Grant to build pavillion along South River in Waynesboro
       by VCTU

The Dominion Foundation, the philanthropic arm of Dominion Resources, has given a $25,000 grant to the Virginia Council of Trout Unlimited (VCTU) for a new 24-by 36-foot education, conservation, and family recreation pavilion to be built on the bank of the South River in Waynesboro's Constitution Park. "The new open-air pavilion will be the focal point of many community activities," said Waynesboro City Manager Mike Hamp in announcing the project. "We are very grateful to the Dominion Foundation and to Trout Unlimited for their commitment to enhancing facilities that all of our citizens can use."

Located along Waynesboro's greenway, now in its final planning phase, the pavilion will open this spring to serve a number of community events from RiverFest and the Virginia Fly Fishing Festival to Trout in the Classroom and the weekly recreation use by the community, Hamp said. "The pavilion is great fit for Dominion's commitment to support projects that benefit the environment, education, and communities," said William C. Hall Jr., vice president of Corporate Communications for Dominion and president of the Dominion Foundation. Construction of the pavilion will be a partnership project among Dominion, the City of Waynesboro, VCTU, the Shenandoah Valley Chapter of TU, Waynesboro Downtown Development Inc. (WDDI), the Virginia Fly Fishing Festival, and the Virginia Department of Game and Inland Fisheries. Dominion employees will volunteer their time and work with Trout Unlimited and other groups to have the pavilion built before this year's Virginia Fly Fishing Festival, which will be held April 18-19.

The festival, initiated by WDDI in 1999, established the city and its surrounding trout fisheries as a destination for anglers and their families. Since its founding, the festival has drawn more than 6,000 visitors to Waynesboro who spent an estimated $375,000 in the city and nearby locales. "The South River has the potential for becoming the biggest and best free-flowing trout stream in Virginia," said John Ross, VCTU's chair. "We're pleased to have had a role in bringing new resources to the city so that its residents can better enjoy the river and understand why it is such a unique natural asset."

Trout Unlimited, Dominion, and VDGIF have partnered on many conservation and education projects including the handicapped pier at Sherando Lake and fence crossings on Mossy Creek, the state's premier spring creek fishery. The Dominion Foundation is the philanthropic arm of Dominion Resources, one of the nation's largest producers of energy, with a portfolio of approximately 26,500 megawatts of generation. Dominion serves retail energy customers in 11 states. For more information about Dominion, visit the company's Web site at http://www.dom.com. The Virginia Council of Trout Unlimited is made up of 16 chapters and 4,000 members committed to conserving, protecting, and restoring the state's mountain streams, spring creeks, and the trout fisheries they support. For more information visit www.vctu.org.


Comments? Email us at letters@thevalleyamerican.com.

© 2008 The Valley American