Your February Gateway Connector

February 2024

February is Career and Technical Education Month. CTE Month is a time to recognize and celebrate the achievements and accomplishments of our CTE partners at the local, state, and national level.

Pictured here: Masonry class at Rowanty Technical Center

Update from the President & CEO:

Friends of the Gateway Region,

Hello February! This month, I express adoration for our Board of Directors. After four years as VGR’s Board Chairman, Dr. Ted Raspiller, former President of Brightpoint Community College and now a leader at Virginia529, handed over the gavel to our new chairman, J. Rex Davis. I cannot thank Ted enough for his consistent leadership, dedication, candor, and humor while serving alongside me and our volunteer board. I am grateful that Dr. Raspiller will continue to be a part of VGR as an advisory board member. Our group is excited to assist Rex in his new role as he brings a wealth of business experience to the table. I would also like to congratulate the following board members who were elected as officers:

Christine Chandler, AdvantaStaff- Vice Chairman
Nick Walker, Roslyn Farm Corporation- Treasurer
James Beazley, Dominion Energy- Secretary

In addition to our officers, I would like to welcome the following brand new board members as well.

Community Members:

· T.J Webb, Prince George County

· Becky McDonough, Prince George County

· Breyon Pierce, Surry County

At-Large Members:

· Gerry Quindoza, Bank of America

· Brenda Woodcock, Bon Secours

· William Fiege, Brightpoint Community College

Finally, please save the date for our annual meeting on March 27^th where you will have the opportunity to meet these servant leaders in person.

As always, if you have any questions or ideas for your regional economic development group, please don’t hesitate to contact me.

Call Keith Boswell at: +1 (804) 732-8971 or Click for Email

New Brighpoint President Meets the Board

On February 1, the VGR Board welcomed Brightpoint’s new president, William “Bill” Fiege. While Bill covered a lot of information in a short amount of time, one significant takeway was that the community college offers more than 80 certificate programs for our local workforce. President Fiege was also enthusiastic about their new pharmaceutical technician program and discussed how the college is advocating for more lab space through legislation in this General Assembly session. More hands-on labs would benefit the healthcare and advanced manufacturing industry sectors. VGR was pleased to submit a letter of support when Brighpoint recently applied for a GO Virginia planning grant to support the pharma cluster. Bill provided an enlightened review of Brightpoint's dual enrollment offerings and adult programs, explaining how adult learners seek more online courses in today’s academic environment. Finally, President Fiege noted that Brightpoint has purchased a Mobile Lab that will travel the region offering specialized training to our citizens.

State and Federal Leaders Gather to Talk Pharma

VGR’s Tom Scott joined U.S. Senator Mark Warner, Virginia Secretary of Commerce and Trade Caren Merrick, members of the Alliance for Building Better Medicine, and other regional leaders at the VA Bio+Tech Park for a roundtable discussion about the urgent need to create a reliable supply of safe, high-quality, and affordable medicines while embracing equitable economic growth and creating high-quality jobs for all. Tom gave an update about the ongoing US EDA Supply Chain project related to the pharma cluster.