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Outstanding Local Businesses

Outstanding Local Business Award Recipients for February 2022

February’s list contains three outstanding local businesses who are being recognized for their contribution to their customers, clients, and the local community.

By: Sylvia Slezak | Feb 2022

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Services provided by these businesses include Wills, Trusts, Estate Planning, Probate, Business Law, plan room service, virtual building, local construction, shipping containers, shipper-owned containers, storage containers, container structures, container inspections & certifications, container maintenance & repair (M&R), container modifications, depot service loading, storage container delivery (tilt-bed & flatbed).

Pro Box, Inc. - Houston, TX

Steve McVille, the Chief Executive Officer of Pro Box, Inc. founded the company in 1993 and incorporated it in Texas in 1994, for the purpose of selling containers. The company’s core business is the nationwide sales of Shipper-Owned Containers (SOCs) for global shipping, storage containers for business use, personal use, homes, offices and structures. Products also include DNV-designed offshore containers. In addition, Pro Box operates a full service depot in Houston, TX offering storage, handling, repairs and modifications. Services include container inspections and certifications, container maintenance and repair (M&R), container modifications, depot service loading, storage container delivery (one way drop) - tilt-bed, shipping container delivery (one way drop) - flatbed, and container modifications.

Steve’s background in the container shipping industry includes 15 years with steamship agencies and shipping lines. His operating knowledge and expertise came from years of “on the job” training in container terminal operations, vessel operations, equipment control, container maintenance and repair, container leasing and purchasing as well as 20 years as a container supplier with Pro Box. Pro Box’s niche is “the purchase and sale of ISO cargo worthy, CSC plated shipping containers, otherwise known as shipper-owned containers.”

Born into a family of seafarers, it seems only natural for Steve McVille to carry on the tradition. Steve’s grandfather, Capt. Anguiz, was born in Barcelona Spain and eventually became the “commodore” of the Great White Fleet of United Fruit Company headquartered in New Orleans. Steve’s mother worked for the Bar Pilots Association in New Orleans. Steve’s three brothers were also mariners. He became a steamship agent in ’77 and attended Tulane University in the evenings while boarding ships to pay for his tuition. After earning his Bachelors in Business and while employed at Care Shipping, he agreed to a transfer to Houston where eventually he started Pro Box, Inc. in 1993.

Slutzky Law Firm - Land O'Lakes, FL

A Florida-licensed Attorney-at-Law and owner of The Slutzky Law Firm, Jerrold E. Slutzky, J.D., CFP® primarily focuses on estate planning services (Wills, Trusts, Durable Powers of Attorney, health care surrogate designations, living wills, probate, guardianships, etc.) and small business legal services (start-ups, buy-sell agreements, drafting of legal documents, contract negotiations, succession planning, and general business law, counseling, and advice. The two locations that serve their clients are Land O’Lakes and Safety Harbor, Florida.

In 1977, Mr. Slutzky obtained his Illinois law license and opened his own law firm in Chicago, which focused on small business law and family financial matters such as estate, retirement, and tax planning, as well as many other areas of the law. In 1988, he and his family decided to move away from the Chicago winters to Florida’s year-round sunshine. He placed his Illinois law license on inactive status, and pursued a career in the financial services industry in Tampa for over 20 years, and in that capacity, he obtained his Series 7 (General Securities), Series 63 (Uniform State Exam), Series 65 (Investment Advisor Representative), and Florida insurance licenses (Life, Variable Life, and Health). In addition, in 1999, Jerry obtained his designation as a Certified Financial Planner™.

Inspired by his father, who at 95 years of age was engaged in the practice of law, Jerry decided to study for and take the Florida Bar examination, obtain his Florida law license and resume the practice of law. He limits his legal practice to matters pertaining to estate planning, small business law, and general legal counsel and advice.

In addition, with the combination of over 37 years experience in the legal and investment arenas, he also serves as an arbitrator in adjudicating investor disputes before the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA), the largest independent regulator for all securities firms doing business in the United States. When not in the office or out giving educational lectures, Jerry is an active supporter of community theater in the Tampa Bay area, and can often be found performing on stage in one Broadway musical or another.

Virtual Builders Exchange, LLC - San Antonio, TX

Virtual Builders Exchange is the largest and oldest plan room service in Texas. A full-service online construction news service, VBX employs professional staff to locate, verify and track local construction opportunities from project conception to the point of occupancy. This information is amalgamated and made available to construction professionals through membership that provides access to a suite of services customized to individual needs.

Founded in 1900 as the Builders Exchange of Texas, they have served the construction industry since bid results were posted on black boards and mules pulled supplies to the job site. Throughout its long history, the Builders Exchange has been just what the name implies – a place for construction professionals to find and exchange critical information during all phases of the construction process. Today, VBX provides the most sophisticated online plan distribution and document management service available anywhere in the United States. They are the number one source for commercial construction leads in Texas. VBX is service-oriented and politically neutral, neither advocating nor opposing the point of view of any particular segment of the construction industry, whose primary goal is to support the preconstruction process by acting as a source of timely, accurate and reliable information delivered to construction stakeholders in a useable format.

Chief Executive Officer, Michael T. Tollette joined VBX (formerly the Builders Exchange of Texas) in February of 1993, and is the senior partner and co-owner of VBX. He is responsible for technology and new product development and is best known for applying abstract thinking to solve complex problems that give everyone else a headache. Brenda L. Romano joined VBX in January of 2005 and is the co-owner and Chief Operating Officer at VBX. She is responsible for the organization’s day-to-day operations, and is best known for being an energetic and entertaining public speaker that is passionate about the construction industry.


CityOf.com showcases thousands of incredible businesses in more than 300 industry categories that are located in over 100 major U.S. cities. The Outstanding Local Business Award (OLBA) is given to locally-owned and operated businesses in recognition of their services to the local community and have met all of the Criteria listed on https://www.cityof.com/outstanding-local-business-award-badge

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