Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SATURDAY, January 30, 1993 TAG: 9301300254
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: A-4 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: JOEL TURNER STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
13 GOVERNORS PLAN ROANOKE SESSION
Roanoke has been chosen as the site for this year's annual conference of the governors in the 13 states in the Appalachian Regional Commission.Approximately 300 to 400 people are expected to attend the conference, which will be held in October or November. No specific dates have been set.
The Appalachian region includes all of West Virginia and parts of 12 other states, stretching from New York to Mississippi and including Virginia.
Gov. Douglas Wilder is co-chairman of the commission this year and will host the conference.
He has accepted the invitation of the Fifth Planning District Commission, Roanoke Mayor David Bowers and others to hold the conference in the Roanoke Valley.
The Appalachian Regional Commission was created in the 1960s to help funnel federal money into economically disadvantaged communities in the region.
The Roanoke Valley Convention and Visitors Bureau is working with the commission to schedule a date that is suitable for the governors and to avoid conflicts with other events.
Howard Packett, chairman of the planning commission, said Friday that the conference could draw attention to the Roanoke Valley and be an economic boost.
"This will be an opportunity for us to showcase the region. We may want to take the governors and other people at the conference on a bus tour of the region," Packett said.
Packett also asked Wilder to consider tourism as the theme for next year's conference. Many Appalachian communities are beginning to view tourism as a key component in their economic development strategy, he said.
Packett said he has been told that his request for the tourism theme will be considered.
Several localities in the planning district are members of the Appalachian commission: Clifton Forge, Covington and the counties of Alleghany, Botetourt and Craig. They have received federal funds for recycling programs, vocational education, industrial parks and water and sewer lines.
The Roanoke Valley localities did not join the commission when it was created because they feared taking on the image of a poor community in the Appalachian mountains.
But the Appalachian region's image has changed. Now, the valley localities want to be part of the program, which has channeled millions of dollars of federal money into the region for a variety of projects.
The planners will renew their effort to get the Roanoke Valley included.