The first weekend of October, more than 200 community members gathered to celebrate Charlottesville Tomorrow’s 20th anniversary under beautiful, blue skies.
To everyone who joined us — both in person and in spirit — thank you! We’ve received countless messages of congratulations and encouragement from attendees and people who couldn’t attend, but still celebrated with us. We are grateful that you joined us to honor Charlottesville Tomorrow’s two decades of local journalism and that you’re looking ahead with us to the next 20 years.
The “Next 20” celebration brought together longtime community supporters and brand new subscribers, former and current staff, board members past and present, generous donors, volunteers and passersby drawn by the scent of grilling. Our incredible event team, led by Sabrina Feggans, made the day possible.
While the youngest attendees lined up to get their faces painted, the rest of us enjoyed the food and music. We visited the nonprofit vendor booths and listened to the speaker program.
We were glad to welcome former executive director Giles Morris as the emcee for our day of celebration. Elliott Robinson, the newsroom’s first news editor who is now news director at VPM in Richmond, joined us, too. There were special appearances by former board chair Cathy Train and current chair Aleen Carey, and Brian Wheeler recalled his experience as founding executive director in our 20th anniversary video.
Contributors to our Next 20 series joined Managing Editor Akash Sinha on stage for a conversation about what’s possible in the future. Ckalib Nelson, Lisa Draine, Charles Lewis and Dave Norris shared their visions for a stronger central Virginia, from making local data more accessible and useful to taking action to close gaps in housing and food access. They also discussed the importance of representation in local media.
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We’re seeking contributors to help us envision central Virginia’s shared future, in text or by video. Fill out this form to submit your Next 20 idea!
CEO and Editor-in-Chief Angilee Shah spoke about how local news is more important now than ever.
“The founders of Charlottesville Tomorrow had amazing foresight 20 years ago, and I do believe that we are all reaping the benefits of that vision today,” she said. “Our team is on solid footing and doing everything we can to meet the challenges of our time. Our staff and our board and our community is not pulling back from our mission. We have a vision for news that informs and serves everyone, centers the people most impacted by the issues we cover and helps to create the conditions for stronger, healthier and yes, more powerfully diverse communities.”
Sarad Davenport, chief operating officer of Vinegar Hill Magazine, shared his experience joining Charlottesville Inclusive Media. We finished up the program with board member Joshua René’s reminder that everyone’s voice matters as we think about the next 20 years.
“My hope, prayer and encouragement is that as you see the future evolve, you’ll find yourself less and less stuck in a moment, and more and more seeing all the new ones that you helped create,” he said.
Thank you to everyone who participated in the Charlottesville Tomorrow trivia game hosted by Chief Sustainability Officer Michaux Hood, and to those who shared feedback on making future events even better — we heard your request for more kid-friendly activities, elementary school guests!
We’re especially appreciative of the 20th anniversary celebration sponsors: United Way of Greater Charlottesville, Jefferson School Foundation, Scarpa, S&P Global, 101.3 Jamz and Virginia National Bank.
