Friends of Southwest Virginia, Spearhead Trails Strategic Planning
In July 2023, the Southwest Regional Recreation Authority (SRRA) partnered with Friends of Southwest Virginia to initiate a Business and Strategic Planning process for Spearhead Trails, a project that was funded by the Appalachian Regional Commission. After overseeing a competitive bid process, a committee consisting of representatives from Friends, the SRRA board, SRRA executive staff, and the Virginia Tourism Corporation selected the Virginia Tech Center for Economic and Community Engagement (CECE) in December 2023 to serve as a consultant. The goal of the project was to enhance SRRA's capacity in serving the people and economy of Southwest Virginia (SWVA) through a strategic plan and implementation guide for SRRA and the Spearhead Trails System. CECE collaborated with Aspire Marketing, ConsultEcon, and Dr. Jeffrey Marion, a Recreation Ecologist and adjunct professor at Virginia Tech in the Department of Forestry, to accomplish this task.