U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

Official websites use .gov
A .gov website belongs to an official government organization in the United States.

Https

Secure .gov websites use HTTPS
A lock () or https:// means you’ve safely connected to the .gov website. Share sensitive information only on official, secure websites.

USDA Rural Development Recognizes Completion of High Quality Regional Economic Development Plan in Mount Rogers

Name
Danielle Logan
City
RICHMOND
Release Date

   The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Rural Development (RD) office in Virginia recognized the Mount Rogers Regional Commission Thursday in Marion, Va. for the completion of a high quality regional economic development plan for the Mount Rogers Region.

   “The agency is very proud of the hard work and dedication that the Mount Rogers region committed to completing high quality economic development plans,” said Janice Stroud-Bickes, Virginia Acting State Director USDA Rural Development. “After months of collaborative regional planning, we are excited to see the region realize its full potential.”

   The Mount Rogers Regional Commission received an award of outstanding achievement for the completion of the Stronger Economies Together (SET) regional economic development plan Thursday at the Marion Country Club. Executive Director Aaron Sizemore accepted the award on behalf of the commission during the commission’s annual meeting.

   Tourism, Agribusiness and Manufacturing are the three industries that members of the region identified as cluster goals to further economic development.

   Since completion of the plan, Mount Rogers has leveraged more than $95 million of RD and other funding consisting of $8 million in rural business programs, more than $51 million for community facilities programs, than $9 million in rural utilities and more than $26 million to support rural housing.

   SET is a regional economic improvement program that enables communities and counties in rural America to work together in creating and implementing an economic development blueprint for their multi-county region by strategically building on the current and emerging economic strengths of that region.

   Mount Rogers is one of three regions that was selected for the SET Phase V economic development planning process in the fall of 2015. The process consisted of four structured community meetings that allowed residents and community leaders from Mount Rogers – consisting of Bland County, Carroll County, Grayson County, Smyth County, Washington County, Wythe County –to plan collaboratively and alongside experts who offer access to and analysis of economic data.

   Virginia’s State Resource Team brought the talents and resources of USDA Rural Development Virginia, Virginia Department of Housing and Community Development and Virginia Tech through VA Cooperative Extension Service to provide coaching and technical assistance to the regional team.        

   The SET technical support team in Virginia 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.

   USDA Rural Development in 2016 invested more than $1.2 billion in rural Virginia through 40 loan, grant and loan guarantee programs in housing, business, agriculture, energy, health care and community facilities. It has employees stationed in offices across the commonwealth to better serve residents where they live and to improve the economy and quality of life in rural Virginia.

   For more information, please visit www.rd.usda.gov/va.