HALIFAX IDA HIRES NEW EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR
The Industrial Development Authority of Halifax County is pleased to announce the hiring of Mr. Brian K. Brown as its new Executive Director. Mr. Brown is a resident of Roanoke and most recently was employed as a Market Executive for Countryside Service Company, real estate developers in Staunton, Virginia. Mr. Brown has extensive experience in local economic development having served for over seven years as the Economic Development Director for the City of Buena Vista and as the Economic Development Administrator for the City of Roanoke before that. He also has private sector experience from his employment as a Marketing Coordinator and Business Development Representative with Hayes, Seay, Mattern & Mattern, an engineering firm in Roanoke.
In his role as Executive Director Mr. Brown will be responsible for directing the operations, programs and projects of the Halifax IDA. His first priority will be to deploy and manage a comprehensive plan for economic development, including business recruitment, retention and expansion programs. The Executive Director’s responsibilities also include managing and marketing the IDA’s inventory of land and buildings.
Mr. Brown replaces Matt Leonard who departed the IDA on November 1, 2018. Deputy Director Kristy Johnson has served as Interim Director since then.
To the strains of “Ain’t No Stoppin’ Us Now” blaring from a loudspeaker, teachers and school employees streamed into the high school Tuesday for a pep rally to celebrate good news before the start of school: full state accreditation for all nine county schools.
During their June meeting, the Danville Community College board selected its new leaders for the 2019-2020 fiscal year.
Kent Farmer, president and CEO of Rappahannock Electric Cooperative, was elected to serve as chairman of the board; Lee was elected to serve as vice chair, and Southside Electric Cooperative president and CEO Jeff Edwards was chosen for the secretary/treasurer position. These officers will serve in those positions for the next three years through 2022.
Halifax County native Jay Jennings has been named the new facilities manager at Danville Community College (DCC).
At the Virginia Main Street Downtown Intersections State Conference in Lynchburg, held July 22-24, South Boston town manager Tom Raab (above) and Echelon Resources executive Edwin Gaskins made a 45-minute presentation to a crowd of roughly 30 town managers and Main Street members on how to turn large, historical buildings from dilapidated hulks into useful structures. They recounted how Echelon Resources had renovated what is now Imperial Lofts in South Boston, transforming the shuttered Tultex plant into market-rate apartments and business incubator. Raab and Gaskins discussed various aspects of the project, including paperwork and renovation requirements. “We told them how we took a building that was probably going to have to be torn down and put a new roof on it and put in probably 45 new apartments,” Raab said. Echelon Resources plans to add another 15 apartments later.
The towns of South Boston and Halifax are among 16 Virginia cities and towns receiving more than $144,000 in Virginia Main Street grants and technical assistance for 19 projects on Wednesday.
The INDEX is the industry’s most comprehensive rating of rural providers. It provides the data foundation for the annual Rural Relevance Study and its results are the basis for many of rural healthcare’s most prominent awards, advocacy efforts and legislative initiatives. The Top 100 Rural and Community Hospitals play a key role in providing a safety net to communities across America – and the INDEX measures them across eight pillars of hospital strength: Inpatient Market Share, Outpatient Market Share, Cost, Charge, Quality, Outcomes, Patient Perspectives, and Financial Stability. 
