Business

A new, second generation, Mount Rogers Fraser Fir Seed Orchard was celebrated as a partnership with the Virginia Department of Forestry and the Mount Rogers Christmas Tree Growers Association, Inc. in ceremonies held June 26.
Virginia Commonwealth State Forester, Carl Garrison III, shared the vision of the collaboration and partnership for a seed orchard as a way to preserve the superior characteristics of the Mount Rogers Fraser fir for many generations of Christmas tree farmers and their customers in the future.  

GALAX — A seminar on how townspeople and merchants can plan events for participation and profit will be held July 12 at Crossroads Institute in Galax at 8 a.m.
Learn ways to work together, success stories from other towns, ways to maximize profits.
Speaker is retail consultant Marc Wilson of the Virginia Small Business Development Center. He is available for one on one visits with businesses.
To register contact Mandy Archer at 236-0391 or marcher@crossroadsva.org.

Natural beef from a Grayson County company was served during a special dinner last Thursday night at the Smithsonian’s National Museum of Natural History.
A chef from The Majestic, a fine-dining restaurant in Alexandria, prepared braised beef short ribs  served during the museum’s Wine and Dine Reception. Grayson Natural Foods, LLC, donated the beef.
Grayson Natural is a local, natural beef production and marketing company located in Grayson County.

Southwest Virginia’s dramatic shift in less than a decade from having some of the nation’s cheapest electric rates to paying rates more in line with national averages reflects increasing environmental scrutiny and the changing dynamics of a global coal market, the president of Appalachian Power Co. recently told Roanoke business and community leaders.
Charles Patton said those trends, particularly of more global demand and higher prices for coal, are unlikely to change and will lead the utility to look toward natural gas as a less expensive option.