ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1995, Roanoke Times
DATE: Sunday, December 24, 1995 TAG: 9512260023
SECTION: CURRENT PAGE: NRV-3 EDITION: NEW RIVER VALLEY
Big Apple trip may bear fruit
RADFORD - Jill Barr's recent trip to the Big Apple was a big success, she says.
Barr, economic development director for the city of Radford, went to New York City Nov. 12-17 as part of the state's annual Report to Top Management, a program in which Virginia bigwigs, including Gov. George Allen this year, tell corporate chief executives about the state and invite them to expand and locate in Virginia.
While in New York, Barr teamed up with a representative from the state Chamber of Commerce and visited 11 companies that had expressed an interest in finding out more about Virginia. A second team visited a similar number of companies.
Four of the companies she visited are good prospects for moving to the New River Valley, she said. She wouldn't name them, but she did say they are software, engineering and manufacturing companies.
One company wants to visit the area in January, though that business may be better suited for Northern Virginia, Barr said. But a second could be a good match for Virginia Tech's Corporate Research Center.
One of the things Barr learned was that while many executives have not heard of the New River Valley, they have heard of Virginia Tech.
ROTC loses Smart
CHRISTIANSBURG - Douglas A. Smartt, former commander of the Naval ROTC at Virginia Tech, has joined First National Bank as trust development officer.
Smartt, who graduated from the U.S. Naval Academy and commanded the USS Francis Hammond during Operation Desert Storm, has a master's degree in business administration from Tech.
Smartt serves on the New Century Council's Higher Education-Economy Committee and is president-elect of the Blacksburg Rotary Club.
He and his wife, Carole, live in Christiansburg with their three children. He is a deacon at Main Street Baptist Church.
LENGTH: Short : 44 lines ILLUSTRATION: PHOTO: (headshot) Barr, Smart.by CNB