It's WINDSday | December 6, 2023

Celebrating the Power of Wind, Clean Energy and a Green Environment

You may have seen it as you enter or exit the Downtown Tunnel, a typical office building, and wondered, “what’s in there?” Well inside is the IncuHub, the home address for some 200 small businesses in Portsmouth. 

There is Devoted Hands Healthcare, Ellis Property Maintenance, The Literacy Hub, Teach Me How, and the Homesell Network. “We buy and sell houses,” says owner Brittany Goodman. Some companies here lease offices, others just come in when they need a conference room or to network ($75/month for a shared desk, $195 for your own). “This is the beauty of The IncuHub,” says founder Marko Frigelj. “Entrepreneurs are able to work alongside one another, seek advice, referrals and comradery while establishing a base for their businesses.”

The IncuHub founder. Marko Frigelj

Brittany Goodman, The Homesell Network

Frigelj is one himself, with quite a backstory. Born in Bosnia, his family fled the war-torn country in the 90s for Germany, then with just a two-month warning, flew to Newport News to begin a new life thanks to a refugee sponsor. “We didn’t have much, but I graduated from Warwick High and then George Mason University.” Next came a start-up called PMA-IT Solutions, which has become a go-to industry consultant. “We have managed projects, market expansions, and mergers for customers like Sentara Health Plans, Elevance Health (formerly Anthem), US Department of Justice, and Veterans Affairs,” says Marko. Now that’s an immigrant success story.

Gene Granger, Marko Frigelj, Jeniffer Hall, LaToya Stewart, Maxwell Owolade - PMA IT Solutions

So PMA (www.pmaitsolutions.com) is a member at The IncuHub as is his wife Kristin’s company, Kora Analysis, that coaches moms of elementary schoolers through life changes and provides behavior therapy to individuals with disabilities. Herman Smalls of VA Repair fixes trucks and chassis at a nearby terminal. “We call what happens here a return on collision,” says Marko. “Bumping into people you may have never met is what drives our community. In Portsmouth there are a lot of creative individuals with limited funds but a deep drive and ideas who need a place for their dreams to grow and prosper.”

Bloom (see below) on High Street (www.bloomcoworking.org) and The IncuHub (www.theincuhub.com), both of whom are now WINDSday partners, are bustling with businesses but have room for more. Need small space and lots of friends, with easy access to a tunnel? Check them out.

Michelle and Curtis Bryant, Visionaries of READI

There are about 2,000,000 real estate agents in the United States, and all of them must learn the ins and outs of selling homes to pass required exams. That’s where Michelle Bryant of READI (Real Estate Agent Development Institute) comes in.

The Bayside High grad practically runs a college of one for would be realtors out of an office at the Bloom co-working space on High Street in Portsmouth.

“I teach Real Estate 101 on the basic skills to buy and sell homes as well a pre-license class, 32 hours of required in-person instruction,” says the Western Branch wife and mother of three. “And I also offer a course in how to take a buyer from listing to close and another on purchase agreements, documents and how to become a Real Estate Transaction Coordinator.”

Michelle Bryant, READI (Real Estate Agent Development Institute)

Michelle is also a broker herself so if you’re looking to buy or sell a house, or to learn the craft, visit www.readirealestate.com. And if you’re seeking a small space to grow your big dreams, there’s www.bloomcoworking.org. 

They’re back. Our awesome WINDSday Warriors, Nickie Wheeler and Mark Gleason, creators of the Power of Wind exhibit at the Surf and Rescue Museum on the oceanfront, are back from nine months out west, working as volunteer rangers for the National Park Service. It’s their second stint.

“This time we were at Montezuma Well in Arizona and Badlands National Park in South Dakota,” says Nickie, who chronicles the couple’s travels on her Facebook page. In fact, she became an official photographer for NPS, recording images of scenery and wildlife.

“We captured rattlesnakes and tagged them for research,” says Nickie. “We also took part in a roundup of 1400 bison and performed search and rescue for injured hikers.” Why? “To have fun.”

In January they plan to head west again, to the same two parks, but they’re eyeing Acadia National Park in Maine to be lighthouse keepers and Alaska to tend to sled dogs in 2025.  They will be at the FFX Theater next week on 12/13/23 for a little WINDSday/Green Drinks Holiday Party. Come and catch them while you can.

What happens to the grain that beermakers discard?

In Hampton Roads, some of it ends up in buckets for Bryan Daniels, who dries out the malted barley, mixes it with oats, sugar, butter, nuts, and other ingredients to produce 160 calorie All Good Craft Granola Bars.

The Kellam High and Virginia Tech grad worked for health care giant Amerigroup for 16 years before deciding “to try something else.” He and friends started producing beer before discovering that he could repurpose the grains into granola bars.

“My buddies loved them and before long I’m filling orders."

That led to online sales at www.allgoodgranolabars.com and since February, a small café in Birdneck Shoppes in Virginia Beach where there is a wide selection of flavors plus you can have lunch.

At WINDSdays, we’re into recycling, whatever the residue, so thank you Brian Daniels for turning the bottom of the beer barrel into some very tasty snacks.

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