Waynesboro Mayor Terry R. Short Jr. has been selected to serve on the Region 8 Council of GO Virginia, a collaborative economic development initiative aimed at growing and diversifying regional economies across the Commonwealth.
“I am truly honored by the appointment and for the opportunity to serve on this important economic development committee, particularly at a time when our city, region and Commonwealth will need to develop real-world and targeted strategies to recover from the economic impacts of the COVID-19 health emergency,” said Short, who was re-elected to a second term on Waynesboro City Council last week.
In 2016, the GO Virginia board certified nine distinct GO Virginia regions across the Commonwealth. These regions consist of nine to 18 localities that share similar economic development and workforce needs. Each region is overseen by a regional council, developed organically from regional business leadership, economic development and workforce professionals, educators and local government officials.
Regional councils are responsible for identifying economic opportunities, needs and challenges, and establishing priorities among those opportunities that can be addressed through regional collaboration. Regional opportunities and priorities are laid out in an economic growth and diversification plan.
Regional councils are also responsible for soliciting, reviewing and recommending regional projects to the board for funding that align with these priorities.
“I am encouraged that my service can afford our city the opportunity get plugged in, and to more deeply collaborate with our regional economic development partners, generate economic prospects, and achieve higher pay for our citizens,” Short said. “We are doing great things in our City, and I am humbled at the opportunity to bring my experience to work to improve economic conditions within our region. What’s good for our Region, is good for Waynesboro.”