U.S. Communities launchesrevamped purchasing websiteThe U.S. CommunitiesGovernment PurchasingAlliance, <strong>the</strong> only nationalpurchasing cooperativesponsored by<strong>the</strong> National <strong>League</strong>of Cities (NLC),launched a new website recently withimproved design and features.U.S. Communities is still locatedat www.uscommunities.org and citypurchasing officials and o<strong>the</strong>r localofficials will find it easier to register,navigate through <strong>the</strong> numerousavailable products and solutions,comparison shop and benefit fromo<strong>the</strong>r available resources.U.S. Communities was founded in1996 as a partnership between NLC,<strong>the</strong> Association of School BusinessOfficials, <strong>the</strong> National Association ofCounties, <strong>the</strong> National Institute ofGovernmental Purchasing, and <strong>the</strong>U.S. Conference of Mayors. It is <strong>the</strong>leading national government purchas-By Marc ShapiroNational <strong>League</strong> of Citiesing cooperative, providing world classgovernment procurement resources andsolutions to local and state governmentagencies, school districts(K-12), highereducation institutes,and nonprofits.All purchasing cooperatives are not<strong>the</strong> same. U.S. Communities offers:• No User Fees - no costs or feesto participate.• Best Overall Supplier GovernmentPricing - by combining <strong>the</strong>potential cooperative purchasingpower of up to 90,000 publicagencies, you are able to access<strong>the</strong> best overall supplier governmentpricing.• Quality Brands - thousands ofbest brands in a wide variety ofcategories, services and solutions.• Integrity and Experience- unlike o<strong>the</strong>r governmentcooperative purchasing organizations,U.S. Communitiesnational government purchasingcooperative is founded by fivenational sponsors and morethan 70 state, city and regionalorganizations.• Oversight by Public PurchasingProfessionals - our third partyaudits on contracts ensure thatprogram pricing commitmentsare met, with benchmark analysesagainst o<strong>the</strong>r suppliers andretailers to guarantee participants<strong>the</strong> best overall value.Today, more than 55,000 registeredlocal and state government agencies,education institutions and nonprofitsutilize U.S. Communities contracts toprocure more than 1.4 billion dollars inproducts and services annually.Register at http://bit.ly/XUDDvGto become part of <strong>the</strong> only governmentpurchasing cooperative founded bypublic agencies for public agencies.6 <strong>Virginia</strong> Town & City | april 2013
<strong>Virginia</strong> economic developershonor 3 communitiesThe <strong>Virginia</strong> EconomicDevelopers Association(VEDA) announced <strong>the</strong> selectionof Bedford County, <strong>the</strong> City ofFredericksburg and <strong>the</strong> ShenandoahValley Region as winners in threepopulation categories of <strong>the</strong> 2013Community Economic DevelopmentAwards (CEDA). The awards werepresented at <strong>the</strong> association’s springconference in Charlottesville.Bedford County was selectedin <strong>the</strong> 40,001-100,000 populationcategory for an entry directed atbusiness retention and expansion, andcommunity involvement.The Bedford County Officeof Economic Development holdsquarterly existing business roundtablemeetings to ensure a strong, diversifiedeconomy and positive businessclimate. It was during <strong>the</strong>se quarterlymeetings that local business managerspointed to <strong>the</strong> difficulty of findingwell-prepared and qualified workers.With this concern in mind, <strong>the</strong>Office of Economic Developmentinitiated <strong>the</strong> Bedford One Program,linking high school students with localbusinesses based on <strong>the</strong> students’career interests. Initiated in 2007,<strong>the</strong> program has had nearly 1,000students participate in 40 companytours to learn about <strong>the</strong> work andeducation involved at each company.The program is an example of whatcan be accomplished when a schoolsystem and businesses and economicdevelopment interests partner toachieve <strong>the</strong> same objective.The City of Fredericksburgwas selectedin <strong>the</strong>15,001-40,000 population categoryfor its first mixed-use development.The project addressed <strong>the</strong> need forexpanded student housing for <strong>the</strong>University of Mary Washington(UMW), as well as enhanced retailand service offerings within walkingdistance of <strong>the</strong> campus. Toaccomplish this initiative <strong>the</strong> UMWFoundation purchased a 22-acre shoppingcenter located directly acrossRoute 1 from campus. The UMWFoundation, working closely with <strong>the</strong>city, has completed Phase I of <strong>the</strong>project representing an investmentof $115 million and containing a624-bed premium student apartmentfacility, a 560-space parking deck,31,000 square feet of ground-levelretail space and 34,500 square feet ofClass “A” office space. Phase II, nowunder construction, is <strong>the</strong> $15 million,93-room Hyatt Place-FredericksburgHotel. This part of <strong>the</strong> initiative is anexample of creative financing enabledby <strong>the</strong> city’s tourism zone program,<strong>the</strong> new <strong>Virginia</strong> Tourism DevelopmentFinancing Program and <strong>the</strong>entrepreneurial strength of <strong>the</strong> UMWFoundation.<strong>Virginia</strong>’s Shenandoah Valley Regionwas selected in <strong>the</strong> category forpopulations ofmore than100,000.Its 21stCenturyWorkforce Transitions project hasexperienced such positive outcomesthat Valley leaders are committedto keeping <strong>the</strong> momentum goingthrough regional collaboration andimproved communication channels.The project began in 2007 withan objective of preparing a workforceready to support economic growthin emerging high technology sectors.With workforce development challengesclearly defined during PhaseI, <strong>the</strong> Shenandoah Valley Partnershipformed <strong>the</strong> Shenandoah ValleyEducation and Workforce Committee.The committee, comprised ofmembers from <strong>the</strong> Valley’s K-12 andhigher education practitioners, stateworkforce providers and <strong>the</strong> businesscommunity, quickly began to addressspecific deficiencies identified in <strong>the</strong>assessment. To address an often-citedproblem, “employers do not knowwho to call” regarding training for<strong>the</strong>ir employees, <strong>the</strong> committee createdan interactive training databasethat was released to <strong>the</strong> public inJanuary as a free resource for employersand employees to find educationand training programs.The CEDA awards are designedto recognize communities for <strong>the</strong>iroutstanding efforts in advancingeconomic viability through economicand community developmentprograms. VEDA is following <strong>the</strong>format developed by <strong>the</strong> Sou<strong>the</strong>rnEconomic Development Council(SEDC) and will submit its eligiblewinners to SEDC to be considered bythat organization for a sou<strong>the</strong>rn statesregional award. This is <strong>the</strong> seventhyear for VEDA’s CommunityEconomic DevelopmentAwards.<strong>Virginia</strong> Town & City | april 2013 7
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