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Northern Shenandoah Valley Selected for Stronger Economies Together Initiative

Name
Eric Peters
City
Richmond
Release Date

U.S. Department of Agriculture Rural Development and Virginia Cooperative Extension announced today that the Northern Shenandoah Valley region has been selected for the 2015-16 Stronger Economies Together (SET) initiative.

The region, which includes Clarke, Frederick, Page, Shenandoah and Warren counties, the town of Front Royal and the city of Winchester, will benefit from a focused initiative to explore regional economic advantages and to formulate economic blueprints for the region.

“The blueprints will help the region to strategically build on the current and emerging economic strengths in the region,” said Basil Gooden, Ph.D., State Director of USDA Rural Development for Virginia. “The Northern Shenandoah Valley has tremendous potential for economic growth, and through the SET process we will facilitate key discussions that lead to a high-quality economic plan that is mutually beneficial for all the counties and the city involved.”

The Northern Shenandoah Valley is the third SET region selected in Virginia this year. It will join more than 20 regions across 13 states that were selected for SET in 2015.

“Extension is excited to partner with Virginia’s USDA Rural Development office, the Virginia Department of Housing and Community Development, and the Virginia Tech Department of Agriculture and Applied Economics to deliver the technical expertise that will lead the regions through the planning process,” said Edwin Jones, Director of Virginia Cooperative Extension.

The technical support team includes the Virginia Tech Office of Economic Development, the Virginia Rural Center, and various agencies from the Office of the Secretary of Commerce and Trade, including the Virginia Department of Housing and Community Development, Virginia Tourism Corporation, and Virginia Economic Development Partnership.

Launched in 2010 by USDA Rural Development, the nation’s four regional rural development centers, the Purdue Center for Regional Development, and its land-grant university partners, SET is now in place in more than 70 regions in 31 states. SET is intended to help strengthen the capacity of communities and counties in rural America to work together to develop and implement an economic development blueprint for multicounty regions, strategically building on the current and/or emerging comparative economic advantages of that region.

For more information on SET, visit the Southern Rural Development Center website or contact Martha Walker, community viability specialist with Virginia Cooperative Extension.