Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SUNDAY, January 26, 1992 TAG: 9201270172
SECTION: NEW RIVER VALLEY ECONOMY PAGE: 12 EDITION: NEW RIVER VALLEY
SOURCE: GREG EDWARDS NEW RIVER VALLEY BUREAU
DATELINE: LENGTH: Long
LEADERS HELP NEIGHBORS LURE BUSINESS
Scores of people from a variety of organizations, both public and private, are working to recruit new industry for the New River Valley - and keep what's here from leaving.What's promising about today's leaders - besides their strong interest in building on the area's economic base - is a new-found understanding that their interests don't stop at a county's or town's borders, that economic development requires a regional outlook.
"It's the rising-water-floats-all-ships kind of approach," said Franklyn Moreno, marketing director of the New River Valley Economic Development Alliance. "If we make the economy in the valley better, it's better for everybody."
The alliance itself, formed by chambers of commerce and local governments to market the region to outside industry, is evidence that valley leaders no longer maintain a strictly parochial point of view.
"Everybody recognizes we've got to work together," said Harold Chafin, a Pearisburg banker who is chairman of the Giles County Industrial Development Authority. If an industrial prospect finds it can use the vacant AT&T building in Pulaski County, that will help Giles, too, he said.
"But there's room for more cooperation and you don't take it for granted," said Jack Lewis, chairman of the Montgomery Regional Economic Development Commission. "You have to keep cultivating it."
"It's a real joy, a pleasure for me to work with an area that's not trying to do their neighbors in," said Kaye Sloan Burke, a marketing manager for the state Department of Economic Development. "It's one of my favorite places to bring prospects."
Dedicated people from a wide variety of backgrounds must be involved if development efforts in the valley are to succeed, local leaders said.
"You really have to be passionate about the work; it's so time-consuming," Lewis said.
But more than energy is demanded of people involved in development, he said. "You need wisdom; you need knowledge; you need influence. When you come before a [local government], it's important that your knowledge is respected."
Many of the people working with such groups as chambers of commerce, industrial authorities and the alliance are volunteers.
"It's difficult to provide leadership in a volunteer organization," said Lewis, a dean at New River Valley Community College. It's important to have a plan of action and for people to know what's expected of them, he said.
It's helpful to have a large pool of business and professional people to call on for help when you're working with a business prospect, said Peter Huber, assistant county administrator in Pulaski County. Prospects want to talk privately with local business people to get a feel for an area.
Dwayne Kittle, a Blacksburg stockbroker who is a member of the alliance board, the Montgomery Regional Economic Development Commission and the Blacksburg Chamber of Commerce, said groups also need a variety of business and professional people to maintain a balanced approach.
"You've got to be concerned, to be aware of what economic development does for your community," Kittle said. "And be willing to give the time."
There is no monetary reward and little recognition for the work, he said.
More times than not, a business prospect flops off the hook despite the best efforts of a huge number of people. A recent example was the inability of Montgomery County to reel in a Washington, D.C., insurance company that was relocating its claims-processing center.
Blue Cross-Blue Shield of the National Capital Area was looking favorably at the county, Moreno told Don Moore, executive director of the Montgomery Regional Economic Development Commission, last June. Moreno had gotten the word from the Department of Economic Development.
What followed was three months of hard work by local government, business and educational leaders to lure the company to Montgomery County. Involved in the project were the administrations of the county and Christiansburg, the Virginia Employment Commission, Virginia Tech, New River Community College, private developers and local industry.
On Sept. 6, Blue Cross announced it was taking its processing center to Charleston, W.Va., instead. Montgomery County could not match the financial incentives offered the company there.
"We've got to find a way to compete with the West Virginias of the world," Lewis said.
But despite the big one that got away, Moore and others are optimistic that Montgomery County's hard work soon will begin paying off in the form of new jobs.
"We have so many seeds planted; it's only a matter of time until we begin to harvest," said Moore, who took his current job after retiring as the county's extension agent.
The collaborative efforts of the different development groups in the valley create an effect that is much more powerful than that of any one group acting alone, Lewis said. He predicted that in five years development would explode.
Because of the tremendous competition among states for business prospects, Virginia's local leaders need to offer better incentives.
Despite that deficiency, New River Valley leaders claim the valley has few weaknesses when it comes to courting industry.
Congested roads, a lack of available buildings and the lack of commercial air service closer than Roanoke are sometimes mentioned. Air service may not be that significant of a problem, however, considering that it takes only an hour to get from Roanoke Regional Airport to the center of the valley.
One of the often-mentioned strengths of the valley is its work force, which has a history of low absenteeism and loyalty to its employers. Burke said she has never heard anything but glowing reports about the valley's work force.
Other attractions of the valley are its scenic beauty, low-cost housing, cultural activities, developed utilities, available industrial property and that Virginia is a right-to-work state, leaders said.
One of the strengths of the valley, said Moreno, is the commitment on the part of local business managers to give both time and money, not only to the alliance but to other development efforts.
"Also, there is a high level of understanding that there is a regional economy and there is a region and we're all in this together."