The Southern Virginia Higher Education Center (SVHEC) is an innovative destination for workforce development and educational degree programs. It is home to the Career Tech Academy, which is part of GO TEC. 

If you drive into South Boston, Virginia from the south, going north on Highway 501, you’ll cross the Dan River, then look up to the left to see the impressive Southern Virginia Higher Education Center campus emerge. The SVHEC occupies three large, former tobacco warehouses. It is in the South Boston Historic Tobacco Warehouse District, which includes 15 buildings spanning 20 acres adjacent to the downtown commercial district. SVHEC is located within walking distance of many downtown businesses including Southern Plenty Cafe, Main Street Bar & Grille, Factory Street Brewing, and more. 

One of the newest additions to the SVHEC campus is a Better Block Parklet. The Better Block Parklet was funded through a grant from the 2022 ChangeX Southern Virginia Community Challenge. Students in the SVHEC’s Career Tech Academy were involved in the design and fabrication of the parklet, using 3D printers and other technology at ProductWorks. 

The SVHEC’s Better Block parklet expands outdoor space for both students and the community. It created a new seating area with outdoor chess games to encourage people to gather together. It includes digitally fabricated outdoor furniture and a brightly colored parking lot mural.

We recently visited with Dr. Betty Adams to learn about SVHEC and the Better Block parklet.

About the SVHEC Campus in South Boston, VA

The SVHEC’s main campus can be found at 820 Bruce Street. It includes the 820 Bruce Street building and the Innovation Center. The Prizery, the premier performing arts center in Southside Virginia, is located between the 820 Bruce Street building and the Innovation Center. ProductWorks, a division of SVHEC dedicated to product development, is located just 0.3 miles down the street at 700 Watkins Avenue. 

As you turn into the parking lot that serves SVHEC’s main campus and The Prizery, you’ll notice large art sculptures. The 820 Bruce Street building is adorned with banners of SVHEC’s college partners, which include Longwood University, Old Dominion University, Danville Community College, and Southside Virginia Community College. Depending on the day, the GO TEC mobile Training Lab might be parked outside. 

As you enter the 820 Bruce Street building or the Innovation Center, you’ll find modern, brightly-lit spaces for gathering and learning. You’ll be greeted by friendly, professional staff from SVHEC and you’ll notice the place is a hub for SVHEC’s college and institutional partners.

Most importantly, you’ll catch the optimistic energy of students ranging from 11th and 12th-grade high schoolers to adults of all ages. The students’ fields of study will be as diverse as their backgrounds. SVHEC excels at delivering job training programs tied to specific career opportunities. Job training programs include Automation Technician, Information Technology (IT), Heating and Air Conditioning (HVAC), Nursing, Teaching, and Welding. SVHEC also works with employers to develop and implement customized training for current and potential employees.  

Find More Information:

• https://svhec.org 
• https://productworks.tech
• https://sovainnovationhub.com/changex

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Tyler Nutter, Manager of NAPA Auto Parts South Boston and Clarksville Auto Supply

August 17, 2022

We hope you enjoy this interview with Tyler Nutter, who is currently using the SOVA Innovation Hub coworking space to focus on his work for the NAPA Store Technology Council. As a manager in his family-owned business that is part of a global auto parts distribution network, Tyler flexes his entrepreneurial mindset with the RISE Collaborative and is an active member of the Halifax County Chamber of Commerce.

Can you tell us a little about yourself and the work that you do?

Answer:  I am a 24-year-old from Southside Virginia. During my free time, I like to vacation with my wife Hayli and spend time with friends and family. I am a manager involved in sales and operations for our family-owned NAPA AUTO PARTS group with stores in Clarksville and South Boston, Virginia. NAPA AUTO PARTS stores are independently owned, not franchises, which means we get the freedom of total ownership and the benefits of the NAPA brand. I am also a part of the NAPA Store Technology Council for NAPA headquarters and currently working on a technology project.

Tyler Nutter uses the coworking space for virtual meetings

What is your personal why for the work you do? Has your career path been surprising? 

