New River Valley Regional Commission Update

June 2026 Update

2026 Annual NRVRC Awards Nominations Are Open!

Help us recognize the people who make an impact in the New River Valley! We need you to nominate worthy candidates for this year's awards program. The Commission is accepting nominations for our regional awards until August 14th. Award recipients will be honored at our annual dinner event in the fall. Please click on the links below to nominate candidates for Champion of the Valley (elected/appointed official), Citizen of the Valley, and Friend of the Valley (outside the region).

Champion of the Valley-Elected/Appointed Official

Citizen of the Valley

Friend of the Valley

AM² All-Hands Meeting Held in Lynchburg

The Additive Manufacturing and Advanced Materials (AM²) Consortium gathered in Lynchburg on May 1st for the quarterly All-Hands Meeting and the kick-off of GO Virginia implementation funding.

The meeting marked an important milestone for AM² as the work moves from planning into implementation, following the recent approval of $4.2 million in GO Virginia funding.

The meeting focused on next steps for implementation, including partner mobilization, manufacturer engagement, and ways to better connect companies with technical assistance, commercialization support, and workforce resources across the New River Valley, Southern Virginia, Roanoke-Alleghany, and Lynchburg regions.

The day also highlighted the Lynchburg region’s manufacturing and workforce assets through partner discussions and local tours. Thank you to Megan Lucas and the Lynchburg Regional Business Alliance team for hosting the meeting, Dr. John Capps and Central Virginia Community College for welcoming the consortium, and BWXT, Aerofin, Belvac, and the Framatome Technology Center at CVCC for helping showcase the region.

As implementation moves forward, AM² partners will continue sharing more information and opportunities for manufacturers, service providers, and regional partners to connect with this work.

Learn more about AM²:

• AM² website: https://am2virginia.org/

• 10-Year Roadmap

For more information, please contact Leo Priddy (lpriddy@nrvrc.org).

Rich Creek Town Council Strategic Planning Retreat

The Rich Creek Town Council held a half-day strategic planning retreat on May 11th. Kevin Byrd facilitated the session which had two primary objectives; town council working as a team and establishing priorities for town leadership. The town council consists of six positions: a mayor and five council members. Five of the six town council members are approaching one-year in their roles, so the retreat came at an opportune time as the group shifts toward advancing strategic initiatives. One of the council's top priorities is constructing a new Fire Hall. The project, partially funded by ARPA, is beginning to take shape with the foundation being poured this month.

For more information, please contact Kevin Byrd (kbyrd@nrvrc.org).

Pinwheels for Prevention Campaign

During April’s National Child Abuse Prevention Month, communities across the New River Valley came together to support children and families through the Pinwheels for Prevention campaign led by NRV CARES. Schools, organizations, and community members planted pinwheel gardens as a visible reminder that every child deserves a safe, healthy childhood and that preventing abuse and neglect takes all of us working together.

The NRV Recovery Ecosystem recognizes that prevention plays an important role in building healthier communities. Research has shown that adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) are linked to later mental health and substance use challenges, making early support and positive childhood experiences especially important. By displaying pinwheels at all 46 local schools and School Board Offices across the region, Floyd, Montgomery, Giles, and Pulaski Counties, and Radford City showed a shared commitment to prevention, resilience, and supporting young people and families throughout the NRV.

For more information, please contact Erika Slagel-Perry (eslagelperry@nrvrc.org)

Floyd County Recovery Court Graduation

On April 28th, the NRV Recovery Ecosystem recently attended a graduation ceremony for four participants who completed the Floyd County Recovery Court program through New River Valley Community Services. The gallery was filled with family members, friends, recovery professionals, and community supporters who came together to celebrate the graduates’ hard work and commitment to recovery. The ceremony proved that recovery does not happen alone and that strong community support can make a lasting difference in someone’s journey.

The Honorable K. Mike Fleenor, Jr. presided over the court and played a significant role in supporting participants throughout their recovery journeys, offering accountability, encouragement, and recognition of the hard work required to achieve long-term recovery. Rather than focusing only on punishment, the program provides people with access to counseling, case management, recovery resources, employment support, and encouragement as they work toward long-term stability and wellness.

For more information, please contact Erika Slagel-Perry (eslagelperry@nrvrc.org).

NRV Recovery Ecosystem Collaborates with Virginia Tech

This Spring, the NRV Recovery Ecosystem collaborated on several projects with community partners at Virginia Tech.

Two Master of Public Health (MPH) student teams completed their Integrative Learning Experiences (ILEs) with the Recovery Ecosystem. One team created a needs assessment and presentation to increase awareness of Fentanyl among adolescents, and another team created materials to share personal stories from NRV residents with lived experience of substance use and recovery.

The Recovery Ecosystem also partners with the Teen Lab at Virginia Tech to deliver Just Say Know, a neuroscience-based program to educate adolescents about the impacts of substance use on the developing brain. Along with Just Say Know, the Recovery Ecosystem has also built partnerships with students in Dr. Aparna Shah’s Neuroscience of Addiction course to deliver Trauma Basics, a curriculum designed to build knowledge and skills regarding trauma and resilience.

Additionally, a team of students at the Edward Via College of Osteopathic Medicine (VCOM) is working to conduct interviews and collect surveys from Peer Recovery Specialists (PRS) and people with lived experience in the NRV to more deeply understand the impacts of stigma in the medical system.

Each of these projects builds relationships between the Regional Commission and our local partners which strengthens the Recovery Ecosystem’s mission to address the opioid crisis in our region.

For more information contact Mikhala Stafford (mstafford@nrvrc.org).

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