Botetourt County’s departments consist of hardworking, driven, and accomplished employees who continue to make Botetourt a wonderful place to live.
Last summer, the county established a Communications Department, bringing on new Director of Communications Tiffany Bradbury.
Bradbury grew up in Roanoke City. She’s been a Botetourt County resident since 2002.
“I always had this dream (to work) in communications in some way,” Bradbury said in a recent interview. “In high school, my dream was to be the director of The Tonight Show. Back in the day, Virginia Western Community College had a radio and television production department. I was working on my degree, and a door opened at WSLS for me to work.”
When Bradbury was 19 years old, she started a career at WSLS, running the teleprompter and running cameras. She worked there for ten years, rising through the ranks until becoming the 6 and 11 news director.
Once Bradbury and her husband of almost 27 years, Kevin, started a family, she sought a new career in communications due to the amount of work on her plate at WSLS being inconducive while raising her children.
Bradbury’s son, Braydon, recently graduated from Radford University. Her daughter, Emma, is a rising junior at Roanoke College, majoring in math and statistics. Her youngest daughter, Kaylee, is a sixth grader at Read Mountain Middle School.
“We’re a really tight-knit family,” Bradbury explained. “My mom and my dad would babysit when Kevin was on his 24-hour shift (working as a firefighter in Roanoke City). We’re all really close. I live a very blessed life with my family.”
Bradbury works directly for County Administrator Gary Larrowe and also works with Deputy County Administrator David Moorman and Assistant Administrator Jon Lanford and the Board of Supervisors. When Bradbury first arrived on the team, they hired her to help start the Communications Department.
“I love how I am able to tell the stories of not only our community within Botetourt but also the people who work for the county. We have such an amazing group of folks that work for the county, providing services every day. Many of the folks that work for the county government live in the county as well. It’s really cool when you can serve and work for the locality that you provide communications for.”
Bradbury is thankful to work alongside Botetourt Communications and Marketing Specialist Kristen Chapin. Bradbury refers to them as a “two-person team” running the Communications Department encompassing all of the social media posts and information provided about the county.
Over the past year, Bradbury and her team have provided the county’s social media outlets and website with information about events and “what’s new” in Botetourt. She helped establish several promotional campaigns and worked with a team designing a new, streamlined website for Botetourt County (www.botetourtva.gov).
“I’m a people person,” Bradbury explained. “I love to meet new people. COVID was really hard on us extroverts. I like to help people solve problems and learn new things. I also have a really good group of girlfriends, and we like to travel.”
Additionally, when outside of her office, Bradbury cherishes the time spent with her family. She enjoys spending time outdoors with her kids and spending time in the kitchen. She’s involved with Elevation Church volunteering her time at events and church functions. She also enjoys shopping and meeting new people.
Bradbury expressed being lucky to work and live in Botetourt County. She loves the people and the businesses within the community and loves the possibilities a new day brings to her job.
“Every day is a little bit different, and I get to meet a lot of amazing people,” Bradbury said. “I love working for Gary (Larrowe), (Deputy County Administrator) David Moorman, and Jon Lanford. They really have the community front and center—their focus is taking care of (Botetourt). I have never worked with such an amazing (Board of Supervisors). I love the tight-knit community of Botetourt. Even though I’ve lived in the county for 20 years, I love getting to know more about our neighbors in Buchanan, Troutville, and Fincastle.”
