Class of 2014 Visits Southern Virginia
The Class of 2014 visited the Southern Virginia region on May 15-17, 2014, focusing their time in Martinsville/Henry County and Danville. The session began at Patrick Henry Community College's (PHCC) Motorsports Technology facility, where the Class was welcomed by Dr. Angeline Godwin, President of PHCC. While touring the facility, the Class of 2014 learned how PHCC students work with cutting-edge technologies by a faculty that has real-world racing experience to gain a hands-on education in a rapidly evolving field. The Class of 2014 then enjoyed a wonderful reception at Hamlet Vineyards, where Butch & Virginia Hamlet shared their recent venture into wine-making. The Class also heard from Jeb Bassett and Matthew Johnson of Bassett Furniture about their fascinating collaboration with HGTV. Class members ended the evening at the Virginia Museum of Natural History (VMNH). 2014 Southern Virginia Session Co-chairs, Tim Hall, '09, County Administrator/ PSA General Manager for Henry County and Dr. Janet Laughlin, '13, Vice President for Academic Affairs at Averett University, welcomed the group and provided an overview of what class members would be experiencing during their session. Following dinner, the class was led on a tour of the museum by Dr. Joe Keiper, Executive Director of VMNH.
Friday morning began early with presentations at Averett University's Riverview Campus. First, Dr. Saria Saccocio, Market Chief Medical Officer for LifePoint Hospitals South Central Market, spoke to the class about Today's Healthcare Environment. Following Dr. Saccocio's eye-opening remarks, Dr. Karl Stauber, President & CEO of Danville Regional Foundation and Eva Doss, President & CEO of The Launch Place spoke to the Class of 2014 about Regional Collaboration and Entrepreneurship. Class members then enjoyed an overview of the Rural Virginia Horseshoe Initiative from Dr. Glenn DuBois, who shared its mission of tackling the challenge of preparing people in the state's rural crescent for the jobs of the future. Over lunch at Averett University's new Violet T. Frith Fine Arts Center, Dr. Tiffany Franks spoke to the Class about the concept of Cradle to Career and the importance of starting with early childhood education and steering each student toward a career path.
The Class of 2014 then traveled to Vanderhyde Dairy Farm in Chatham to witness the dairy production, as well as view the cutting-edge technology Roy Vanderhyde and his family are using to produce methane gas as an energy source, selling this energy back to power companies. Immediately following, the Class traveled back Martinsville, where they heard from a panel of speakers on the topic of Building a New Economy at Black Box Theater. Moderated by Tim Hall, '09, Class members heard from Senator William C. Wampler, Jr., Executive Director of New College Institute; Dr. Leanna Blevins, '12 Associate Director and Chief Academic Officer, New College Institute; Mark Heath, President & CEO, Martinsville-Henry County Economic Development Corporation; Allyson Rothrock, '12, President of The Harvest Foundation; and Tad Deriso, President & CEO of Mid-Atlantic Broadband Communities Corporation. The Class then enjoyed a hard hat tour of the New College Institute, scheduled to open this summer. To end the evening, the Class of 2014 enjoyed an evening at Martinsville Speedway! Clay Campbell, President of Martinsville Speedway provided brief remarks about the Speedway, then personally hosted class members in pace car rides around the track. After dinner, the Class of 2014 was treated to a special musical performance by Wayne Henderson & Jeff Little. Wayne & Jeff are self-taught Appalachian musicians and showcased their incredible skills on the guitar and keyboard. It was truly a wonderful performance!
On Saturday, the Class of 2014 visited Smith River Sports Complex where they heard how the region is Combining Health & Wellness with Regional Tourism from Brad Kinkema, CEO/Executive Director of the Martinsville-Henry County YMCA and Billy Russo, Director of Operations of the Smith River Sports Complex. Following a tour of the amazing facility, which was humming with activity from groups of all ages using the grounds, the session ended with a discussion around reflections of their time in Southern Virginia.
We greatly appreciate Tim & Janet for putting together a very insightful session. We also wish to thank our generous sponsors and in-kind contributors of this session: Virginia Tobacco Commission, Danville Regional Foundation, Mid-Atlantic Broadband Communities Corporation, Danville Regional Medical Center, Memorial Hospital of Martinsville-Henry County, Averett University, Hamlet Vineyards, The Harvest Foundation, Martinsville-Henry County Economic Development Corporation, Martinsville-Henry County Tourism, Martinsville Speedway, New College Institute, Virginia Museum of Natural History, Wayne Henderson, and Jeff Little.
Click here to read the article featuring the Class of 2014's visit to the Martinsville Speedway, as printed in the Martinsville Bulletin!