Bacon's Rebellion

Democracy Thrives in Sunlight

“Return to Roots” in SW Virginia

—

by

James A. Bacon
in

Speaking in the coalfield burg of Norton, Gov. Timothy M. Kaine unveiled yesterday a “Return to Roots” campaign that aims to reach an estimated 15,000 Southwest Virginians who graduated from high school during the past 20 years but left the region. The program, according to the Bluefield Daily Telegraph, will try to reach the alumni through a website, direct mail and the news media to inform them about new employment opportunities that exist today in Southwest Virginia.

“I think it’s a pretty smart strategy,” Kaine told the Daily Telegraph. “The idea of course is we want to recruit good people for these jobs.”

Kaine said the 15,000 plus alumni now scattered out across the nation already know Southwest Virginia is a great place to live and work. The campaign simply aims to reach them, and encourages them to return home.

Kaine said Southwest Virginia is seeing an increase in job vacancies with improving employment rates. For example, Kaine said just last year more than 700 information technology jobs were created in Russell County.

“They (the alumni) are a little bit everywhere,” Kaine said. “It can be hard to find them. But most high schools have reunions. Many of them can be reached through alumni associations and high school associations.”

This initiative is another positive sign that SW Virginia is thinking very differently about economic development. (See “Broadband and Nature Trails.”) The region is investing in higher education through new schools of law and pharmacy in Grundy. It’s investing in nature trails and heritage trails to attract visitors. It’s building a broadband infrastructure. And now its reaching out to alumni.

If there’s one group of people that know, love and have reason to move to SW Virginia, it’s the sons and daughters who left. With their family roots in the region, they have greater reason to settle there than anyone else. I don’t know how well this campaign will work — success will depend in part upon the execution — but it’s clearly a move in the right direction. In the Knowledge Economy, economic development is all about the development, recruitment and retention of human capital.

Share this article

ADVERTISEMENT

(comments below)

ADVERTISEMENT

(comments below)

Comments

5 responses to ““Return to Roots” in SW Virginia”

  1. Anonymous Avatar
    Anonymous

    Sounds like a good plan. I particularly like the fact that they are investing heavily in broadband.

    If small entrepreneurs are going to compete with larger companies in a knowledge economy they will only be able to do it if broadband is part of the equation.

    I work from home and send gigabytes of data to and from customers and suppliers on a daily basis via a cable modem. It’s scary to think where I would be if I didn’t have a cable modem. Ironically, less than 50% of the area in which I live is able to subscribe to high-speed internet (I am talking cable not DSL). Thankfully, I am one of the lucky ones.

    It should be noted that there is a vast difference in speed b/w cable and DSL. I could not do what I do on DSL. Do you know which route they are taking in SW Virginia….cable or DSL?

  2. Anonymous Avatar
    Anonymous

    Seems that George Allen doesn’t like his Jewish ancestry mentioned in public.

    http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/09/18/AR2006091801014.html

    Makes him very very angry to the point of instability. George Allen … one angry Jew.

  3. Jim Bacon Avatar
    Jim Bacon

    Anonymous 3:12. Permit me to quote from my post of Sept. 17, “Bacon’s Rebellion: An Endorsement-Free Zone”: “If you want the latest tit-for-tat in the Allen-Web race for U.S. Senate, there are many excellent websites to consult on both sides.” But Bacon’s Rebellion is not one of them.

    If you want to address a substantive issue in the campaign — preferably one of state/local import, as opposed to the War on Terror, War in Iraq, etc. — then Bacon’s Rebellion might be a suitable venue, if it fits in an existing thread. But, frankly, I’m not interested in partisan name calling. (I’m not 100 percent pure in this regard, but B.R. readers called me to account, and I’ve done my best since then to uphold the principle.)

  4. Anonymous Avatar
    Anonymous

    I think Gov. Kaine’s “Return to Roots” campaign is a good political move. Southwest Virginians have always felt like the “stepchildren” of Virginia, and they traditionally vote for the Democratic ticket. As a Southwestern Virginia native, I think the first step is improving education. I am a 1979 graduate of a Russell County high school, and at that time, the education standards were very low.

    That said, I think that recruiting native southwest Virginians back to the area is an excellent idea. However, I do not know how many will return. Those who have moved away are accustomed to an urban lifestyle now; but there is truth to the statement that southwest Virginia roots run deep. If natives return to the area, they can draw upon experiences learned elsewhere, and thus give the area the political voice it needs. I think Kaine is definitely moving in the right direction by promoting commerce in the area.

    Thanks.

  5. Larry Gross Avatar
    Larry Gross

    I agree with the comment about education in rural areas.

    My wife teaches in a rural part of the county and it used to be .. in years past.. if her kids eventually graduated with some basics that they could find a manufacturing job.. or some job where minimal reading/writing skills was acceptable.

    No longer.

    That kind of education will get you a bottom-rung job.. or worse.

    They could spider-web the entire SW Va area but unless those folks have competitive world-class educations – good luck on the job front.

    Kaine was “smart” politically but what SW Va really is going to need is tough SOLs and quality teachers capable of helping those rural kids ..

    Otherwise… even if new jobs are brought in.. they’ll go to those recruited from outside the area who have the necessary education.

Leave a Reply

Read More