Patrick County’s Director of Tourism & Marketing James Houchins will be among the participants in the third cohort of the Virginia Rural Leadership Institute (VRLI), which is the Commonwealth’s only leadership program that focuses solely on developing rural Virginia’s existing and emerging leaders.
The Virginia Rural Center made the announcement late last week.
“The Virginia Rural Center has long recognized that cultivating rural leadership is a key component to growing and sustaining our rural communities which is why the Center created the Virginia Rural Leadership Institute,” said Kristie Proctor, executive director of the center. “We welcome the third cohort of the VRLI to this unique educational opportunity and expansive network of peers working to advance rural communities throughout Virginia.”
Going into the program’s third year, interest in the program continues to surge. After an application and interview process, 28 members were selected to participate in this year’s cohort representing 24 counties and cities across rural Virginia. These community leaders represent not only the various regions of the Commonwealth, but also have diverse backgrounds, ages, employers, and skill sets that will aid collaboration across multiple opportunities for rural communities.
“Leaders are the lifeblood and heart of vibrant, strong communities and the best rural leadership comes from within rural communities.,” said Sen. Creigh Deeds, chairman of the Center for Rural Virginia. “We are proud that the Virginia Rural Leadership Institute invests in individuals who are committed to living and leading in their rural communities.”
This year’s VRLI program will kick off May 22 – 24 in Southside Virginia where the cohort will explore both Danville and South Boston. Future stops for the program include Southwest Virginia (Abingdon, Bristol, and Marion), the Middle Peninsula and Northern Neck (Tappahannock, Warsaw, and King William County), and the Shenandoah Valley. At each stop, cohort members meet and learn from residents and fully immerse themselves in the area while building critical leadership, community, and economic development skills through programming and presentations from subject area experts.
Lessons learned through this program will be put to practice in these members’ communities. In addition to learning best practices across rural regions of Virginia, cohort members will complete Community Impact Projects. The projects are developed throughout the VRLI sessions and address a defined need in cohort members’ communities. For these projects, cohort members will be paired with industry leaders as “mentors” to complete a project that puts their leadership skills into practice with the goal of bringing economic and community development opportunities to their area.
“The Virginia Rural Leadership Institute provides relevant and actionable content for participants to gain new strategies and skills to advance rural development, opportunity, and prosperity,” said Bryan David, chairman of the Council for Rural Virginia. “Equally important, VRLI provides unique networking opportunities and encourages participants to build lasting relationships with other cohort members so that they can collectively identify and navigate the challenges and opportunities faced in their communities.”
Current sponsors of VRLI include Appalachian Power Foundation, Virginia Housing, Dominion Energy, Microsoft, Mid-Atlantic Broadband Communities Corporation, Virginia Rural Health Association, Danville Community College Educational Foundation, Inc. and Liz Povar of RiverLink Group. The Virginia Rural Center is continuing to build its list of partners as excitement and interest grow for VRLI.
