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Issue 7, Fall 2022
Lou Ann Wallace
VAPDC President
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the Southside PDC and the Commonwealth Regional Council
The Southside Planning District Commission (SPDC), comprising three counties (Brunswick, Halifax, and Mecklenburg) and 12 towns, was chartered September 15, 1969, becoming the seventh organized planning district in Virginia. Encompassing just over 2,000 square miles, SPDC lies along the North Carolina border and is home to 79,605 people (Weldon Cooper Center, July 1, 2021). The region also has over 70,000 acres of lake waters and a vast network of rivers and streams. 
 
As a designated Economic Development District (EDD) by the U.S. Department of Commerce-Economic Development Administration, one of the PDC's primary responsibilities is to prepare a Comprehensive Economic Development Strategy (CEDS) for the region. The CEDS analyzes a region's economy and serves as a guide for establishing regional goals and objectives, developing and implementing a regional plan of action and identifying investment priorities and funding resources. 
 
Southside PDC (Planning District 13) provides value to its localities at both the community and regional levels through the guiding principles of fostering intergovernmental cooperation, providing comprehensive planning and GIS services, and by offering needed technical assistance in developing and administering community improvement projects and programs. The Lake Country Development Corporation, staffed by SPDC, provides low-interest loans for qualifying companies that are creating jobs as part of new industry locations or existing industry expansions.  
 
The current chair of the SPDC is Glanzy Spain (Mecklenburg County) and Deborah Gosney is the Executive Director. 
The Commonwealth Regional Council (CRC) is home to 18 jurisdictions—the seven counties of Amelia, Buckingham, Charlotte, Cumberland, Lunenburg, Nottoway and Prince Edward, and 11 towns. The two largest towns are Farmville, home to Longwood University and Greenfront Furniture, and Blackstone, home to Fort Pickett and FASTC. There are six state parks and four state forests located either partially or entirely within the CRC (Planning District 14) region.
 
The CRC provides a variety of technical and program services to its member local governments. They include grant application assistance; management services for program implementation; development/update of comprehensive plans; transportation, environmental and emergency services planning; and land mapping and GIS services. The Council considers itself an “arm” of its member jurisdictions, providing both expertise and cost savings.
 
The CRC worked diligently in recent years on a Comprehensive Economic Development Strategy (CEDS) for the region. In 2020, the Economic Development Administration approved the CRC’s CEDS, which made the region’s counties eligible to apply for EDA funding when projects are identified. 
  
The CRC region has a population of 100,735 (Weldon Cooper Center estimate, July 1, 2021) in area of approximately 2,800 square miles. The Chair of the CRC is David Emert (Prince Edward County) and the Executive Director is Melody Foster.
in the news
The PDC community was deeply saddened by the unexpected passing in mid-September of long-time public servant Woody Harris. As many know, Woody was a passionate and vocal supporter and advocate of all things regional. His long tenure of commitment to service included serving as VAPDC President for two years (2012-2014) as part of his six years of service on the VAPDC Board (2010-2016). He also was a long-time member of the Crater PDC, being first appointed to the Commission in 1989 and serving in all three Commission leadership posts, including two years as chairman (2001-2003). He also was president of the Virginia Municipal League (2002-2003) during the time of his long service on the Emporia City Council. Woody’s leadership, insights and humor will certainly be missed.

VAPDC recently hosted a cybersecurity training session, “See Yourself in Cyber,” which was this year’s theme for the annual Cybersecurity Awareness Month in October. The goal of this free, one-hour virtual training on basic steps to protect online information and privacy was to educate and help people be more vigilant and prepared to protect themselves and others from online threats. The speakers for the event were Melody Foster with the Commonwealth Regional Council, and Thomas Bullock with the Virginia Risk Sharing Association. The training materials are posted on the VAPDC website here.
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