Scott Robertson

What is your role at UWSWVA and how long have you been a part of the team?

My title is director of Marketing and Communications. I joined the organization in August, 2021.

What is your favorite part of your job?

Sharing the good work that’s being done in communities across the region. So many people in so many cities, towns and counties are helping their fellow Southwest Virginians live better lives. I’m fortunate to be in a position to meet many of those people and help tell their stories.

What does a typical day look like in your position?

Happily, there is no such thing as a typical day. One day I’ll be writing a press release about a private sector partner that’s making a donation to help kids be better prepared for the public education system in one county, and the next day I’m 50 miles away helping clean up debris from a natural disaster site.

What is your personal motivation?

I want to help win hearts and minds - to let as many people as possible know about how caring, how hard-working, and how dedicated our staffers are when it comes to making life better for Southwest Virginians. The more people who know what’s being done every day, the more will want to join in and take part.

Favorite event/program at UWSWVA?

That’s like asking to name my favorite child. I love all our programs - and for all the reasons that make them wonderful - from the Ignite Internship program that helps young students see the career possibilities available to them right here in the region to the Birth to Five Hub that lets parents find affordable, accessible childcare in their own communities to our disaster relief efforts.

What are some of your favorite hobbies?

I read a good bit. I study humor. I’m deeply pained by gas prices right now, because I have lived in Central Appalachia all my life and have never tired of taking country drives. In every season you can find beauty here just by driving a few miles down the road.

What is something that is fun and unique about you?

My wife and I won a dance competition a few years ago. She’s beautiful, talented and dances like a dream. I was the comic relief.

Tell me about your favorite day at work, in your current position, that you’ve ever had.

I can’t say it was my favorite, but I’ll tell you about the most impactful. I’d been here less than a month when the floods hit Hurley last August. Four of us drove up to see how United Way of Southwest Virginia could best help. We took bottled water, vouchers for groceries, flashlights and the like, and we began working out what our long-term response would be. I met individuals and families that day who were still shell-shocked from what had happened only a couple of days before. They were exhausted. They were hurting. But they were coming together as a community. That day, I knew I had to do everything I could to help us raise awareness across the region to help them. It makes me feel good to see how Southwest Virginia has responded to that call.

Do you have a quote or mantra that you always look to that is meaningful to your work here at UWSWVA?

“Que hodie non est eras erit, et tempus fugit.” He who is not prepared today will be less so tomorrow, and time flies. This organization is involved in so many worthy efforts at any given moment, if you’re not ahead of the game, you’re already falling behind.

What was your very first job and how do you use a lesson you learned in that job still today?

I worked in landscaping, hauling railroad crossties to use in outdoor architectural features. I learned that I would rather make a living with my mind than with my back, but that I should always be ready to put my back into any job when the time comes for it.