Virginia Beach Voices: Small Business, Big Community

Local stories can change the fate of a city when they’re told with care. Tony B sits down with Al Neely of Neely Media and Councilman Cash Green to chart a people-first media plan that lifts small businesses, reduces stigma, and builds real civic momentum across Virginia Beach. What starts as an origin story—an online inquiry, a community event, and a shared commitment—grows into a roadmap for accessible journalism and community-building that prioritizes human voices over headlines.

We unpack why podcasts and social channels are now the front door for local news, and how Neely Media is scaling responsibly: on-the-ground reporters, consistent event coverage, and a community-focused newspaper slated for early 2026. Councilman Green shares a powerful personal journey from earning a GED to serving in public office, challenging old narratives about success and education while championing entrepreneurship as the backbone of District 7. Together, we highlight practical steps to start telling better local stories—free on-site exclusives for Virginia Beach businesses, weekly mobile visits on Tuesdays, and simple ways to request coverage through nealymedia.com.

Along the way, we spotlight youth development through martial arts and the wider social benefits of disciplined training, mentorship, and belonging. We talk about turning everyday transactions into relationships by revealing the “business behind the business,” and why that kind of context builds trust, supports seniors, and strengthens the local economy. The tone is warm and candid; the mission is clear: people over politics, service over spotlight, and a city that’s ready to see itself—and support itself—more fully.

If you believe local voices deserve a bigger stage, subscribe, share this episode with a neighbor, and leave a review with the name of a small business we should feature next. Your suggestion could be our next story.

Chapters

• 0:00 Meet Tony, Al, and Councilman Green
• 0:24 Origin Story: How We Connected
• 2:40 Why Media Matters for Momentum
• 3:45 Inside Small Businesses, Beyond Transactions
• 5:20 Neely Media’s Expansion Plans
• 7:10 Free Exclusives and How to Engage
• 9:20 District 7’s Small Business Vision
• 11:40 Martial Arts, Discipline, and Youth
• 13:30 A National Ambition with Local Roots
• 16:20 Human Stories Over Headlines
• 19:00 Lifting Stigma: GEDs and Second Chances
• 22:20 A Weekly Mobile Media Presence
• 24:20 Community as Civic Wellbeing
• 26:00 Growing Together, Funding Transparency
• 27:40 Service as the Backbone
• 29:00 Closing: Building a Shared Future

Transcript

SPEAKER_00: 0:01

Hello, I am Tony B, and I'm speaking today with Al Neely of Neely Media and Councilman Cash Green from District 7, right here in Virginia Beach. And we're going to just uh talk a little bit about how we're promoting small businesses within the area. First of all, I'd like to know how the two of you met. How did you come to work together on this?

SPEAKER_01: 0:27

Well, uh, Cash, I'm not quite sure how I met you, but Cash came on and did uh a podcast in the fall. I can't remember back then for it. Do you remember how we met?

SPEAKER_02: 0:40

We were at an event, a community event.

SPEAKER_01: 0:44

Right.

SPEAKER_02: 0:45

And uh from there you had and uh someone reach out to me. Or no, no. What I'm gonna tell you how we met. I was looking online for media outlets where I can get my story out, and I had um called in or something online, and then your wife reached out, and that's how we we actually started before a community event. Really? It was all online.

SPEAKER_01: 1:24

It was um it wasn't it wasn't my wife, it was my assistant at the time.

SPEAKER_02: 1:29

Okay, yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_01: 1:30

So then we met at the community event, yeah, right. Right. And then since then, um it's just been Cash and I in the community doing stuff together. That's right.

SPEAKER_00: 1:39

Yeah, beautiful. And this is your first year in office, and you're from what I understand, trying to highlight some of the businesses here, and this is one of the ways we're doing it. What is it about uh Nealy Media that you want to let people know is important and why they should be here?

SPEAKER_02: 2:02

So one of the things that um I have been very adamant about is if you don't get your message out on social media or podcasts, which is the newest form of communication. You know, people get their news uh from podcasts, and this has become the news status quo. This is it. So I really felt like uh me just starting off, this is my first year running for office, that I needed to build this momentum. And building that momentum, uh, I felt like you were in the same spot. So I felt like we were just evenly matched.

