Kick-Off in Martinsville
A crowd of 150 gathered for breakfast this morning at the Main Street Restaurant in Martinsville for the sixth event of our kick-off tour. Governor Warner traveled to Southside Virginia to visit with friends in the former “Sweatshirt Capital of the World” – a community rocked by job losses due to big changes in the textile industry.
From the Martinsville Bulletin:
Warner said if elected, he will help Henry County and Martinsville by moving forward on construction of Interstate 73 and securing federal support for retraining workers.“We need a world-class, educated work force” to compete in the global economy, he said.
Times are getting tougher, he said of the economy, but he peppered his speech with optimism for the future.
“This is a community that for most of the 20th century carried the rest of Virginia on its back,” he said. “We’ve still got a ways to go, but I think we’ve turned the corner.”
Delegate Ward Armstrong praised the Governor for paying attention to Martinsville and Henry County during his term, and for helping local officials bring new jobs and greater opportunity to a community in desperate need of both.
“We need a senator who cares about all regions of Virginia, not just the more populated areas,” Armstrong said.Armstrong and Martinsville Mayor Kimble Reynolds Jr. recalled Warner standing in a pouring rain in Fieldale talking to workers who lost their jobs when the Pillowtex plant closed in 2003.
Sen. Roscoe Reynolds, D-Ridgeway, and city Sheriff Steve Draper also spoke glowingly of Warner’s record.
“During his four years, there were 34 announcements of expansions, new jobs coming to Martinsville and Henry County,” Sen. Reynolds said. “When fully implemented, there will be 3,500 jobs in Martinsville/Henry County that weren’t there before his administration.”
Governor Warner was introduced by Eric Penn, pictured at right, an associate minister, an employee at a new company Governor Warner helped attract to Martinsville and a part-time student at the New College Institute (NCI).
Governor Warner championed NCI and worked with local and regional leaders to provide enhanced worker training and higher education options for residents of Martinsville and Henry County. As governor, Warner and the General Assembly committed more than $1 million in seed money to begin planning for the NCI.
“Because of Governor Warner, citizens in our community now have more opportunities,” Penn said.