Assistant Cumberland County Administrator Sherry Swinson is making it her goal to stop,
delay, or reverse the out-flow of people and resources from her rural, central Virginia
county.
"My most important priority is attracting businesses
to provide jobs for our citizens," she says. "Now 75 percent commute out."
And she’d like to see some of those jobs add value to
Cumberland’s resources. "Forest products are one of our top industries;
they’re cut and out they go. We’d like to attract an enterprise that enhances
their value and adds to our tax base."
To that end, Sherry’s been involved in county
endeavors to provide public water and sewer lines to the courthouse area and to its
expanding industrial park. In one of its many cooperative ventures, the 9,000-population
county also is supporting a regional industrial park in nearby Keysville.
But Sherry, a longtime resident of Cumberland County, also
knows the value of her region’s scenic beauty — its rivers, state forests, and
historic homes — for drawing in tourists. She recognized the potential of Anderson & Associates’ new county GIS map as a marketing tool with overlays for rivers,
historic sites, trails, and other attractions. An avid biker and hiker, Sherry coordinated
some key meetings in planning a new 20-mile recreational trail through Bear Creek Lake State Park and Cumberland State Forest. Now
she’s advocating building a lodge with conference facilities in the park,
strategically located within an hour of Charlottesville,
Lynchburg, and Richmond. She’s working with other
counties to market the area to tourists.
"We used to say that you can come here, but you
can’t stay unless you camp," she says. Now the county boasts accommodations from
a dog-friendly motel to a James River bed and breakfast designed by Thomas Jefferson for
his granddaughter.
Sherry, a former newspaper reporter, joined the county 10
years ago as recycling coordinator on the promise that she could get into economic
development. Her job title and responsibilities have expanded to include economic
development and community relations.
In her spare time, she reads, golfs, goes boating, and
raises a very ambitious flower and vegetable garden. She lives on a 1,000-acre farm in the
county.
"The hardest part of economic development is being
patient," she says. "But we’ve come a long way for a county that
didn’t even have a county administrator 10 years ago." &