SPEAKER_01: 2:47

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02: 2:47

Right?

SPEAKER_01: 2:48

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02: 2:48

And so, with that being said, as I'm out there as a public figure, I meet so many people, I felt like um this is a good opportunity to bring um newly media to the forefront of public.

SPEAKER_00: 3:05

And you've worked with Al on projects in the past. How were those projects to work with?

SPEAKER_02: 3:11

So we we've done some amazing things, and and I think um to answer your question, they have been enlightening. It's one thing to go to that business, that small business, and buy like zero sub-zero or zero sub-sandwiches. It's one thing to go to that business, buy a sandwich, do a transaction, and leave. It's another thing to get the perspective from the owner where he gives you the inside scoop. That to me is paramount. And so that's what um Nealy Media and myself has really been able to do is to get a chance to know the business behind the business, the people.

SPEAKER_00: 4:00

So you would encourage others in the community to work alongside Nealymedia for their projects, correct?

SPEAKER_02: 4:10

Um, 100%. It's been nothing but letting people know that it's gonna be professional. It's gonna be from a journalistic uh point of view, right?

SPEAKER_01: 4:21

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02: 4:23

And I think you're up and coming, even though uh we are not connected with Virginia Pilot or any media uh outlets, you are your own, right? Correct. Um I think we have an opportunity to be cutting edge. I think we have an opportunity to let the world know that Nealymedia is for the people.

SPEAKER_00: 4:49

Beautiful. And Al, as far as Nealy Media, yes, you have the podcast, but as there are other avenues where businesses can also uh be promoted or or work with you, what other types of things will you be including in this media company?

SPEAKER_01: 5:10

Um starting this week, we're gonna have at least one on the ground reporter um reporting in on site and writing on events, and then we're gonna publish those online. And by the next within the next two months, we should at least have two. What I want to do with it is I really want to focus and build the community within Virginia Beach. Um, so that was the attraction uh with cash. Um, one of the things we would share is building the community up in Virginia Beach. So we're gonna focus there. We're gonna focus on community events, we're gonna focus on political uh events. Um, and then within the beginning of 2026, we will actually have a newspaper. I was trying to, we were talking about that, right? So we will have a newspaper coming out. And it will be um, we're gonna probably start with a community uh and then go from there. But Virginia Beach is people don't realize we have a big footprint here. So uh I just want to stay focused here. So those are the things that I have in line for what's coming up.

SPEAKER_00: 6:30

Wonderful. So as you're growing the community, you're going to grow with the community as well.

SPEAKER_01: 6:36

Absolutely. That's the plan. Yeah.

SPEAKER_00: 6:38

Wonderful. All right. So if there are other businesses that can utilize newly media, how what's the best way for them to reach out and what types of things do you want to be helping other businesses cover?

SPEAKER_01: 6:56

Right now we want to focus on small businesses in the area, organizations, nonprofit. We've done quite a few nonprofit organizations and we've highlighted them. So they can go to the website, and what we're gonna do is we're gonna offer free. I think we said we wanted to do something for businesses for at least a year. So we're gonna do um free exclusives for businesses in Virginia Beach on site, and then uh from that point on, we'll we'll give them social media. Uh, we're gonna work on digital streaming and then the newsletter. Uh but um to answer your question, I just got a little bit off track here. So we can do you can access the website, and the website is nealymedia.com. And the website you can request that we come out and um highlight your business. It's nealymedia.com, and you can put your information in there, or you can give us a call, and then you can get in contact with us if you would like to be highlighted in that particular uh area for business.

SPEAKER_00: 8:14

Wonderful. So you said that you're gonna be focusing on small business, nonprofits, and political uh topics.

SPEAKER_01: 8:24

Well, not so much political. We're we're gonna be talking about community as well, but the things that are going on within the community as far as politics in Virginia Beach. Right.

SPEAKER_00: 8:36

Great, great. And where would people be able to see you and what you've done before so they get a taste of how uh they would be handled?

SPEAKER_01: 8:51

The you can find videos on YouTube, uh, IG and Facebook. And what you can do is you can go to the website and then download the videos from there, which will take you uh the website will take you to the YouTube channel, and the YouTube channel you can preview some of the um exclusives that we've had.

