“Collaboration” was the word of the day during a special Farmville Area of Commerce Business After Hours function at The Woodland in Farmville on Tuesday.

The chamber set aside some time for the town of Farmville, Prince Edward County, Longwood University and Hampden-Sydney College to officially announce the launch of a new website: VisitFarmville.com.

A collaboration of the town, county and two schools, the website sports six major sections: About Farmville, What to Do, Outdoor Adventures, Shopping, Stories and Press Room.

Large, clickable images promoting the High Bridge Trail, the upcoming Vice Presidential Debate, Longwood and Hampden-Sydney, Green Front Furniture and the Civil Rights movement in Farmville adorn the top of the homepage. Scroll further down and visitors will find links to events and posts from the website’s new Facebook page.

“I am proud of this site and equally proud of the collaboration,” Farmville Mayor David Whitus said. “This is the first time Farmville, the county, Longwood and Hampden-Sydney have all worked together.”

He said he recently met with Prince Edward County Public Schools Superintendent Dr. Barbara Johnson who told him one of the first things she did upon being hired was checking all the websites connected to the area.

“They are truly our gateways. Everybody looks at websites first,” Whitus said.

Reveley, who said he spent his formative years in Farmville, said it is “remarkable to see the eyes of the world” focused on the Farmville community.

“It’s wonderful to see this effort come together,” Reveley said. “It was so much fun to do this together.

He also said “the future is the really exciting thing,” noting Longwood is “pretty much ready” for the Oct. 4 vice presidential debate.

Prince Edward County Administrator Wade Bartlett said the combination of having, during the last several years, a new mayor, new presidents at Longwood and Hampden-Sydney and new Prince Edward school superintendent shows there is a “new energy” in the area.

“We focused on the debate and the website, giving us a good chance to put council’s plan into action,” Bartlett said, adding he agreed the site, as a gateway, could attract more visitors and residents to the area.

Stimpert said he, too, is a big supporter of collaboration and said he felt the website would be an important way for Farmville and “all of us” to cut through media clutter surrounding the debate.

“It will benefit all of us; there is no zero-sum game,” Stimpert said.

Amy Houck of Dave Iwams & Associates, said the website has already received more than 2,000 visits since its soft launch about two weeks ago.

The Facebook page has done even better, reaching 46,000 people in just 10 days, with 900 people becoming fans of the page.

“The first story on the Facebook page generated 600 likes and 400 shares,” she said.