Ukrop family named Richmonders of the Year
The Ukrops The Ukrop family includes James “Jim” Ukrop ’60, L.H.D. ’99 and Barbara Berkeley Ukrop ’61, pictured here in 2006 at the dedication at Ukrop Way at William & Mary. Photo by Stephen Salpukas
For their active approach, cultural influence and longevity of work in Richmond, Style Weekly has named the Ukrop family as the 30th anniversary Richmonders of the Year.
The Ukrop family includes James “Jim” Ukrop ’60, L.H.D. ’99 and Barbara Berkeley Ukrop ’61, as well as their extended family.
According to the feature article released on Tuesday, the Ukrops seem to have touched nearly every area of Richmond, serving in many ways for decades. The family has done everything from helping create the Monument Avenue 10k and Richmond Marathon, sponsoring the Christmas parade and championing a new downtown performing arts center, to creating funding for community charities and local startups.
Jim Ukrop’s parents started Ukrop’s Super Markets in 1937. He went on to serve as top management at Ukrop’s Super Markets from 1965 to 2008. In addition to his management duties and his civic involvement, he has worked with veteran Richmond business executives to launch New Richmond Ventures, which has raised about $88 million for startups. The venture fund selects only projects that it sees as having a truly new idea that benefits the community.
Barbara Ukrop has joined Jim in various projects over the years, has been active with Leadership Metro Richmond and has served on the board of the Community Foundation.
Jim Ukrop and his brother, Bobby, were named Style’s 10th annual Richmonders of the Year for 1994. They were cited for helping shift attitudes in the business community about the role that such leaders could play in re-energizing downtown.
Read more in Style Weekly.