SPEAKER_00: 9:18

Great, great. So this is an initiative. This is just the first interview in this, but it's an initiative that um, councilman, you're trying to uh grow through other businesses as well. Do you have other businesses already lined up or uh do you have a direction that you are following for this?

SPEAKER_02: 9:40

We have over 700 businesses in District 7, um, which is Tallwood High, Salem High, Regent University, um, and heading all the way down from um Kimpsville to Indian River to Military Highway. Um, the backbone of how America is built, it's built on small businesses, right? And entrepreneurship. That spirit of entrepreneurship is everything. Um so the vision is, and yes, I have many lined up. Um, we have a karate studio, which is taught by Jack Dark, Master Jack Dark, which is uh you you know him? No. So he teaches uh kids from 10 to 17, and martial art has kind of taken a back seat since Bruce Lee, you know, passed away. Uh but um, and then uh they use uh wooden swords, and then the schools took a stand against kind of weapons, they saw that as a weapon. So um, but for me, I see it teaching our kids um how to um cultivate that energy in a more disciplined way. Yes, instead of being explosive, now they understand what they can do with their body, their movements, or a weapon. It's the same thing like training for gun safety. If you don't train them, then they don't know the power behind that weapon. So I'm a big fan of martial arts for our kids. I'm a big fan of them using weapons in a controlled and trained manner because then I think we um reduce opportunities for violence in our schools. So that would be the next business that you want to work with as you work through the list. That's right. Master Jack Dark's taekwondo class.

SPEAKER_00: 11:55

Wonderful. Wonderful. And as this grows, what is your ultimate goal? The ultimate goal. I mean, I understand building community, but who you're asking, or both of us? Both of you. Yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_01: 12:11

You go first. Okay. I think the one thing that we share is um, I think this is one of the reasons we get along so well is our fondness for the city. We've talked about not just small businesses, we've talked about um other events on larger scales, trying to put Virginia Beach in a place where it's highlighted through sports, entertainment, um, business, tourism, media, where we've talked about. So I think that's where the idea um that we share and growing that to um just give a place for Virginia Beach on a national level, right?

SPEAKER_02: 13:01

And and I think um your podcast is unique, it's unique because you know, he's not an overpowering um, if you will, journalist, quote unquote, or um an interviewer, right? Or I I think people can feel like um you they actually have a part in your media company, um, like Costco, like Sam's Club, right? Uh you're and this is I think the touch that makes um newly media different is it's the community that makes this podcast. It's their personality, it's their um different energy that they bring, like we talked about today, that they are gonna bring to help build this as not just a local but then a um national, then a global podcast.

SPEAKER_00: 14:01

So the sky's the limit here.

SPEAKER_01: 14:04

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00: 14:05

We're gonna start, we're gonna start with our feet on the ground with our head in the clouds. Yeah, yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_01: 14:11

I love that. Yes, absolutely.

SPEAKER_00: 14:13

Yeah. Good foundation built on small steps that build a a larger presence for everyone. Right. Right. The coming together.

SPEAKER_01: 14:26

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00: 14:27

Is there anything else that either one of you would like to make sure the public knows about this venture?

SPEAKER_01: 14:36

Do you want to take it or you want me?

SPEAKER_02: 14:37

Yeah. Yeah. You go, because I thought there was something there.

SPEAKER_01: 14:42

Um I think probably the thing that I would want people to know is that um when I'm talking to them and I'm interviewing them, I'm looking at them as um individuals, and I would like for the expression of who they are, their experiences to come across in the interview and the passion for why they're doing what they're doing. So um if you take a look at some of the exclusives that we have now, um you can see that come across. Yes. And uh that's just satisfying to me. Yes. So that's uh that's what I would say. Probably for me.

SPEAKER_02: 15:34

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01: 15:35

So comes to mind Armentia. What's her name?

SPEAKER_02: 15:38

Yeah, La Tanya Warren.

