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, and SRRA executive staff 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.