Over the coming weeks, and as a follow-up to the editorial written by Dr. Betty H. Adams, Executive Director of the Southern Virginia Higher Education Center, we will be posting a series of Q&A vignettes. The vignettes will feature SVHEC clients, partners, students, and staff, and will provide an opportunity for readers to see how our community looks through the eyes of others.

We are kicking off the Q&A series with two individuals who found Southern Virginia, its people, and resources so attractive that they moved from Vineland, New Jersey to work with Riverstone Energy Centre’s new Center for Coatings Application Research Education (C-CARE). C-CARE’s mission is to serve the coatings industry through research and development of new coatings and application technology, and through the establishment of training programs, certifications, and cooperative partnerships in the field of coatings applications.

Gladdy Hampton and Kenneth “Kenny” Stevenson bring an impressive background in education, business, and coatings to their work with C-CARE. Gladdy earned a Masters degree in American Studies from Columbia University in the City of New York, and a Masters degree in education from Notre Dame College. She has taught English, American literature, and freshman composition for almost twenty years at a variety of schools, including Southern New Hampshire University, Philadelphia University, and most recently at Rowan University in Glassboro, New Jersey. Gladdy is a grant writer who has written, along with Kenneth Stevenson, a number of grants for incumbent worker training over the last four years. Her expertise in education and business will be an asset to the successful launching of C-CARE.

Kenny Stevenson works in sales and marketing, grant writing, and business development in the coatings industry. Along with his business partner, Phil Stevenson, Kenny has provided consulting services to clients across the United States, Canada, and Europe including LK Industries, producers of the Star Bucks store fixtures, Decorative Specialties, the second largest producer of cabinet doors in the US, and the United States House of Representatives’ woodworking facility. Prior to his current position, Kenny owned and operated Skyway Enterprises, a high-end coatings application company that specialized in applying coatings to wood products.

Question: How did you first learn about the SVHEC and what were your initial impressions?

Kenny: We started talking about C-CARE a few years ago but back then it was CWFE (Coalition of Workforce Educators) and we went around to a number of educational institutions to house the program. I went to 5-6 community colleges and universities and kept running into the old educational models that were not going to foster the kind of innovative ideas we needed to make C-CARE happen. In 2008, David Kenealy and some students were in Las Vegas competing with The Chair in the AWFS competition. David came up to our booth, we started talking, and it was a breath of fresh air. We thought the SVHEC and the work being done there sounded like a good fit. Phil Stevenson [business partner] and I came down and met with Dr. Adams and the rest of the SVHEC leadership team and it was pretty obvious, pretty quickly that this was the right type of organization to get involved with.

Gladdy: Kenny and Phil came back raving about the SVHEC and it just sounded like a great fit. I came down for a visit last winter, and I liked it very much. I liked the community and the people. It made me feel good.

Kenny: When you’re trying to move a number of different families you have to find somewhere that makes sense. In our last meeting with the IDA they asked us why we were doing C-CARE here. For us, it really came down to the people.


Question: You not only wanted to be partners with the SVHEC and others in the region, you actually moved here & relocated your business here. Tell me a little about your transition to Southern Virginia.

Kenny: It’s been a very easy transition. I’ve worked with a couple of real estate agents who were great. When you move to a new area you have to find lawyers, accountants, places to get your haircut, and it can be hard. But I can pick up the phone and call any number of people and find just about anything I need so it’s been a very easy transition.

Gladdy: Everyone has been so welcoming—even long before we got here. By the time we actually made the move we felt like we had friends here and that has made it a lot easier.

Question: In terms of creativity, collaboration, and innovation, how do the people of Southern VA compare with others you’ve work with?

Kenny: It goes back to when we were looking for an educational institution to partner with. When you go out and start talking about new ideas, new ways of doing things, and different approaches it can be hard. Finding people who just have a willingness to listen to new ideas & new concepts, that’s something that’s rare, but you have it here.

Gladdy: And not just listening to new ideas, but being willing to fight for them and make it work. We’ve seen that openness from everyone.

Kenny: Exactly. Ted Bennett, John Cannon…all of these guys really went to bat to make C-CARE happen. Dr. Adams [SVHEC Executive Director] did a tremendous amount of work as did Patty Nelson[SVHEC Chief Operating & Financial Officer]. Really it’s the whole community. Take something as simple as getting a meeting. You can call up Patty and say, “Hey can we come over this afternoon?” and you can get a meeting with the CFO. You can’t do that in a lot of places.

Question: What is your vision for C-CARE in the region?

Kenny: C-CARE is really coming together. It’s been developed over a couple of years, but now it’s getting to the point where all of these ideas and collaborative thoughts are becoming a reality. We would like to see this region become the center for coatings research, development, and training. Southern Virginia needs to be the epicenter. It makes sense geographically, and because of the resources. For example, the lab that’s going into the Riverstone Energy Centre’s Hi-Bay Area…there’s going to be nothing like that in the world. Industry is going to cluster here because of C-CARE.

We’re talking to industry now to make sure coatings instruction is relevant, and that students will be able to come out and go directly into a good paying job. Right now that’s not happening in coatings. When you talk to finishing department directors you find out that workers are not being properly educated. C-CARE will change that.

Gladdy: I’m just very excited about the whole thing. I think C-CARE is an incredible opportunity to do something not only for traditional students, but also older students, people coming back into the workforce, and people wanting to change jobs. There’s just so much I think we can do within the next few years to build a model that can be copied and that should be used with industry everywhere.

Read Dr. Adams' editorial series