City contractor wins $100 million award

Fredericksburg-based Lifecycle Construction Services Inc. has received a contract from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers worth up to $100 million.

The contract is for design/build and general construction services at multiple military installations in North Carolina, primarily Fort Bragg.

Lifecycle has won several other large contracts of late from the U.S. Army and Navy. The company, whose 3,000-square-foot office is at 1315 Jefferson Davis Highway near the Allman's barbecue restaurant, this year placed 153rd on the annual Inc. magazine list of the fastest-growing private companies in America.

Lifecycle President and CEO Sean Haynes, who has had a long career in project design and construction, started the company in the Washington area five years ago. He moved the company to Fredericksburg in 2009 because he and his wife didn't want to raise their family in Northern Virginia, and he saw the region as a good central location. Fredericksburg's inclusion in the federal government's HUBZone program played a big role in the decision to relocate.

Businesses honored at Chamber awards

Three Fredericksburg-area businesses were recognized at Thursday's 11th-annual Chamber Goodwill Awards for their efforts at helping others in the community and improving the local quality of life.

The CVS Distribution Center in Spotsylvania County won the award for a large business. The company was honored for its work with the Rappahannock United Way, Rappahannock Area Agency on Aging, Bragg Hill Family Life Center and Hope House.

Exit Realty Expertise, a real-estate brokerage firm, won the award for a medium business for its work with the Greater Fredericksburg Habitat for Humanity, King George Fall Festival, Autism Society, King George Historical Society, King George Food Bank, King George YMCA and Rappahannock United Way.

Foode, a restaurant in downtown Fredericksburg, won the award for a small business. Owners Beth Black and Joy Crump and their staff have provided free meals to the families of sick children, mentored at-risk students and participated in area fundraiser events to benefit Mary Washington Healthcare Hospice and the Moss Free Clinic.

The Fredericksburg Regional Chamber of Commerce and Rappahannock Goodwill Industries put on Thursday's event, which was held at the Fredericksburg Country Club.

--Bill Freehling

Gasoline prices finally begin autumn slide

NEW YORK

Better late than never, drivers say.

The national average retail price has fallen for 10 straight days and is now $3.74 per gallon. It could mark the beginning of the usual autumn decrease that was delayed this year because of refinery problems and high oil prices.

Tom Kloza, chief oil analyst at the Oil Price Information Service, predicts drops of 5 cents to 15 cents per week for the next three weeks. Over the next several weeks, the national average could be at or below where it was last year.

"There's some nice relief coming," he said.

Gasoline prices typically decline in the fall as refiners switch to cheaper fuel blends and drivers take a break from road trips. This year a series of refinery and pipeline problems sent gasoline supplies plummeting. That sent wholesale gasoline buyers and traders scrambling to purchase whatever they could, at ever higher prices, to secure supply.

--The Associated Press