February is the shortest month of the year. Even with an extra day, this time of year is always packed full. This month was another planning month. The magazine layout is coming along, and it will be ready for the county Tourism Summit the first part of April and all the spring events that begin to happen.
The chamber attended the meeting that Tourism organized with VDOT and the Park service in regard to the operation of Mabry Mill. There will not be sit-down dining available there this year, but the Park service has been soliciting for food vendors to operate food trucks there, so we are hopeful this along with some other items that the Chamber and Tourism can do will help promote the area to visitors.
The biggest program that we focused on in February was our Economic Summit. This workshop was held with our larger employers, who employ twenty-five or more people and looking at our success and challenges that we face in the county. We had a great turnout of businesses and our community leaders as we worked through topics that were facilitated by Virginia Tech. This event was a first of its kind for the county and we were happy to work with our partners at Reynolds Homestead to bring this event to fruition. Help and sponsorship was also provided by the Patrick County Economic Development Authority, Patrick County Tourism and Town of Stuart. All the spokes of the wheel are working together to move our county forward. We will be sharing the report once it is completed.
We will be hosting a Business After Hours on Thursday, March 7th at the Historic Star Theatre. This is a great time to check out the facility and find out what events are coming. We will also be hosting a ribbon cutting at CPB Behavioral Therapy on Main Street in Stuart on Wednesday, March 27th. This company opened two years ago on Blue Ridge Street and rapidly outgrew that location. We are happy they were able to find suitable space in Stuart to continue offering their services.
The year is starting out at a rapid pace and not looking to slow down. We are busy formalizing our program and events calendar for the year and looking forward to seeing you at one of them.
Welcome new members: Glenn’s Way
(Adcock is the director of the Patrick County Chamber of Commerce)
