What does it mean to give back? For some, giving back means supporting one of the hundreds of nonprofits and faith organizations in our area who are the boots on the ground, serving our community day after day. For others, giving back means rolling up their sleeves and doing the work themselves. Each year, we have the privilege of honoring the latter—the businesses making a big impact outside of their day-to-day responsibilities and giving back to our community in tangible and sometimes unexpected ways.

Berkshire Hathaway Home Services

Dawson Ford Garbee & Co., Realtors®
Founded: 1905
Number of Employees:  40

How has your business recently impacted the community?
Most recently, our company has started a podcast to provide a platform for nonprofits and those alike. We provide, weekly, a media space for these groups to engage with the community, and to let people know all about their mission and needs. The podcast is called “Community Love”. People are excited and we are booked six months out.

Why does your business prioritize giving back?
Our company is over 118 years old. It is because of our community and the people who live here, we have been allowed to service folks in their real estate needs for over a century in south-central Virginia. It only makes sense to give back to those who have allowed us to make that happen, and to invest in this community that we hold so dear.

Black Dog Sporting Goods

Founded: 2013
Number of Employees: 3 with 1 full-time and 2 part-time 

How has your business recently impacted the community?
We help local charities and Volunteer Fire Departments raise funds through numerous raffles each year. The raffles are an excellent way for the groups to raise much-needed funds to carry on their charitable and life-saving work. A few examples include college scholarships, youth sports gear, and First-Responder gear and equipment.

Why does your business prioritize giving back?
When you are in a position to help someone, it isn’t just a nice thing to do, it’s the right thing to do. We strive to give back to the community by helping others including many charities and Volunteer Fire Departments.

Collaborative Health Partners 

Founded: 2014
Number of Employees: 310

How has your business recently impacted the community?
Our VTO (volunteer time off) Program allows for employees to volunteer up to 4 hours per calendar year on company time at a charity of their choice.  We also highlight one non-profit per month to educate our teams on our local resources, as well as to make them aware of opportunities where their VTO can be used.  Isaiah House 117, Parkview Community Mission, The Center of Excellence for Polytrauma, YWCA’s Domestic Violence Program, and the Blue Ridge Pregnancy Center have all benefited from our team members’ generosity and/or time this year.

Why does your business prioritize giving back?
Excellence, Professionalism, Integrity, Compassion, and Teamwork are the values we live by inside and outside the walls of our organization.  Our business takes pride in contributing to the well-being of our patients and our community.  By engaging directly with local residents and charities, we better understand the needs and concerns of the communities we serve.  We’re here to help people…attain better health for a better life!

FunQuest 

Family Entertainment Center 
Founded: Skateland was founded in 1969 it became FunQuest in 1991
Number of Employees: 25

How has your business recently impacted the community?
Our business has been here in our community for 55 years. Jim and Cindy Anderson who owned this facility previously poured into the kids, the schools and the businesses in this community. When Mason Drew started running the business, we kept that same focus. Every year we donate over 15,000 free passes to our local schools, we have given grants for schools through the Roller Skating Foundation to experience our STEM program for free. We donate to nonprofits and sponsor sports teams in our area. 

Why does your business prioritize giving back?
Our mark in the community speaks to who we are as a business. We truly aim to provide good family fun to the people in Lynchburg and surrounding counties. Our hope is that our small locally owned business would be missed if we were gone, mostly because of the way we have poured into and loved on our community to make it better. 

Patrick Henry’s Red Hill

Founded: Patrick Henry’s National Memorial Foundation was founded in 1944.
Number of Employees: 14 employees (6 part-time and 8 full-time).

How has your business recently impacted the community?
There are many ways Red Hill has impacted the community. One being our recent addition of Red Hill Rediscovered. It is a hybrid virtual and in-person lecture series geared towards an older audience. It is aimed to tell the history of Patrick Henry, Red Hill and his connection through people and places you know through history. 

Why does your business prioritize giving back?
Red Hill prioritizes giving back through education, culture and providing a park like setting for people to enjoy. It’s our mission to reach the younger and older audience who have a passion for history and Patrick Henry. Red Hill aims to provide accurate information by telling the whole truth about its history, Patrick Henry, and the enslaved. Red Hill outreach efforts are on a national and local level to include Appomattox, Campbell, Charlotte, Danville, Halifax, Lynchburg city and Pittsylvania counties. 

