Virginia Business Awards 2022

VIRGINIA BUSINESS New World Repor t 2022 Awards Central Site and Utilities: Utilities Contractor of the Year 2022 www.thenewworldreport.com

2 | Virginia Business Awards 2022 About Virginia Business Awards 2022 New World Report is proudly hosting its first ever Virginia Business Awards. Virginia’s diverse economy has transformed to develop a robust array of businesses, including varied products and services. The past year has shown incredible advancements with the state now ranking 7th for its overall achievements across all sectors. The winners are considered based on a varied criteria which includes factors such as business performance, longevity, business growth, significant innovations and feedback from stakeholders, clients and/or customers. Sif Brookes, Senior Editor Website: www.thenewworldreport.com AI Global Media, Ltd. (AI) takes reasonable measures to ensure the quality of the information on this web site. However, AI will not assume any legal liability or responsibility for the accuracy, correctness or completeness of any information that is available through this web site. If errors are brought to our attention, we will try to correct them. The information available through the website and our partner publications is for your general information and use and is not intended to address any particular finance or investment requirements. In particular, the information does not constitute any form of advice or recommendation by us or any of our partner publications and is not intended to be relied upon by users in making or refraining frommaking any investment or financial decisions. Appropriate independent advice should be obtained before making any such decision. Any arrangement made between you and any third party named in the site is at your sole risk and responsibility.

Virginia Business Awards 2022 | 3 4. Central Site and Utilities: Utilities Contractor of the Year 2022 6. Solo Esthetics and Skin Spa: Best Spa 2022 - Northern Virginia & Customer Service Excellence Award 2022 7. MOR-hemp: Industrial Hemp Producer of the Year 2022 & Family-Owned Agribusiness of the Year 2022 8. Canatal Steel USA, Inc: Best High-Rise Structural Steel Engineering Company 2022 9. Bristol Casino - Future Home of Hard Rock’ Opens Doors to the Public Contents

4 | Virginia Business Awards 2022 Having faced adversity, embraced possibility, and grown exponentially, Central Site and Utilities is slowly becoming one of the most trusted providers of underground utility products and installations in the state of Virginia. Doing this by way of cultivating an exemplary team of professional minds, working on time and within budget, and operating with the strictest level of quality control at every stage of the process, it is leading its region towards a more clientfocused way of conducting underground utilities work, and increasingly excited for the bright future that lies ahead. ounded in March of 2016, Central Site and Utilities started from the ground up in order to create something wholly unique in underground utility product provision. Starting without money, equipment, or employees, it had to make it work through grit, tenacity, and pure drive, all of which remain driving forces of the company to this day. Nominally, this has been made possible by the company’s president, pioneer, and leading mind, Jacob Martin, a professional who has grown the company from himself and one other to a team of 25 uncompromising experts, all of which take their duty of care towards clients with the utmost seriousness. From its first client – C.T. Purcell and its Henrico Country public utilities project that included the installation of sanitary sewer laterals – to its most recent, it has dedicated itself to providing them with the best range and quality of underground utilities solutions on the market. Moreover, providing clients with the most impeccable service goes hand in hand with providing its employees with a safe and respectful place to work that puts their needs at the fore. After all, in order to have happy clients, one must first ensure that the team behind your company is enthusiastic, confident, and raring to go, and CSU ensures this through regular check-ins, great communication, and a in-depth respect for them as professionals. Referring to it as an underground specialist, its clients expect the utmost diligence from CSU and for good reason. Building strong, lasting, and empathy-based relationships with its clients from the very first day of working with them, it has cultivated bonds of trust between it and its market segment at every turn, and ensured that all of its clients wish to come back to it time and again in order to partake in its well-realised and incredibly thorough work. Comprehensive, holistic, and passionate, it takes pride in the work that it does and allows the client to partake in this, turning the underground utilities project in question into a true passion project shared between CSU and its customer. Additionally, being a DBE / MBE contractor, it can perform under the strictest of specifications and rulings, keeping everything on time and within budget down on a reliable basis. This has given it a proven reputation for being highly dependable, as it knows its abilities, contractors, and processes well enough to give consistently accurate estimates to a client before the process of building even begins, abiding by even the most aggressive schedules put forward by a client. With all of this in mind, it is easy to see how the work ethic of CSU and its team has become one of its key selling points. Failure, to CSU, is unacceptable. To this end, it and its team will always go above and beyond to ensure that a project succeeds and is good enough to reflect the standards connoted by being part of the CSU portfolio, striving to maintain a friendly working environment through all of this in order to May22467 Utilities Contractor of the Year 2022 F

