RD101 - Virginia Tobacco Region Revitalization Commission Annual Report Fiscal Year 2015


Executive Summary:
The close of fiscal year 2015 marks the Commission’s 16th year of promoting economic growth in the Commonwealth’s most chal-lenging economic region. On behalf of the Commission, I am pleased to report our progress to you in this Annual Report and hope you will be impressed by our substantial impact described throughout.

This fiscal year has seen significant change for the Commission – now re-named the Tobacco Region Revitalization Commission. The Commission has embraced a movement toward greater transparency, objective decision-making, and accountability. We have approached those goals by: pursuing a financial viability manager, constructing firm metrics for each grant program, and supporting the new Executive Director’s policy of making all non-proprietary grant files fully available to the public and press.

Additionally, the Commission has moved forward aggressively with the creation of a loan program and the creation of a new strategic plan. These, when completed, will represent a significant step toward sustainable fiscal management of the Commission’s assets, and will allow it to serve the Tobacco region into perpetuity.

The Commission’s efforts to revitalize tobacco communities have taken many forms, as you will see in the pages that follow. Tobacco growers and quota owners in Virginia endured unprecedented losses since the Master Settlement Agreement was reached in 1998. The aggregate loss was determined to be $479 million and as of 2012, the Commission, together with other sources, has indemnified 100% of that loss. This effort alone has made unparalleled improvements in the economy of Virginia’s tobacco region.

In the year ending June 30, 2015, the Commission’s 8 grant programs awarded 95 grants, totaling $71 million. New and existing companies committed to create more than 1,200 new jobs and invest more than $714 million in taxable assets in the tobacco region. More than 2,700 students residing in the tobacco region received higher education financial aid.

On behalf of the Commission, I am grateful for your continued support of our mission and look forward to another year of partnership with you in bringing renewed prosperity to thousands of households in this area of the Commonwealth that we are privileged to serve.

Sincerely,

/s/ Terry G. Kilgore
Chairman