Virginia leaders stop in Danville area

Forty-eight community, health care, education and business leaders from across the state stopped in Danville as part of their Southside Virginia experience.

The leaders comprised the 2011 class of Lead Virginia, a nonprofit annual education forum designed to “connect leaders to shape Virginia’s future,” said President and CEO Susan B. Horne of Lead Virginia.

“It’s important for them, and for us, to showcase Southern Virginia,” Horne said.

As far as statewide leadership, what happens in one region affects another.

“It all ties together,” she said. “We are all stakeholders in this community.”

The leaders arrived in the region Thursday afternoon, spending time in Halifax County and examining higher education and its transformational role in the region. They visited Van Der Hyde Dairy and the Olde Dominion Agriculture Complex, talking to local farmers about the importance of agriculture and its new technology.

The class heard presentations on the uranium issue and from local hospital chief executives on health care. The visit ends Saturday with an economic development session at Riverstone Technology Park.

Of course, they visited fun sites like Berry Hill, Molasses Grill and the Danville Science Center.

Horne saw the region’s strong sense of community, abiding stewardship and that people desire to be positive instruments in crafting the region’s future.

Class member Tracy Townsend, a division head of safety and compliance at Washington gas, saw the resilience of people in the region as they act to recover from the loss of industry like textiles, tobacco and furniture.

It was her first visit to Danville. Townsend noticed a “moving forward” spirit in local people.

The Lead Virginia experience showed her how business fits into community and about the sustainability of community.

“You find out how everything kind of fits together,” Townsend said.

B. Keith “BK” Fulton, vice president of Verizon Virginia said the visit was “eye-opening” for him. He sees assets and resources in the region, like the Virginia Tobacco Commission, and understands that leaders are trying to develop a new economic base, attract new talent and retain young people. It’s all in how they leverage those assets, he added.

The visit also showed him the importance of Verizon’s educational projects.

“They’re going to have to be aggressive about the next 20 years for Southside,” Fulton said.

For more information about Lead Virginia, visit www.leadvirginia.org.