I am president of Rubin Communications Group, a local public relations firm. I started it in 1991 and had as many as seven on staff before downsizing. It’s now my wife and I, but we still have some substantial clients, including Dominion Energy and TowneBank. I have loved writing since high school and have never stopped, whether for my school newspaper, college radio station, local TV affiliate where I was a reporter for 15 years, or in PR, where I continue to tell stories. I also write for local publications. I enjoy interviewing and then distilling quotes and anecdotes into short-form pieces. I believe communication is so critical and is too often under-appreciated.
About Joel Rubin
Q: Please tell us a little bit about your family.
Sara Jo and I have been married since 1980. We have two grown children, Danny and Molly, both of whom are married and have graced us with a combined five grandchildren (in age order: Lucy, Niv, Nora, Shai, Harris). Danny lives here in VB, and Molly in DC.
Q: Please tell us about your current, past, or future career. What do you love most about what you do?
I started in radio professionally with WNOR AM and FM in Norfolk, doing news and sports, then became the sports director at WAVY-TV before transitioning to my real love, reporting. After starting my business, I was asked to host and produce a political and issues talk show on WVEC, which I did from 1992-2008. I love writing, interviewing, speaking to groups, and telling other people’s stories to audiences. I am fascinated by back stories, especially of people from backgrounds different from my own.
Q: What advice would you give to people?
Be curious, not judgmental. Think about walking in the other guy’s shoes. Try to understand other’s viewpoints, especially when it’s difficult, and above all, appreciate history, including local history. How something started has a lot to do with how it is today.
Q: Where do you see yourself in 5 to 10 years?
Still writing and making a difference.
Joel Rubin & Our Community
Q: What are a couple of your favorite restaurants in our community?
Murphy’s on Pacific Avenue, Orion’s Roof, Las Palmas
Q: How long have you lived or worked in our community?
48 years
Q: Who is the most interesting person you’ve met here in our community?
Morgan Davis, now retired executive of TowneBank, because he also is a devotee of magic and 60’s and 70’s music, which he plays and sings while on a piano bench. He is fun to be with and talk to and always interested in what I’m doing.
Q: What current or former local business makes you the most nostalgic about our community?
I was “raised” in two cities, Richmond and Newport News, because that’s where my mother grew up. Her family had a bakery and bread distributorship called Brenner’s Warwick Bakery in downtown Newport News. I worked there as a child, bagging bread and helping deliver it with my uncles, and I also learned how to interact with others from different backgrounds. The company is long gone, but many people of my generation.
Q: What is your favorite thing or something unique about our community?
Practically everything about our community revolves around water, particularly the ocean. Port, defense, tourism and offshore wind are (or will be) our principal industries. The more I learn about all of them, the more I understand our history (good and bad) and what makes Hampton Roads distinctive.
Q: If you could choose anyone alive today and not a relative, with whom would you love to have lunch? Why? And where locally would y’all meet for this lunch?
Bob Aston, who is a client (chair of TowneBank) but also a friend. He is so down to earth, a lover of sports (like me), of the region (like me), and business (like me). He is at the upper end of the food chain here, but he is totally self-made. I would meet at Gosport Tavern in Portsmouth because he grew up in Portsmouth, and I worked there for many years, and they have excellent chili.
For Fun
Q: What is one of your favorite movies? TV shows?
Princess Bride, Airplane, Seinfeld, Office, Curb Your Enthusiasm, Homeland
Q: (Even for friends or family), what is something interesting that most people don’t know about you?
I’m pretty much an open book, but I am fascinated by the racial history of this country and how it continues to impact society today.
Q: What would you rate a 10 out of 10?
My grandchildren
Q: Who inspires you to be better?
Young people who deserve a better society than we are handing them. I hope they will bring sanity to our politics and quality to our leadership.
Q: Finally, what three words or phrases come to mind when you think of the word HOME?
Cooking (I love to cook), MASN (Orioles baseball channel), Sara Jo (who is responsible for how beautiful and functional and welcoming our HOME is)