SPEAKER_01: 15:40

La Tanya Warren. She's amazing. That was so enlightening. Yeah. And um it kind of, once you've had you've you've viewed that experience, you got to see exactly the passion and what she was doing. Right. So I didn't mean to cut you off, but I was just that that's one of the things that I would like for people to to know because you have your negative views about that particular industry. Industry, right? And it's not that way. So those are the kind of things that um I I I'm trying to bring to the forefront. Yeah.

SPEAKER_02: 16:19

And I think that that's important. Um as a representative, I represent the voice that is not heard.

SPEAKER_01: 16:30

Right.

SPEAKER_02: 16:31

The workers that um are behind closed doors. Right. The person behind the counter who's not in front. And so if anything nearly media uh exists to bring those voices to the forefront.

SPEAKER_00: 16:50

And when you say that, it sounds to me as though there's something very personal behind that statement. Is that anything that you are open to sharing?

SPEAKER_02: 17:03

Yeah. So academia is is very important to me, but I didn't start off in academia. Um the 11th grade was very tough. It was a transitional um period in my life where my father, a Vietnam vet, uh, was never the same when he came back to the states. And so uh my mother raised my sister myself, and um, she wasn't able to provide that sort of uh nucleus family, the nuclear family. And so we were raised with our grandparents. And for me, as a young man, it was just very difficult to process. And so I had to uh go the route of continual education, where I had to get a continual education, which is a a GED in the 11th and 12th grade.

SPEAKER_01: 17:58

Okay.

SPEAKER_02: 17:59

Why that's important because I because I never want to tell anyone. I tell people about my four years of seminary and uh my uh certificates from Harvard and classes and courses, but I didn't tell them about my childhood. So I think what we do is we exist to let people know that their voices, no matter small their business, no matter how um, like Latanya Warren. Yes, where it may have such a um, and her company is Armentia, and it is canon boid studies. And so there is a stigma behind that, just like a stigma for GED. I have a high school diploma, I have a G D stigma, right? Right, and I think we exist to change that stigma for small businesses that um are in the bright lights and those that are not.

SPEAKER_00: 18:57

I think that's a very, very important thing to say. And I think that the stigmas people have held from 70s, eighties before we have to recognize that they don't fit today's culture and they don't value the journey that some of us have had to endure. And those journeys have made us stronger and adaptable and relevant, right, and without a voice to share that, no one no one gets to learn another way of seeing things. So thank you for bringing that up because and thank you for not being afraid to say that because if truth be known, in my opinion, a GED is harder earned than a high school diploma. And I think that the stigma is not accurate at all.

SPEAKER_02: 20:20

So congratulations. Thank you. Thank you to the childhood self, my childhood self, which I told no one. I scored the third highest in the nation uh back in the 90s for my GD test course. But I couldn't tell no one because I was ashamed. I carried that shame, hence, carrying that shame and guilt actually cultivated sort of a life as a young man of shame and guilt.

SPEAKER_00: 20:50

It makes us work harder, it makes us able to achieve. But at what point can we come to that place where we can forgive ourselves for thinking less of ourselves than we should? At what point do we do we get there? And is this going to be the platform for assisting that that journey?

SPEAKER_02: 21:24

I think this is. This is the platform. We are mobile every Tuesday. We have uh made it a plan of us to be in the community from 10 to 11. So um in about three years, we will be well known as the media company that's gonna come and visit you at your uh place of business and let you know that you matter.

SPEAKER_00: 21:57

So people over politics.

SPEAKER_02: 22:00

That's right.

SPEAKER_00: 22:01

But not just a slogan.

SPEAKER_02: 22:04

Not just a slogan. I was never a politician. I was I'm a I'm a blue-collar worker and my father's, my my father, my grandparents, uh, which I said he's my father too. Um, right? Fathers, uh, I told you, raise me. But they're military.

unknown: 22:24

Right.

SPEAKER_02: 22:25

And the vision that they had for us was more uh a pastor in a church, which I did that, yeah, or a football player sports. Yeah. I I did that too. I played with Terrell Davis of the Denver Broncos, and uh he went on to play in a in the NFL, and I went on to um sit here on the couch with Lube, right? I love you guys.

SPEAKER_00: 22:57

I love that I think it was Yogi Berra that said if it was a perfect world, it wouldn't be.

SPEAKER_02: 23:03

Yeah, right.

