Curry Roberts began his duties recently as President of the Fredericksburg Regional Alliance. Curry is a former Virginia Secretary of Economic Development.  Most recently, he was a principal consultant for the Hirschler-Fleischer law firm. He succeeds Gene Bailey who retired after almost 15 years of service to the regional public-private partnership. 

Curry is a well-known economic development professional who has managed large organizations, whose work led to the creation of jobs throughout Virginia.  Because of his past experience, he has developed significant contacts at the local, state and national level.

Curry Roberts

"Curry Roberts brings a wealth of knowledge and experience, having served as the Secretary of Economic Development (now Commerce and Trade) for the Commonwealth under former Governor Jerry Baliles.  This, combined with working for 14 years in executive leadership positions of businesses owned by the late John Kluge, makes him well qualified to lead the Alliance," said FRA Chairman Kent Farmer.

Curry has already been active in high-profile economic initiatives in this region.  He led the transition of the State Fair of Virginia, Inc. to its new home in Caroline County.  This required cooperation among multiple government agencies and jurisdictions leading to the development of historic Meadow Farm, including zoning ordinances, utility development and road improvements.  Curry also assisted Old Dominion Speedway in the design and development of a transportation and traffic management plan for a significant rezoning application in Spotsylvania County. 

"I'm happy to be working in the Fredericksburg Region.  There are so many opportunities for regional business growth and I intend to proactively pursue them on behalf of the region," Roberts said.

A native of Bedford County, Curry is a graduate of Virginia Tech.  He currently serves as Vice-Chair of the Board of Directors for Southern States Cooperative, Inc and on the Board of Directors of the Virginia Public Safety Foundation.  Curry is a past president of the Virginia Tech Alumni Association and was a co-recipient this year of its Distinguished Service Award.

FRA connects local DOD industry businesses who currently sell into the US defense sector and have been impacted by sequestration to help them diversify by expanding into international sales. 

"We have representatives now in 75 countries and through them can help local companies determine global markets, create market entry strategies, identify, screen and vet potential partners, customers and distributors in any of these markets at no cost to the company," said Jenee Andreev, Manager Defense Initiative, International Trade Division, Virginia Economic Development Partnership (VEDP).

The program provides the following services:

• Market Research
• Export Compliance
• Contract & Proposal Generation  
• Technical Translation & Adaptation
• Security Cooperation/COCOMS
• Export Training
• Online Directory of Virginia Defense Companies
• Trade Association Research
• Going Global Training Courses