Making Ripples: post-corporate adventures in Floyd County Virginia

What's Up in Floyd?

If you know where to look, there are lots of things going on in Floyd every week. The only problem for me has been knowing where to look.

My earlier search for online calendars about arts and crafts events seemed to turn up websites that were 3 months out of date. I was always discovering that some interesting event occurred and I didn't hear of it until too late.

I had what I thought was a really bright idea last week. I was going to invent an "open Source" online calendar for the entire community that would be kept up to date by a team of highly motivated volunteer editors from each of the organizations that feel they are "underreported" by the local newspaper.

Well, it turns out that that situation is already being remedied by others and the best way for me to assist in the effort is to list all current calendars and see what gaps exist in the coverage before creating another, possibly duplicative calendar.

To cut to the chase, I have created a new section on this blog called FLOYD CALENDARS and have placed it at the top of the left sidebar for easy reference.

If you have a calendar for Floyd County and nearby areas that you would like to list here, please send me an email and I will place a link in this list.

If you have a website, feel free to duplicate this listing. The more places it appears, the better chance we have of seeing that all Floyd County events get the audiences they deserve.

In search of authenticity

Haya El Nasser, Environmental Reporter from USA Today, came down from Washington, DC, yesterday to explore Floyd's  grassroots similarity to the Slow City movement.

The Slow Cities movement originated in Europe and involves sustainable economic activity, building a sense of place, and protecting the environmental landscape.

This philosophy is very much at work in Floyd County today. There is a strong sense of local identity and a definite organized resistance to the loss of regional authenticity which comes from globalization of the food supply and the proliferation of fast food and big box retailers.

This was a follow-up visit by USA Today after their recent article on Floyd music and the Crooked Road. Haya is an interesting person in her own right and has written many articles about the environment, urban sprawl, and social issues.

Haya and Tim Dillon, her photographer, started their day in Floyd with lunch at the Over the Moon Gallery/Cafe and were joined by local dignitaries, including writer Fred First and potter Jayn Avery.

Haya did a brief tour of Floyd County and dropped in at the Jacksonville Center to get a closer view of our community focal point for rural creativity.

The Center is a converted dairy barn located on a hill overlooking Floyd with a view of the Buffalo Mountain to the Southwest. The white barn gleamed in the sun and a chill wind drove the wind generator blades into a shining blur. A perfect day to visit Floyd.

The Jacksonville Center promotes the heritage and culture of Floyd County through classes for artisans, gallery exhibits showcasing regional artists, and an open studio program which acts as an incubator for those seeking a viable career as an artisan.

Haya and Tim interviewed McCabe Coolidge while he was working at the wheel throwing pots. McCabe and his wife Karen are new tenants at the Jacksonville Center and are typical late-life artists who have come to Floyd after a lifetime of service in other fields. Their studio, The Nook, has already become a gathering place for visitors and local artists.

Haya also interviewed Bob Rogers, another tenant in the Open Studio Program. Bob is an architect transforming himself into an artist and has years of experience designing for sustainable living. Bob was able to explain some of the Sustainable Living activities taking place on the Jacksonville Center campus.

Haya managed to visit the Canopy of Trees exhibit in the Hayloft Gallery, get a rundown on the Residential Craft School from Director Chris Shackelford, and chat with Erika Johnson of FloydFest.

As she was leaving, she said what we have come to expect of many visitors, "I want to come back here and visit with my family!"

We will be happy to see her return.

Getting to know Rick Boucher

One of the pleasures of living in a place like Floyd is that we get a chance to get up close and personal with visiting candidates for government office. There is something reassuring about being able to shake someone's hand and spend a few minutes in relaxed conversation with them. A lot of the person comes through in an exchange like this.

Congressman Rick Boucher and his wife Amy are people worth meeting anywhere, but joining them for a few hours in a country setting was an unusual chance to know them as individuals.

Gibby and Buz Waitzkin of Floyd, Virginia, hosted a luncheon Saturday, September 9, at their home for Rick Boucher. It was a beautiful sunny day for a change and guests mingled on the deck as the sounds of country music played by local musicians wafted across the lake.

Eighty-five guests had a chance to chat with Boucher and his wife, Amy Houslohner, an editor of the Galax Gazette in Galax, Virginia.

Among the guests were State Senator W. Roscoe Reynolds and his wife Linda. When the time came for Boucher to address the crowd, Reynolds made the final introduction.

I asked Boucher what plans he had for the region. He said that the $1.2 million in federal funding has been approved for the Rocky Knob project is just the first step in encouraging new tourism development in Floyd and Patrick Counties. He said that he will be  seeking additional federal funds for Rocky Knob tourism development.

Congressman Boucher has been a good friend to Floyd and intends to continue in that direction.  He has been  a strong supporter of efforts to achieve sustainable economic growth through tourism and has been very supportive of the Jacksonville Center and 'Round the Mountain, Southwest Virginia's Artisan Network.

