Here’s a roundup of news briefs from around Southwest and Southside. Send yours for possible inclusion to news@cardinalnews.org.
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BWXT names new president for subsidiary
Lynchburg-based BWX Technologies has named a new president to lead a subsidiary whose work includes making nuclear components and fuel for the U.S. military.
Gary Camper will oversee more than 5,000 employees in Virginia, Indiana, Ohio and Tennessee as president of BWXT’s Nuclear Operations Group. His appointment was effective as of Sept. 1.
About 2,200 of BWXT’s 2,800 Lynchburg-area employees work for the Nuclear Operations Group, which designs and manufactures components for nuclear reactors used in U.S. Navy submarines and aircraft carriers, including the reactor cores. BWX Technologies (NYSE:BWXT) employs more than 7,000 people in total.
“With more than 40 years of experience, Gary’s unparalleled knowledge of our business and customers positions him well to lead us into the future,” BWXT Government Operations President Kevin McCoy said in a news release from the company.
Camper previously spent much of his career at BWXT’s Mt. Athos site in Campbell County outside Lynchburg, working in project management, quality control, engineering and operations. He most recently was the Nuclear Operations Group’s chief operating officer.
Camper earned a bachelor’s degree in engineering from Old Dominion University. He is co-chair of the executive committee for the Accelerated Training in Defense Manufacturing program at the Institute for Advanced Learning and Research in Danville and is on the board of the Lynchburg Regional Business Alliance.
— Matt Busse
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Entrepreneur summit set for next month in Danville
The SOVA Innovation Hub and RISE Collaborative will host a summit for entrepreneurs in Southside next month.
The Regional Innovation Summit for Entrepreneurs, or RISE Summit, will be held from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. Oct. 19 at the Institute for Advanced Learning and Research in Danville. It will include speakers, hands-on workshops and networking opportunities.
Tickets are $50 through Sept. 30, then increase to $65. A limited number of student tickets are available, as well as a limited number of scholarships for those needing financial assistance. Tickets and more details are available online.
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SMLA meeting to include discussion of algal blooms
The causes and conditions that led to last year’s harmful algal blooms at Smith Mountain Lake will be a focus of the annual meeting of the Smith Mountain Lake Association.
The meeting will be held Sept. 27 at Trinity Ecumenical Parish, 40 Lakemount Drive, Moneta.
The association engaged Princeton Hydro to help understand the dynamics of the river watershed and potential mitigation efforts to combat future blooms. Chris Mikolajczyk, a certified lake manager and senior aquatics manager at Princeton Hydro, and Keri Green, Lake Quality Council chair at SMLA, will discuss the findings of the Blackwater watershed assessment work. The presentation will be followed by a question-and-answer period.
The meeting will be held from 5:30-7:45 p.m.