*****FOR IMMEDIATE PRESS RELEASE*****

 Radford City Council Unveils its Vision for the Future

Date: November 6, 2006

 The Radford City Council unveils its Vision for the Future of the City today.  Council members trust they have created a unified vision for the City that will guide Radford successfully through the 21^st century and beyond.     

They believe that by 2020, Radford will be a progressive community that: 

• Has respect for the past and embraces the future
• Is the benchmark for the type of community that others aspire to be
• Avoids compromising its principles of quality to accommodate short term interests
• Has the courage to develop a plan and follow through, despite the risk and hard choices

 The Vision goes on to spell out what City Council will do between now and 2020 to build on Radford's strengths and make improvements in the areas of natural beauty, sports and outdoor recreation, effective governance, being a commercial center, being the home of Radford University, diversity, educational opportunities, and heritage. 

 City Council members chose these eight areas because they believe they are of the greatest priority to the community.  Of the Council's Vision, Mayor Tom Starnes says, "Focusing our time and energy on these things will have the greatest positive impact on Radford."

  The Vision for the Future of Radford is the result of a three-month collaboration with A. Tyler St. Clair, of the Weldon Cooper Center for Public Service at the University of Virginia.  City Council members set out to follow the Center's Local Elected Leadership Model as a way to better serve the community.  They believe building a collective picture of Radford's future will serve as a road map to follow when making planning and budgeting decisions for the City.  The Vision will influence these decisions by keeping the Council's focus on what they'd like to see Radford accomplish over the next 16 years and beyond. 

 But building a collective picture of the community's future is just one step in City Council's effort to follow the Center's Model for strong leadership at the local governance level.  They are also working to maintain a strong, effective working relationship amongst themselves.  With the finalized Vision in hand, the Council will now work together in developing principles that drive decisions and projects related to the Vision.  Finally, they will continue to actively seek the engagement of others, particularly citizens, in achieving the preferred future of the community.

Part of the effort to engage the people of Radford includes communicating the significance of City Council's Vision.  The first stage of this endeavor was the unveiling of the Vision to City Stakeholders.  These groups and organizations are considered those most closely tied to the City's workings, and include the Planning Commission, Industrial Development Authority, Chamber of Commerce, School Board, Recreation Commission, Main Street Radford, Heritage Foundation, Radford Bridges, and Radford University.  Along with the hope that these groups will take the Vision back to their respective members, Council members will also head out into the community to speak with local civic clubs and organizations.  The aim is to electrify the entire City with the possibilities of the Vision and to emphasis how committed Council members are to seeing it through to fruition.               

 Starnes echoes the sentiment of the entire City Council, saying, "We are excited about the potential this Vision creates for the City of Radford, and we want the people to be too.  This will give us the focus to continue to improve every aspect of life in the City.  I only see great things for our future." 

 Contact:           Becky Hawke     540.731.3603    rhawke@radford.va.us 

                        Mayor Thomas L. Starnes     540.639.0448      starnestl@radford.va.us

Vision Document

Vision Pamphlet