Getting your Trinity Audio player ready...

The Virginia Association of Planning District Commissions (VAPDC) elected a new board of directors at its annual summer conference held July 20-22, in Staunton.

Buckingham County Board of Supervisors’ Chairman and Maysville District Supervisor, Thomas Jordan Miles III was re-elected a director to the VAPDC during the meeting.

“I look forward to continuing representing the counties of Amelia, Buckingham, Charlotte, Cumberland, Lunenburg, Nottoway and Prince Edward counties at the state level,” Miles said as part of the VAPDC press release. “The VAPDC is a results-driven advocacy group that shares best practices and furthers regionalism across Virginia. I will make sure that our rural localities have a steady voice at the table.”

At its annual business meeting during the conference, Lou Ann Wallace (Cumberland Plateau Planning District Commission) was elected president, and Dwayne Tuggle (Central Virginia Planning District Commission) was elected first vice president. Also elected were Patrick Mauney (Rappahannock-Rapidan Regional Commission) as second vice president and Kevin Byrd (New River Valley Regional Commission) as secretary/treasurer. Allen Kimball (Kim) Callis (Southside Planning District Commission) will serve as immediate past president.

Prior to being elected president, Lou Ann Wallace served as first vice president of the VAPDC Board of Directors. She is a member of the executive board of the Cumberland Plateau PDC and also serves on the State Water Control Board.

Dwayne Tuggle is in his third year on the VAPDC Board, having previously served as director. He has been mayor of the Town of Amherst since 2016.

Patrick Mauney has been with the Rappahannock-Rapidan Regional Commission for more than 16 years, the last six as executive director.

Kevin Byrd was appointed as executive director of the New River Valley Regional Commission in 2009 and has served as secretary/treasurer of VAPDC since 2010. He also is a past president of the National Association of Development Organizations (NADO).

Elected as directors for 2022-2023 were: Josepha Bolling-Thompson, Mount Rogers Planning District Commission; Jennifer Bowles, West Piedmont Planning District Commission; Robert Crum, Hampton Roads Planning District Commission; Brandon Davis, Northern Shenandoah Valley Regional Commission; Deborah Gosney, Southside Planning District Commission; and Jordan Miles, Commonwealth Regional Council.

Planning District Commissions were enabled by state legislation in 1968 and most were established the following year. There are 21 PDCs and regional commissions in Virginia made up of elected officials and citizens appointed by local governments. The purpose of planning district commissions is to encourage and facilitate regional solutions to problems of area-wide significance. This is done by promoting the efficient development of the physical, social and economic policies of all districts by assisting local governments to plan for the future. The PDCs of Virginia joined together to create the Virginia Association of Planning District Commissions in 1987 to share best practices and further regionalism across the Commonwealth.