floyd, va presentation to group from fayetteville, wv onjune 8 2012
TRANSCRIPT
Where Creative Traditions and New Technologies Meet
Lydeana Martin, Floyd County, Virginia
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Our “Weaknesses”No four-laneNo railroadNo natural gasNo airportNo “Product” (readily available building
space)Limited water capacity (less than 150,000gpd
currently)No hospitalNo university
Our StrengthsNo four lane, no natural gas, etc. ;-)Strong, fun downtownVibrant, welcoming community with local
arts, foods, music, wineries etc.Entrepreneurship and IndependenceRobust fiber optics, increasingly recognizedGood schoolsPeople good with their handsFloyd Regional Commerce CenterProximity to Virginia Tech
Floyd’s Recognition Sustainable Communities . . . Six
Great Places Maybe You’’ve never Heard of Mother Earth News, Feb 2011
Southern Dream Towns Music is just one of this Town’s
High Notes Garden & Gun April 2010
Top 10 Southern American Cities Salon City, April 2007
Top 15 Travel Destinations: The
Crooked Road USA Today 2007
Virginia Town on Slow [Food] City Pace
USA Today Nov 2006
But many challenges . . .High out-commuting rates (60%)Among the lowest wages in Virginia (factors
include so many low-end service jobs)Limited tax base (residential growth)Diversification is desperately needed as
traditional manufacturing is gone; farms are struggling
Even our small business often are not stable or growing good-paying jobs
Floyd County
People Want to Be In FloydPeople Want to Be In Floyd
Floyd County
Communication Services• 200Gbps backbone on a open access network
with redundant and diverse routing with other network providers like: Mid-Atlantic Broadband Cooperative and Bristol Virginia Utilities.– Upgradable to 800Gbps– Co-location building located at the Floyd Regional
Commerce Center with 200amps DC power system, battery backups, and 25kW on-site emergency generator
– Over 95% of all network facilities are buried
Wired for the Future –For more than a decade, students at every level in Floyd County have been trained to use the Internet Floyd County Schools
became one of the first schools systems in U.S. to place Internet access in each classroom (by 1995)
•6th Graders do morning news show through digital video & school computer network have for 6 years+Smart Board technology used in each school
Powerpoint in lst grade!
Floyd County Schools Floyd County Schools ~ All Meeting SOL’s, NCLB~ All Meeting SOL’s, NCLB
Excellence In K-12 Education
Education:
Vibrant DowntownGrowth in TourismVibrant downtown
“ IT'S NO MYSTERY why a city as buttoned-up as Washington connects with music as down-home as bluegrass -- it gets us back to ourselves. Anyone interested in tracking the sound a little closer to its source need only travel to the southwestern Virginia town of Floyd. Every Friday night, players, listeners and dancers come from all around to gather at the general store for the Friday Night Jamboree. ”
Music: Music: Live 5 days/weekLive 5 days/week
Friday Night Jamboree
Floydfest
Black Dog Jazz and Our Dog Blue Concerts
Blues and Roots musicLive music in Floyd Wed-Sun
The ArtsThe Arts
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Original Art Work by Local Artist Charlotte Atkins
The Jacksonville Center's mission is to stimulate economic development through tourism by showcasing those artistic, creative, educational, and entertainment aspects of rural life which are unique to this region.
The Jacksonville Center for the Arts
Floyd: One of the best art
towns in America
~John Villani,
100 Best Arts Small Arts Towns
Blue Ridge Parkway:
Rock Castle National Recreation Area
Natural & Historic Areas
Mabry Mill
Buffalo Mountain (3,977 ft)
Floyd County
Business Clusters in Floyd CountyFoods:
Blue Mountain Organics Chateau Morrisette WineryGood Food Good People
Natural Products: Green Label Organics GreenDeva’s Faith Mountain Farm
Business Clusters in Floyd CountyPolymers/Advanced Materials:
Hollingsworth & VoseBG Genesis, LLC
Automotive: Dex (Volvo subsidiary)
Technology:Citizens (communications)Electronic PrototypesEntryway (software)Newland Group (GIS/GPS)
Business Clusters in Floyd CountyHome-Building/Furnishings:
Streamline TimberworksCrenshaw LightingBuilderscrete, Blue Ridge Yurts, andMANY Cabinetmakers, Woodworkers
Artists and Artisans Hundreds . . .
Green-buildings in Floyd
Eco-Village (Net zero homes)
Office Building with solar, geothermal energy, plus grey water system
Hotel Floyd—energy efficient, local sourced
One of largest salvaged timber-frame building in US