Though these organizations have been, and continue to be, very effective in their missions, it became clear to everyone involved in the RAAP downsizing that this was a bigger issue than any single organization could handle alone. With major layoffs facing the community, and more probable in the near future, regional community leaders came together to discuss the options of responding to the larger economic impact of defense downsizing on the New River Valley.
The NRVPDC spearheaded this effort in two ways. First, it brought together a variety of community leaders and local government officials to identify a specific plan of action. Second, it pursued available funding sources for evaluating the overall impact of defense downsizing. By November of 1992, a regional Economic Adjustment Strategy Steering Committee was formed. This group addressed the specific impacts of defense downsizing on the region and how the New River Valley community can best respond to those impacts. The Steering Committee also provided guidance during the process.
Funding for the visioning effort was provided by the US Department of Defense's Office of Economic Adjustment (OEA). This office provides planning grants for non-entitlement areas that have been affected by Department of Defense-related actions. The funding provided by this program allowed the New River Valley to assess the present situation thoroughly and to set a course for a brighter future for New River Valley citizens.
These common threads centered on valuing the natural environment as an asset; tourism development; encouraging small businesses throughout the region; maintaining quality education, leading the world in new technologies; expanding local industrial parks as well as developing a regional industrial park; increasing the level of regional participation in joint agreements; and establishing a community vision.
These ideas are almost all regional in their scope. This broad-based thinking shows that citizens realize the importance of acting as a region in achieving a successful future. This is an important step toward the ultimate success of the New River Valley.
The ideas generated during the first round of meetings formed the basis for Vision 2020. In successive meetings, citizens suggested and prioritized specific projects that they felt would best maximize the region s potential for a prosperous future. Those projects serve as a basis for the implementation of Vision 2020, and are presented in the final section.
These groups were formed to ensure that the Vision accurately reflected community wishes and will be implementable; each Working Group had a diverse and committed membership. The various groups served as both advisor and strategy development team in conjunction with engineering contractors and NRVPDC staff to develop fully the visions that stemmed from the community meetings. The membership of these groups included community and business leaders with their fingers on the pulse of community activities. Often, the groups would identify key players to drive certain components of the plan or would devise a procedure for the development of an implementation body. They also brought forward ideas for implementation as well as critical checklists for monitoring success in the various Vision areas.
The Corporate Roundtable continues to meet quarterly. This is a working group of business leaders established to evaluate the current industrial base and potential growth areas in that base. Members exchange problems and possible solutions as well as information and trends affecting the region. The membership of this group includes local manufacturing and service industry representatives, educational institution representatives, small business owners, and local economic development organizations representatives.
Roundtable members met throughout the visioning process to examine the attributes and needs of the current physical and economic infrastructure in the region. Their input was invaluable to the development of appropriate goals and plans for enhancing the commercial, service, and manufacturing climate of the New River Valley. Their input remains vital to the implementation of Vision 2020 goals as these are further defined and projects are pursued.
The synergism between Working Groups and the broad community meetings was also important to Vision development. Often Working Groups held joint meetings with each other; minutes from all Working Group meetings were broadly distributed. This aspect of the community input process allowed participants to focus on their areas of special interest and expertise. In turn, this allowed the NRVPDC staff to tap invaluable community resources without exhausting the Steering Committee. These community-driven efforts culminated in the development of Vision 2020.