Everyone has heard of rock n’ roll. But did you know Richmond is home to Romp n’ Roll? The company provides centers where children can exercise their bodies and minds. Founders Babz Barnett and her husband, Michael, opened their first location in Glen Allen in 2004 because they were tired of driving all over town to cart their children to various activities. Turns out other parents felt the same way.
The concept has been so successful that the company opened a second location and is now franchising the business model of a one-stop child’s enrichment center. Romp n’ Roll offers classes in gym, art and music as well as birthday parties and camps for children aged 3 months to five years. A 12-week session costs about $174, but prices vary based on the specialty.
Since the first of the year, the company has signed agreements for six new locations to open by the end of the year in five states, including Virginia. It’s getting support from the Texas-based Findley Group, headed by Gary Findley, the former international president of Curves, the women’s fitness chain. That company grew to 8,000 units before Findley left last year 2006 to pursue other franchising opportunities. 
According to a company statement, the franchise fee for a Romp n’ Roll is $39,500. The total investment to open a 3,500-square-foot center ranges from $180,000 to $280,000 and includes the franchise fee.  “We always tell our employees and our owners that it’s not going to work every day, it’s going to play,” says Babz Barnett. Maybe someone could talk them into opening some Romp n’ Roll centers for adults.

Maybe there’s hope after for our celebrity-obsessed culture after all. People might like to read about the antics of Paris Hilton and Lindsay Lohan — which take up far too much space on the pages of legitimate news publications in my opinion — but they don’t hold actors and entertainers in high regard.
Firefighters, scientists and teachers top the list as the country’s most prestigious occupations, while bankers, actors and real estate brokers are the least prestigious, according to an annual Harris Poll.
Conducted in July among a nationwide sample of U.S. adults, the poll measures public perceptions of 23 occupations. Getting the highest marks were firefighters, scientists, teachers, doctors, military officers, nurses and police officers. Also making the top 10 were members of the clergy and farmers.
In fact, ratings for farmers — added to the Harris list for the first time last year — rose 5 percentage points, the largest gain of any occupation. Forty-one percent of respondents said farming was a job of “very great prestige,”
The lowest ratings went to real estate brokers (5 percent), actors (9 percent), bankers (10 percent), accountants (11 percent), stockbrokers (12 percent), journalists (13 percent) and business executives (14 percent). 

With Virginia Tech and other colleges resuming classes this week, crisis communications are in the news. Many schools, including Tech, have upgraded emergency alert systems since a disturbed student gunman killed 32 people and himself on Tech’s campus last April.
The tragedy led many businesses to review their ability to communicate with staff and customers in a crisis. Yet, a recent study of more than 600 business communicators found that only 67 percent of the companies polled had a formal crisis communication plan in place. The May study, done by the San Francisco-based International Association of Business Communications, also contained this discouraging news: 42 percent of the respondents whose companies didn’t have plans said their organizations were taking no action.
There’s food for thought here. In case of an emergency, is your company doing all it can to protect its staff?

On the way to work today, I glanced in my rearview mirror and saw something spookier than the recent stock market. An adult man was talking on his cell phone, reading the newspaper and drinking coffee — while driving. I immediately switched to the other lane. Since we were approaching a red light, the maneuver put me right next to Mr. Inconsiderate. When the light flashed green, the cars moved ahead while he sat there reading the paper. 

It’s times like these when abusive driver laws are welcome. This man’s behavior endangered others, because he wasn’t paying attention. If making him pay up would curb his tendency to read behind the wheel, let’s do it. It’s sad that it’s come to this. Trying to change bad behavior and pump up the state’s coffers with driver -penalty fees. But what about the constitutional right of people to some semblance of a sane driving experience?