Some boundaries need knocking over

House Editorial / News Virginian
Published: July 19, 2007

Regionalism is a loaded, if not outright dirty, word in some circles. Liberals think of the term as progressive, forward-thinking and pragmatic. Uniting communities under regional umbrellas and eliminating provincial competition and duplication makes sense, they say. Conservatives, however, consider regionalism a threat to local autonomy and the decentralized system of government devised by the founding fathers.

Both views have merit. Scores of old towns from here to Maine routinely fight turf wars that drive away potential employers and sap local economies.

But competition can be healthy, and one need only turn to the Beltway to see the downside of bloated central government.
Regional cooperation is another matter. The idea of towns such as Waynesboro, Stuarts Draft, Fishersville, Staunton and others in the Shenandoah Valley working together to build the region is just plain smart.

Toward that end, Leadership Greater Augusta is a step in the right direction.

The program put together by the Greater Augusta Regional Chamber of Commerce will provide nine months of leadership training to 25 people from throughout the area.

The group will learn about the regional economy, luring and keeping the young workers the valley so desperately needs and the vital role of local governments in the process.

Along the way, the leaders also will learn about one another, their towns and the community assets that make the valley such a unique place to live.
Therein, perhaps, lies the most vital component of the program.
Business people compete with one another every day for the revenues they need to make their shops, stores or companies survive and thrive.

But true leaders understand that rivals are still neighbors and that the region's benefits belong to all who live and work here.

Elected officials and civic leaders who live out that ideal, rather than limit their efforts to guarding boundaries, are the real community servants.

The valley needs such people, no matter what their view of that thorny concept known as regionalism.