CHAPTER NEWS

Altria Client Services provides Altria Group and its companies with high-quality services in a financially disciplined way. These areas include: Compliance ● Consumer & Market Insights ● Finance ● Investor Relations & Communications ● Government Affairs ● Human Resources ● Information Technology ● Legal ● Procurement ● Regulatory Affairs

We Are Your Opportunity Advisors

Keiter is a team of experienced accountants and advisors with the knowledge to identify opportunities and the commitment to see them through. We understand that you depend on us to identify, communicate and help shape the financial decisions that determine the success of your business. Whether performing an audit, preparing a tax return or developing a business plan for a start-up, we are always focused on providing fresh insights and creating new opportunities to help your business grow. Since forming in 1978, we have become one of the largest accounting and consulting firms in Virginia. We see our success as a testament not only to our knowledge and experience, but also to the strong relationships we build with our clients.

Knowledge

Each member of our team has the knowledge and perspective to look at every situation from all angles — bringing greater insights to all of your financial needs. Our innovative approach is to anticipate, not just react to, financial issues and to use constructive planning to recommend the most effective solutions. Keeping up-to date with current financial issues is one of our top priorities, and we maintain extensive resources to provide you with quick, effective answers and solutions.

Experience

At Keiter, we are proud of the integrity and experience of our client service teams. Before bringing their expertise to our Firm, many of our partners and staff have worked with the nation’s top accounting and consulting firms – and several have been recognized at national, state and local levels for their expertise in their specialty service areas. Industry peers and business associations have also awarded us with distinctive designations for our integrity and technical expertise. This extensive experience allows us to provide the insights needed to help you grow your business.

Relationships

From the beginning, the foundation of our success was built on the success of our clients. And today, we are still committed to looking for opportunities to make you and your business a success. We are here to help you with all financial decisions throughout the life cycle of your business — from start-up issues to merger and acquisition preparation or succession planning. Most importantly, we take the time to truly learn about you and your organization. To be effective, we approach your business as a unique entity, enabling us to identify strategies that work for how you run your business today and where you want it to go tomorrow.

Keiter’s team consists of 20 partners and over 130 employees, making us the largest independent CPA firm in Richmond.

Mission

Deliver outstanding client service, provide rewarding careers, and support our communities.

Why Keiter?

Are you ready to uncover new financial opportunities? Contact us to discuss how our insights and services can help you shape the success of your business.

The Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond is one of twelve reserve banks across the United States that, along with the Board of Governors in Washington, D.C., forms the Federal Reserve System. The Richmond Fed, as part of the nation’s central bank, helps formulate monetary policy, supervises and regulates banks, and assists with the operation of the nation’s financial and payments systems to maintain the overall stability of the financial system.

The Fifth Federal Reserve District serves Virginia, Maryland, the District of Columbia, North Carolina, South Carolina, and most of West Virginia. The Richmond Fed opened in 1914 and has branch offices in Baltimore, Maryland, and Charlotte, North Carolina.

For more information, please visit the Bank’s website at http://www.richmondfed.org.

Marsh McLennan Agency (MMA) provides business insurance, employee health & benefits, retirement, and private client insurance solutions to organizations and individuals seeking limitless possibilities.

Small and midsize public and private organizations rely on trusted advisors to help them prepare for a future that’s truly limitless.  Through MMA, we deliver the resources of a large firm with the local ency attention, advice, solutions, and programs that these organizations expect.

A wholly-owned subsidiary of Marsh, MMA has access to broad resources and solutions across all of the businesses under the Marsh McLennan banner.

Through the strength of our local teams, geographic reach, and world-class services, MMA provides you with business insurance, employee health & benefits, retirement, and private client insurance solutions to help you attain your goals.

MMA is currently the ninth-largest insurance broker in the US with annualized revenues of approximately $2 billion.

Specializing in performance management and organizational development, Dr. Heather Williamson proudly heads Transformation Group, LLC, a leading growth and performance firm. For the past two years, she and her team have worked with a diverse array of clients across multiple industries in an effort to provide the highest quality executive coaching, strategic planning, business planning, managerial and sales development, and team leadership strategies. Dr. Williamson, who has worked in the business sector for an excess of 17 years, is a recognized expert in the development of communication and interpersonal skills, as well as employee and leadership enhancement. Her past experience includes sales and management positions for a Fortune 50 company and a directorial position for an educational institution, where she oversaw a $2 million federal grant.

