THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Thursday, March 30, 1995 TAG: 9503300411
SECTION: BUSINESS PAGE: D1 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: KAREN JOLLY DAVIS, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: HARBORTON LENGTH: Medium: 65 lines
Aerospace. It's on the top of Virginia's list of industries to encourage, and it's the Eastern Shore's No. 1 priority for economic growth because of its Wallops Flight Center.
That's what businessmen and state officials said Tuesday night at a banquet held by the Eastern Shore of Virginia Economic Development Commission, the local chamber of commerce, and the Governor's Regional Economic Development Advisory Council.
Robert T. Skunda, Virginia's Secretary of Commerce and Trade, was the banquet's keynote speaker at the Eastern Shore Yacht and Country Club. He described ``Opportunity Virginia,'' the state's new strategic plan for economic growth.
``We needed a plan,'' said Skunda, who directs 14 state agencies with more than 2,000 employees. Virginia was losing ground to other states because its economic development efforts were inconsistent, he said. ``Now we have that plan.''
Opportunity Virginia was created by 800 volunteers organized into 18 regional councils across the state. Council members were business leaders, local and regional economic development professionals, elected officials, educators and private citizens.
The mission of each council was to take a look at the surrounding community, study its assets and needs, then decide what the state could do to help the region meet itseconomic goals. Their reports were refined and combined to make the backbone of ``Opportunity Virginia.''
``It would have been easy to say to someone in Richmond, `Go to your office somewhere and come up with a strategic plan,' '' Skunda said. ``But this is not a Richmond-driven plan.''
Opportunity Virginia targets 10 industries as key to the state's economic future. They are: aerospace, agriculture, biotechnology, forestry, information technology and telecommunications, international trade, manufacturing, maritime, minerals and tourism.
The Eastern Shore's regional council, headed by George McMath, came up with 44 recommendations for local growth.
``Top priority should be given to actively seeking to capture a major segment of the emerging market for commercial space activity,'' McMath said at the banquet. He urged the state to make whatever investment is necessary to insure that commercial space ventures at NASA's Wallops Island facility become a ``near-term reality.''
One commercial rocket-launching company already has located at Wallops Island, and others have expressed interest in doing so if the commercial launching facilities are expended.
The companies would put private satellites into space, a service now offered largely by French and other foreign concerns.
McMath said the region also needs state help in developing environmentally sound wastewater treatment facilities for compact development areas. These, he said, should be operated by a utility/service authority for the entire Eastern Shore.
Skunda advised local leaders to cooperate across county lines when marketing the Eastern Shore as a location for businesses. And, he said, locals need to decide what types of growth it can handle.
``It does no good to stick your head in the sand and say we're happy the way we are,'' Skunda said. ``You need to contemplate change.'' by CNB