A non-profit publication of the Office of the University Relations of Virginia Tech,
including The Conductor, a special section of the Spectrum printed 4 times a year
VIED opens training program
By Clara B. Cox
The Virginia Institute for Economic Development (VIED), a popular program
co-sponsored by Virginia Tech's Public Service Programs, held the first session
of its 1998 economic-development training last week at the Donaldson Brown
Hotel and Conference Center.
Barry E. DuVal, Virginia's secretary of commerce and trade, gave the keynote
address at the institute's kick-off dinner on September 8. DuVal said that he
and Governor James Gilmore are working on strategies for developing the economy
in Virginia. Those strategies, he said, will focus on drawing new businesses to
Virginia and on supporting existing businesses.
Fifty-two participants from 19 city, town, and county governments and six
private industries attended the first of two sessions. The second session will
be held October 19-21, at the Hotel Roanoke and Conference Center. In addition
to the two sessions, the program includes five weeks of home study.
Doug McAlister, director of Virginia Tech's Public Service Programs, said that
VIED has drawn participants from every county and municipality in the state
since the program began 16 years ago.
Public Service Programs, which sponsors the institute with the Virginia
Department of Business Assistance and the Virginia Economic Development
Partnership, is a unit of the university's Outreach Division.
