Tag Archives: Ed Roscoe

Victoria Parham Virtual Support Services for serving as a mentor to military spouses Victoria Parham knows firsthand how tough it is to be a soldier’s wife. Her husband, Andre, served in the Army until last year. When he was deployed to South Korea in 1995, Parham was forced to move in with her mother and to sell her small resume-writing business. When she later started another company, Virtual Support Services, she designed it to be portable. If Andre received another distant commission, she would go with him. So would VSS, which provides administrative support to businesses through a network of independent contractors. The test came in 2000, when Andre was assigned to Anchorage, Alaska. On the cross-country drive, Victoria ran VSS from the back seat of the family SUV, juggling a cell phone, laptop, and portable printer. Over 22 days, 5 hours, and 30 minutes of travel, VSS never faltered. Today VSS’s revenue is in the six figures. Once Parham, now 36, settled in Alaska, she began volunteering as a mentor at the Service Corps of Retired Executives. She parlayed that into a gig with the Navy, teaching military spouses, by Web seminar, how to design businesses that can move with them from base to base. She has taught 400 people so far. For the armed services, says Ed Roscoe, a program manager for the Navy, “our return on investment is keeping highly qualified soldiers on active duty by stabilizing families.” And that’s just what Parham is doing. Patrick J. Sauer Martha Stewart, Martha Stewart Omnimedia because she took one for the team Richard Branson, Virgin Group because he’s game for anything. In fact, everything. Michael Dell, Dell Computer for being brilliantly straightforward Jim Sinegal, Costco because who knew a big-box chain could have a generous soul? Diane von Furstenberg, Diane von Furstenberg Studio for staging an elegant comeback Julie Azuma, Different Roads to Learning for offering hope and help to the parents of autistic children Fritz Maytag, Anchor Brewing for setting limits Ray Kurzweil, Kurzweil Technologies and other companies because he is Edison’s rightful heir Craig Newmark, Craigslist for putting the free in free markets Jack Mitchell, Mitchells/Richards because his family business makes an art of customer service Frank Robinson, Robinson Helicopter for whipping an entire industry into shape Mark Melton, Melton Franchise Systems for giving immigrants their shot at the American Dream Michelle Cardinal & Tim O’Leary, Cmedia and Respond2 for rewriting the rules for husband-and-wife teams Mike Lazaridis, Research in Motion because someone had to stand up for all those frustrated engineers Trip Hawkins, Electronics Arts and Digital Chocolate for still scrapping Warren Brown, Cake Love and Love Cafe because only in America will someone quit a secure job as a lawyer to start a bakery Muriel Siebert, Muriel Siebert & Co. for being a notable first with a worthy second act Chuck Porter, Crispin, Porter + Bogusky for verging on reckless Katrina Markoff, Vosges Haut for setting a completely unreasonable goal for her business Barry Steinberg & Craig Sumerel, Direct Tire and Auto Service for showing the power of the peer group Victoria Parham, Virtual Support Services for serving as a mentor to military spouses Tom LaTour, Kimpton Hotels and Restaurants for staying at fleabag hotels so that we don’t have to Mitchell Gold & Bob Williams, Mitchell Gold for creating a true comfort zone Izzy & Coco Tihanyi, Surf Diva for kicking sand in the face of conventional wisdom Tony Lee, Ring Masters for saving 16 jobs, including his own Rueben Martinez, Libreria Martinez Books and Art Galleries for simultaneously building a business and nurturing Latino culture