RICHMOND, Va. – The 2020 Rural Caucus Reception will be held on Wednesday, Feb. 5 in Richmond.

Co-hosted by the Center for Rural Virginia and the Virginia Association of Counties, this annual event brings together state, business and civic leaders to explore the future of rural Virginia, and encourages collaboration and discussion around issues affecting the vitality and prosperity of communities.

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When it comes to economic development in Virginia, there is a lot to celebrate, Stephen Moret, CEO and President of the Virginia Economic Development Partnership (VEDP), said at the 2019 Governor’s Summit on Rural Prosperity.

And the good news is that it does include rural Virginia, too.

VEDP’s transformational goals for the Commonwealth, Moret said, call for robust state growth where every region i...

During the 2019 Governor’s Summit on Rural Prosperity, attendees benefitted from breaking out into small groups to dig in on specific topics relevant to the communities they serve.

Among the breakout sessions were the following:

Rural Virginia Initiative. Led by John Provo, Director, Office of Economic Development, Outreach and International Affairs at Virginia Tech, this session helped educate atte...

To continue building a strong economy in Virginia, the Commonwealth must have universal broadband.

That was, by far, the message that echoed the strongest during the 2019 Governor’s Summit on Rural Prosperity when it came to developing effective broadband partnerships across the state.

Need proof? Localities in Virginia, specifically rural Virginia, with new access to broadband are seeing a spike in...

Workforce and natural resources. Those key topics and ways to grow rural Virginia were among the discussion at the 2019 Governor’s Summit on Rural Prosperity thanks to Joshua Saks, Deputy Secretary of Natural Resources, and Dr. Brian O. Hemphill, Radford President.

Some highlights from their presentations include:

Natural Resources. Clean air. Fresh mountain water. Hunting. Biking. Birding. Caving....

During the 2019 Governor’s Summit on Rural Prosperity, attendees took a trip to the Alphin-Stuart Livestock Teaching Arena to get an up-close and person look at the innovative work being done there.

The facility includes a 125-by-250-foot ring with a prescription earthen floor, classroom space, office space, bleacher seating for 450, animal holding pens, and a kitchen/concession area.

In this space...

Virginia is where commercial agriculture and forestry started in the nation.

Today it creates 450,000 jobs across the Commonwealth and during the 2019 Governor’s Summit on Rural Prosperity, a panel, moderated by The Honorable Bettina Ring, Virginia Secretary of Agriculture and Forestry, dug in to discuss the impact of agriculture and innovations in that sector and its impact on rural Virginia.

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What does rural Virginia have going for it when it comes to growing business in the Commonwealth? According to the powerful panel featuring entrepreneurs at the 2019 Governor’s Summit on Rural Prosperity, chief among the selling points for rural Virginia is that businesses WANT to be located in small communities because people want to LIVE in small, rural communities and benefit from the quality o...

Governor Ralph Northam said it best during his keynote remarks at the 2019 Governor’s Summit on Rural Prosperity.

"As a native of rural Virginia, I will never stop fighting to bring more opportunity to our rural regions, so people can get a good job and build a good life without leaving home."

The 6th annual Governor’s Summit on Rural Prosperity, held Sept. 23-24, 2019 at The Inn at Virginia Tech an...

The Virginia Rural Center is pleased to announce that Governor Ralph Northam will kick off the 2019 Governor’s Summit on Rural Prosperity on Sept. 23, 2019 in Blacksburg. The event, which takes place Sept. 23-24, 2019 at The Inn at Virginia Tech and Skelton Conference Center, brings together state, business, and civic leaders to explore the future of rural Virginia and discuss innovative initiativ...