Fredericksburg-based Marstel-Day LLC this week won a statewide award from the Tayloe Murphy Center of the University of Virginia's Darden School of Business.

Marstel-Day, which was founded in 2002 and has its local office in the George Washington Executive Center on Princess Anne Street, was one of five Virginia winners of the center's inaugural Resilience Awards competition. The awards recognize "strong, resilient businesses located in communities facing tough economic conditions."

Marstel-Day received the Chairman's Award. It was selected by Tayloe Murphy Jr., who chaired a group of five judges.

Marstel-Day works with the U.S. Department of Defense and other public- and private-sector entities to develop plans for conserving natural resources and developing "green" objectives.

That work is dear to Murphy, a Westmoreland County man who has spent much of his career working on environmental causes including cleaning up the Chesapeake Bay and Virginia's rivers. Both Murphy and his father (the namesake of the U.Va. center) were longtime members of the Virginia House of Delegates; the younger Murphy was secretary of natural resources under Gov. Mark Warner.

Murphy believes a healthy environment and economy are tied closely together. He said Marstel-Day stood out for him among the 12 finalists because of its environmental work.

"They were doing exactly the things that needed to be done to maintain the strength of our economy," Murphy said yesterday.

Marstel-Day employs about 68 people, including about 34 in Fredericksburg, said founder and president Rebecca Rubin. It also has offices in Alexandria and in Oakland, Calif., and was recently named as one of Inc. Magazine's 5,000 fastest-growing private U.S. companies. Rubin expects the growth to continue.

Rubin received the award Wednesday night at U.Va.'s historic Rotunda. Her company and the other winners will each receive a fully funded course worth about $10,000 in Darden's Executive Education program.

"We were stunned, honored and humbled beyond belief," Rubin said of winning the award.

Bill Freehling: 540/374-5405
Email: bfreehling@freelancestar.com