Incoming House Speaker of the Virginia General Assembly visits Tazewell County

Dec. 22—TAZEWELL, Va. — A new leader in the Virginia General Assembly met Thursday with Tazewell County leaders as he explored Southwest Virginia for the first time.

Don Scott, designee House Speaker of the Virginia General Assembly, stopped for a reception at the Back of the Dragon in downtown Tazewell with his wife, Mellanda, and Senator Travis Hackworth, R-Tazewell. Scott, who is from Hampton Roads, said that Hackworth had invited him to visit Southwest Virginia.

"Well, I came out here when my good friend Travis invited me, told me, hey, I need to come out, see what folks are really doing and see how much we have in common, which is actually true," Scott said. "Some of the same issues that we have in my area Hampton Roads . People are people. I just wanted to come out and get a taste and a flavor for what happens in Southwest. And I've learned so much so far. It's been great for me and my wife here. It's been outstanding. Travis and his wife Angel have been great hosts and everything has been spectacular."

Scott said that he learned that Southwest Virginia and his home of Hampton Roads have a lot in common and face the same issues.

"At the end of the day, people want good jobs, good-paying jobs," Scott said. "They want safe communities, so we have so much in common. We have opportunities to grow. Outdoor tourism in the region here. We want to make sure we have good jobs here. Make sure we address some of our energy concerns in this region, and I think that together we have some alliances we can put together to make sure we can do those things."

Scott visited the Pocahontas Exhibition Mine and other Tazewell County locations including the Back of the Dragon.

"I love it. The terrain is beautiful. It's so different. The people are friendly. Everything has been just spectacular," Scott said. "The food is great and we'v'e had a great time, but the terrain and the beauty of the land and the history and the richness of the terrain, the geography, is just beautiful. We got to tour the Pocahontas mine. It was beautiful and it was very interesting. I got to learn why these people are so strong and resilient and tenacious over the years because of that mining background, that struggle of coming through this territory and taming this land and taming these mines."

Scott said that making sure Virginia has dependable energy will be one of the biggest challenges the General Assembly will be facing this session. Making sure the state keeps investing in economic development is another challenge.

"We have some great opportunities in the Southwest, Southside, Hampton Roads and Northern Virginia. A rising tide lifts all boats throughout the Commonwealth, so I think it's a good idea around the geographies," he said. "There is no one-size solution for every region."

Hackworth has been "very diligent" in making sure it is understood every region of the state has different issues which require different solutions, Scott said. The issues each part of the state is facing will be addressed during the upcoming General Assembly session.

"I'm excited to do it and we have good partners," Scott said. "We may not agree on every single thing, but we're friends and we can have good conversations so we can get things done for the citizens of our Commonwealth."

"We're just looking forward to the rest of this trip and letting them see what Southwest Virginia truly is," Hackworth said.

— Contact Greg Jordan at gjordan@bdtonline.com

Contact Greg Jordan at gjordan@bdtonline.com