Congratulations to these local businesses for their achievements
150 Years: Miller Home for Girls
On February 1, 1875, the first girl walked through the doors of The Lynchburg Female Orphan Asylum (now known as Miller Home for Girls). This means in 2025, Miller Home for Girls will celebrate the 150th Anniversary of “Changing Lives…One Girl at a Time”.
For 150 years Miller Home’s Mission has been to provide short or long-term care and guidance to girls, ages four through twenty-one, who cannot live with their families for various reasons. Miller Home seeks to provide these services within a supportive, non-institutional environment, which encourages each girl to grow and develop to her highest potential. It is the goal of Miller Home to assist its residents in becoming responsible productive citizens.
Congratulations to our community, to all past and present Board of Directors and staff members, volunteers, donors and supporters, just like YOU!
As many of you know, the Miller Home does not, nor has ever, accepted any Federal, State or local funding. This means that Miller Home is dependent upon the generosity of donations and kindness of our local businesses, community members and you.
From the bottom of our hearts, thank you to everyone who has generously given their time, money, goods, and love to Miller Home throughout the years. Your support has been instrumental in allowing us to care for and empower countless young girls. With your continued kindness, we look forward to positively impacting the lives of even more girls in the future.
50 Years: Central Virginia Alliance for Community Living
Celebrating 50 years of service, Central Virginia Alliance for Community Living, Inc. (CVACL) is a 501(c)3 nonprofit charitable organization that began in June 1975, with the signing of its first Articles of Incorporation as Central Virginia Commission on Aging, eventually changing its name to Central Virginia Area Agency on Aging, Inc., in August 1989.
In 2013, following national and state actions that combined the services, supports, and advocacy for the adults with disabilities population and the aging population, CVACL’s Board of Directors voted to expand the organization’s vision, mission, capacity, and values to include a broader approach. The new mission focused efforts on services, support, alliances, and advocacy that results in older adults and individuals with disabilities living with dignity in accordance with their own personal choice. The organization became Central Virginia Alliance for Community Living, Inc. in March 2014.
CVACL provides an extensive range of “wrap-around” services and supports for older adults and individuals with disabilities. Generally, the organization’s programs have focused on nutrition, transportation, home care, person-centered case management, advocacy/ombudsman representation, and home repair. Currently, programming extends to include disease prevention, health & wellness, and caregiver support. Ultimately, the outcome of CVACL services is for our neighbors to maintain a quality of life that allows them to exercise personal choice in remaining independent in their communities.
CVACL serves over 2,000 people in the City of Lynchburg and the surrounding counties annually with its 20+ programs.
45 Years: FEKS Martial Arts Center
Bruce Rubinberg has owned FEKS since 2005, though it was officially founded in 1980 by Charles Carey. Charles and Bruce’s father have been best friends and partners since Bruce was a child Bruce grew up at FEKS. Mr. Carey and Bruce’s father, David Rubinberg, had made a deal that the sons that had interest and the desire in the business would take it over—and Bruce was the one with the desire and passion. Today FEKS has almost 400 students and was just honored by being added into the Israeli Martial Arts Museum in Herzliya Israel.
35 Years: Electronic Design and Manufacturing
Since our founding in 1990, EDM has been committed to solving our customers’ engineering and manufacturing challenges with a unique combination of expertise in both design and production. Our founder, Robert Roberts, envisioned an electronics manufacturing service that truly cares – for its customers, its employees, and the quality of its work. Today, we proudly continue that legacy as a 100% employee-owned company.
This past year has been marked by exciting growth and accomplishments. We’ve expanded our production capabilities, welcomed new owners into our ESOP, and celebrated our dedication to continuous improvement with our customers and community. With a focus on quality, innovation, and customer satisfaction, we’re committed to delivering solutions that stand the test of time. Our recent facility expansion and the introduction of cutting-edge technology reflect our forward-thinking approach and dedication to staying competitive in the ever-evolving electronics industry.
As we look to the future, we envision a company where innovation meets community – a place where every employee-owner is empowered to contribute meaningfully and our customers receive the high-quality products and support they need to succeed.
30 Years: Strategic Therapy Associates, Inc.
Strategic Therapy Associates is celebrating 30 years of helping children and strengthening families throughout Virginia. Strategic opened in Lynchburg, Virginia in 1994 with the purpose of providing home-based family therapy services for at-risk youth in the Hill City. Over the years we’ve expanded our continuum of services, and while Lynchburg continues to be home, we now help families across the Commonwealth! Thank you to all of our employees and community partners who have worked with us over the last three decades to help families, schools, and communities across the state. We look forward to future successes with you all!
20 Years: Black Dog Sporting Goods
Black Dog Sporting Goods has built its clientele by word of mouth. The only type of advertising if you want to call it that is Facebook posts. I left a career in pharmaceutical manufacturing with a major company to take the business full time and never looked back. The company is built on customer service as is seen by our google reviews. We are proud to be a family owned and family operated company now for 20 years!
20 Years: Chick-fil-A Lynchburg | Owner Dwayne Marshall
In 2004, after working in the River Ridge Mall marketing department for the previous 22 years, Dwayne Marshall became an owner/operator of a Chick-fil-A franchise, firstly located in the mall food court through 2007, and then moving to the Drive Thru Only location on Candlers Mtn. Rd., from 2008 until 2023, and most recently opening the newest location on Timberlake Rd. At our new location, we are focused on providing a culture of “home” and “family” environment to each of our guests on a daily basis. Over the past 20 years we have won Chick-fil-A’s Symbol of Success three times (2012, 2016, and 2022) whereby an operator wins a new vehicle based on sales and profit.