Assisting businesses to reorganize and break out of problematic patterns requires serious out-of-the-box thinking. Dr. Williamson’s approach to leadership and business development is unique in that she utilizes a non-traditional approach to work through problems and enhance the hidden potential in each client. For her professional efforts, Dr. Williamson has been distinguished with a number of prestigious awards. She is an active public speaker and has presented lectures regarding achievement motivation, subordinate leadership satisfaction, organizational trust and personality traits. Additionally, she co-authored a chapter on personality and crime and evaluated programs for Richmond City and the State of Virginia.

Dr. Williamson earned her Ph.D. from Virginia Commonwealth University in 2007. She holds a master of science in psychology and a bachelor of science in psychology from the same institution. Dr. Williamson has been active in many associations including the Powhatan Chamber of Commerce, the Western Chesterfield Business Alliance, the Greater Richmond Chamber of Commerce, the Retail Merchants Association and Executive Women International.

Responding to the recommendation of a legislative study committee that “every citizen of the Commonwealth be given an opportunity to attend an institution of higher learning offering academic, occupational/ technical, and community service programs at a nominal cost,” in 1966 the General Assembly of Virginia established a state-wide system of community colleges. A newly established State Board for Community Colleges prepared a master plan for a system of 23 institutions. The Lieutenant Governor, J. Sargeant Reynolds, heralded the creation of the community college system by the General Assembly as “one of its finest acts and finest hours in this century.”

Reynolds Community College, the last of these colleges, is named in honor of the late Lieutenant Governor of the State, who championed legislation creating the state-supported community colleges. Opened in 1972 in temporary headquarters, the college is now a three-campus (Parham Road, Downtown, Goochland) institution and the third largest in the Virginia Community College System, serving the City of Richmond and the counties of Goochland, Hanover, Henrico, Powhatan, and Louisa.

From its inception, the college has recognized its strategic role in the metropolitan Richmond area’s economic development. In 1977 the college established its nationally recognized Center for Office Development, a statewide pilot project with the Virginia Community College System and State of Virginia, to provide training in office and supervisory skills for employees of the Commonwealth. Within several years the Center opened this training opportunity to all individuals and businesses. By spring 1989, the college offered short-term training and seminars at three strategic locations in the metropolitan Richmond area.

Demand for these services from the business community continued to escalate. As a result, the college reorganized its outreach efforts in 1994 by creating the Institute for Economic Development & Extended Studies. In response to the evolving needs of the business community, the unit reorganized in the fall of 2000, changing its name to the Institute for Workforce Development. The Institute was comprised of six Centers including the Center for Corporate Training, the Center for Organizational Effectiveness, the Center for Lifelong Learning, the Center for Apprenticeship Programs, the Center for Entrepreneurial Development, and the Center for Professional Development and Renewal.

Reynolds Community College and John Tyler Community College collaborated in 2003 to create a new workforce development entity that provides business, industry and government in the region with a single source for workforce development. The new organization is named the Community College Workforce Alliance (CCWA). The alliance is a cooperative partnership dedicated to supporting economic development and providing world-class workforce training and services to both the public and private sectors. The vision behind the new organization is to maximize the talents and resources of both institutions’ current workforce development centers in an effort to provide Richmond, Tri-cities and surrounding counties with a world-class regional workforce development organization.

The college currently offers two-year occupational/technical programs, transfer programs and career studies certificate programs requiring less than one-year of full-time study. Having enrolled more than 310,000 persons in credit courses since its opening, Reynolds Community College continues to strive to meet the aspirations of its namesake to provide “a practical and economic answer to the future educational needs of thousands of …Virginians.”

Universal Corporation, headquartered in Richmond, Virginia, was founded in 1918. Universal, through its subsidiaries and affiliates, is the world’s leading leaf tobacco merchant and processor. The largest portion of the company’s business involves the procurement, processing, packing, and supply of flue-cured and burley leaf tobacco to manufacturers of consumer tobacco products. Universal conducts its business in more than 30 countries and employs over 28,000 permanent and seasonal workers.

Virginia Credit Union Inc. operates as a credit union. The company offers financial services such as affordable banking services, lower fees and tips on how to avoid fees altogether, college scholarships, and free memberships. The company offers online services such as home banking, eStatement, bill payer services. Virginia Credit Union also offers checking & savings of accounts, electronic loan applications, issuing of credit cards, car loan, mortgage, insurance, and asset protection services. The company was founded in 1928 and is based in Richmond, Virginia.