September 22, 2006
THE BLUEFIELD DAILY TELEGRAPH
Come on home! Virginia campaign has far-reaching benefits
(EDITORIAL)
Dorothy had it right, according to Virginia Gov. Timothy M. Kaine. In one of the most famous movie lines in history, the character of Dorothy chants, “There’s no place like home” in order to return to her beloved family in “The Wizard of Oz.”… The Commonwealth’s new “RETURN TO ROOTS” campaign aims to reach these graduates and encourage them to come back home where employment opportunities now exist. “I think it’s a pretty smart strategy,” Kaine told the Daily Telegraph while touring the region Monday. “The idea, of course, is we want to recruit good people for these jobs.”
http://www.bdtonline.com/editorials/
local_story_264175232.html?keyword=topstory

September 21, 2006
Scott County Virginia Star
Kaine Launches RETURN TO ROOTS Campaign in Southwest Virginia
A new initiative aimed at bringing former residents “back home” was unveiled Monday by Governor Tim Kaine at a special press conference. Kaine joined Southwest Virginia residents in the launch of the RETURN TO ROOTS campaign. The campaign is aimed at the estimated 15,000 alumni who have graduated from Southwest Virginia’s high schools in the last 20 years and have moved out of the region.
http://www.virginiastar.net/articles/ar06_0920/govkaine.htm

September 20, 2006
RICHLANDS NEWS-PRESS
State wants SWVA grads to "RETURN TO ROOTS"
For years southwest Virginians have believed that their sons and daughters would come back home if given a reason. Virginia officials hope a new project launched Monday will prove that theory correct. Governor Tim Kaine, three members of his cabinet, State Senator Phillip Puckett and leaders from three Southwest Virginia counties gathered in at the Virginia Coalfield Economic Development Authority’s headquarters to launch the "RETURN TO ROOTS" campaign.
http://www.richlands-news-press.com/servlet/Satellite?
pagename=RNP/ MGArticle/RNP_BasicArticle&c=MGArticle&cid=
1149190719552&path=!frontpage

THE LEBANON NEWS
Governor Tim Kaine Launches Return To Roots Campaign In Southwest Virginia
Governor Tim Kaine joined Southwest Virginia residents in Lebanon Monday to launch a RETURN TO ROOTS campaign. The campaign is aimed at the estimated 15,000 alumni who have graduated from Southwest Virginia’s high schools in the last 20 years and have moved out of the region.
http://www.thelebanonnews.com/

September 19, 2006
Associated Press Broadcast wire
WDBJ-7 (Roanoke)
Kaine administration visits southwest Va.
Governor Tim Kaine and his Cabinet covered a lot of ground on southwest Virginia yesterday…Kaine traveled to Norton and to Russell County, where he kicked off a new initiative called RETURN TO ROOTS that will address the region's "brain drain." The aim of the program -- with help from the Virginia Coalfield Economic Development Authority -- is to lure former residents back to the region to fill high-tech jobs that are on the way.
http://www.wdbj7.com/Global/story.asp?S=5427123&nav=S6aK

TIMES-NEWS
Kaine to announce investment in area technology programs
WISE - The University of Virginia's College at Wise will host a gubernatorial Cabinet meeting today, but Gov. Tim Kaine will be bringing more than his Cabinet to the region for a state-level executive gathering…On Friday, VCEDA reported the governor will help launch the "RETURN TO ROOTS" campaign in Southwest Virginia at 2:30 p.m. today at the authority's headquarters in Lebanon.
http://www.timesnews.net/article.php?id=3677646

BLUEFIELD DAILY TELEGRAPH
A RETURN TO ROOTS:
Gov. Timothy M. Kaine took his administration on the road Monday across Southwest Virginia where he reinforced his support for the Coalfields Expressway, and unveiled a campaign aimed at reaching thousands of the region’s alumni. Kaine, who made stops in Norton and Marion, said his “RETURN TO ROOTS” campaign aims to reach an estimated 15,000 alumni who graduated from high schools across Southwest Virginia during the last 20 years, but have since left the region.
http://www.bdtonline.com/ cnhi/bdtonline/homepage/
local_story_261212030.html?keyword=leadpicturestory

