As Roanoke hosts the USA Cycling Mountain Bike National Championships this week, one of the region’s leading advocates for outdoor recreation is taking on a new role at the state level.

Gov. Abigail Spanberger has appointed Pete Eshelman to the Virginia Tourism Authority, marking his second term on the board after previously serving from 2018 to 2023.

For the past 15 years, Eshelman has helped lead the Roanoke Regional Partnership and the Roanoke Outside Foundation, promoting outdoor recreation as an economic development strategy. He said the region’s mountains, rivers and trails have become more than tourism assets; they have become tools for attracting businesses and new residents.

“We took for granted where we live—the beauty, the lakes, the mountains, the rivers, the trails—and we treated them like wallpaper,” Eshelman said. “But then we became intentional with them.”

Eshelman said investing in quality of life has helped distinguish the Roanoke Valley from competing communities.

“I always say quality of life is an economic sector,” he said. “When we invest in that, we see how it attracts companies like RINGANA. We see how it attracts people that can choose wherever they want to move to and live, but they’re choosing to move here over Asheville, North Carolina or Charlottesville because of that quality of life.”

That strategy has helped shape events including the Blue Ridge Marathon, GO Outside Festival and continued investments in parks, trails and outdoor recreation throughout the region.

“It’s not that Roanoke had a bad image; we just didn’t have an image,” Eshelman said. “What we’ve been able to do is show people these are our strengths as a community.”

Now, Eshelman hopes to bring that same approach to communities across Virginia through his appointment to the Virginia Tourism Authority.

“It’s really important that as decisions and policy decisions are being made at the state level that Roanoke has a voice and a say,” said Eshelman. ”I am very proud to do that.”

Eshelman believes the model that has helped transform Roanoke’s reputation can be replicated elsewhere.

“The work we’re doing here, this model, is replicable across other communities,” he said. “I think that whole ‘rising tides lift all ships’ mentality is really strong across economic development, across tourism, across our region and across the state.”

Despite Roanoke’s growing national recognition as an outdoor destination, Eshelman said the work is far from finished.

“We haven’t arrived,” he said. “We have a lot more that we can do. We have to put our foot down on the gas and do even more to kind of keep this competitive edge.”

As communities across the country compete for businesses, workers and visitors, Eshelman said he believes Roanoke’s greatest advantage has been in its own backyard all along.