RD29 - Virginia Tobacco Indemnification and Community Revitalization Commission Annual Report Fiscal Year 2012


Executive Summary:
The Virginia Tobacco Commission was created by an Act of the Assembly on July 1, 1999, and today, it is my pleasure to present the enclosed Annual Report for the year ending June 30, 2012. Thanks to your vision in 1999, the Commission serves the Commonwealth’s most challenging economic region, the tobacco belt, and has made significant progress in revitalizing that economy.

Economic losses sustained by tobacco growers and quota owners were determined to be $479 million and as of today, the Commission, together with other sources, has indemnified 100% of that loss, thereby completing the first of our two statutory missions.

Our second statutory mission, revitalization of tobacco-dependent communities, remains our constant focus and to date, the Commission has funded over 1,400 projects in 41 localities, many of which are described in the pages that follow. While this report is a fair and accurate accounting of the Commission’s use of resources, the real story is found in the words of countless citizens who have often said, “Where would we be if not for the Virginia Tobacco Commission.”

On behalf of the Commission, I am grateful for your support of our mission and look forward to another year of partnership with you in bringing renewed prosperity to Virginia.

Sincerely,

Terry G. Kilgore
Chairman