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Published: 17 April 2020

A Farmville business has joined the nationwide effort to supply personal protective equipment (PPE) to healthcare workers fighting the coronavirus pandemic.

YakAttack, a local company that normally produces fishing gear for kayaks, has temporarily refashioned its machinery to produce PPE.

Company President Luther Cifers said YakAttack, like many other businesses, has been heavily affected by the pandemic. Although spring is one of the busiest times for the industry, several workers were laid off as things came to a halt.

Photo: Robin Guthrie, who works at Centra Southside Community Hospital’s Emergency Department, tries on a PAPR face shield produced by YakAttack. The business is utilizing its kayak fishing machinery to produce emergency PPE equipment during the COVID-19 pandemic.

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Published: 07 April 2020

Central Virginia Electric Cooperative (CVEC) and Firefly Fiber BroadbandSM received $28,000,000 in funds from the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Reconnect Program.  The announcement was made Friday morning by USDA Virginia State Director, Beth Green, to a group of 200 guests comprised of county officials, local and elected officials, directors, supervisors, business partners, and CVEC members and employees. CVEC and Firefly President and CEO Gary Wood remarked, “We have great partners and the folks who have spoken today at the local, state and federal level have contributed to make this announcement and grant possible. We need the partners and appreciate all they have done to help the members of CVEC.” 

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Published: 06 April 2020

Like many rural communities, Mecklenburg County relies on regional cooperation to boost its economy. A newly formed partnership — Virginia’s Manufacturing Region — is a regional coalition to market Southern Virginia as a top destination for manufacturing jobs.

It’s a bit like a supergroup, with Virginia’s Growth Alliance in Keysville, Virginia Gateway Region in Colonial Heights and the Lynchburg Regional Business Alliance pooling their resources.

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Published: 14 March 2020

A student builds a gaming console at GO TEC partner Southern Virginia Higher Education Center’s Career Tech Academy (CTA-IT) as part of their IT program. CTA-IT gives students the hands-on skills needed to build, repair and troubleshoot computers and personal computing devices.

In March 2019, GO TEC received the largest grant to date from the GO Virginia competitive funding pool. The GO Virginia State Board approved an investment of up to $4.9 million, which will be matched 1-to-1 by support from more than 17 local partners.

The project will deliver workforce training and talent development through a “hub and spoke” model and will target in-demand occupations identified across Southern and Southwest Virginia. Targeted career paths include IT/cybersecurity; robotics, automation and mechatronics; precision machining; welding; and advanced materials. Participating GO Virginia Regions include 1, 3 and 4, an area thatencompasses many of Virginia’s rural counties stretching from Wythe County to Greensville County.