Remarks of  the
Honorable Mark R. Warner,
the 69th Governor of the
Commonwealth of Virginia at the
Commonwealth of Virginia
Information Technology Symposium

Lexington, Virginia
September 25, 2002

...“Many people have asked why this conference is held in Lexington, and not in a larger city or in Northern Virginia.

I think it’s particularly fitting to hold this in a community that has seen innovation for generations.  Just miles from here in the 1830s, Cyrus McCormick invented the reaper and revolutionized the harvest of grain.  It was among the most significant innovations in an agricultural economy.

It led to the mechanization of the American farm and laid the groundwork for industrialization of the United States.

In a similar way, the IT revolution is changing our country today.

So it’s fitting to hold this conference in a place where the Commonwealth’s values of higher education and public service stand together.” ...