Meet Amanda Gray

Meet a Martinsville Insider, Amanda Gray. A graduate of Martinsville High School and Emory and Henry College, Amanda is the Director of Marketing and Public Relations at the beautiful Smith River Sports Complex. She works hard everyday to help make sure the facility is well kept and marketed throughout Virginia and the mid-atlantic region. She is currently planning the annual USA South Fall Festival along with many other sports tournaments hosted throughout the year. Amanda is also a member of the Martinsville Uptown Rotary Club and coaches soccer for Martinsville High School. Here are Amanda's tips for enjoying Martinsville-Henry County, Virginia. 

Where do you go to enjoy Martinsville-Henry County’s arts-and-entertainment scene?

"I enjoy attending plays produced by the Black Box Theatre with my family.  I love that there is the option for live entertainment in Martinsville and that I know the entertainers!  I also like going to the Virginia Museum of Natural History for various events.  It’s great that the Martinsville-Henry County area has such an amazing venue for exhibits and entertainment.  I hope that our community members take advantage of gem that we have in our area, not many communities have this high tech of a museum!"

What are your top Martinsville-Henry County dining spots and why?

"I absolutely love Binding Time Café.  I always get their Caramel Latte over ice and am so excited to have a great specialty coffee shop so close to my home!  John and Bonnie are extremely nice and provide amazing food along with a great atmosphere!  I recommend everything on their menu but am especially attached to their Greek Grilled Cheese with tomato.  Their flat bread pizzas are to die for!  Wild Magnolia is another favorite.  They offer so many different options!  I am a huge fan of their crab dip and whenever I have friends come to town I have an excuse to indulge in this fantastic appetizer!  Also, when I remember, every Tuesday I take advantage of their Wild Magnolia lunch special along with my coworkers!  For breakfast almost every Saturday morning I go with my family to Skip’s.  Skip's is so welcoming and does something to their pancakes as they could be the best I’ve had!  (Kiwanis [Club Pancake Day] is an extremely close competitor but on a different scale as they are very special since they only happen twice a year.)"

 What is the most interesting tidbit about Smith River Sports Complex?

"The Smith River Sports Complex is a place where everyone in our community can come and enjoy spending time with their family!  Whether it be participating in a sporting event, watching a game, going on the river, enjoying a picnic, taking a stroll, or having fun on our state-of-the-art playground, we have something for everyone!  Most of our events are free and we provide high quality sports entertainment for the Martinsville-Henry County area and beyond!  We also generate a great economic impact for our community by hosting various events that bring in thousands of sporting tourists every year."

Tell us about your favorite place(s) to shop in Martinsville-Henry County

"Uptown Martinsville has a variety of unique shops to visit it's hard to have a favorite. My favorite places are normally what my mother, Terry Duffy, is a patron of. She is obsessed with the SPCA Thrift Store [Fido's Finds] and I have already received and purchased several gifts from them. It's easy to see why she loves the shop so much because they have so many great items to purchase and you're helping an amazing cause at the same time. Pieces is an amazing clothing store that I recently discovered and have already spent a good majority of my paycheck. They have cute and trendy clothes as well as jewelry and the customer service is outstanding."

Hot Tip: This weekend the Smith River Sports Complex will host the Virginia Fusion 3.0 Ultimate Frisbee Tournament!

Get out and explore Martinsville-Henry County for yourself and see why...