The story below is from our May/June 2024 issue. For more stories like it, Subscribe Today. Thank you!
Fincastle’s new town manager can’t wait to celebrate the 250-year-old town.
Melanie McFadyen, who lives right outside of Fincastle in Botetourt County, returned to her small-town community development roots last November when she assumed the position of town manager in Fincastle.
Being of service is in McFadyen’s blood. After graduating from the University of Virginia with a degree in environmental science, she spent time in the Peace Corps because she loves to travel and learn about different cultures and wanted to help communities. During her time in the corps, she worked on an environmental coastal resources project that focused on community development.
“I’ve been drawn to community development work all my life,” she says. “I loved it. It was one of the best experiences I could have had.”
She then worked in Washington, D.C., before pursuing her master’s degree at Western Illinois University. As part of her studies, she worked with small communities.
A desire to be closer to her parents brought her to North Carolina, where she worked as the community development director for Alleghany County. It was during this time that she helped the town of Sparta join the North Carolina Main Street program, which provides strategic economic development planning assistance to communities.
After marrying and having children, she decided to scale back her work responsibilities, so she transitioned out of community development and into part-time reading remediation work in local school divisions.
The Independence, Virginia, native moved to Botetourt County in 2016 when her husband, Ken, was recruited to serve as the county’s director of economic development, a position he still holds. Despite traveling to Roanoke to go shopping growing up, she knew very little about Botetourt before moving to the county.
“I had never really visited Botetourt. When Ken was being recruited, we traveled up quite often. We just thought it was so beautiful and very friendly,” she says. “It’s been a great move for the family. We’ve really enjoyed being here.”
She decided to pursue the town manager position once it came open out of a desire to take on a challenge. With both of her children in high school, she now has more time on her hands.
Learning about and celebrating the more than 250-year-old town has been one of McFadyen’s favorite parts of the job. “It’s such a beautiful little town with a unique history. So much of it has been maintained and cared for. It really is striking how well loved this town is,” she says.
Because Fincastle is so small, with roughly 700 residents, McFadyen’s position is part time. She’s one of two employees, including a part-time town clerk. In addition to her work in the town, McFadyen has continued to work as a part-time reading instructor at Breckinridge Elementary School. She spends her mornings at the school, then handles town business in the afternoons.
“It’s a great mix of sweet kids who are working hard and then I get to transition to adults who are working on all these different projects in the town,” she says of her work arrangements.
The work of McFadyen and the clerk is largely supplemented through town volunteers. “As a person who has worked in community development pretty much all my life, it’s such a nice feeling to see people really take hold of their town and try to make it the best that it can be,” she says.
As she continues to settle into her new role, she will be placing an emphasis on encouraging business growth. The town, she says, has struggled to grow since the county moved most of its offices out of Fincastle and to Greenfield several years ago.
Mary Bess Smith, Fincastle’s mayor, says, “Melanie is a wonderful asset to the town, as she brings experience with grant writing and Main Street communities. She is also an active member of our community.”
The story above is from our May/June 2024 issue. For more stories like it, Subscribe Today. Thank you!
