A strong leader who is self-motivated and goal-oriented, Kimley Blanks is well-organized and excels in analytical skills and problem-solving capabilities. Her career has resulted in her being well-versed in many areas including contract and grant administration, financial management and procurement programs, marketing, event planning and promotion.

Kimley is currently the Agricultural Marketing Director and Management Assistant for Halifax County; maintaining responsibility for the overall administration and marketing of County programs supporting the agricultural community. She is responsible for the planning, organizing and administering of agricultural, community and economic development opportunities in rural Halifax County. She is passionate about building a sustainable rural economy based on commercial agriculture, agribusinesses and agritourism.

In her role, Kimley has partnered with numerous agencies and organizations, most recently including Virginia Agriculture Development Officers, Halifax County Soil and Water Conservation District, Institute of Advanced Learning and Research, Virginia Cooperative Extension, U.S. Department of Agriculture, Virginia Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services and Virginia Farm Bureau Federation.

Kimley is a native Virginian and her family agrarian roots can be traced back several generations in Halifax County. She earned her Master of Business Administration degree from Old Dominion University and her Bachelor of Science degree from Christopher Newport University.

A graduate of Leadership Halifax County, Kimley has volunteered with the Historic Noland Country Fair Day Committee and the Virginia Cantaloupe Festival Committee. She is a member of the South Boston Rotary Club and the Halifax Young Professionals and Entrepreneurs group. Additionally, she is currently a Fellow in the Virginia Agriculture Leaders Obtaining Results (VALOR) Program. In her free time, Kimley enjoys cooking, gardening, reading and volunteering.

She can be contacted at kimley.blanks@co.halifax.va.us or 434-476-3300 ext. 3331.

Mark spent his early career building an electronics manufacturing business that operated for many years in Danville, VA. As an entrepreneur, he has always enjoyed supporting economic development activities required to help transform the region. Gignac has also been actively involved in the community including serving as a member of the Danville City Council, Dan River Business Development Center, Southside Rising Venture Capital and the Southern Piedmont Technology Council. Mark continues to serve the region in his role as the executive director of the Institute for Advanced Learning & Research (IALR) whose mission is economic transformation of the region. IALR is poised to help build a new industry around industrial hemp and co-founded the Industrial Hemp Summit as a start to that mission.

Marty Clemons is President of the North Carolina Industrial Hemp Association. She is a passionate advocate for a bio-based economy that includes industrial hemp. Marty is a former corporate and securities lawyer.

Blake Butler is the founder of HempX and the festival HempXAsheville. He has been involved in the political, business, and activist side of industrial hemp industry in the South since 2014. After drawing over 1500 attendees for the inaugural HempX Asheville in 2015, Blake has proceeded to organize hemp focused educational events in North Carolina and Kentucky. Last year, he planted two acres of hemp in Western NC with farming partners Franny and Jeff Tacy. Blake currently serves on the board of Growing Warriors and is a partner in Adapt Public Relations in Asheville, NC.