15 Years: Maggie Takes Pix
We always took lots of pictures as I was growing up. Every family gathering. Every state or attraction “welcome” sign on summer road trips (with us standing next to it, of course). Our photo albums weren’t exactly photo-friendly, however, and I took up scrapbooking and taught “creative” photo preservation for over ten years.
During workshops, I noticed that a lot of the women making their scrapbooks were not in many of the pictures. They were usually the ones taking the pictures, and they didn’t like the less-than-flattering pictures that others had taken of them.
I determined that these family photo historians needed photos of themselves worthy of framing and hanging on the wall or sitting on the mantle or at least placed in a scrapbook along with all the other images deemed special enough to preserve.
I launched my photography business in Virginia Beach in May 2010, moving to Amherst County in December 2017.
Maggie Takes Pix specializes in women’s portraits, from young middle schoolers who could use a self-esteem boost, to high school seniors about to fly the nest, to brides glowing in anticipation of their big day, to mothers (of all ages) who perhaps need to be reminded how beautiful and appreciated they really are, to women working hard to grow their businesses, and grandmothers who are ready to share their stories and celebrate their life and legacy.
I want women’s lives and stories to be documented and celebrated at every age and stage.
10 Years: The Journey
Since being founded in 2015 The Journey has had the joy of spreading the hope of Christ to listeners all over the world through life giving music. Being listener supported means that this milestone really belongs to all our listeners who have ever donated to the station. Because of their generous support we have been able to see God move throughout our community. We have heard from several listeners that the right song played at the right time and literally saved their life.
Here is one example. A listener stopped by and said, “I wanted to see the station that helped save my life.” The short version of the story is that he had been through some pretty rough, dark things that led him to the point of wanting to take his life. He was in a family member’s car ready to do it and heard a song on The Journey that stopped him. His life has changed, he’s in school, and his relationship with the Lord has completely changed. This is just one of many lives changed that we are celebrating over the last 10 years! Kenny and Brittany from The Morning Journey have also been voted Lynchburg Living Best Radio DJs 8 years in a row. We are so humbled and honored that God would use The Journey to reach people right where they are and we are so thankful to our listeners who have made these last 10 years possible.
5 Years: Live Move Be Fitness
We opened the doors of our studio on January 6th, 2020, with a mission to help people LIVE with purpose, MOVE with joy and BE all they were created to be by offering encouraging and fun, faith-infused fitness classes for all ages, shapes, and fitness levels. In subsequent years, we were honored to be named “Best Adult Fitness Center” and “Best Yoga Studio” in Readers’ Choice contests. And three years later in 2023, we created a nonprofit and expanded our vision to not only offer donation-based fitness classes but a variety of other low-cost or no-cost activities and events to benefit the community. In addition, we also began regularly organizing “caring initiatives” which encourage our fitness community to support other nonprofits in the Lynchburg area and beyond. We are excited to be celebrating our 5-year anniversary in January 2025 and look forward to continuing to serve our community through joy-filled fitness and more as we bring wellness to body, mind, and soul! For a full list of class offerings including yoga, dance-fitness, barre, pilates, and more, visit www.livemovebefitness.com. To learn about our other activities and special events, check out our nonprofit site at www.livemovebecenter.org. And be sure to follow us on Facebook and Instagram.
5 Years: All Star Commercial & Residential Cleaning, LLC
This year, All Star Cleaning proudly celebrates our five-year anniversary, a milestone that reflects hard work, dedication, and a deep commitment to serving our community.
Over the past half-decade, we’ve grown from a small local business into a trusted name, recognized for exceptional service and care. Our passion for creating clean, welcoming spaces for homes and businesses has earned us the honor of being voted Best Cleaning Service for two years in a row, a recognition we attribute to the loyalty and trust of our incredible customers.
We believe that what sets us apart is not just our attention to detail, but our genuine love for the community we serve. From volunteering at local events to sponsoring initiatives that make a difference, we are committed to giving back to the city that has embraced us.
Our customers are more than clients, they’re family. Whether we’re providing a sparkling clean home for an elderly parent or making sure we leave a pristine office environment, we approach every job with the same level of care and dedication.
As we celebrate this exciting milestone, we are filled with gratitude for the support of our community and the hard work of our amazing team. Here’s to the past five years of achievements and the future ahead, as we continue to strive for excellence, meaningful connections, and make a lasting impact in the lives of those we serve.
5 Years: Outside the Cone
Kyle Spangler opened Outside the Cone in Lynchburg, Virginia with an ambitious goal: to make some of the best ice cream in the entire country. As a lover of super premium ice cream, Kyle had experimented with different ice cream flavors and recipes for years, read numerous books on ice cream making, and even took the world famous Ice Cream Short Course at Penn State.
Kyle’s model was to have 10 classic flavors, available all the time, and four “Flavor Labs”— unique limited edition flavors. The classics are made with the highest quality ingredients—hand scraped vanilla bean” and off the block chocolate are anything but basic.
However, the Flavor Lab is where Kyle’s creativity really gets to shine. His flavor creations have included customer favorites like Salty S’mores, Blueberry Goat Cheese Graham, and Bee My Honeycomb, a honey infused ice cream with housemade candy honeycomb pieces that won the award for “Best New Flavor” at the National Ice Cream Convention in 2020.
Kyle has also won several blue ribbons for excellent Chocolate, Vanilla, and Strawberry ice cream. These flavors are tasted by food scientists at Cornell to rate the best flavor profiles. Kyle won blue ribbons in six consecutive years, earning him his first Grandmaster Ice Cream Maker award in 2021, and a second in 2024.
It’s fair to say Kyle is achieving his goal of creating some of the best handcrafted ice cream in the country, and those of us in Lynchburg are the real winners.