The Great Food Truck Race Comes to Newport News

Challenge:
THRIVE is a mission-driven nonprofit with ambitious goals and limited staff capacity, time and resources. The opportunity was not simply to recommend more marketing, but to understand what the organization was already doing and identify practical ways to strengthen communications and community engagement without creating systems the team could not sustain.

Outcome:
Provided leadership with an outside strategic perspective, new ideas and practical recommendations grounded in the organization’s mission, resources and limitations. This is best positioned as strategic advisory rather than a results-based implementation case study at this stage.

Challenge:
Tidewater Orthopaedics was preparing to open its third location in a new geographic market with established competition. The practice needed to build awareness, establish credibility and develop relationships in the new community while delivering a patient experience consistent with its existing reputation.

Outcome:
Tidewater Orthopaedics successfully opened its third location, expanding the growing medical practice into a new geographic area and increasing its ability to serve patients in that community.

Challenge:
As Newport News prepared for major budget and long-term planning decisions, engagement data showed a deeper challenge than simply increasing participation. Residents were willing to provide feedback, but there was uncertainty about whether their input meaningfully influenced City decisions. Traditional engagement also tended to reach residents already familiar with City processes, while others faced barriers involving access, time, language or familiarity with government.

Outcome:
The FY2025 budget survey exceeded its 1,000-response goal with 1,071 responses. The subsequent National Community Survey received 876 responses at a 95% confidence level (+/-6%); 38% of respondents identified as Black or African American, broadening representation compared with other recent City surveys. The framework also extended into continued budget dialogue and iNNoX.

Challenge:
DeStress Express had built its reputation around exceptional, customer-first service. As the business grew, informal ways of working were no longer enough. Communication between practitioners and the front desk needed to be more seamless, customer follow-up needed greater consistency, and processes needed to work regardless of which employee was at the front desk. The challenge was to grow without losing the personal experience customers expected.

Outcome:
The systems and processes supported DeStress Express as it grew into a 7,500-square-foot operation while protecting its customer-first approach. The repeatable email system increased appointments and revenue and could be easily taught to new front-desk employees.