Rick Young, JDA president, and association member Ree Hart are pictured with their VSNC Award.

At first glance, it might be difficult to imagine what the West End Civic League of Danville, Va., Old Southwest, Inc. of Roanoke, Va., and Chester’s own Jefferson Davis Association have in common. But the answer is quite simple. All three groups are winners of the State Neighborhood Organization of the Year award.

The JDA is the most recent recipient of the award, given out by the Virginia Statewide Neighborhood Conference (VSNC) at their annual convention . For the past nine years, the VSNC has brought together representatives from non-profit and grassroots groups and neighborhood development groups to share neighborhood-related knowledge, ideas, and challenges. This year’s conference was held September 19-21 in Fairfax, Va.

“The VSNC’s mission is the improvement of the quality of the neighborhood, primarily,” says Rick Young, president of the JDA. “It’s a great networking opportunity for us.”

This year, the JDA was one of five groups nominated for the State Neighborhood Organization of the Year Award, and the clear standout among them, according to Latisha Jenkins, who serves on the conference’s committee. “People came and had the different applications in front of them and were scoring them; and as they were going over them, they saw the JDA standing out above the others,” she says. “It was pretty much clear-cut that they were the best.”

The win didn’t surprise Suzanne Cormier, who serves as assistant to the executive at BizWorks and who nominated the JDA for the award. “I had a feeling when I was writing the application that they would win!” she admits. “I’m not really sure why, but I felt pretty good when I thought about all of their accomplishments. I knew that they deserved it. They’re very devoted people.”

BizWorks, a business incubator, is one of the nonprofit organizations that spun off from its parent group, the JDA. “BizWorks is one of our major efforts,” Young says. He also lists the Falling Creek Ironworks Foundation – another nonprofit spinoff – the historic Route 1 initiative, Wayside Park, and a streetscape enhancement program, among many other programs, as some of the JDA’s major undertakings.

“One of the things we’re trying to pioneer is to have communication between all of the various groups that exist: religious, business, and community, and try to get everybody working together,” says Young. “We all have the same goals, but we need to make sure we’re communicating so we can accomplish a lot more.”

For Young and the rest of the JDA, the State Neighborhood Organization of the Year Award couldn’t have come at a better time; next year, Chesterfield County will be hosting the VSNC conference. “What they want to do is host a mobile tour along Jeff Davis Highway,” says Jenkins. “That will let them display some of the revitalization that’s taken place.”

Of both the conference and the award, Young says, “I think it’s an opportunity for more awareness of what the county and the community are trying to do to improve Chesterfield. The message that people need to understand is that you can make a difference, and the one thing that I’ve learned in the years I’ve been involved in this is that a few people working together can make a big difference. People tend to think problems are very large and that they’re just one person; but if you commit yourself and get together, it’s incredible what a few people can do. That’s the message that I hope comes out of this.”

In addition to the JDA’s State Neighborhood Organization of the Year Award, Chesterfield also claimed a second title: Glen Kemp, president of the Salem Woods Homeowners Association, was named State Neighborhood Advocate of the Year.

ereel@villagepublishing.com | 751-0421

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