Success Stories

USDA Rural Development national office employees applauded the completion of Lily Ridge Apartments in Ruckersville at a ribbon cutting ceremony and open house in early November. The ceremony celebrated the development of affordable rental homes that can house nearly 50 families… [Read More]

Lunch time at E&S Mart in Altavista, Va., hums. A steady tide of customers and deliveries keeps the gas pumps ticking, the grill hot and the register open. Most of the faces are familiar ones. Many make small-talk over one of the high-top tables in the deli. Some will be… [Read More]

In today’s digital age, broadband Internet access seems like it’s just about everywhere on everybody’s personal electronics and smart phones. In rural Edwards Ridge in Dickenson County, VA, however, the Appalachian Mountains are a physical barrier that has made… [Read More]

What happens when businesses are eager to hire local employees, but an equally eager workforce lacks the necessary skills for employment? A stalemate.South Hill and its surrounding region have suffered this dilemma for the last five years with an unemployment rate ranging from 3… [Read More]

In the medically underserved central Appalachian Mountains a much-needed healthful vehicle has been navigating the winding tree-lined roads since 1980.Known as the Health Wagon, today this mobile health unit visits eleven sites in Virginia’s Buchanan, Dickenson, Russell, Lee,… [Read More]

Picturesque White Stone, Va., sits on a gateway to the state’s Northern Neck at the junction of the Rappahannock River and the Chesapeake Bay. It is a town with enormous economic potential, but in the center of town at The River Market during a recent lunchtime rush, owner Jim… [Read More]

Nostalgia filled the Grottoes Volunteer Fire Department (GVFD) training room recently as four lifetime members reminisced about how far the department has come in 94 years. The department’s history - stemming back to 1922 even before its incorporation in 1948 - shows that it’s… [Read More]

As director of planning for Accomack-Northampton Planning District Commission, Curtis Smith hoped the last week in October would be the start of a data-driven process to develop innovative ideas for economic development on Virginia’s Eastern Shore. The outcome more… [Read More]

When the town of Appomattox began inspecting its sewer collection and treatment system, which provides service to approximately 695 residential and 70 commercial connections, it found problems that were contributing to raw sewage overflows, incompliance with state code and… [Read More]

The 2015-2016 school year is the beginning of a new era for thousands of students in Dickenson County, Va. When they walked through the doors on the first day of classes in August, the students became members of the Ridgeview High School and Middle School Wolfpack. Before this… [Read More]