SPEAKER_00: 23:04

And because it is not, we have these opportunities to help improve and give voice to. So I I love that uh you've allowed me to be a part of that today. Yeah. Um and I I look forward to seeing where this is going to go and how we're going to be able to update the societal stigmas that we all come up against.

SPEAKER_01: 23:38

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02: 23:39

But and I think you you said something very important. The term community is where we live by a list of rules and regulations so that we can keep our society safe and healthy and vibrant. And we we actually will become a part of the fibre, the the fiber of Virginia Beach being a um an economic hub, which will allow for more health and longevity for our seniors. So think of this as it's almost like medicine to the community. We provide a mental medical, if you will, I'm not we're not doctors, but but it's sort of in that holistic realm, that we are actually gonna keep our communities together in a more um in a more inclusive, right? I hope so. More inclusive. Yes. But but not we're gonna laugh together, we're gonna um cry together, but letting them know that they're not alone. Right. Yes.

SPEAKER_00: 24:52

And I think that's that's a a tall order.

SPEAKER_02: 24:56

Yeah, right.

SPEAKER_00: 24:57

Today's um society seems to be alone in the middle of a bunch of people. So that's a very tall order to to build that, but I think I think it's something that can do happen. And I'm grateful that you're willing to come together to bring others together and give them wings. Yeah, I'm grateful.

SPEAKER_01: 25:23

Yeah, it it's really important. Um, so I just want to add to what you're saying. Hopefully it doesn't take three years. It's a little it's so we could do this in half that time. But when I when I see the a greater vision for everything that we're doing now, it is to bring the community together. From I'm from a larger city, and there's so many things that are beneficial in terms of um medicine, education, and just infrastructure, right? And those things um are all fueled by a community and an economy that's thriving, and that's when you have growth. So the bigger picture I see for what he does as a service, and then what I see as a media company, and then um growth. So yeah. Here, here. Okay.

SPEAKER_00: 26:30

Here's two growing together.

SPEAKER_01: 26:32

Yes, absolutely.

unknown: 26:33

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02: 26:33

Is that gonna be our uh is it that's our topic today? Growing together.

SPEAKER_01: 26:38

Growing together.

SPEAKER_02: 26:39

Or how we started. I mean, this is really, I mean, you're funding this. And so I let this be clear. This is a disclaimer. I am councilman cash green. Uh, there is no taxpayer money or tax dollar money used for this episode. Nobody was hurt.

SPEAKER_01: 26:56

Absolutely. Right.

SPEAKER_02: 26:59

So, so we are we are doing this, right?

SPEAKER_01: 27:03

Uh, it would appear so.

SPEAKER_02: 27:05

And now we're gonna have a new host. Absolutely, it would appear so. That's right.

SPEAKER_01: 27:15

So maybe that's what it then we should title it, huh?

SPEAKER_02: 27:18

It appears so.

SPEAKER_01: 27:20

Okay, correct. So I saw something in you, yes, and that's why I asked.

SPEAKER_00: 27:25

Yes.

SPEAKER_01: 27:26

But if you take a look at everything that you do, he does, and I do, there's a it's a common we both serve and we serve the community. It's all about serving. So it's that's I think is what the idea is. And it's I guess it's not front and center, it's maybe even unconscious, but it's just part of our fiber circuit.

SPEAKER_00: 27:52

I don't think it has to be the spotlight, it has to be the backbone.

SPEAKER_01: 27:56

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00: 27:57

And people uh there are people who have a servant mentality, right? They have a servant heart, and I don't really care what work I'm doing, my I'm here to serve. Right. I'm here to contribute. I don't necessarily need a spotlight for that. I know that it's those who serve in whatever capacity, if they approach things through service and that's your goal, doesn't matter the work that you do, you're you're building that foundation for wherever you are. And that I I believe that you're correct in that. All three of us are here trying to serve and and build. So it's a beautiful, a beautiful thing to come together. So I have been Tony B. It's been my pleasure to to interview and speak with you today, uh, Al Neely of Media, uh Neely Media and Cash Green, Councilman Cash Green of District 7 here in Virginia Beach. I look forward to seeing how we grow.

SPEAKER_01: 29:08

Thank you. Thank you.