BACON'S REBELLION
"RETURN TO ROOTS" in SW Virginia
Speaking in the coalfield burg of Norton, Gov. Timothy M. Kaine unveiled yesterday a “RETURN TO ROOTS” campaign that aims to reach an estimated 15,000 Southwest Virginians who graduated from high school during the past 20 years but left the region. The program, according to the Bluefield Daily Telegraph, will try to reach the alumni through a website, direct mail and the news media to inform them about new employment opportunities that exist today in Southwest Virginia.
http://baconsrebellion.blogspot.com/
2006/09/return-to-roots-in-sw-virginia.html

BRISTOL HERALD- COURIER
Kaine, Cabinet visit region
The next stop was in Russell County, where Kaine kicked off a new initiative termed RETURN TO ROOTS with the Virginia Coalfield Economic Development Authority. Its aim is to lure former residents back to the region to fill high-tech jobs that are on the way. The campaign was created because community leaders in the region recognized the potential in "positively addressing the brain drain we all hear about," the governor said.
http://www.tricities.com/tristate/tri/
news.apx.-content-articles-TRI-2006-09-19-0008.html

ASSOCIATED PRESS
WSLS-10 (Roanoke)
Kaine administration visits southwest Va.
Governor Tim Kaine and his Cabinet covered a lot of ground on southwest Virginia yesterday. The group began the day with a Cabinet meeting at the University of Virginias College at Wise. Kaine traveled to Norton and to Russell County, where he kicked off a new initiative called RETURN TO ROOTS that will address the region's "brain drain." The aim of the program, with help from the Virginia Coalfield Economic Development Authority, is to lure former residents back to the region to fill high-tech jobs that are on the way.
http://www.wsls.com/servlet/Satellite?
pagename=WSLS%2FMGArticle%2FSLS_BasicArticle&c=MG
Article&cid=1149190705504&path=!news!localnews

BLUEFIELD DAILY TELEGRAPH
Economic development spurs campaign to bring alumni home
(COLUMN)
Here’s something that doesn’t happen everyday. I was trying to reach someone in Richmond Monday to develop a story about Virginia Gov. Timothy M. Kaine’s Cabinet Community Days tour of Southwest Virginia. An earlier message left with the governor’s press office had yet to yield a response, so I decided to call again around 4 p.m… The governor used his tour of Southwest Virginia as a chance to launch the new “RETURN TO ROOTS” campaign, an exciting endeavor that aims to reach an estimated 15,000 alumni who graduated from high schools across Southwest Virginia during the last 20 years, but have since left the region.
http://www.bdtonline.com/columns/local_story_262163618.html

WAVY-10
Kaine administration visits southwest Va.
Governor Tim Kaine and his Cabinet covered a lot of ground on southwest Virginia yesterday… Kaine traveled to Norton and to Russell County, where he kicked off a new initiative called RETURN TO ROOTS that will address the region's "brain drain." The aim of the program -- with help from the Virginia Coalfield Economic Development Authority -- is to lure former residents back to the region to fill high-tech jobs that are on the way.
http://www.wavy.com/Global/story.asp?S=5427123&nav=23ii

September 18, 2006
Official Press Release
Gov. Tim Kaine launches RETURN TO ROOTS campaign in Southwest Virginia

September 16, 2006
RICHMOND TIMES-DISPATCH
Area eyes 'brain drain' reversal
Leaders in far Appalachian Virginia are beckoning 15,000 high school graduates who have left the area for jobs elsewhere "to come on back."
http://www.timesdispatch.com/servlet/Satellite? pagename=RTD/
MGArticle/RTD_BasicArticle&c=MGArticle&cid=1149190651376

RETURN TO ROOTS
The state's Return to Roots program, to be announced Monday, seeks to persuade 15,000 high school graduates to return to eight counties and two cities in far Southwest Virginia, reversing the region's "brain drain."
http://www.timesdispatch.com/servlet/Satellite? pagename=RTD
/MGArticle/RTD_BasicArticle&c=MGArticle&cid=1149190651202

Southwest Va. hoping for mass U-turn
Leaders in far Appalachian Virginia are beckoning 15,000 high school graduates who have left the area for jobs elsewhere "to come on back."
http://www.timesdispatch.com/servlet/Satellite?pagename=RTD/
MGArticle /RTD_BasicArticle&c=MGArticle&cid=1149190653378

BLOGS
RETURN TO ROOTS
Rex Bowman has a good article in today’s RTD on the new “Return to Roots” program which will be officially launched on Monday, by Governor Kaine at his Cabinet meeting in Wise.
http://brianpatton.org/2006/09/16/return-to-roots/