Genya Kalinina has always been an adventurer at heart, so when she and her husband, Stan Myshkovskiy, moved to the Star City in 2019, it was no surprise that she chose to carry her free-spirited nature along with her. That same relentless hunger to uncover life’s greatest—and often hidden—treasures inspired her to create ‘Hello Roanoke,’ initially known as ‘Best of Roanoke,’ in early 2020.
It started with Genya and Stan eager to learn more about the Roanoke Valley and everything their new home had to offer. Naturally, they turned to online guides and ‘best of’ pages for direction. But when those came up short, they took matters into their own hands by launching ‘Hello Roanoke.’ Their mission was crystal clear: to build a positive platform that highlights locally-owned businesses and the people behind them while unveiling community events and hidden gems that might otherwise go unnoticed.
Several years later, their business not only lives up to those aspirations but surpasses them. In roughly five years, ‘Hello Roanoke’ has grown into a widely recognized resource within the Roanoke Valley, for newcomers and long-term residents alike, amassing more than 100,000 followers in total on all of their social media platforms…