
DATE: Saturday, September 6, 1997           TAG: 9709060399

SECTION: LOCAL                   PAGE: B1   EDITION: FINAL 

SOURCE: BY KAREN WEINTRAUB, STAFF WRITER 

DATELINE: WILLIAMSBURG                      LENGTH:   85 lines

SAFEGUARDING THE REGION'S FUTURE HAMPTON ROADS PARTNERS FIND BONDS HAVE FORMED.

Fifty of Hampton Roads' most important people spent much of Friday morning learning what's wrong with the region's economy: Defense spending is still heading downward, per capita income is slipping, most new jobs don't pay well.

But, as they lunched on chicken and crab cakes at the Williamsburg Lodge, Gov. George Allen paid a surprise visit and admonished the members of the Hampton Roads Partnership to act more upbeat.

``You must always be positive about your region,'' Allen said. ``If you're ever going to sell an area, the people within the area have to have confidence in themselves.''

Instead of dwelling on the loss of military jobs, the region's leadership should brag about how they've survived that loss, he said.

``If anybody says anything negative (about Hampton Roads), just say they're wrong,'' said Allen, who had been attending a campaign fund-raiser in another room at the hotel.

The Hampton Roads Partnership's board of directors gathered Friday for its second retreat aimed at refining the group's regional agenda. The amalgamation of business, political, educational and military leaders formed early last year to help lure good-paying jobs to Hampton Roads, thereby boosting the area's economy.

The list of attendees might have come straight from Who's Who in Hampton Roads: the president of Newport News Shipbuilding; the top officials of most local universities and colleges; the commander of the Coast Guard's Atlantic Area; the mayors of Chesapeake, Virginia Beach, Norfolk, Portsmouth, Hampton, Newport News, Williamsburg, Smithfield and Franklin.

In a region known for its backbiting and jealousies, the fact that the meeting was held at all was something worth celebrating, several participants said.

``The days of cities squabbling and fighting over table scraps has got to be something of the past,'' Norfolk businessman Joshua P. Darden Jr. said. ``This is the first group I've seen that has the potential to do that.''

Norfolk Mayor Paul D. Fraim said the gathering was evidence of how far the region has come.

``We hardly knew how to call our first meeting together,'' Fraim said, because participants came from so many different types of organizations.

Since its inception, the partnership has:

Lobbied the General Assembly to increase state funding for local colleges and universities.

Hired a consultant to develop a list of transportation and construction projects that would promote economic development throughout the region.

Applied for a portion of $6 million in state money available as an incentive for regional cooperation.

Led the failed effort to try to attract a National Hockey League expansion franchise to Hampton Roads.

Partnership Co-chairman John O. Wynne said the group's most important achievement during its inaugural year was increasing trust among the region's leadership.

But its real impact won't be felt for years or even decades, said Wynne, president and chief executive officer of Landmark Communications Inc., the parent company of The Virginian-Pilot. That means participants aren't focused on helping their own companies or political futures, but working for the good of the region, he said.

``It's our turn to help Hampton Roads have the kind of future it deserves,'' he told the gathering. ``I know we can do it, and I know it's worth doing.'' ILLUSTRATION: Graphic

WORKING TOGETHER

Color photos

Paul D. Fraim

Marie V. McDemmond

John O "Dubby" Wynne

Fifty of Hampton Roads' wealthiest and most powerful people gathered

Friday to talk about ways to improve the region's financial future.

The Hampton Roads Partnership, a group of business, political,

educational and military leaders, including (from left) Norfolk

Mayor Paul D. Fraim, President of Norfolk State University Marie

McDemmond and President and CEO of Landmark Communications Inc. John

O. ``Dubby'' Wynne, hopes to lure better-paying jobs to the area.