Commonwealth of Virginia
Office of Governor Bob McDonnell

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
October 12, 2011

Office of the Governor
Contact: Jeff Caldwell
Phone: (804) 225-4260
Email: Jeff.Caldwell@Governor.Virginia.Gov

Virginia Economic Development Partnership
Contact: Suzanne West
Phone: (804) 545-5806
Email: Swest@yesvirginia.org

Albany Industries, Inc.
Contact: Terry Treadaway
Phone: (662) 534-9800 x 2227
Email: terry@albanyindustries.com

Governor McDonnell Announces 335 New Jobs for City of Galax

Galax Commercial Historic District is listed in the National Register of Historic Places. The following excerpts from its nomination as submitted to the US Department of Interior, National Register of Historic Places, provide an overview of the historic district and its significance.

"The Galax Commercial Historic District was constructed upon undulating meadowlands above and west of the nearby Chestnut Creek in 1903. The town was laid out upon a gridiron plan consisting of twenty-six blocks, each block containing ten to sixteen lots and straddled the Grayson/Carroll County line. A public square was not included in the design since Galax would not function as a county seat. The historic commercial district includes five blocks along the north-to-south Main Street and adjacent blocks on the three east-to-west cross streets. There are sixty-five contributing buildings in the district and no non-contributing buildings. All buildings located within the district maintain a similar setback from the street. All of the buildings in the Galax Commercial Historic District are masonry buildings with shed roofs and commercial storefronts. A few of the buildings are one-story stores but a majority of the buildings are two-story commercial buildings with either apartments or offices located on the second floor. The majority of the buildings were built in the 1920's and exhibit a commercial style of simple plane facades with recessed panels in the parapets and simple corbel brick cornices. A few of the buildings were built at the turn of the century and several buildings were built in the 1930's and 1940's.

Welcome to www.Galax.Biz - the new website serving the communities of Carroll County, Virginia, the City of Galax and the Town of Hillsville. Watch this site as we roll out new features during 2007. Register as a user and take advantage of the opportunity we offer to promote your business, share news and announcements of your group or organization, interact with fellow residents of communities in Galax and Carroll County, Virginia, the City of Galax and the Town of Hillsville, Virginia via the internet, and keep abreast of what's going on in the region. For regional news and events, visit www.SouthwestVirginia.Biz or visit the other websites that participate in The Southwest Virginia Web which are listed in the left sidebar of this page.



This site will be primarily devoted to promoting local content contributed by local businesses, organizations and residents. If you are interested in being a contributor, contact us. We welcome the opportunity to provide you the ability to promote your local business, share the success of your local sports teams, and promote your local club or charity. Register as a user and take advantage of the free opportunities we offer to promote your business, share news and announcements of your group or organization, interact with fellow residents of Galax and Carroll County via the internet, and keep abreast of what's going on in Carroll County, Virginia, the City of Galax and the Town of Hillsville, Virginia.



The first step to use our features is to register as a user on our site. Then, as you explore www.Galax.Biz let us know what feature or news you want to share. Registered users gain the immediate ability to input and post your news and announcements instantly.



Local businesses may become "Galax Smart Partners" and receive free promotion via banners ads, links and the ability to post news and announcements.



Local groups, communities, teams, clubs, neighborhoods and others are welcome to use our "News & Announcements from the Community" feature, an unmoderated community blog, to post news, announcements and information about your activities - a great way for groups without their own website to use the web to communicate with the community.



Local organizations, charities, and contributing writers may even profit by contributing content as qualifying contributors can earn financial rewards via Google Adsense from clicks by visitors to the news, announcement and content you supply.

GOVERNOR KAINE ANNOUNCES 125 NEW JOBS

FOR CARROLL COUNTY

~ AmeriPumps to invest $4.6 million to move headquarters to Virginia ~


RICHMOND – Governor Timothy M. Kaine today announced that AmeriPumps, LLC, a manufacturer of portable water pumps used in the construction and mining industries, hurricane recovery and aboard ships and boats, will invest $4.6 million to move its headquarters and manufacturing facility from Chattanooga, Tennessee, to the Town of Hillsville in Carroll County. The company, which will assemble, ship and service water pumps throughout North America and the Western Hemisphere, will create 125 jobs. Virginia successfully competed with Tennessee for the project.



