When Dumfries has a seat at the table, our residents should have a greater opportunity to succeed.

By Mayor Derrick R. Wood | October 16, 2026

During the Virginia Municipal League Annual Conference in Norfolk, I had a conversation with U.S. Senator Tim Kaine that stayed with me.

He shared how much he enjoys seeing the transformation happening in Dumfries as he travels between Richmond and Washington, D.C.

I appreciated hearing that.

For years, I’ve talked about turning Dumfries from a community people simply drive through into a destination people drive to.

Now that transformation is becoming visible beyond our town limits.

But here’s what matters even more.

Being noticed isn’t the finish line. It’s what we do with that attention that counts.

How do we turn growing interest in Dumfries into better neighborhoods, more customers for local businesses, greater investment, and new opportunities for the people who call this community home?

That’s the question I carried with me throughout the conference.

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I Don’t Attend Conferences Just to Be in the Room

Whenever I attend a conference, I ask myself one question:

How does Dumfries win because I was in this room?

The 2026 Virginia Municipal League Annual Conference brought together leaders from across the Commonwealth to discuss housing, economic development, infrastructure, technology, and the challenges facing local communities.

But for me, the most important moments weren’t limited to the presentations.

They were the conversations that could open doors for Dumfries.

A good conference introduces ideas. A productive relationship helps turn those ideas into action.

And that’s how I approach these opportunities.

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Why Local Government Matters

I appreciated Governor Abigail Spanberger’s remarks about the importance of local government to the work of her administration.

Her message reinforced something I believe strongly.

Local government is where big ideas become part of everyday life.

It’s where a new sidewalk helps a child walk safely to school. Where infrastructure investment helps a business expand. Where neighborhood improvements strengthen families. And where decisions about growth affect whether residents can afford to remain in the communities they helped build.

State and local governments each have responsibilities, but our greatest opportunities often come when we work together.

For Dumfries, that means making sure the priorities in our Destination Dumfries 2044 Comprehensive Plan connect with opportunities for state investment, technical assistance, and regional partnerships.

We shouldn’t just be asking what the state can do for Dumfries. We should be demonstrating what Dumfries can accomplish with the right partners.

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Making Every Local Dollar Work Harder

One of my most important conversations was with Dr. Tamarah Holmes, Director of the Virginia Department of Housing and Community Development.

We discussed opportunities to leverage state resources and strengthen local investment.

As a small town, Dumfries must be intentional about every dollar we spend.

When we invest in infrastructure, housing, or neighborhood revitalization, we should explore whether state programs, private investment, or other partnerships can help us accomplish more.

Consider the difference between using local dollars to make a single improvement and using those dollars to help attract additional investment that improves an entire neighborhood.

That’s the kind of thinking we need.

Not every program will fit Dumfries, and not every opportunity will make financial sense. But we owe it to our residents to explore ways to stretch our resources responsibly.

The goal isn’t simply to spend less. It’s to create more lasting value from what we invest.

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What Churchill Downs Can Teach Us About the Rose

Another meaningful conversation was with Kevin Kramer, President of the National League of Cities and a Louisville Metro Council member.

Louisville is home to Churchill Downs, one of America’s most recognized sporting destinations.

Dumfries is home to The Rose Gaming Resort.

That gave us an immediate connection.

We talked about the relationship between major attractions and the surrounding community, including how his community works to maintain a thriving Main Street.

It raised a question I’ve been asking for years.

How do we make sure visitors come for the attraction but stay for the community?

The Rose is helping introduce Dumfries to new visitors. But its greatest long-term value could come from creating opportunities beyond the resort itself.

Imagine visitors enjoying dinner at a locally owned restaurant, discovering our historic downtown, shopping with a small business, or returning to explore our waterfront.

That’s how tourism can become a tool for broader economic development.

And it matters because local entrepreneurs and workers should have opportunities to participate in the growth happening around them.

We don’t simply want more people visiting Dumfries.

We want more of that economic activity creating opportunity in Dumfries.

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Complete Neighborhoods. Stronger Communities.

One of the most thought-provoking conversations at VML focused on building complete neighborhoods.

A neighborhood is more than homes.

It’s the sidewalks connecting those homes, the parks where children play, the businesses where neighbors shop, the transportation people depend on, and the public spaces that bring a community together.

But planning those improvements raises a practical question:

Who pays for everything between the buildings?

The conference introduced valuable discussions about housing preservation, Housing Revitalization Zones, tax increment financing, and public-private partnerships.

These are tools worth studying carefully, not projects or financing decisions that have already been approved.

For Dumfries, the opportunity is to examine how responsible growth can support better infrastructure, preserve housing opportunities, and encourage reinvestment in existing neighborhoods.

But there’s something equally important.

Growth shouldn’t simply make our community more valuable. It should create opportunities for our residents to become more prosperous.

That means thinking about homeownership, entrepreneurship, workforce development, and ways existing residents can benefit from the community’s success.

We want families to grow with Dumfries, not feel that success is happening around them without including them.

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What Does This Mean for Dumfries Residents?

The conversations in Norfolk pointed to three practical opportunities worth exploring.

More investment in our neighborhoods.

We can examine state funding and partnership opportunities that may help stretch local dollars further for housing, infrastructure, and community improvements.

More opportunities for local businesses.

We can learn from communities with major visitor attractions and explore how to better connect tourists with Dumfries restaurants, shops, historic places, and local entrepreneurs.

More ways for residents to benefit from growth.

We can evaluate housing-preservation and neighborhood-investment strategies that support established families while creating opportunities for future homeowners, workers, and business owners.

None of these conversations represents a new funding award or an approved project.

They represent opportunities to investigate, lessons to evaluate, and relationships worth building upon.

And that’s where the next phase of work begins.

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The Real Work Starts When We Come Home

A business card isn’t a partnership.

A good conversation isn’t a funded project.

And an idea doesn’t improve a neighborhood until someone puts it to work.

That’s why the value of attending VML will ultimately be measured by what we do afterward.

We must follow up with the right people, evaluate potential resources, connect promising ideas to our existing priorities, and determine which opportunities can realistically deliver results.

Some ideas will move forward. Others won’t.

That’s responsible leadership.

Because our objective shouldn’t be to create more projects just because we can.

It should be to pursue the right opportunities that make the greatest difference.

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Dumfries Is Being Noticed. Now Let’s Make It Count.

When Senator Kaine shared that he was noticing Dumfries’ transformation, I was proud.

Not simply because someone recognized our progress, but because it reminded me how far this community has come.

We have more work ahead of us.

More opportunities to create.

More relationships to strengthen.

And more ways to ensure that the people who helped build Dumfries can benefit from its future.

But I also know something else.

The best ideas don’t always come from a conference room or a conversation with a state or national leader.

Sometimes they come from the residents who know their neighborhoods better than anyone.

So I want to hear from you.

What would make the greatest difference in your neighborhood or for your family?

Better infrastructure? More housing opportunities? Stronger local businesses? More places for families to gather?

As we continue advancing Destination Dumfries 2044, those are the conversations that matter.

I don’t measure a successful conference by how many people I meet or how many photographs I take.

I measure it by what those relationships can help us accomplish for Dumfries.

The goal isn’t to make the mayor more visible. The goal is to make Dumfries more successful.

That’s how we continue transforming overlooked opportunities into unforgettable results.

And that’s how Dumfries wins.

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— Mayor Derrick R. Wood