Richmond Hearing Doctors will be giving away a pair of Phonak Premium Digital Hearing Aids to someone in need of hearing aids but who is unable to afford them. To submit an entry, explain in one page or less how new hearing aids would affect you and the lives around you. Include a telephone number as winners will be contacted by phone. Entries can be emailed to .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) or mailed to 13925 Coalfield Commons Place, Suite 101, Midlothian, Va. 23114. Nominations are due by March 30. Richmond Hearing Doctors will also open a Henrico location next week in the Courtside West building at 1145 Gaskins Road, Suite 100.

A new one-of-a-kind store will open Saturday, March 31 in Towne Center West near Short Pump Town Center called The Olive Oil Taproom. The store is a full-service retail merchant offering fine extra Virgin olive oils, balsamic vinegars, gourmet cheeses and other fine products such as sauces, tapenades, dips and gifts. Guests will be able to sample specialty items such as naturally infused olive oils and vinegars that complement any type of gourmet food. The Olive Oil Taproom’s oils have more than the standard levels of polyphenol and oleic acids; higher levels of each have been proven to be a very high antioxidant associated with lowering the incidence of breast cancer and coronary diseases such as cholesterol.

Marc Highfill, of EXIT First Realty in Glen Allen, recently was named to EXIT Realty Corp. International’s list of Top 100 real estate professionals for both closed transaction sides and gross closed commissions earned for 2011. The list is compiled from thousands of professionals across North America and represents the “best of the best.”

Kitchen Thyme, Richmond’s first commercial kitchen for rent by the hour, recently opened its first location at 7801-25 W. Broad St. Kitchen Thyme is two commercial kitchen spaces under one roof and will be made available to food trucks and carts, caterers, chefs, and farmers’ market vendors and bakers. For the home-based chef, Kitchen Thyme offers a dream kitchen as well as a space to host parties including a full range of top-of-the-line equipment featuring Sub-Zero™ and Wolf™ appliances. Both kitchens are certified under the VDH and VDACS. Cold and frozen storage is also available for rent. Kitchen Thyme’s kitchens will be available for rent 24 hours a day, seven days a week. Its front office is open Monday-Friday from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. For more information, visit http://www.kitchenthymerva.com.

G. William (Bill) Norris, Jr., of Henrico, recently was appointed to the Capital Region Workforce Investment Board (Resource). Resource is a federally funded workforce investment board that strives to increase private sector employment opportunities.

Exit First Realty recently announced its selection as the exclusive Homes for Heroes real estate agency in Richmond. Homes for Heroes was founded in 2002 by a group of Minnesota business owners who created a nationwide network of realtors, mortgage lenders, title companies and appraisers whose sole purpose is to offer savings to community heroes when buying or selling a home. As a participant in the program, Exit First Realty will offer full real estate services at a discounted rate to local heroes in metro Richmond. Savings will include discounts on realtor fees, loan fees, title fees, closing costs, and home inspections. Homes for Heroes has already served hundreds of local heroes including Richmond and Henrico police officers. For more information, call 527-3948 or visit http://www.homesforheroes.com.

Pediatric Dentistry@VCU, located on the MCV Campus of Virginia Commonwealth University, will offer free services to children in need of dental care that do not have dental insurance on Give Kids a Smile Day. The event will take place Friday, Feb. 3 from 7:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. in the Wood Memorial Building, 521 N. 11th St., Suite 315. Pediatric Dentistry@VCU and its Pediatric Dental Specialist will provide exams, cleanings, X-rays, fillings, extractions and minor restorations for children ages 0-18 years old. Give Kids a Smile Day, created by the American Dental Association, is an annual focus of National Children’s Dental Health Month and is observed every year during the month of February. The program was designed to provide education, preventative and restorative oral healthcare for children. For more information, or to schedule an appointment, call 828-9095. Walk-ins are welcome but are not guaranteed to be seen. Appointments are strongly encouraged.

Draper Aden Associates recently announced that Jennifer L. Bunting, P.E. and Victor Valenzuela, P.E., Utility Division staff engineers in the Richmond office, have earned their professional engineer license. Bunting, a member of the Infrastructure Evaluation and Rehabilitation Team, is responsible for the video review, system assessment and evaluation, and CAD design of wastewater infrastructure rehabilitation and replacement. She has been with the firm for four years and is a graduate of Clarkson University with a B.S. in Civil Engineering. Valenzuela is responsible for preliminary water and sewer infrastructure design, construction drawing and technical specification development assistance, construction administration services, preliminary analysis and feasibility and engineering reports. He has been with the firm for five years and holds a B.S. in Civil and Environmental Engineering from Virginia Tech.