Timberlake Animal Hospital

Founded: 1963  
Number of Employees: 14

How has your business recently impacted the community? 
We foster cats at our clinic for the Bedford Humane Society and Harmony Rescue. We also sponsor multiple schools and businesses in the area (JF, Brookville, Timberlake Christian, the Jamerson YMCA, local rescues and shelters, and multiple others). Dr. Pearson has gone into elementary and secondary schools to talk about veterinary medicine to students. We have had over 15 high school and college student volunteers come and shadow regularly at our clinic to learn more about veterinary medicine, as well as veterinary students on rotation from Virginia Tech.

Why does your business prioritize giving back?
As a locally owned and operated clinic, we strongly believe in supporting our local community. We believe it is crucial to pour into our community because when Lynchburg is strong, we are all strong. Our clinic is one of the oldest in the area and we are proud of its history as it has remained locally owned and operated while other clinics have begun being owned by corporate companies located elsewhere. We also believe in investing in the future of veterinary medicine by encouraging the public to learn about its importance and educating the next generation of veterinarians
as well!

Welcome to the Faces of Dogs presented by Terry Subaru, Lynchburg Living and Dog-Eared Photos!

🐾 “A true friend leaves paw prints on your heart.” – George Eliot 

Terry Subaru, Lynchburg Living Magazine and Dog-Eared Photos have teamed up to bring you our inaugural Faces Of Dogs photo contest!

Residents from the greater Lynchburg area joined us at Terry Subaru for two weekends in October to get their photogenetic fur babies photographed by Owner of Dog-Eared Photos, Katie Miller. All proceeds from doggie photos also benefited the Lynchburg Humane Society!

But now, it’s time for us to rely on YOU! Vote for the dog that you feel is the pick of the litter! The pets will be featured across four issues of Lynchburg Living Magazine, starting off with the ones with the highest number of votes. 

Voting will conclude on November 30, 2023.

If your pet is in the contest, feel free to use this complimentary toolkit to help encourage your friends and family to vote!

CONTEST PARTNERS:

Lynchburg Living is recognizing and honoring the amazing, inspiring educators in our area with the Lynchburg Living Top Teachers Awards. Readers submitted entries for their favorite, current and local teacher who, if chosen, will be honored in our upcoming March/April 2024 issue of Lynchburg Living Magazine. To nominate an outstanding teacher, fill out the easy form below.

The deadline to nominate is December 1, 2023.

For many newly engaged couples, wedding planning seems like a dream—until you are faced with dozens of choices all at once. From the venue to the dress (and all of those little details in between), it’s hard to know where to start!

We are here to help. Our Best Of Bridal Picks list tells you who recent brides and members of their wedding parties recommend in 27 categories. Read below to see who made the list!

Dear Best of Lynchburg Best of Participant,
Congratulations on being nominated as one of the BEST OF THE BEST in Lynchburg!  In order to help you have as much exposure as possible, we’ve designed a marketing toolkit available for your use. We have created separate campaigns below. Please feel free to use these marketing materials in any way you see fit. If you have social media channels and you will be posting about your Best Of nomination, please consider using the hashtag #LynchburgBestOf. We hope these materials aid in spreading the word of your Best Of participation!

FACEBOOK COVER: (DOWNLOAD HERE)

INSTAGRAM POST: (DOWNLOAD HERE)

INSTAGRAM STORY: (DOWNLOAD HERE)

EMAIL HEADER – 1350 X 650 : (DOWNLOAD HERE)

WEB HEADER 590 X 640: (DOWNLOAD HERE)

QR CODE (DOWNLOAD HERE)

Earning a Best of Lynchburg award should be celebrated, and earning this recognition year after year earns a business a spot in the Hall of Fame. 

To place in our Best of Lynchburg Hall of Fame, a business, person, or place needs to have won a gold level award in a particular category for the majority of the last eight years—since VistaGraphics first launched the contest. 

Flip through to see who is the best of the best in the region! 

(Voting for the 2024 Best Of Lynchburg Awards begins July 27. Look for those winners in the January/February issue of Lynchburg Living!)

Welcome to the 2024 Giving Back Awards! These awards are designed to recognize and honor outstanding non-profit organizations in our region who go above and beyond for the greater Lynchburg area. If you are involved or know of non-profit organization that deserves to be recognized, nominate them below! We will be accepting submissions from June 10 – July 29, 2024. 

