Oxbow Strategies
river with oxbow
ISSUE 37, 7 July 2026
Welcome back to The Bend!
The Bend follows a simple rhythm each week. The Eddy Line opens with a one-line thought or observation, something short enough to remember but worth thinking about. What the Current Pulled Toward dives a little deeper into where the previous week’s energy went, whether that’s a project, a partnership, or a personal lesson learned. Signal Fire highlights a person, place, or initiative that deserves some attention. From the Field, shares a small anecdote about the broader outdoor recreation economy from Oxbow’s non-profit arm, the VA MTNS Outdoor Collective. And One Thought Worth Sitting With closes things out with a brief reflection or quote that will hopefully help guide you through whatever you may be dealing with.

It’s part journal, part field note, and hopefully something that makes you pause for a moment before diving back into the current.
The Eddy Line
“Luck is what happens when preparation meets opportunity.”
What the Current Pulled Toward
This week the current pulled toward progress.

I’m honored to share that I’ve accepted the position of Assistant County Administrator with Franklin County. I’ll join the team later this month.

Reaching this point has been a long-time professional goal of mine and I’m incredibly grateful for the opportunity to continue serving in the region I’ve called home for nearly all my life.

Looking back over the past twenty-seven years or professional work, there wasn’t one defining moment that led here. It was one project, one mentor, one difficult conversation, one mistake, one success, and one community after another. And again and again and again. Each one left me a little better prepared for whatever came next.

I’m also thankful for my time with the Town of Rocky Mount. While it was brief, I had the privilege of working alongside people who care deeply about their community in the most supportive environment I’ve ever experienced. I’ll always appreciate the trust they placed in me and wish them nothing but continued success.

One thing I’m especially excited about is that parks and recreation remains part of my management portfolio. That feels particularly appropriate during National Park and Recreation Month.

I’ve often said that the field of parks and recreation sits at the intersection of so many things that make a community stronger. Health. Conservation. Economic Development. Youth Development. Placemaking. The list goes on and on. That’s why I’m so grateful it remains part of my work.

The office will change but the mission will remain the same.

- Mike.
Signal Fire
Roanoke has no shortage of places to enjoy the outdoors but every community also needs places where people discover it for the first time.


Lucky for us, we have River Rock.

From their inception, the vision was to create a welcoming gathering place where people of all ages, backgrounds, and abilities could come together, challenge one another, support one another, and have fun climbing. More importantly, they wanted the gym to become a gateway to the incredible outdoor opportunities that surround us here in western and southwestern Virginia.

I’m extremely grateful that they continue to invest in Roanoke’s outdoor community.


To learn more about the River Rock Climbing, click here.
From the Field
When most people hear the phrase outdoor economy, they picture gear. Kayaks. Mountain bikes. Camping equipment. The numbers tell a different story, though.

According to the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis, the largest contributor to outdoor recreation’s economic impact isn’t manufacturing or retail. It’s Arts, Entertainment, Recreation, Accommodation, and Food Services, accounting for 25% of outdoor recreation’s value added in 2024. Retail follows at 24.3 percent, while manufacturing contributes 13.1 percent.

Then there are the supporting activities. Guides. Outfitters. Instruction. Travel. Lodging. Local trips. Together, those supporting activities account for more than half of outdoor recreation’s total value added nationwide.

The outdoor economy succeeds because all of those pieces move together.
One Thought Worth Sitting With
This week’s theme: Progress.

“Progress is impossible without change, and those who
cannot change their minds cannot change anything.“
-George Bernard Shaw
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