HAYSI, VA – OCTOBER 21, 2021 – While materials availability issues have pushed back the planned opening of Lilly’s Pad LLC, owner Lilly Thacker said the project to renovate property at 24390 Dickenson Highway, near Spearhead Trails’ Ridgeview Trail as a short-stay rental option in Dickenson County, is nearing completion.
Lilly’s Pad LLC, was recently approved for a $6,500 Virginia Coalfield Economic Development Authority (VCEDA) seed capital matching grant.
“Lilly’s Pad LLC is another tourism-related business which seeks to capitalize on its location near the Spearhead Trails system that the VCEDA Seed Capital Matching Grant Fund has assisted,” said VCEDA Executive Director/General Counsel Jonathan Belcher. “The business projects one full-time and two part-time jobs within five years as it grows.”
Thacker noted the one-bedroom unit, located in the heart of downtown Haysi, features a full kitchen, a bathroom and living area with ride-out access through town to the trails which are less than one-quarter of a mile away.
“The VCEDA grant has definitely helped,” Thacker said. “We had a number of cost overruns on the project because materials have been more expensive and the grant allowed us to purchase those and to use the grant for appliances, furniture and fixtures to keep the project moving along.”
Lilly’s Pad, LLC’s renovations are nearing completion.
Thacker noted her husband, Darrell, has done a lot of the remodeling work to get the new place ready. She said plans are to market it on Airbnb and to create a website and Facebook page
Thacker worked with the Small Business Development Center at Southwest Virginia Community College (SWCC) in the development of her application to VCEDA and received a letter of support from the Dickenson County Industrial Development Authority.
“We were excited to learn that Lilly’s Pad LLC was awarded a VCEDA seed capital matching grant,” said SWCC SBDC Business Advisor Misty Bandy. “They say ‘to be successful, you have to have your heart in your business and your business in your heart.’ (Thomas Watson Sr.) When you visit Lilly’s Pad lodging in Haysi, VA you will feel the heart that owner Lilly Thacker has put into every amenity.”
Bandy continued, “as the southwest region of Virginia continues to be highlighted as a prime area for tourists to visit, it is important that small business owners are able to offer the amenities needed to support the growing tourism industry. The SWCC SBDC is happy to assist clients like Lilly Thacker in completing a business plan, grant applications and with locating funding avenues that make it possible for their facilities and infrastructure to continue to evolve along with the needs and expectations of the traveler.”
About Virginia Coalfield Economic Development Authority and Southwest Virginia’s e-Region: The Virginia Coalfield Economic Development Authority, created by the Virginia General Assembly in 1988 to enhance and diversify the region’s economy and help create jobs, markets Southwest Virginia’s e-Region and its focus on electronic information technology, energy, education, emerging technologies, and entrepreneurship. VCEDA is a unique economic development organization that manages funds for economic development projects from a percentage of the coal and natural gas severance taxes paid by coal and natural gas companies that operate in the region. Located in southwestern Virginia, the region includes Buchanan, Dickenson, Lee, Russell, Scott, Tazewell, and Wise counties and the City of Norton. www.vceda.us or www.e-Region.org.
About the Virginia Coalfield Economic Development Authority Seed Capital Matching Grant Fund: VCEDA region for-profit businesses one year and under with less than 10 full-time employees are eligible to apply for dollar-for-dollar matching grants up to $10,000 from the VCEDA Seed Capital Matching Fund. Applicants work with the Small Business Development Centers at Mountain Empire and Southwest Virginia community colleges to prepare the applications to VCEDA that include detailed business and financial plans. Businesses must be located in or plan to operate in the VCEDA region in southwestern Virginia that includes Buchanan, Dickenson, Lee, Russell, Scott, Tazewell, and Wise counties and the City of Norton.