Thank You!
We are grateful for the trust you have placed in us by electing us to the Orange Town Council. Thank you for the kindness and support you showed us during the campaign and your well wishes since then. We are looking forward to taking our seats in January where we will begin working to bring the things we committed to during our campaign:
• A vibrant and welcoming downtown
• More shopping and dining options
• A thriving and friendly community
• Respect for our local treasures
Learn from the past, invest in the present, inspire the future.
Jeremiah and Amy Pent
Jeremiah Pent grew up in Ft Worth, Texas, where he married his high school sweetheart, Amy Ruffin. They have been married for 27 years and have 7 children and one grandchild.
In 2001, Jeremiah & Amy moved to the area, drawn by their desire to teach their children the values associated with a small town and rural experience. The family left the area in 2005 for Jeremiah to pursue his master’s degree in Philadelphia. After graduation, they settled in Franklin, Tennessee (south of Nashville), where Jeremiah worked from the ground up creating a manufacturing business that distributed products in 27 countries.
The natural beauty and rich history of Orange drew the Pents back in 2019 to plant roots for their family. Since their return, Jeremiah and Amy have sought to use their gifts and hard work ethic to contribute to the flourishing of the town.
Amy runs Arcadia at Edgewood, a wedding venue just north of town. The two have also begun revitalizing the family’s recent investments in downtown Orange on East Main Street. They are excited about their new coffee shop at 132 E Main, which they hope to open by the end of the year. Jeremiah intends to pull from his years of experience in business creation, marketing, web development, and desire for excellence to contribute to the town. His skill of carefully listening to the needs of the community and his action-oriented response will serve our community well.
Jason and Casey Cashell
While in Louisville, Kentucky, pursuing his Bachelors and Masters Degree, Jason met and married Casey. They, along with their four children, set out on a family dream of cultivating one of Orange’s historic treasures, Mayhurst Estate in 2019.
Their family quickly fell in love with the community and the town of Orange. Desiring to plant their roots and serve the community to the best of their abilities, both Jason and Casey joined several town committees. Jason is marked by a deep work ethic, servant-hearted leadership, a desire to strengthen working relationships, and a passion to preserve the unique treasures of Orange while creating a thriving economy and culture for our community.
There is no doubt that the Cashells realize the unique gift that the flourishing farmland, the deep agricultural roots, the unique history, and the beautiful wine country all serve together in making Orange a unique, American treasure.
Jason intends to pull from his experience of being a HR manager for corporate America, his decade experience of public speaking and counseling, his love for small town charm, his extensive experience in home renovations over the past 15 years, along with his attention to detail and creativity to cultivate atmospheres that are beautiful and welcoming for the betterment of the town.
Our Thoughts on the Issues
Attract more shopping and dining options
The changes we desire to see in Orange are largely centered on preservation-based economic vitality. Orange can maintain a historic, small-town charm while simultaneously cultivating quality restaurants and shopping options. The vacancies up and down Main Street and in other areas of town are a testament to the need for much more action in this area. While we have the architectural appeal and crossroads location that should help foster economic vitality, we need the ability to think creatively and the commitment to find new ways to draw in good businesses that could thrive with our demographics.
Attract more grocery options
The number one thing our survey respondents wanted to see improved in Orange was more grocery options. We shouldn’t stop this effort with the excuse, “We don’t have the demographics to attract them.” There are other creative ways to attract grocery anchors to an area or improve what we already have. There are roughly 40,000 people within 20 miles of Orange, and many of them look elsewhere for their primary grocery needs. If our grocery options were improved, we would attract many of those shoppers to Orange, not only for their grocery shopping but to spend money at other local businesses as well.
Create better walkability and green spaces
Some townspeople in our survey observed that Orange is surrounded by beautiful countryside and has some areas with attractive architectural potential, but we lack a cohesive and executable plan to improve the look and feel of the town itself. The town needs connected sidewalks that make it safely walkable and bikeable from all neighborhoods. In addition, we need more well-tended green spaces that create gathering places for people to enjoy natural settings within the town.