Note: We are looking for one quality detailed submission per organization that accurately depict the non-profits’ efforts and results in the local community. 

NOMINATE HERE

If you’d like to nominate a business or company in the Community Impact Appreciation Awards, you may do so here.

The Virginian Hotel’s stunning ballroom was filled to the brim on January 14 with Best Of winners, sponsors, and attendees.

The food was incredible, thanks to Bootleggers; Skyline at the Virginian; Downtown Cairo, Sweet Indulgence Bakery; JD’s Mobile Cafe; The Virginian Hotel; Purple Door Gourmet Kitchen & Catering; The Water Dog; Repast Catering; Georgia’s Subs, Salads, and More; and William & Henry Steakhouse. As guests sampled from mouth watering local cuisine, they voted on their favorite restaurant for the evening. JD’s Mobile Cafe took home the People’s Choice award for the night, and Downtown Cairo was awarded the Judge’s Choice.

Winners and attendees danced (and sang) the night away alongside the incredibly talented Pleading The 5th Band, and crowd favorite Chief Meteorologist George Flickinger (WSET) emceed the evening.

Guests also enjoyed documenting the evening alongside Sanders Family Photo Booth.

A very special thank you to our sponsors who helped make our celebration possible. Hailey’s Appliance, Kairos Counseling, Beacon Credit Union, Blue Ridge BBQ & Catering, and 434 Marketing.

Photos by GLEN+CRAFT.

See the full photo album here.

What makes a great lawyer? While impeccable communication skills and high intelligence are a part of the equation, truly great lawyers also earn a respect that follows them out of the courtroom and into the community.

Top Lawyers of Greater Lynchburg is the result of a comprehensive peer-to-peer survey, facilitated by DataJoe Research Company.

Read on to see who lawyers themselves recommend in 23 specialties.

Summary.  To create the list, Lynchburg Living contracted DataJoe Research to facilitate an online peer-voting process and Internet research process.  DataJoe Research is a software and research company specializing in data collection and verification, and conducts various nominations across the United States on behalf of publishers.  To create the list, DataJoe Research facilitated an online peer-voting process. We paired this with an Internet research process to identify success characteristics. DataJoe checked and confirmed that each published winner had, at time of review, a current, active license status with the appropriate state regulatory board. If we were not able to find evidence of a lawyer’s current, active registration with the state regulatory board, that lawyer was excluded from the list.  In addition, we checked available public sources to identify lawyers disciplined for an infraction by the state regulatory board. These entities were excluded from the list.  Finally, DataJoe presented the tallied result to Lynchburg Living for its final review and adjustments.  

Final note.  We recognize that there are many good lawyers who are not shown in this representative list. This is only a sampling of the huge array of talented professionals within the region. Inclusion in the list is based on the opinions of responding lawyers in the region. We take time and energy to ensure fair voting, although we understand that the results of this survey nomination and Internet research campaign are not an objective metric. We certainly do not discount the fact that many, many good and effective lawyers may not appear on the list.

Disclaimers. DataJoe uses best practices and exercises great care in assembling content for this list.  DataJoe does not warrant that the data contained within the list are complete or accurate. DataJoe does not assume, and hereby disclaims, any liability to any person for any loss or damage caused by errors or omissions herein whether such errors or omissions
result from negligence, accident, or any other cause. All rights reserved.
No commercial use of the information in this list may be made without
written permission from DataJoe.

Questions?  For research/methodology questions, contact the research team at surveys@datajoe.com.

On November 8, 2022, Lynchburg Living magazine had the honor and privilege of recognizing area businesses and non-profit organizations who are working tirelessly to support our city and its community.

Taking place at the Academy Center of the Arts, it was a night of fun and celebration, with two unique groups coming together to recognize the spirit of generosity and community that is so prevalent in our area. Those who were presented with awards brought a crowd of supporters, mentors, and colleagues to cheer them on, which made for an even more festive occasion. While attendees and honorees mingled and connected with one another, they indulged in a delicious spread of food provided by Friends Catering.

Awards were presented by Lynchburg Lynchburg editor, Megan Williams.

View a full list of Giving Back and Community Impact Appreciation recipients here and here.

A special thanks to our partners and sponsors, including the Academy Center of the Arts, Member One Federal Credit Union, Lynchburg Dental Center, Greater Lynchburg Community Foundation, SHARE Greater Lynchburg and Successful Innovations. And a special thank you to Friends Catering for the delicious Mexican food.