If business booms around Exit 1 as many in Carroll County believe it can, July 26, 2010 will be remembered as the day the ribbon was cut.

Carroll County officials joined the staff of Love’s Travel Stops & Country Stores in Lambsburg for a ribbon cutting at the business, all the while, talking about great things that lay in store for the county and the Exit 1 area, in particular.

In addition to receiving its official welcome from Carroll County, Love’s General Manager Raymont Gordon presented $1,000 donations to two southern Carroll nonprofit organizations — the Lambsburg Community Center and the Cana Volunteer Fire Department.

Many in Carroll County believe Exit 1 is a huge untapped resource for business development in Carroll County. That opinion was shared with the gathering.

“Exit 1 is a diamond in the rough and today we are cutting the ribbon to not only Love’s, but to the future,” said Carroll County Board of Supervisors Chairman Wes Hurst. “We now have three commercial businesses in Love’s, Subway and McDonald’s that has brought or will bring over 100 jobs to Carroll County and has provided more than $5.5 million in capital investment. We are very pleased to have Love’s Travel Stops and Country Stores as a new member of the Carroll County landscape and feel as if this is only the beginning of the development at Exit 1.”

Attracting Love’s to Carroll County was the result of hard work and tireless dedication of the Board of Supervisors as well as the Carroll Public Service Authority, which made water and sewer access at each of the county’s exits its top priority. PSA Chairman Andy Jackson said that commitment to making sure the county’s prime areas are developable is beginning to produce results.

“When this project was designed, the PSA invested approximately $900,000 to improve the water and wastewater facilities,” Jackson said. “However, we do not see this project as over. We still have treatment capacity and feel certain that more development will take place as a result. We are working very hard with Mount Airy, N.C. to develop a sustainable water source and hope the fruits of that effort may be harvested soon.

“The PSA is also expanding efforts along U.S. 58 and the Galax-Woodlawn sewer system; the Exit 19, Wildwood area; the long range water and Fancy Gap water and wastewater. The PSA is the fastest-growing Authority in the Commonwealth of Virginia and we appreciate the efforts of the Board of Supervisors and the staff in making this day happen.”

Fancy Gap Supervisor Manus McMillian said while these ribbon cuttings are exciting for local officials and businesses, they should also be exciting for residents.

“Smell those fumes from the tractor trailers? You know what that smells like? Money,” said McMillian. “Everybody says don’t raise taxes. The only way you can do that is to raise revenues and you do that with businesses.”

McMillian recalled when he was running for election in 2007. He said at that time, he intended to do what he could for Exit 1, as he felt it was ripe, and Monday’s festivities were a realization of that vision.

“Everybody wants you to make promises but it’s hard to do that,” McMillian said. “I said all along, Exit 1 is the best kept secret in the Commonwealth of Virginia. It was a sleeping giant. I said if you get me in there, take a picture of Exit 1 because you’ll never remember what it looked like.”

And after a quick snip of the scissors on a warm Monday morning, county officials are dreaming about what Exit 1 will look like in the future.