Mount Rogers Regional Partnership

Last night, we concluded Year Two of our intern immersion program, Meet Mount Rogers, with a dinner and ceremony. We are so proud of the seven interns who completed this program! Thank you to Blue Ridge Pepsi/Gatorade, Somic America, Virginia Department of Wildlife Resources, and Visit Smyth County for enrolling your interns. We appreciate Wytheville Community College for their support and assistance. We are grateful to our grant funders, including Virginia Tobacco Region Revitalization Commission, Twin County Community Foundation, and WYTHE-BLAND FOUNDATION, as well as each of our localities and investors who support the work of Mount Rogers Regional Partnership. Last but not least, thank you to the participating interns! They did a fantastic job last night sharing highlights and their favorite moments of the immersion experience. We wish our intern cohort the very best and will miss working with each of them!

Yesterday was Day 5 of Meet Mount Rogers! The final excursion of our intern immersion program took participants to sites in both Wythe and Bland counties. Our first stop was a visit to the Fort Chiswell Animal Park where Wythe County Administrator Stephen Bear greeted the interns before they embarked on an animal adventure. Interns then traveled to Wytheville Community College for a presentation on things to do in the Wythe-Bland area by MRRP's Director of Marketing and Communications, Morgan Herbert, followed by professional development in effective communication courtesy of WCC's Public Relations and Development Coordinator, Deanna Bradberry. The final stop on the tour was Wolf Creek Indian Village & Museum, where participants enjoyed a picnic lunch from Java Blend Cafe and heard from Bland County Administrator Cameron Burton. Next week, our intern cohort will complete this year's Meet Mount Rogers program with a dinner and ceremony.

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Mount Rogers Regional Partnership is pleased to announce that it has recently completed an organizational restructuring process, particularly in the areas of Talent Solutions and Business Engagement. Effective July 1st, this restructuring resulted in the promotions of several team members. Rebecca Fisher, M.Ed. was promoted to Director of Talent Solutions and Business Engagement; combining these services under one umbrella provides the most efficient and effective support for the business community. Samantha Edwards was promoted to Talent Solutions Manager and will continue to work closely with our region’s educational institutions and business community to aid in developing a talent pipeline. Additionally, Ashlyn Shrewsbury, CEcD was promoted to Deputy Director of Economic Development and Morgan Herbert was promoted to Director of Marketing and Communications. The organizational promotions serve to streamline operations while providing team members the opportunity to grow professionally within MRRP. We look forward to enhanced opportunities to serve the community!

Today was Day 4 of Meet Mount Rogers! Interns visited Smyth County, immersing in downtown Marion. We started at the Wayne C Henderson School of Appalachian Arts with an introduction by Assistant County Administrator Clegg Williams and a tourism presentation by Amanda Livingston, TMP, Director of Tourism. Allison Mays, Director of Virginia Tech Southwest Center, gave a professional development presentation on time management. Interns enjoyed a guided tour of downtown with stops at the Lincoln Theatre, Better Coffee Co., and The Ford Studios, then shopped downtown before finishing with lunch at The Wooden Pickle. We’ll take a break next week for the holiday before finishing up this year’s immersion experience!

The MRRP team and partners wrapped up our time at the 10th SelectUSA Investment Summit, celebrating several days of meeting with foreign direct investment prospects. We have enjoyed working with Transatlantic Business & Investment Council (TBIC), LP this week!

Members of the Mount Rogers Regional partnership team and our partners are attending the 10th SelectUSA Investment Summit in National Harbor, MD. If you’re here as well, give us a shout!

Day 3 of Meet Mount Rogers took us to Galax, Virginia! Our first stop was the Blue Ridge Music Center, where we enjoyed a professional development presentation on personal finance courtesy of Elizabeth Hash from Skyline National Bank and a tourism presentation by City of Galax Tourism Director Patti Price-Love. Interns then exercised their creativity at Chestnut Creek School of the Arts with a pottery class and finished up with lunch at Briar Patch Marketplace & Cafe! Meet Mount Rogers would not be possible without the support of Wytheville Community College and Virginia Tobacco Region Revitalization Commission. Check back next week for our excursion to Smyth County!

Yesterday was Day 2 of Meet Mount Rogers, our summer intern immersion program! We visited Grayson County, starting with a tourism presentation by Grayson County Director of Tourism Tracy Cornett and a professional development session by Mary Jane Umberger of HR Alliance. Then we headed up to Virginia State Parks Grayson Highlands State Park, where we were lucky enough to see lots of ponies and foals! Special thanks to Ranger Kevin for the tour. We finished up with lunch at the Grayson Highlands General Store & Inn. Check back next week for our Galax immersion experience!

Yesterday, Mount Rogers Regional Partnership kicked off Meet Mount Rogers, our summer intern immersion program! Participating interns from companies throughout the MRRP footprint will learn what it's like to live in the region through weekly excursions and professional development experiences. For Day 1, we showcased Carroll County with a float on the New River from New River Outdoor Adventures, a tourism presentation from Carroll County, Virginia Director of Tourism Brooke Love, and lunch from New River Side Store and Deli. We're looking forward to introducing this great group of interns to our beautiful region this summer!