Senator Mark Warner met with Halifax County Industrial Development Authority (IDA) Executive Director Mike Sexton, County Administrator George Nester, IDA Chairman John Cannon, and Capital Results Partner Rob Shinn on June 4th along with Congressman Periello’s staff member Beth Elliott to discuss projects in Halifax County.  Senator Warner agreed to work together to support the county’s request for federal stimulus and earmark funds.  In addition economic development projects were discussed and plans were made to continually involve the Senator with these projects to ensure he is able to assist in any way possible.  Members of the group will maintain contact with the Senator’s staff to keep him up to date on projects or activities.

photo left - Mike Sexton, IDA Executive Director; John Cannon, Chairman of IDA; Senator Warner; George Nester, County Administrator of Halifax; Rob Shinn, Partner at Capital Results.

Rick Richardson, Director of Communications & Promotions at the Virginia Economic Development Partnership (VEDP) visited the Halifax County IDA on Thursday, May 28^th.  Mike Sexton, Executive Director for the IDA took Rick on a tour of the hidden treasures in Halifax County.  Places visited included The Prizery, The Southern Virginia Higher Education Center, Berry Hill and the STEM Center.  Rick quoted Halifax County as "surprisingly sophisticated" and is looking forward to a return trip.

Supporting Business Development and International Trade, VEDP's Communications & Promotions division plans, executes and manages the Partnership's overall marketing outreach initiatives. VEDP uses a comprehensive and aggressive marketing strategy to communicate that Virginia is the best state for business around the world.  What does this mean for Halifax County?  It means showcasing our existing businesses in various state marketing pieces, features in VEDP's newsletter on Halifax County business expansions and new business developments, and partnering with VEDP on various industry trade show missions.  The Communications and Promotions Department is a marketing arm that continues to be an important ally for Halifax County.

The Grand Am – Rolex Bosch 250 was held at VIRginia International Raceway on April 25, and Race Tech Magazine was there for the action.  In addition to the Grand Am race, the day's action also included the Skip Barbour Race Series, the BMW Race Series, and the VW JETTA TDI Race Series.

Click here to read about Race Tech Magazine's impressions of VIR.

Searching for a “Heart of Gold?” That’s just what Neil Young found when he stopped in Halifax County in March. Famous rocker Neil Young visited VIR to have testing performed on a hybrid 1959 Lincoln Continental convertible at the state-of-the-art chassis dyno located at the Virginia Institute for Performance Engineering and Research (VIPER).

Young says the huge 1959 Lincoln was selected for the project because “it doesn’t go against the flow…my theory is if you go with flow and then the change will happen quickly. People want big cars. Let’s build a big, smart car.” The big “American Car” as Young refers to it will go down the road in comfort and safety while delivering up to 100 miles per gallon. Using VIPER's instruments to fine-tune the single-rotor Wankel engine driving the generator, the stop helped to improve the car's efficiency. Dyno staff led by Victor Seaber helped the team test the generator engine and electric motor output on the chassis dynamometer at VIPER's lab in VIR's North Paddock.