How to make "us" better

Published in the Culpeper Star Exponent on October 4th, 2010

Real estate values are low. There are high numbers of foreclosures. There is high unemployment. Some of our critical services are stretched to a very thin line. County and State budgets are very lean. And the news seems to be more challenging than assuring for economic improvement.

That is until we look at Culpeper and what we are doing to strengthen our local economy. One of my favorite quotes from Brian Tracy a motivational speaker is that “If it is going to be, it is up to me”. “ME” meaning as a community it is up to “US” to find ways to bring economic prosperity to our community.

What are we doing / can we do to set the stage for this transition to the “next economy”? First, the Town Council and the Board of Supervisors are working in historically significant unity. They plan to resolve the water and sewer issues that have consumed time and resources for decades with little progress. In addition to the many attributes that we have for job creation, optimizing our water and sewer resources leads “US” toward a stronger economic foundation.

Next, we know that a large percentage of our workforce travels north everyday from Culpeper. It is important to know what the job skills for that work force are. We need to focus on finding grants or resources to identify this information in order to show new and relocating companies what the local workforce skills are. We know that most commuters would prefer to work where they live. Please contact the Culpeper Chamber if you are interested in working on grant sourcing for this mission. Our Technology Council will be working on this in the coming months. This also helps Germanna in planning for curriculum for the local workforce. It would be great if our commuters used Germanna for their training rather than staying in NOVA to take classes.

The retail numbers for Culpeper were up 8% thru July over last year. Though this is good news, it is over last year, which was a tough year. This does indicate that there are more dollars being spent in Culpeper. We need to continue to find ways to invite visitors to come to Culpeper and enjoy our retail, restaurants, and hospitality businesses. We have strategic opportunities this autumn time of year. However, we need to focus on the tougher months of January thru March for this segment of our economy. Culpeper would be a great location for small 25 to 100 person conferences, tournaments, church programs, and association meetings…. We can all work together to pull this economy forward. Every event makes a difference. Bring your friends and associates to discover Culpeper. They will thank you.

Though we are making progress, we have some work to do…We need to stimulate our home sales, bring our real estate values up, thus, brining more tax revenue into the Town and County, eliminate the foreclosure problem, and get our building community back to work. We need to stimulate our retail / hospitality businesses with a strong buy local focus to support the businesses during the slower sales days of the mid week (see CulpeperChamber.com for Hot Deals). We need to bring visitors here for meetings and on the weekends to discover our quality of life. “If it is going to be it is up to US”

Best Regards

Jim Charapich
President / CEO
Culpeper Chamber of Commerce

CulpeperFest

CulpeperFest is coming up soon - Buy tickets now for the June 4th event. Tickets are on sale now at a number of locations. Early Bird prices are available for tickets and booth space thru May 11th. Take advantage of the early pricing now.
Ticket Locations are:
The Depot in Downtown Culpeper
CFC Farm & Home Center
Pepperberries
Petersen Jewelers
Powell Wellness Center
The Frenchman's Corner
Germanna's Daniel Technology Center
StellarOne - Main Street Culpeper and Locust Grove at the Entrance to Lake of the Woods
Suntrust - Meadowbrook Shopping Center
Virginia Community Bank
Wachovia - Downtown Culpeper
Online at http://www.culpeperchamber.com/ & http://www.culpeperfest.com/

Sponsored by the Culpeper Chamber of Commerce

PUBLIC HEARING NOTICE

HELP SHAPE VIRGINIA’S TRANSPORTATION FUTURE
Revised FY2009-2014 Six-Year Improvement ProgramWorking Draft Public Hearings*
The Commonwealth Transportation Board (CTB) invites your comments about essential rail, transit, transportation demand management, bicycle, pedestrian and highway projects in the Working Draft Revised Fiscal Year 2009-2014 Six-Year Improvement Program (SYIP) to be approved by the CTB in January 2009.
*(Public hearings for local/secondary/municipality-maintained roads are held in other forums.)

All projects in the SYIP that are eligible for federal funding will be included in the Statewide Transportation Improvement Program, which documents how Virginia will be obligate its share of federal funds.

Lists of specific projects and changes from the current program will be available at each public hearing, on VDOT’s web site at http://www.virginiadot.org/, and at VDOT District and Residency Offices prior to the hearing.
THERE WILL BE FIVE HEARINGS STATEWIDE. EXCEPT WHERE NOTED, EACH HEARING BEGINS AT 6P.M. Please attend the hearing that is most convenient for you.

Tuesday,
January 6, 2009
VDOT Culpeper District Auditorium
1601 Orange Road, Culpeper, VA 22701
Culpeper/Staunton

*If you can not attend a hearing, you may send your comments to:
Public Information Office, VA Dept. of Rail and Public Transportation, 1313 East Main St., Suite 300, Richmond, VA 23218-0590, drptpr@drpt.virginia.gov or to Programming Director, VA Dept of Transportation, 1401 East Broad St., Richmond, VA 23219 or Six-YearProgram@VDOT.Virginia.gov.

The Secretary of Transportation’s Office ensures nondiscrimination and equal employment in all programs and activities in accordance with Title VI and Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. If you need more information or special assistance for persons with disabilities or limited English proficiency, call 1-866-835-6070 (TTY users, call 711).

Culpeper Library of Congress

The Library of Congress - Packard Campus for Audio - Visual Conservation opened to the public this week. This is one of the few places in the world where being a Negative Expert is a good thing. Touring the facility is like being able to walk through time. It is fascinating to see how the films that frame the legacy of our recent American History are preserved. The Theater is said to have the best projectors / projected images available. Movies are shown to the public in a retro state of the art theatre on a regular basis - follow the link for more information http://www.loc.gov/avconservation/mtponytheater/index.html . We are proud to have this addition to our community. Thank you to the Packard Foundation, The Library of Congress, and to all who worked to bring this treasure to Culpeper, Virginia.

Culpeper ReEntry Programs

I had the privilege of attending a Culpeper ReEntry Committee meeting at lunch today. Our community continues to amaze me. The devoted professionals who attended today’s meeting are a group of men and women who have a sincere interest in helping those who have been incarcerated to re-enter society productively. Their dedication and personal sacrifice to help others is remarkable and commendable.

My invitation was to add the view from a business perspective regarding how the programs and incentives might be seen by the business community. Far from an expert in this area, I can only say that awareness is the best tool. If businesses have a need for trained employees and through awareness of the programs they find those employees – the community wins….

If you are interested in the programs and incentives available to businesses in the Culpeper area for those reentering from prison - there are many excellent resources here in Culpeper.