| TOBACCO REGION REVITALIZATION COMMISSION MEETS IN RICHMOND COMMISSION APPROVES 27 FUNDING REQUESTS AND ELECTS DELEGATE WILL MOREFIELD AS CHAIRMAN, SENATOR LASHRECSE AIRD AS VICE-CHAIR |
Richmond, VA – The Tobacco Region Revitalization Commission held its first scheduled meeting of the year on Tuesday, January 7th in Richmond with committee meetings held the day prior.
The Commission elected Delegate Will Morefield to serve as Chairman of the Commission and Senator Lashrecse Aird to serve as Vice-Chair.
| The Commission approved 27 funding requests in support of a variety of organizations and initiatives across Southern and Southwest Virginia. Funded projects include investments in energy innovation, workforce training programs across Southern and Southwest Virginia, agriculture, tourism, site development and more. These awards are part of the Commission’s 25 years of work helping to rebuild the economies of Southern and Southwest Virginia. For a full list of projects approved at this meeting please CLICK HERE. For more information, the meeting packet on our website contains detailed project descriptions, staff comments, grant requirements and other business, including project extensions and modifications to previous awards. |
| Tobacco Commission Chairman, Delegate Will Morefield said, “It is an honor to be named Chairman of the Tobacco Region Revitalization Commission. I have served on the Commission for a number of years and during that time I have seen the impact the Commission has had on Southern and Southwest Virginia. From attracting new businesses and creating good paying jobs to supporting our farmers and helping to revitalize our downtowns, the Commission has played a key role in the success we see across the footprint today. I am ready to get to work with all of my colleagues on the Commission to ensure that success continues.” Tobacco Commission Vice-Chair, Senator Lashrecse Aird said, “The Commission’s ability to be flexible and innovate to meet the needs of our communities is, in my opinion, one of its strongest assets. As Vice-Chair I want to ensure that the Commission continues to innovate as it has over the last 25 years, and especially recently with our various new programs and partnerships. Southern and Southwest Virginia are growing and changing but are still facing challenges. The Commission can help them meet those challenges and I look forward to doing my part to make that happen.” Tobacco Commission Executive Director, Hon. James E. Campos added, “I congratulate Delegate Morefield and Senator Aird on being named Chairman and Vice-Chair of the Commission. It is also a pleasure to welcome our three new members to the Commission. I look forward to working with them over the course of the year ahead to continue getting results for Southern and Southwest Virginia. The Commission has an impressive 25-year track record, and I am pleased that we are continuing to build on that success with innovative offerings like our Energy Ingenuity program, based on Governor Youngkin’s All-American, All-Of-The-Above Energy Action Plan, as well as our Workforce Housing Incentive Pilot program and more. I am also excited about the potential of our new partnerships with the Virginia Small Business Financing Authority and the Virginia Innovation Partnership Corporation. These partnerships came about as a result of Governor Youngkin’s call for more collaboration between state agencies to get results for Virginians and I think we have an opportunity to do exciting work together moving forward that will be of tremendous benefit to Southern and Southwest Virginia.” |
| Commission Welcomes Three New Members – H. Wayne Carter IIIof Mecklenburg County, Executive Director, Southside Regional Public Service Authority – The Honorable Sandra Frederick of Abingdon, Associate Professor of Education, Emory & Henry University; member, Washington County School Board, Madison District – Hampton Wilkins of Danville, Owner and President, Wilkins & Co. Realty, Inc.; Owner and President, Wilkins General Contractors |
About The Tobacco Region Revitalization Commission
The Tobacco Region Revitalization Commission is a 28-member body created by the 1999 General Assembly. Its mission is the promotion of economic growth and development in tobacco-dependent communities, using proceeds of the national tobacco settlement. To date, the Commission has awarded over 2000 grants totaling more than $1.1 billion across the tobacco region of the Commonwealth, and has provided $309 million in indemnification payments to tobacco growers and quota holders.
www.revitalizeva.org
If you would like more information about this topic, please contact Jordan Butler at 804-786-7692 or email at jbutler@revitalizeva.org