“This is tremendous news for Hillsville and Carroll County,” said Governor Kaine. “AmeriPumps’ decision to open this facility demonstrates that the region, previously affected by economic downturn, is on the rebound. The company will find no shortage of capable employees with a strong work ethic, and I look forward to AmeriPumps’ success in Virginia.”



AmeriPumps has a strong business relationship with Sykes International, which is the largest industrial pump manufacturer in the world. Sykes has earned and maintained a reputation for building the most reliable dry priming dewatering pump for some of the most challenging applications imaginable to man. Due to this strong relationship, AmeriPumps is the sole authorized manufacturer of Sykes Pump in the Western Hemisphere which includes Canada, the United States, Central and South America.



“We are extremely excited to establish our Corporate Headquarters and Manufacturing operations in Hillsville, Virginia, and we look forward to being a part of the Hillsville/Carroll County business community for many years to come,” said Doug Zukowski, President of AmeriPumps. “The decision to relocate our operations to Virginia was based on the strong work ethic and available workforce in this geographic region along with the quality of life only found in this part of Virginia. We certainly appreciate the leadership and hard work from the Virginia Economic Development Partnership, the Carroll County Administration and the Town of Hillsville and others for assisting us in making Hillsville our new home.”



The Virginia Economic Development Partnership worked with the Town of Hillsville, Carroll County and Virginia’s aCorridor to secure the project for Virginia. Governor Kaine approved $150,000 from the Governor’s Opportunity Fund to assist Carroll County with the project. The Virginia Tobacco Indemnification and Community Revitalization Commission approved $100,000 in Tobacco Region Opportunity Funds for the project. The company is eligible to receive state benefits from the Virginia Enterprise Zone Program, administered by the Virginia Department of Housing and Community Development. The Virginia Department of Business Assistance will provide training assistance through the Virginia Jobs Investment Program.



“AmeriPumps is an exciting opportunity for the area. We are blessed to have a Western Hemisphere Company headquartered in the region that will be employing 125 and investing more than $4 million,” said Carroll County Board of Supervisors Chairman Sam Dickson and Town of Hillsville Mayor Bill Tate. “AmeriPumps is an entrepreneurial adventure where a vision was created along with actions taken to make it happen. The true ‘American Spirit’ of recognizing and acting on opportunity is alive and well in Carroll County and the Town of Hillsville. We feel as if this is a great start to expanded growth and prosperity for our citizens.”



“On behalf of the Virginia Tobacco Commission we congratulate Carroll County and the Town of Hillsville for successfully bringing an outstanding employer to the Southwest Virginia region,” said Commissioner Linda DiYorio. “We are pleased that we could be a part of such an effort. We congratulate the leadership of AmeriPumps for making the wise decision to bring their company to Carroll County. They have chosen an excellent location.”



The Tobacco Indemnification and Community Revitalization Commission is a 31-member body created by the 1999 General Assembly. It has, as a significant part of its mission, the promotion of economic growth and development in tobacco-dependent communities. To date, the Commission has awarded 973 grants totaling more than $432 million across the tobacco region of the Commonwealth. For complete information on all of the Commission’s history, mission, funding programs and past awards, visit www.tic.virginia.gov.

We have launched our GalaxFAQ - a feature designed to enable users to ask and answer questions, to share their knowledge of Carroll County, Virginia, the City of Galax and the Town of Hillsville, and to create a knowledge base of frequently asked questions about Galax and Carroll County, Virginia. Visitors and residents are welcome and encouraged to submit questions. If you know the answer to a posted questions, please feel free to share your knowledge and submit an answer. If you beleive a posted answer is wrong, or could be improved, please post a comment.
The GalaxFAQ feature may be accessed from the user menu in the left column of each page.