John Glander and Robert Meadows of Professional Risk Associates Inc. understand the nuances of medical malpractice insurance. Their company has specialized in medical malpractice insurance for physicians and physician groups since Glander founded the firm in 1989. He started the company with one employee, Don Riley. The company employs 25 people, all of whom are now shareholders.

Henry Liscio still has the tri-wheeler bike he bought at Agee’s Bicycle Co. 41 years ago. The unusual vehicle is a prototype of a commuter bicycle designed and built in Japan for Schwinn. “It’s a very high-tech bike,“ the 56-year-old Liscio said. Over the years, Liscio has bought more than a dozen bicycles from Agee’s, everything from road racing to tandem models.

Jim Maxwell needed help to help boost public awareness of the United Virginia political-action committee through social media. As the group’s executive director, he enlisted the services of Compleo, a Richmond-based social-media consulting firm that specializes in branded applications on social-media platforms such as Facebook, Twitter and MySpace.

Jerry Clor runs advanced leadership training programs for longtime employees at Roche Laboratories Inc. in New Jersey. To help him, Clor relies on training products and other services from Henrico County-based Yukon Group Inc. “Our tenured employees need a sophisticated adult learning environment,“ said Clor, Roche’s manager of career training and development.

The occasional chat between the owner of a convenience store and a customer turned into an idea—to market a special kind of Jerusalem marble in the United States. Eddie Wadi left his family in Palestine and moved to the U.S. in 1981. After living in New York City for several years, he followed the advice of a friend and relocated to Chester. He bought the Red Barn and Midget Mart convenience stores in Hopewell, both of which he still owns.

Wanda King knew exactly where she wanted Lancaster Corp. to install the antique chandelier. She asked to have it placed over the freestanding four-footed tub in the bathroom of the stone house she was having built. But the workmen were leery of the request because of the building code. “I picked up the phone and called Leitch [Lancaster], and within an hour the chandelier was up, and it passed code,“ King said. “Leitch took care of it. That convinced me that he could do anything.“

Employees: four full-time, including the owner
Owner: T. Leitch Lancaster III
  Location: 308 Randolph Square Parkway in Goochland County
Contact: (804) 784-9898 or http://www.lancastercorp.net

Sitting in his large Main Street office, family pictures adorning the walls, Doug Burford looks like a content businessman ready to close up shop and head out to the nearest golf course. But nothing could be further from the truth. “I don’t see myself slowing down,“ the 66-year-old Richmond ad man said. “I still get enthusiastic about new campaigns, and I love coming to work every day.“

As a way to help her children adjust to their new home, Liz Thalhimer asked artist Colleen Phelon Hall to paint custom murals for their bedrooms. “I wanted the adjustment to be fun for the kids,“ Thalhimer said. “I had seen Colleen’s murals in a pediatrician’s office and thought they were beautiful.“ Each of Thalhimer’s children’s bedrooms has a different theme. Her daughter wanted horses; her son preferred vehicles.

Donna Rominiecki didn’t see herself in a sales and marketing role until she completed a series of sales training classes offered by Dancing Elephants Achievement Group. Rominiecki and her husband, Ron, own a license to operate Vmeals.com, a corporate catering service, for Richmond and Hampton Roads. Dancing Elephants worked with Vmeals’ corporate office in Charlottesville to customize a training program for licensed marketing representatives.

For years, Brenda Clymer looked forward to receiving a gift certificate for spa services each time a special occasion rolled around. “It was my normal birthday and Christmas present,“ Clymer said. She liked spa so much that she opened one—the Magnolia Day Spa in Manakin-Sabot. Clymer first thought about opening a spa in 2007 after she was certified as a nail technician and esthetician.

No one at 89-Paint winced when Helen Riley Anderson made a last-minute decision to change the colors she had chosen for each of the rooms in her three-story house. “They were so cooperative and very understanding,“ she said. “They even put up test patches for me.“

Douglas Haig Alexander worries about how the economy will react when more baby boomers start retiring. More than 10,000 Americans per day will become eligible for Social Security over the next two decades, according to the Social Security Administration.

Jim Slabaugh and his family expected snow during their Colorado vacation, but they didn’t think a snowstorm in would shut down Richmond International Airport just hours before their departure. The weather would have put their vacation in jeopardy if Slabaugh had not called his travel agent, Dan Smith of Crossroads Travel Advisors LLC, shortly after arriving at the Richmond airport.

Richmond event planner Michele Damasco can’t imagine doing her job without the help of Bill Gilliam. “I need to make sure the talent is first-class, and Bill gives me the best talent,“ Damasco said about the owner of Richmond-based Choice Entertainment.