Boucher has long been active on Internet-related legislation, including a bill which became law in 1993 authorizing electronic commerce by permitting for the first time the transmission of commercial messages over the Internet. His proposals to promote competition in the cable and local telephone industries contributed to the enactment of the Telecommunications Act of 1996.

You can see Rick Boucher's voting record by issues on Project Vote Smart and on specific bills on the US Congress Votes Database. He is obviously a man who thinks for himself as he votes on the merits of the issues, not by party line. I think he understands the needs of his constituents and is a sincere and dedicated professional. I feel he is deserving of our full support.

Boucher introduced his wife of three months, Amy Hauslohner, to an enthusiastic round of applause. He made the point that she will be acompanying him on the campaign trail, but she will not be speaking about the campaign at all. As an editor of the Galax Gazette in Galax, Virginia, she maintains a position of strict neutrality.

Following the luncheon, Rick and Amy were whisked off to the next event on their non-stop campaign tour. When invited to a party in October, Rick replied that all social events are off until the November campaign is over.

I wish him well, and hope to see him back in Floyd at his earliest opportunity.

This blogger has a way with hot metal

Sean Pecor, horse farmer, blogger and Internet entrepreneur from Boone's Mill, VA, is learning blacksmithing at the Jacksonville Center for the Arts in Floyd, Virginia.

Sean was the winner of a design contest sponsored by the Jacksonville Center and won a scholarship for any course or workshop that was being offered.

I had lost track of Sean since the contest, and was pleasantly surprised to see him firing up a forge and forming hot metal on an anvil like he had been doing it all his life.

He exhibits the same easy confidence in the Blacksmith shop as he does on his weblog. He is taking the Introduction to Blacksmithing course being taught by third-generation blacksmith, Jessie Ward.

The description of the course gives you some idea of the material covered.

Enjoy the thrill of making things with iron.  This three day introductory course is designed to cover blacksmithing basics, make something you've always wanted to make or make things you didn't realize were possible.  No previous blacksmithing experience is required.  All levels welcome.

This course is taught on three successive Saturdays, so I will follow up next week to see what Sean is going to do next.

I have been taking pictures of all of the courses we offer, and I think blacksmithing is one of the first I am going to do myself. I don't think I will match Sean's stylish appearance, but I will enjoy bashing hot iron, I am sure of it!

Blogging Gene Marrano of WVTF-NPR

Floyd is one of those out of the way spots where busy people may drop in on their way elsewhere, but rarely think of as a destination. I think that is a blessing in disguise, because the usual reaction to Floyd is so positive we could easily end up with queues in front of the real estate offices.

I was reminded of that yesterday when Gene Marrano of radio station WVTF dropped by to interview me. Gene is the host of Studio Virginia & Evening Edition and is an all around nice guy.

Originally from Long Island, he had a long history in corporate sales management before he segued into becoming a Virginia media celebrity.

Gene has worked in commercial radio as a news reporter, news anchor, sportscaster and talk show host since 1997. He also writes for several publications in the Roanoke area, including the Blue Ridge Business Journal, Roanoke Valley Sports Journal and City Magazine, and has written features as a stringer for out-of-town newspapers on occasion.

I gave him a tour of the Jacksonville Center campus where the Raku kiln building class was pulling pots out of barrels full of pine needles.

I realized I should be blogging this when he started interviewing the students working around the kiln, and I finally got my camera fired up as he interviewed Carter Holliday, a professional ceramicist who is also a volunteer at the Jacksonville Center.

Gene was such a pleasure to talk to that I took him downtown to give him a taste of the Floyd experience. On the way to lunch, we dropped in at the Bell Gallery where he met owner Joanne Bell and admired the latest items on display.

We had lunch at Oddfellas where I introduced him to owner Rob Neukirch who, in a previous life, was an actor in Hollywood. After a few seconds of conversation, Gene asked to interview Rob and captured a few sound bytes in a back corner of the busy restaurant.

On the way out of town, we stopped in at the Cafe del Sol and I introduced Gene to owner Sally Walker, who doubles as the jazz vocalist, Little Diva and the G Strings, when she is not riding herd on the controlled chaos at the coffeeshop/gallery. Being a jazz fan, Gene bought a copy of Sally's CD to take with him. Good choice!

I also pointed out that Max Charnley, the young barista behind the counter, was the artist who had painted two of the finest paintings that were displayed in the gallery. If you are in Floyd in the next few weeks, take time to check out the paintings on display at the Cafe del Sol.

By now, Gene was running late for his next appointment, but he had gotten a good immersion in the Floyd experience. In this little laid-back community in the rolling hills of Southwest Virginia, almost everyone he met has an amazing depth of talent. We had barely scratched the surface because he was only in town for an hour.

We enjoyed having him here and he is welcome back anytime.