Loudoun County Chairman Scott K. York (I-At Large) and a contingency of county representatives returned this week from a business trip to Europe. The purpose of the trip was to develop relationships abroad and in doing so, hopefully bring some foreign companies to our area.

According to Keith Nusbaum, York's aide who accompanied him to Europe, Loudoun officials are working to bring more high-quality, commercial ventures to the county. “We're looking for sector leaders in IT, finance, pharmaceuticals, and telecom to name a few,” he said.

In a letter sent to constituents on Monday, Chairman York wrote of a number of meetings with contacts in the German county of Main-Taunus-Kreis, which sits west of Frankfurt. According to York this county “resembles Loudoun in a striking number of ways -- its population is 230,000 [LoCo's 2006 pop. was 268,817], residents live in a number of small and medium-sized towns, and they enjoy a very high standard of living.”

Since his initial visit to Main-Taunus-Kries (MTK) in 2005, York and other Loudoun representatives have developed a positive reciprocal relationship with MTK officials, and as a result Loudoun was invited to form a “sister county” partnership with the German county in October 2006.

Joining York and Nusbaum on the trip were Georgia Graves, president of Bridgman Communications, who represented the Loudoun County Economic Development Commission and the Committee for Dulles, Cheryl Kilday and Christine Geno of the Loudoun Convention and Visitors Association, and Beth Hain from Loudoun's Department of Economic Development.

Hain's trip was funded by the county. The trip for York, Nusbaum, and Graves was made possible through monetary and/or in-kind donations from area businesses, including the George Washington University Virginia Campus, Inova Loudoun Hospital, the B.F. Saul Company, Fortessa Inc., M.C. Dean, Howard Hughes Medical Institute, the Metropolitan Washington Airport Authority, the Committee for Dulles and Bridgman Communications.

Nusbaum said any money remaining from these private donations will be used to host a delegation of journalists from MTK who will be visiting Loudoun in May to learn more about the county's history, schools, government and businesses.

As an interesting side note, Nusbaum mentioned how former Secretary of State George C. Marshall is revered in Germany. “I was amazed at how much his name was brought up during our visit,” he said.

As a history refresher, it was the Marshall Plan that helped Europe recover after World War II. Marshall's former home, Dodona Manor, is in Leesburg.

York summed up his constituent letter by describing the positive relationship with Loudoun's “sister county” in Germany:

“The partnership [with MTK] has shown that despite the ocean between us we are similar people, interested in one another, willing to reach out in friendship to make the world a better place.”

To read York's constituent letter, click here.