Local partnership names new director
The associate director of the Joint Industrial Development Authority in Wythe County will become the new executive director of the RockbridgePartnership.
Michael Webb will start March 17, filling the position left vacant when 11-year director David Kleppinger quit last July.
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| Michael Webb comes from an award-winning industrial development authority in Wythe County. (Courtesy of RockbridgePartnership) |
Jane Ellington, Rockbridge Partnership chair and head of the search committee, said the partnership selected Webb on Tuesday from 27 applicants. She cited his enthusiasm, experience and good working relationship with state economic development officials.
Ellington acknowledged that the Rockbridge area offers different opportunities and challenges than Wythe County because of colleges and retirement communities in this area.
"We have a lot of different parties to please," she said.
Ellington and Webb both said they would revise the partnership's strategic plan after listening to comments in several public meetings they plan to hold this spring.
Former director Kleppinger, who now works as executive director of the Alleghany Highlands Economic Development Corp., said Wednesday the relatively undeveloped state of Rockbridge County industrial sites compared with surrounding counties makes it difficult for Rockbridge to attract industry. He said the lack of spending on developing sites makes some companies question community commitment to industry.
Last October, the previous county Board of Supervisors tied in a vote to break up the partnership, then, two weeks later, unanimously voted to preserve the group. The supervisors formally gave the partnership permission to hire a new executive director at a meeting two weeks ago.
Wythe County recently succeeded in luring a Gatorade plant to Progress Park, the county-owned 1,210 acre industrial park. The Rockbridge Partnership has been developing its own industrial park in Raphine. The county recently extended water and sewer connections to the park, but there is no natural gas or fiber optic service.
While Webb was employed with the Wythe Joint IDA, the group was named one of the top 10 economic development groups in the U.S. and Canada by Site Selection magazine and was runner-up for the U.S. Economic Development Administration's Excellence in Rural Economic Development award.
"My experience has been that having the interstates, a quality workforce, and strong quality of life will serve a community well," Webb said in an e-mail. "Economic development is not an overnight endeavor, nor is it a one-person job. I look forward to working with everyone in the upcoming months."
The four partnership members present Tuesday voted unanimously to hire Webb. The motion was proposed by Buster Lewis, Walkers Creek representative on the Board of Supervisors, and seconded by Lexington Vice Mayor Tim Golden.
Webb has a master's degree in economic development from the University of Southern Mississippi.
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