Utilities Contractor of the Year 2022 ensure that its exemplary staff can always be operating at the tops of their games. CSU’s staff each have been given all the tools, opportunities, and resources they might need in order to be successful both in work and in work-life balance as a result, all fuelled by the founder’s belief that the company can only ever be as strong as its weakest link. Of course, as far as CSU are concerned the team has no weakest link, instead being made up of some of the strongest minds and most forthcoming players in the world of underground utilities. Its culture is amongst its highest priorities in this regard, with a friendly working environment being one of its most foremost concerns, and the welcome into this environment being a universally friendly one to any new recruits. By operating in this manner, it ensures that any client who walks through its doors can instantly get a feel for the communicative, respectful, and mutually beneficial relationship that the staff have between each other. Thusly, it finds it very rarely must advertise for new employees. Indeed, its friendly and sophisticated working environment is very often a draw in and of itself, one that its current employees are keen to share with their fellow peers when opportunities crop up, filling any going positions quickly and with people who share its ethos of quality and respect. Having faced a wide variety of challenges throughout its lifetime – given that working in Virginia comes hand in hand with working amongst an array of different elements of competition – it has enjoyed being based in the region greatly, taking advantage of its robust economy and business opportunities. It hopes it can help many more clients see the benefit to chartering its underground utilities work in the region in the future, and is pleased to announce that it only sees the affirmative in its future, slowly becoming the best and most trusted contractor in the state. Extending his own personal thanks towards the myriad people who have made CSU’s growth and expansion possible over time, Jacob Martin wishes to make it clear that the development of CSU will not be stopping anytime soon. In fact, it is determined never to rest on its laurels, showing appreciation for the peers, stakeholders, and clients who helped it across the rocky threshold of starting up a company to establish it as the established company it is today by way of continual innovation. In short: watch this space. Company: Central Site and Utilities Contact: Jacob Martin Website: jake@centralsiteinc.com

6 | Virginia Business Awards 2022 Skin ailments can have a crippling impact on self-esteem. Henceforth, estheticians and skin spas, such as Solo Esthetics and Skin Spa, hold an important place within society. Not only does Solo Esthetics and Skin Spa change people’s skin, but it also changes people’s lives! ooking your best most certainly is entwined with feeling your best. In 2022, there are many ways to give your skin that extra boost, be it makeup, an effective skincare routine, or through esthetic treatments. As such, in recent years, the esthetics world has entered a new light. The industry and its treatments have become more accepted and accessible – henceforth, it is important to visit a practitioner that is qualified and trustworthy. One such business is Solo Esthetics and Skin Spa. Established in April 2021, the fledgling business boasts all the hallmarks of a safe and friendly esthetics company, so much so that it could be mistaken for a business that has been in the industry for much longer. It is simply that good. Indeed, the company specialises in an array of treatments ranging from laser hair removal to Botox, and it fulfils each one with the utmost of care. The company’s goal is to provide its clients with genuine knowledge and, in turn, the finest treatments available in the beauty industry. It truly values every client that passes through its doors. Every client is unique, and therefore, Solo Esthetics and Skin Spa takes the time to establish an understanding of their needs. It approaches them as an individual, avoiding the ‘one size fits all’ solutions that many of its industry companions push onto their clients. In essence, Solo Esthetics and Skin Spa embodies its mantra, ‘a client might forget what you said, they might forget what you did, but they will never forget how you made them feel.’ The company is all about the experience. Olga Solovienko, the company’s founder, is entirely dedicated to her role. She is not only passionate, but also compassionate, boasting a true understanding of the skin issues her clients are facing. Furthermore, Olga changes lives – a fact that she believes subverts the expectations of the general public – and drives people towards achieving their goals. Her first-hand experience with skin issues has pushed her to become the best possible leader and esthetician that she can be. Each of these elements have culminated in an abundance of five-star reviews. The company’s Google page is heaving with positive comments and praise for its services. For example, one customer testifies, ‘Olga is a miracle worker and really knows her stuff! I learned so much about my skin and how to properly treat it. I haven’t had confidence in my skin in YEARS, been dealing with breakouts and uneven/inflamed skin, but already with 3 treatment sessions with her and following the skin care regime she prescribed has led to amazing results. I can actually confidently go out in public without feeling like I need to have a layer of foundation and concealer, I finally have my nice skin back!’ Throughout 2022, Solo Esthetics and Skin Spa will be focusing on continuing this trend. The company endeavours to welcome more and more clients into its clinic and vows to provide them with the industry’s leading treatments. Contact: Olga Solovienko Company: Solo Esthetics and Skin Spa Web Address: https://www.soloestheticsandskinspa.com/ May22468 Best Spa 2022 - Northern Virginia & Customer Service Excellence Award 2022 L

