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Recent Articles from Cathy Jett
Rural leadership institute aims to build local capacity
Virginia Rural Center Executive Director Kristie Proctor has long heard that the state’s rural areas were losing population and having difficulty cultivating local community leaders. To address the gap in local leadership, VRC, a Richmond-based nonprofit focused on fostering economic growth in rural areas, last year launched the Virginia Rural Leadership Institute (VRLI), an annual […[...]
Old Town Business league to upgrade or dissolve
Carla Clarke credits Old Town Business (OTB) league with arranging events that bring new faces into Today’s Cargo, the jewelry and gift shop she co-owns on Alexandria’s King Street. “It’s bringing new people through your door,” says Clarke. The 40-year-old nonprofit business league champions Old Town’s business community through events like an annual cookie crawl. [&hel[...]
Chesterfield’s new tech park already generating buzz
Chesterfield County Economic Director Garrett Hart received an inquiry about Upper Magnolia Green a week after the county announced in 2020 that it had purchased the property with the intent to develop a portion of it as a technology park. Intel Corp. hadn’t been able to find a site in Virginia for a $20 billion […]
Spearhead Trails aims for recreational shooting boost
The Southwest Regional Recreation Authority (SRRA) will use a $750,000 federal grant to further develop its Spearhead Trails Sportsman Adventures Complex in Dickenson County. A ribbon-cutting for the 150-acre complex in Clintwood was held in August 2022, when the complex had two archery ranges, plus shooting ranges for pistols, rifles, skeet and trap, and a […]
Danville lacks housing options for workforce
Danville is having a “Field of Dreams” dilemma. The famous movie quote, “If you build it, they will come,” rings all too true in the former mill town, which is attracting companies to its industrial parks and old Dan River Mills properties, along with a $650 million casino. It’s good news on paper, but where […]
MGCC workforce center to offer trades training
The Mountain Gateway Community College Real Estate Foundation will renovate a downtown Buena Vista building into the Wilson Workforce Development Center, likely starting early this year. It’s named for Buena Vista philanthropist Joe Wilson, who purchased the 8,750-square-foot former car dealership at 2019 Forest Ave. for $370,000 and sold it to the foundation for $270,000. […]
Center aims to grow manufacturing
In 2015, the Institute for Advanced Learning and Research in Danville was attracting manufacturers at a faster pace than it could handle. The IALR was providing work-ready incubation space where companies could launch their businesses while waiting to build, upgrade or occupy facilities while also helping build a pipeline of workers with the advanced manufacturing […]
The Highlander nearly complete in Radford
The Highlander, a $40 million boutique hotel and conference center, is expected to open next to Radford University soon. University officials and their partners in the project broke ground in April 2021 and expect it to be completed in January 2023. The conference hotel will have 124 rooms, including four suites, and a 4,000-square-foot conference […]
Return on investment
Christina Fleming embarked upon a career in marketing with the goal of getting an executive MBA degree, but other commitments kept getting in the way. She got married, had two children and moved up the corporate ladder for 26 years, rising to chief marketing officer at Blackboard Inc., a global education technology company that was […]
Sky-high rents
The Navy man sat in Barbara Gatewood Sgueglia’s office in tears. His rent was being raised from $1,600 to $2,750, and with several children and his wife in school, he just couldn’t swing it, even if the landlord offered to split the difference. Anything else he could afford would likely be “much less appealing,” says […]
