The development of Community First was a community-driven process. Citizens from across the region were solicited for their input and ideas about how this region will continue to pursue cooperative goals and strategies for development.

In the summer of 2002, the NRVPDC called upon eight citizens from the region to serve on the Vision 2020 Update Steering Committee. The members of the committee met for several weeks reviewing the progress from the initial Vision 2020 process and determining how to develop an update to this important document. It didn’t take long to recognize that the first order of business was to celebrate the successes of this initial strategic planning process.

On September 30, 2002, community leaders from across the New River Valley came together to celebrate some of this region’s accomplishments from the past seven years. Scores of successful projects and programs completed within six vision areas were presented. Our initial Vision 2020 process was extremely useful and effective in helping citizens of the New River Valley target resources and energy to take steps toward achieving our vision. Community First provides new ideas and directions to continue the work of reaching our goals and vision for 2020.

The vision areas were modified to create a better representation of where projects and programs are needed in the future: Leadership, Natural and Cultural Resources, Education and Training, Economic Development, Human Resources, and Physical Infrastructure.

Participants from the government, business, and non-profit sectors as well as scores of citizens from the general public participated in “Mapping our Region’s Future” as part of the kick off for the next version of Vision 2020. Citizens participated in the events by brainstorming actions in six key vision areas around the question:

“In this vision area, what are the issues, challenges
and opportunities facing the New River Valley today?”

Small groups worked to develop strategies within the six vision areas and developed lists of specific ideas and processes for each of the strategies. The entire group ranked the most crucial strategies by signing their names to those they found most important.

Five jurisdictional meetings provided additional details and new categories within the vision areas. Participants at the jurisdictional meetings provided comment, added details and categories and signed up for activities and projects that they would like to help bring to reality in the region.

Over 200 citizens from the region participated in this initial brainstorming phase of the Vision 2020 Update. They provided valuable insight into the goals and values this community holds as important. Following the generation of ideas of the challenges and opportunities in our community, it was necessary to develop strategies for moving forward to address the challenges and invest in our opportunities. Project Development Workshops were scheduled to get down to this work.

November 2002 through January 2003 brought community visionaries together to talk about project development within the Community First vision areas: Leadership, Natural and Cultural Resources, Education and Training, Economic Development, Human Resources, and Physical Infrastructure.

Using the brainstorming data collected from the community meetings and regional celebration, the groups developed projects and programs to address challenges and opportunities of the region. Participants created an impressive array of projects and programs to jumpstart the implementation of Community First.

In addition to the jurisdictional and regional meetings, organizations and groups provided input to the brainstorming and project development phase of Community First. The Regional Competitiveness Partnership (RCP), a committee of the NRVPDC, provided valuable insight into the plan through their lenses of what makes the region economically competitive in the global marketplace.

Additionally, local governments provided input at the project development phase by providing lists of important projects each locality will be seeking support and funding for in the coming years.

In an effort to show how the many groups and individuals came together to create and mold this important regional plan, this graphic was developed to show the connections and interactions. In no group or organization is the development of Community First a primary activity. However, the cumulative efforts of all of these groups brought great energy and focus to this important work. All are leaders in this community and all have a strong influence and responsibility in the development and ultimate achievements of Community First now and into the future.