7 | Virginia Business Awards 2022 Jun22067 Industrial Hemp Producer of the Year 2022 & Family-Owned Agribusiness of the Year 2022 MOR-hemp is a small, women-, and minority-owned business with roots in Halifax County, VA. It is a company that deeply values its customers, community, hard work, innovation and sustainability, and it strives to empower its community by innovating and expanding its practices to enable the building of meaningful, balanced lives. With community involvement to support its vision, MOR-hemp is able to reach its highest potential. OR-hemp is a company 100 years in the making, with the Morton family’s history stretching back many generations. It all began in 1906 when the Morton family’s ancestors purchased land as sharecroppers in Halifax, VA. This land, bursting with memories and heritage, was the family’s steppingstone into the farming industry. A century later, MOR-hemp was founded in 2019, honouring the Morton family’s legacy of farming, and it started its journey of growing industrial hemp. The mission is to pioneer a company that utilises innovative agricultural approaches with industrial hemp to create premium products and services. It dares to leave elephant-sized footprints in order to make the world a better place. And elephants are a theme for MOR-hemp, featuring in the company logo and paying homage to the current owners’ and siblings’ mother, Mary Morton. The elephant has been a longstanding symbol in the Morton family, a reminder of everything that MOR-hemp represents. It is a symbol of strength and power, and is praised for its size, longevity, stamina, mental faculties, cooperative spirit, and loyalty. There couldn’t be a better symbol to reflect the Morton family’s history and promising future. Family is truly an important aspect to MOR-hemp; it treats its staff and customers just like family, and everyone’s voices and opinions are always being heard. Beyond this, its customers and partners benefit from its vast network of expertise, brands, products, premier services, and experience. Its cultivation, processing, and distribution are unparalleled by practicing sustainable organic and environmentally friendly solutions. Most importantly, the company strives to expand, rejuvenate, and bring economic growth for local job markets to Southern Virginia. The reason for MOR-hemp’s awards success is indeed evident, with the company’s President and COO stating, “The driving factors behind our success in the Virginia Business Awards are that we believe in our products and company. Also that we aren’t afraid of innovation.” Continuously striving to innovate new products and cultivate the Morton family heritage, MOR-hemp established Tusk in 2020 to create Virginia’s first hemp infused vodka and rum, in a partnership with Edwin Wright, master distiller of Whiskey Wright Distillery. Now, the future is looking very bright for MOR-hemp, with its plans being to grow the business and expand nationally. It will also be looking to expand Tusk’s vodka and rum spirit types, giving plenty of variety to choose from. All of this will be done while ensuring the family’s legacy and rich history live on for generations to come. Company: MOR-hemp Contact: Stephon Morton Email: stephon.morton@mor-hemp.com Website: www.mor-hemp.com M

Virginia Business Awards 2022 | 8 The production of bigger and better buildings than ever before depends on specialists in the field who can make dreams come true. Few companies know this better than the team behind Canatal Steel USA. In New World Report’s Virginia Business Awards 2022, the team achieved astonishing success. We take a closer look to see how they laid the foundations for such a series of amazing achievements. ith quality, reliability and agility at the core of Canatal Steel USA, it’s little wonder that the team has been able to achieve such breath-taking success over the last twelve years. The business has grown from humble beginnings, renting 20% of a building and employing 14 people, into a phenomenon which has seen the firm own the 175,000 square feet building and providing opportunities for 150 hardworking employees. Based in Roanoke, Virginia, the business really does represent the best of what the region has to offer. The team understand the challenges inherent in any construction, and have built scheduling and sequencing into the heart of what is on offer. Any delays at any point in the construction process can have a significant impact on the rest of a project, so the team at Canatal Steel USA remain as flexible as possible in order to provide ways of offsetting any delay. The team aim to deliver on time and exceed the high expectations placed upon them. A quick turnaround is the order of the day when it comes to what the team deliver, meaning that the thought process is one which is solution-oriented at all times, building on the proactive and agile nature that every staff member embodies. Customer needs can alter quickly, and adapting to these needs professionally and quickly is what separates Canatal Steel USA from the competition. Achieving this flexibility has not been easy for the team, but they are proud that any aspect of steel construction and delivery can be achieved in house. The team’s turnkey attitude means that projects of any complexity can be completed swiftly and comprehensively. Many of the team’s incredible project managers are accomplished engineers themselves, bringing an expert eye to proceedings. It’s clear that staff are an essential part of the success of Canatal Steel USA, and the firm’s new plant manager, Stéphane Vadeboncoeur, has done much to streamline the various processes involved in producing the high-quality steel that is the lifeblood of the firm. Since his employment two years ago, Stéphane has seen the plant adopt a leaner approach, leveraging the benefits of up-to-date equipment in order to provide the stunning steel parts which buildings depend upon. The challenge faced by the Canatal Steel USA team is not finding new clients to take on, but meeting the demand already there. Staffing, particularly when it comes to qualified welders and fitters, is not easy to find. This bottleneck in the system not only limits the team’s ability to ramp up production, but has held them back from responding to present orders as well. Canatal Steel USA is a part of the larger “Les Industries Canatal” organisation, based in Quebec, Canada. Overall, the group can count over 600 people in its employ. Being part of this larger organisation has opened the door to new and exciting opportunities for the team, allowing them to thrive. The drive to achieve perfection and to satisfy even the most complicated needs of customers is what unites the firm together in such harmony. Steel manufacture is an essential part of the construction industry, and one where only the highest standards will do. As the firm continues to explore ways of expanding their services, we celebrate their current achievements. As the obvious supplier of choice for so many, we can’t wait to see what they do next! Company: Canatal Steel USA, Inc. Name: Stéphane Vadeboncoeur Email: svadeboncoeur@canatal.net May22529 Best High-Rise Structural Steel Engineering Company 2022 W

