Adams, Office Manager, Neely's Roanoke Main Office.

On Thursday, January 28th, Chuck expanded his business and opened the Vinton branch at 1028 Washington Avenue with a ribbon cutting ceremony and open house. Chuck Neely is President of the firm and Todd Creasy serves as Office Manager with Administrative Assistant Shannon Hester. The new phone number is 343-2767.

(L to R) Shannon Hester, Administrative Assistant, Neely's Vinton Branch; Todd Creasy, Office Manager, Neely's Vinton Branch; Chuck Neely, CPA, President, Neely's Accounting Services, Inc.; Melinda Cox, Existing Business Manager, Roanoke County; Brad Grose, Mayor, Town of Vinton.

www.neelysaccounting.biz

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