As part of the Senate's spring break, Senator Warner traveled through Fredericksburg and Ashland to host two campus town halls and to meet with constituents, business and community leaders.

At a standing-room-only meeting at the University of Mary Washington, Senator Warner noted the increasing signs that the economy is recovering and updated students on his bipartisan efforts to work for solutions to the nation's $15 trillion debt.

"A fix for the debt and deficit problem would do more to create job growth and economic recovery than any other Congressional action," Senator Warner told the students.

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Feeling inspired . Maybe being an entrepenuer is the way to go #senwarneratumw

— jackie geddis (@jaxged6) April 3, 2012

He also visited with about 50 Hanover County residents at Ashland Coffee and Tea. SInce the friendly folks at Ashland Coffee allow regulars to keep their own coffee mugs on-site, the Senator produced his own U.S. Senate mug, signed his name to it, and stowed it on the rack for his next visit to Ashland.

The Richmond Times-Dispatch noted that Senator Warner has a special
love for Ashland: 

Ashland holds a special place in the heart of U.S. Sen. Mark R. Warner, D-Va. After all, it saved his life. 

On a walking tour of South Railroad Avenue before a student town hall at Randolph-Macon College on Tuesday, Warner told a group of town officials about the time as governor when he rode his bike though Ashland, bareheaded.

"By Monday morning, I'd gotten a call in the governor's office saying, 'Don't you think it's appropriate that the governor should ride with a helmet?' " he recalled. And he listened. 

A year-and-a-half later, he took a nasty spill, landing on his head and cracking his helmet in half. "I would've been dead," he said. "Luckily, as usual, I had Ashland people telling me what to do."On Tuesday, Ashlanders mostly told Warner to keep pushing for a long-term solution for the nation's ballooning debt, and create some jobs in the process.

Finally, the Senator visited the campus of Randolph-Macon College, where he encouraged about 250 students to dream big things and never be afraid to fail. He noted that his first two business ventures failed spectacularly, and it was his third attempt that led him to success during the earliest days of the cellular telephone business.