Staycation

I affectionately referred to the July seminar as my “staycation”. This is because it was time to explore my home region. I am a native of Southwest Virginia and have spent most of my life here. It’s a region that is often misunderstood or even ignored by others across Virginia. This is especially true of the “far SW’ – an area that is just not that easy (and definitely not quick) to visit. In Lee County, my home county, you’ll often hear comments about how much closer residents are to the capitals of other states compared to Richmond. In Ewing, the most western town in VA, and a place we were fortunate enough to visit in July, residents are closer to NINE other state capitals (NC, SC, GA, TN, WV, KY, OH, IN, and AL). It was important to me that the group really “see” SWVA and as soon as I saw the itinerary, I knew I would not be disappointed.

We spent a lot of time in our trusty 12 passenger van. As always, Megan outdid herself with the driving. I can’t imagine how many miles we covered over those 4 days. Sadly, it’s impossible to see everything and there are large sections of the region we couldn’t get to. The reality is that the geography here can often make it feel like “you can’t get there from here”. You actually CAN get there but the route and the road may leave you wishing you either 1) asked your doctor for a motion sickness patch or 2) didn’t follow your GPS’s “shortest route” suggestion. Once again, our loyal backseat crew bravely took our seats in the back of the van. I didn’t want to lose my SWVA street cred by giving up my back row/ iron stomach status.

I’ve covered a lot of miles across the region over the years. I was excited to see that the itinerary included stops for several past Tobacco Commission grant recipients. There were even a few current grantees with updates I was able to see. For the past few years, and for a variety of reasons, my job responsibilities have kept me in the office. I haven’t had as many opportunities to get out to do “site visits” or even to meet with our regional stakeholders in person. I knew I missed seeing everyone, but the seminar made me realize how much I need to make sure it’s a priority for my schedule.

The ”Commission” is sometimes hard to explain to those who live outside the “tobacco region”. We can say that our mission is to revitalize the economy Southwest and Southern VA and we can provide a list of the things our funds can support. It’s very different when we are able to show others (and remind ourselves) specific investments. I’m sure the group got sick of me saying “We invested in this”, or “We provided a grant”, etc. I get excited when I see our funds at work. It keeps me motivated (and has been a big reason why I just blinked and found I’ve been doing the job for 19 years). There were only 3-4 of our stops that were “new” to me but I absolutely learned a lot. I saw gaps that I think TRRC programs could help fill, I saw potential expansions of previous projects, I saw contacts that I haven’t met with face to face in far too long.

My takeaway from my July seminar SWVA “staycation” is the value of leaving the office and being present in the region. This is where relationships are formed and maintained. It’s also where project ideas are generated. It’s where I’m able to be reminded of all the reasons I still love this job. Virtual meetings are good and are absolutely an improvement over the good ole conference call, but even the ability to see each other doesn’t replace the value of actually being in a room together. Several months ago, I gave myself a goal to meet on site with primary stakeholders in each of the SW region localities. I’ve managed to get to several, but I have a few that need to be scheduled. I should probably just accept the fact that the office work will never be caught up and give myself permission for more “staycation” days.