Local entrepreneurs, city officials, and representatives from area colleges and universities gathered together last Wednesday for a roundtable discussion at the Virginia Innovation Accelerator (VIA) in Buena Vista.
It was one of many stops on U.S. Sen. Tim Kaine’s journey around Virginia “to celebrate federal funding he secured for community projects and discuss health care and workforce development,” according to a press release from the senator’s office.
Senators Kaine and Mark Warner were able to secure passage of legislation for the 2026 fiscal year providing $3.267 million for 78 specific projects in Virginia, including $943,000 for The Advancement Foundation to fund a “business accelerator in Virginia’s underserved rural communities, focusing on training and immersive practicums and leveraging higher education, business, and technology,” according to language included in the official government funding bill.
“I think the younger generation are sort of more interested in entrepreneurship, starting their own business, and being their own boss,” Kaine said last Wednesday, “but they need guidance to take their creative idea to a stage where they will be successful and that’s what the VIA is about. To have that in Buena Vista and Rockbridge is really important.”
The president of The Advancement Foundation, Annette Patterson, tuned in on Zoom to thank the senator. The Advancement Foundation is in charge of The Gauntlet, the local business competition that has nurtured many small businesses in the area.
“With your support,” Patterson told Kaine, “I think you’ll be super impressed with what we’re doing in reimagining this 40,000-square-foot industrial site to not only serve workforce development but thousands of entrepreneurs from across the region.”
Patterson was speaking of the old Mundet-Hermetite factory that has now been repurposed as a space for innovation and local economic development. It contains meeting and events space, small scale manufacturing space, a marketplace for food and retail, and recently became the location for the Buena Vista Visitor Center.
“There’s a lot of magical things happening here,” Patterson added, “and we really do appreciate your leadership because it’s a game changer for this community and this region.”
Buena Vista City Council member Stephanie Noel-Branch said, “Our goal with the City Council, one of the reasons I’m excited about this and my other colleagues [are] as well, is bringing in extra revenue … to our city, taking that tax burden off of our residents that are here, and allowing them to have a space that they can think outside the box.”
Noel-Branch wasn’t the only representative from Buena Vista to speak up about the positive impact the VIA is having on the city.
Jen Carpenter, executive director of Main Street Buena Vista, said, “To be able to have a local incubator so close, it not only brings out other amazing talent, but here for local citizens that might not have access and that’s where our grassroots efforts come in. The people who live here are the people who get to be a part of changing here.”
After the roundtable, Brooke Dalton, vice president of The Advancement Foundation, led everyone on a tour of the VIA. Kaine was able to see the progress being made with the help of the government funding. There were technology and agricultural startups, local retailers, and more than enough space for other entrepreneurs to make their creative goals a reality.
When asked about the success of this program, Kaine noted the importance of the diversity of the area and how it would make the most impact. “This particular initiative is really notable because of the number of partners around the table.”
