Sandra J. Pennecke

Norfolk

Staff Writer at Inside Business

Staff Writer at The Virginian-Pilot

Featured in: Favicon

pilotonline.com Favicon

msn.com

yahoo.com (+3) Favicon

startribune.com Favicon

govtech.com Favicon

stripes.com Favicon

dailypress.com Favicon

richmond.com Favicon

americanmilitarynews.com Favicon

roanoke.com + 88 more

Articles

Peninsula legend David L. Peebles, former leader of Ferguson, dies

1 week ago | pilotonline.com | Sandra J. Pennecke

David L. Peebles, a legend in the plumbing, heating and industrial supply business who put Newport News-based Ferguson on the map, has died. Peebles served as the president of Ferguson from 1969 to 1989 and then chairman and CEO from 1989 to 1994. He was named the 2015 Daily Press Citizen of the Year in recognition of his work building the company into a billion-dollar distribution powerhouse. He died on Friday at 96 years old.
Acoustical Sheetmetal to add 350 jobs in $46 million Virginia Beach expansion

1 week ago | pilotonline.com | Sandra J. Pennecke

Acoustical Sheetmetal is expanding its footprint in Virginia Beach for the third time in six years. The company plans to invest $45.8 million to expand its operations in Innovation Park and add 350 jobs, Gov. Glenn Youngkin announced Friday. Founded in 1994, the company manufactures sound-reducing and weather-protective enclosures for on-site power generation equipment, mainly for the data center industry. It employs just under 500 people, including 182 at its Production Road facility.
USAA to open a new office in Chesapeake and double its workforce

1 week ago | pilotonline.com | Sandra J. Pennecke

USAA, a leading provider of insurance for more than 14 million military members, veterans and their families, will expand its presence in Hampton Roads. The Texas-based company, which dates back to 1922, announced Thursday that it has purchased an almost 200,000-square-foot building at 1341 Crossways Blvd. in the Greenbrier neighborhood of Chesapeake. The company would not disclose details of the transaction.
After 50 years of blazing a trail for women in real estate, a Hampton Roads magnate retires

2 weeks ago | pilotonline.com | Sandra J. Pennecke

Deborah Stearns’ desire to get involved in sales started as a preteen accompanying her mother on calls and helping her package Avon orders for delivery. “I credit her with my sales acumen,” Stearns said. While societal limitations on women in the 1970s almost thwarted that goal, an icon in the industry not only believed in her potential but gave her a chance. Her sheer drive, motivation and willingness to seek opportunities — even when she didn’t feel fully prepared for them — guided her way.
Developer wants to turn Regal Kiln Creek into Newport News housing

2 weeks ago | pilotonline.com | Sandra J. Pennecke

Real estate developer Brad Waitzer knows the dire need for more housing in Hampton Roads. The president of Virginia Beach-based Signature Management Corporation has developed more than 8,000 housing units over the course of his 37-year career. And now he has his eye on the Regal Cinema building and surrounding property at 100 Regal Way in the Kiln Creek area of Newport News. “It was actively marketed for redevelopment by the owners,” Waitzer said.
New owner of Portsmouth events venue once went to school there

3 weeks ago | pilotonline.com | Sandra J. Pennecke

Giovanni Donatelli used to walk the halls of Portsmouth Catholic High School as a young boy. Now, almost four decades later, Donatelli is the new owner of the renovated and renamed building, Cambridge Hall. An entrepreneur who moved to the U.S. in 1982, Donatelli is the founder and CEO of The Language Group, a Virginia Beach-based translation service company established in 1999. His company employs 70 fulltime employees and 600 linguists skilled in 225 languages.
2 beloved Hampton Roads radio veterans who died days apart remembered

3 weeks ago | pilotonline.com | Sandra J. Pennecke

Two beloved radio veterans heard on Hampton Roads airwaves for years have gone silent. Mark “McKay” Cunningham, 55, died after a battle with leukemia on May 25, just a couple days before Robert “Jeff” Moreau, 67, died on May 27. Listeners knew Cunningham as Mark McKay, who spent close to 20 years — from 1999 to 2019 — hosting both morning and afternoon shows as a DJ, music director and assistant program director for Max Media’s 97.3 The Eagle. He rose to program director in 2012.
Hampton Roads real estate agents to host TV show segments

3 weeks ago | pilotonline.com | Sandra J. Pennecke

When Tiffany Lolonda Thomas works to sell a house in Hampton Roads, she also highlights the community. “Houses are everywhere, but we don’t talk about the hearts of the people that are really in those communities doing extraordinary things,” she said. Thomas, a real estate agent since 2016, was selected to appear as one of the hosts of The American Dream TV network’s newest “Selling Virginia” episodes. Her first segment will air on June 14.
Newport News Shipbuilding furloughs 471 salaried employees

4 weeks ago | pilotonline.com | Sandra J. Pennecke

Newport News Shipbuilding has furloughed more than 400 employees. In a statement provided to The Virginian-Pilot and Daily Press by Todd Corillo, a Huntington Ingalls Industries spokesperson, the company said that after careful review of its salaried workforce and business needs, it furloughed 471 salaried shipbuilders across HII’s Newport News Shipbuilding division. “This decision was not made lightly given its impact on affected team members,” the statement said.
Virginia Natural Gas breaks ground for $50 million operations headquarters in Chesapeake

1 month ago | pilotonline.com | Sandra J. Pennecke

Virginia Natural Gas is building a new $50 million operations headquarters in Chesapeake. The project features 39,000 square feet of office space and a 30,000-square-foot warehouse. Roughly 150 employees — from the company’s Virginia Beach and Chesapeake locations — will work at the new facility situated on almost 30 acres on Clearfield Avenue. The company held a groundbreaking ceremony on Tuesday at the southern Greenbrier site just north of Great Bridge.