9 | Virginia Business Awards 2022 Jun22067 Bristol Casino - Future Home of Hard Rock’ Opens Doors to the Public n July 8, ‘Bristol Casino – Future Home of Hard Rock’ celebrated its grand opening with a ceremony featuring Hard Rock executives and partners, state and local officials, local community members and business and civic leaders to celebrate the newest economic driver in Bristol, VA. A traditional ribbon cutting commemorated the official opening of the Bristol casino, with the signature Hard Rock guitar smashing occurring when the permanent casino opens. As part of the ceremony, Bristol Casino presented a $100,000 donation to the United Way of Bristol TN/VA, from gaming proceeds generated at July 5 and 7 casino events. Bristol casino officially opens to the public at 2 p.m. ‘Bristol Casino – Future Home of Hard Rock,’ a temporary full-service casino, boasts 30,000 square feet of casino space, featuring 870 slots, 21 tables, a sportsbook and is open to the public 7-days-a-week, 24-hours-a day, with ample parking. The space includes a main casino floor as well as non-smoking and high limit gaming areas. Guests also are able to enjoy Mr. Lucky’s, a new restaurant, Brick’d, a brick oven pizza and grab and go food outlet, and Bristol Bar, a sports bar and lounge with live entertainment. Casino guests are able to enjoy the ‘Unity by Hard Rock’ loyalty program. ‘Bristol Casino – Future Home of Hard Rock’ delivers the legendary vibe of the Hard Rock brand with the friendly charm of Southwest Virginia hospitality. “We are excited to open the temporary casino in Bristol,” said Jon Lucas, COO of Hard Rock International. “Hard Rock’s rich and storied music legacy is a perfect fit for Bristol, the ‘Birthplace of Country Music.’ The casino’s gaming and dining amenities will make it a major entertainment destination for residents from across the region. We appreciate the ongoing collaboration from the Virginia Lottery. Their team has been great to work with. Finally, we look forward to opening the permanent casino within two years and bringing the full legendary Hard Rock experience to Bristol.” “We are so thankful to reach this significant project milestone, in opening the temporary casino,” said Jim McGlothlin, Chairman, The United Company, and Clyde Stacy, President, Par Ventures. “’Bristol Casino – Future Home of Hard Rock’ is something of which Bristolians can be very proud. We are glad that the project is having an immediate impact in boosting Bristol’s economy, by bringing at least 600 new, good-paying jobs to the city. This is only a start, as the project will generate even more jobs when the permanent casino opens. These benefits extend across Southwest Virginia as communities receive additional tax revenue from the project. Local businesses in the TriCities will see an economic development boost from increased tourism visitation and spending. All of this would not have been possible without the strong support from local residents and leaders, for which we remain incredibly grateful.” “Wow, what an amazing day for Bristol!” said Allie Evangelista, President of Hard Rock Hotel & Casino Bristol. “Lots of hard work and preparation has gone into getting ready for the Grand Opening of ‘Bristol Casino - Future Home of Hard Rock.’ I could not be prouder of our amazing team in the energy and enthusiasm they have shown to help us open the doors to guests today. The casino will join the region’s other fun entertainment and recreational tourism assets to help attract even more visitors to Bristol, the Tri-Cities and Southwest Virginia. Come check out the casino – to game and dine – you’ll love it!” Situated at the site of the former Bristol Mall, ‘Bristol Casino - Future Home of Hard Rock’ is located seconds off Interstate 81 (Exit 1 in VA). ‘Bristol Casino - Future Home of Hard Rock’ is an opening act destined to transform into a headliner when the permanent Hard Rock Hotel and Casino Bristol is expected to be completed within 24 months. From entertainment to community impact, the temporary casino is expected to create at least 600 new jobs in Bristol, Virginia and generate significant additional tax revenue for the city, the region and the Commonwealth. https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/bristol-casino--futurehome-of-hard-rock-opens-doors-to-the-public-301583218.html O

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