Answer: Being a part of a business that my grandparents started in 1974 was always what I wanted to do. My career path has definitely been surprising. Even though I’ve worked for the business since high school, I didn’t necessarily anticipate becoming a manager so early in my career. As a teenager, I started as a warehouse associate and then worked in counter sales. I received my associates degree from Southside Virginia Community College through a dual enrollment program offered by my high school and started full-time with NAPA in 2016. We expanded to South Boston in 2017, and I became the manager of the new South Boston location in 2018. It has been challenging, but with a great team we have been able to succeed.

How do you use technology in your work?

Answer: I use technology every day, from our point-of-sale system, back office system, warehouse management system, delivery management system, RF scanners, etc. I am also involved in technology systems of the future for NAPA, which is very exciting.

Can you tell us about your experience with our coworking space?

Answer: The day-to-day environment at the store is very fast-paced with lots of energy and excitement, which is great. But the project I am working on with the NAPA Store Technology team requires a great deal of concentration with Microsoft Teams meetings, phone calls, research assignments, documenting processes, etc. The coworking space couldn’t have been a better solution. It is exactly what I needed. I will always recommend this space to others. It is very convenient with great amenities. The phone/video booths are great for extended conversations and meetings that require a lot of talking.

Tyler Nutter (bottom left) and the NAPA Richmond DC team helping with an inventory upgrade project at South Boston NAPA AUTO PARTS store.

If you could go back in time and share one piece of advice with younger you, what would it be?

Answer: When we first opened our South Boston store, I was worried about having other competitors in town. I’ve learned not to worry about the competition. Instead, we focus on what makes us different. We have really knowledgeable staff who serve our wholesale and retail customers, combined with the NAPA brand and distribution system.  When you shop at NAPA, you can actually talk to your local store owner, and that really matters to customers.

More Information

NAPA stocks over 6,000 stores with over 500,000 auto parts, tools and equipment, and many other items for heavy-duty trucks, marine, and farming equipment. Clarksville Auto Supply owns two NAPA AUTO PARTS stores – their original Clarksville Auto Supply store at 109 7th Street in Clarksville, VA and the South Boston NAPA Auto Parts store at 1407 Wilborn Ave, South Boston, VA, which can be found here on Facebook.

Connect with Tyler Nutter on LinkedIn.

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View this article as it originally appeared on the Gazette-Virginian website here.

SOVA Innovation Hub: A small town place with a big-city vibe

When Tad Deriso, president and CEO of Mid-Atlantic Broadband Communities Corporation, walks into his downtown South Boston workplace at the SOVA Innovation Hub in the morning, he is greeted with the latest technology.

Tad Deriso, president and CEO of Mid-Atlantic Broadband Communities Corporation, demonstrates his automated adjustable desk in his new office on the second floor of the SOVA Innovation Hub in downtown South Boston. Miranda Baines/Gazette-Virginian

Lightening speed internet access, curved glass walls when he walks in the door of the building, an office with an automated adjustable desk where he can stand or sit as he goes about his day, a spacious conference room with a large flat-screen monitor, an open work space for collaboration and whiteboards for brainstorming ideas, a cutting-edge Microsoft Experience Center just below Deriso’s office on the building’s first floor and an electric car charging station in the parking lot all contribute to the big-city feel of the building.

Deriso joked while leading members of South Boston Town Council on a tour of the Hub Thursday afternoon that the building looks a little nicer now [than] a tobacco warehouse.

The Microsoft Mixed Reality Experience in the SOVA Innovation Hub is projected to open in late summer or early fall. The Hololens technology enables guests to view 3D holographic images and interact with those images.
Miranda Baines/Gazette-Virginian

An electric car charging station on the grounds of the SOVA Innovation Hub is one of the high-tech amenities offered at the Hub, which recently opened its co-working space in downtown South Boston.Miranda Baines/Gazette-Virginian

Deriso explained the concept of the Microsoft Mixed Reality Experience as he led the town council members on the tour of the Hub: You put the headphones on your head, and it’s hooked into content.

The Hub has eight offices, 15 dedicated workspaces and a flex seating area designed for collaboration on the first floor.

An open kitchen stocked with beverages is one of the amenities available to those renting office space on the first floor of the SOVA Innovation Hub in downtown South Boston.
Miranda Baines/Gazette-Virginian

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