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Friends of the Gateway Region,
We’re celebrating our birthday this month, as Virginia’s Gateway Region turns 65.
What’s exciting is that our birthday marks our organization as a trailblazer. Modern economic development in this country traces its roots to the post-World War II efforts. Archivists often point to President Harry Truman’s inaugural speech in 1949 as a cornerstone, when he noted the potential for industrial expansion across the nation’s open western lands.
Back here, in 1960, several local businesspeople saw a vision of attracting business investments in the Petersburg, Colonial Heights and Hopewell region. That led to the creation of the Appomattox Basin Industrial Development Corporation (ABIDCO). Working with a part-time staff, the organization launched the region’s first forays into recruiting and hosting industrial prospects.
In 1985, under new leadership that recognized the region’s emerging potential, ABIDCO took on a new direction and actively began to shape our region’s future economic climate with the renaming of our organization to Virginia's Gateway Region. Since then, VGR has grown into the economic development partnership between public entities and private industry that it is today.
As we consider our future on our birthday, our hope is for continued collaboration that helps to attract new opportunities and investments that position Virginia’s Gateway Region for another prosperous 65 years.
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