Offer more high-speed internet options such as FiberLync
88% of our survey respondents wanted to see services such as FiberLync made available in the town. Since FiberLync is available in the county, is based in the town, and we are already paying county taxes as town residents, it makes sense to us that this service should be available to us in Orange.
Encourage our rural community
The second most common thing residents liked about the town in our survey was its rural setting. But what are we doing to support the rural community around us? Towns such as Madison and Culpeper feature local farmers’ markets, but Orange is in a prime location to serve the rural community around us in this way. We’d like to bring back the farmer’s market as a first step to serving the townspeople, our rural neighbors, and our weekend visitors.
Build better relationships with the broader community
Though Orange has some good things to offer, it has not achieved the status of a “destination town” at this point. In some ways, that’s probably a good thing. Traffic, crowds, etc., can be downsides to being a destination. However, Orange is uniquely situated to be an ideal supporting town for our local destinations. From historical attractions like Montpelier and Civil War battlefields to agritourist attractions like our local vineyards and wedding venues, Orange has tremendous potential to serve visitors and townspeople alike with quality lodging, food, and shopping experiences.
To do that well, the town needs to maintain healthy relationships with the surrounding governments and institutions we support. From our interaction and communication with local county governments to our relationships with local tourist destinations, we believe more can be done to foster better working relationships amongst these groups. Doing so can help create better economic vitality in the near future and more economic opportunities for townspeople in the long run.
Foster better town communication with residents
The fact that we took the time and expense to create, analyze, and respond to the results of a survey from the residents of Orange is a testament to our desired approach to better government. As council candidates, we have our own thoughts on what the town needs, but we want those thoughts to be influenced and tempered by the residents of the town. If elected, we would encourage the council to communicate more often with the townspeople regarding their vision, agenda, priorities, etc. We live in a time when most people don’t trust those in government. One way that can be improved is with better communication. Improving the town’s website and communication through that site is one thing that could help toward that end.
Create a healthier sense of community amongst our various groups
Our country is in desperate need for its competing groups to spend more time in discussions that promote understanding rather than battles with yelled messages and accusations from each pole. The irresponsible use of social media has fueled this already critical fire. While the national stage can seem to be past any hope of solutions on any given day, we believe Orange could be a model for the rest of the nation for how differing opinions and voices can patiently work to interact with each other for good. This doesn’t mean we’ll all agree on everything. Instead, the investment we spend in conversation with those different from us can help create patience and understanding that fosters civil discourse. We can still show courtesy as friends and neighbors rather than cutting off those who differ from us ideologically. This is hard work, but we believe it’s vital to Orange and the rest of the nation at this critical time.
Results from Our Survey of Orange Residents
Thank you to all of you (443 and counting!) who took the time to take our survey on the town. If you haven’t yet taken the survey, you can do so below. We learned a lot about what you love and what you’d change to improve the town. We’ve read all of your additional comments as well, and those who left contact info have heard from us via email or phone. It’s been great to get to know some of you, and we hope to be able to serve you in this upcoming term and work to bring about the changes you desire.
%
What's your favorite thing about Orange?
The largest percentage of residents chose the small town feel of Orange as their favorite thing. Second place went to those who like the rural setting (45.8%) and those who like the historic surroundings (37.2%).
%
Least favorite thing about Orange?
We see this as a major issue based on the response of residents. Second place went to lack of eating and shopping options (46.7%) followed by vacant retail spaces (33%). We would make these issues a priority.
%
Do you want more high speed Internet options?
We asked whether residents wanted services like FiberLync (available to county residents), and the answer was a resounding yes. Many residents expressed frustration with paying town taxes without such options.
Have a question for us?
Use the form below to send us your question or comment. We’d love to hear from you.