In 2015, Pat Sharkey was the first recipient of the Business Leader of the Year award from Floyd Chamber of Commerce. From left to right: John McEnhill, Executive Director of the Floyd Chamber of Commerce; Pat Sharkey, Tourism Director; and Joy Gardner, 2015-17 Chamber President.
Floyd County’s very first Tourism Director, Pat Sharkey, retired from her position at the end of July after serving for eight years.  Jewelry-maker and owner of Earth Dance Jewelry and Gems, Pat was also active and involved in the arts, as well as Floyd community-building efforts.  This included community service with multiple nonprofit organizations such as The Jacksonville Center for the Arts, Sustain Floyd, and the Blue Ridge Center for Chinese Medicine.  She also worked for the state’s Round the Mountain program which resulted in the development of art tourism trails in the organization’s Southwest Virginia coverage area.  And finally, Pat also served as the Program Manager for a federally funded, employability enhancement program in Floyd.

John McEnhill, Executive Director of the Floyd Chamber of Commerce, has a long history of working with Pat.  Not only was Pat a Chamber of Commerce board member, but when McEnhill was the Floyd Art Center’s Executive Director, Pat was the Center’s long-time Winterfest Coordinator, as well as the coordinator of the Floyd County Artisan Trail Tour.
Pat Sharkey manning the Tourism Offices booth at Floyd Fest in 2017.
“She was an excellent fit as the first tourism director,” says McEnhill, “given her experience, knowledge of Floyd, and extensive connections in the Floyd Community.  She was able to hit the ground running with many highly effective working relationships already in place.  It seems like she knows just about every other person in Floyd.”
One of Sharkey’s first accomplishments was creating the county’s first dedicated tourism website, which has become a go-to resource for both visitors and residents.  It has a comprehensive calendar listing events and activities, as well as local business information and resources, and economic development support.
She also worked in partnership with the Chamber to establish the fully staffed Floyd Visitor Center; open seven days a week and located near the stoplight in downtown Floyd.  She had a significant role in the development or expansion of many events, such as the Floyd County Health Fair and the Floyd County Livestock and County Fair.  She tirelessly set up and staffed booths to promote Floyd County at events such as the Bluegrass Festival, FloydFest, the International Bluegrass Music Association’s Conference and Festival, and Yoga Jam.
Sharkey effectively utilized many funding opportunities to create themed promotional campaigns in Floyd, such as “50 Years of Love” and “WanderLove”.  She developed the Cycle Floyd initiative that created a cycling guide and other resources to support and promote cycling to focus on the outdoor recreation market in Floyd.
“Pat has helped numerous businesses in Floyd complete Virginia Tourism Corporation Marketing Leverage Grant (MLG) applications to bring thousands of marketing dollars into Floyd,” says Kayla Cox, Town Manager for Town of Floyd.  “The town has worked closely with her on multiple successful MLG applications, including our tear-sheet walkable map project.  She has poured her heart and soul into building relationships with our local businesses, regional stakeholders, and community members.”
Floyd County Community and Economic Development Director, Lydeana Martin, also has great respect and appreciation for Sharkey.  “Pat Sharkey has so much intelligence, wisdom, and heart for people that through her hard and strategic work, she did extraordinary things as our tourism director.  I’ve had the honor of working with her on a few of those things, such as the Floyd Grown initiatives.  The Floyd Grown work included creating the logo to represent the tourism and economic development offices, providing technical support and mini grants to farm and forestry-related businesses, and generating resources guides like Agritourism guides for visitors and how-to guides for businesses.  It also has helped the Floyd Farmers Market create a robust online presence for local farmers to sell online.”
Sharkey also spearheaded critical programs during the pandemic.  She created and managed the ShopFloydVA program to help local businesses set up or improve websites so they could sell online.  She then linked those sites together at ShopFloydVA.org and marketed it aggressively.
“Pat had this vision for a long time,” says Martin, “of finding ways to ‘follow people home’ who have visited Floyd and fallen in love.  How to get them to continue shopping from Floyd businesses and encouraging them to visit again.  Now they can order gifts or their favorite items from Floyd no matter where they live, while being reminded to visit again at the same time.”
“Pat has been a tireless promoter of Floyd County,” says McEnhill.  “Constantly sharing local events and news through the tourism office’s social media accounts, putting together local and regional advertising campaigns, and working with travel writers so that Floyd was featured in airline magazines and international media.  She is a fierce advocate for Floyd in so many ways, always looking out for the best interests of our community, its businesses, and organizations. She was quick to offer her support to new businesses in Floyd, connecting them with resources to help them succeed.”
Lydeana Martin agrees.  “Through all this Pat has directly helped so many farms, small shops, artists, artisans, accommodations, restaurants, venues, and more.  She has truly been a gift to the people and businesses of Floyd County.”
John Brill, Publisher of Floyd Virginia Magazine, was often in contact with Sharkey.  When your magazine features stories about the people and businesses of Floyd, a great resource like Sharkey is almost essential.
“When I became the publisher of Floyd Virginia Magazine in 2018,” says Brill, “one of the first people I connected with was Pat.  She is always amazingly helpful! With every issue, she has recommended businesses that are opening, or perhaps in some sort of interesting transition, such as opening a new location or experiencing a change of ownership. Very often that has resulted in articles being written about those businesses.  It seems to me that Pat is always asking herself, ‘What else can I do?’ So much of what she does seems to be driven toward answering that simple question.”
Stepping into the considerable footsteps of the pioneering tourism legend that is Pat Sharkey will be the new Tourism Director, Kathleen Legg.  Legg brings to the position over five years of marketing and business experience within the nonprofit sector.  She grew up in Roanoke and graduated from Roanoke College with a degree in Business Administration and Marketing.  Kathleen joins the Tourism Department after working several years with Angels of Assisi in Roanoke.  It was there that Kathleen served as the Director of Community Engagement and oversaw events, donor relations, grant writing, and communication efforts.
“As a travel destination, Floyd has an authentic feel that is full of stories,” said Kathleen.  “I am excited about the opportunity to tell these stories, as well as utilize my marketing and business skills to help promote the growth of the community, and not only maintain but grow tourism in Floyd.”

Floyd Visitor Center  •  www.VisitFloydVA.com
540-745-4407  •  info@visitfloydva.com.