15 years of SCCF, wow! The last time I was sitting down really thinking about milestones, was when I was helping plan our 10-year anniversary party. How have five years gone by so quickly? I’m so amazed and thankful for all that has happened with our organization over the past 15 years as the Staunton Creative Community Fund and now Shenandoah Community Capital Fund. We wouldn’t be where we are today without the support of the community, ecosystem partners, and past and present board members and staff. A big nod needs to be given to the City of Staunton, Bill Hamilton, Maggie Ragon, Hugh Westfall, Tony Smith, and Meghan Williamson. These early visionaries saw a need in our community and took action to help entrepreneurs get access to capital in their earliest stages. Thank you for your hard work and countless hours building grant applications, advocating to the city, and creating the early partnerships that gave SCCF the foundation it needed to move forward. I also want to give a big thank you to the past staff members and my executive director predecessors for your dedication to community, entrepreneurship, and equity. Your work in and on the organization helped create the deep connections we experience today with our entrepreneurs and our partners. Finally, a massive thank you goes out to our community partners, particularly those over the past five years. You listened to my crazy ideas on what this entrepreneurial ecosystem could look like, we dreamed together, cried together, and put countless hours into building partnerships deserving of large investment from the state and federal government. There are too many organizations and names to list (maybe I’ll make Ashley tag you on Facebook), but I truly mean it when I say SCCF wouldn’t be the Shenandoah Community Capital Fund without you. Your commitment to our region and your belief that we can help build a thriving ecosystem together is what keeps me coming to work every day.
I can’t wait to see what the next 15 years hold and I hope future staffers feel the same way that I do about this amazing community.
Cheers!
Debbie Irwin
Read more about our 15th anniversary, and how you can support SCCF!