During a recent meeting in Martinsville, the Virginia Tobacco Region Revitalization Commission approved a $107,250 grant for the Dan River Basin Association (DRBA) Marketing and Infrastructure Planning for the Southern VA Blueways System.
The funds award will help DRBA develop a master plan that enhances Southern Virginia’s blueways as a recreational destination through marketing strategies and infrastructure improvements across a nine-county region.
The commission approved 17 funding requests in support of a variety of organizations and initiatives across Southern and Southwest Virginia at its Sept. 26 meeting – its final scheduled meeting for the year. Committee meetings were held on Sept. 25.
The commission meeting was hosted by Patrick & Henry Community College (P&HCC) at the Manufacturing, Engineering and Technology Complex, which the commission has supported through a number of grants, including for renovation and other projects related to The MET.
Other projects funded include investments in energy innovation, support for agriculture in the region, strategic marketing initiatives, site development and more. The awards are part of the commission’s 25 years of work helping to rebuild the economies of Southern and Southwest Virginia.
Sen. Frank Ruff, commission chairman, said, “I am particularly proud of the commission’s investment in education and workforce training over the last 25 years. The success of the Manufacturing, Engineering, and Technology Complex here at Patrick & Henry Community College is a great example of that investment in action. Nothing is more important than making sure our rural communities in Southern and Southwest Virginia have the same opportunities as residents in other areas of the Commonwealth. I am confident that the Commission’s continued efforts in education, workforce development and the other areas discussed at our meetings over the last two days will continue to produce results for Southern and Southwest Virginia for years to come.”
“Our meetings over the last two days here in Martinsville are part of my continued effort to make sure that the Commission has a presence in every one of our footprint localities. I encourage anyone with a potential project, program or any other idea that could benefit Southern or Southwest Virginia, to reach out to myself or the Commission staff,” said James Campos, executive director of the commission.
“I am excited about each of the projects approved at this meeting, and the benefits they will bring to our communities, as well as the commission’s approval of our latest program, the Tobacco Region Incentive for Agribusiness Development,” Campos said of the commission’s decision to authorize the creation of the Tobacco Region Incentive for Agribusiness Development Program (TRIAD), which will provide the cities and counties of the Tobacco Region, and the political subdivisions that support them, an economic development incentive for attracting new or expanding agriculture and forestry-based businesses that add value to products grown in the Tobacco Region. The program’s goal is to bring beneficial economic activity, along with new jobs and investment, to the Tobacco Region while also creating new market opportunities for farmers and forestland owners operating there.
“While the commission has a long history of funding impactful agribusiness projects, this program will refocus our efforts on Virginia’s largest private industry and harness the growth and innovation in agriculture and forestry to bring jobs and investment to Southern and Southwest Virginia,” Campos said. “This program, like our recently launched Workforce Housing Pilot Program which was created in response to Governor Youngkin’s call for housing solutions, is part of the commission’s effort to expand our reach and ensure that we are doing everything we can to accelerate growth in the communities we serve.
I am also pleased to see that the commission approved several energy projects through our Energy Innovation Fund. Access to affordable, reliable energy is critical to the economic success of the Commonwealth, and a necessity as we work to further build the economies of the communities in the Tobacco Region. These projects are just a start, and I look forward to seeing more impactful and innovative energy projects in future rounds of the program,” he said.
