Champions and Trailblazers

Celebrate The Change-makers in Your Town!

05.18.17

Photo by Volunteer West Virginia

Who are the rabble-rousing change-makers in your community?

Maybe they’re organizing city council candidate forums and spreading the word about the importance of voting in local elections, or working to address the needs of your town’s most vulnerable. Whoever they are, if they’re working to put West Virginia first through service to others- the Governor would like to honor them!

Don’t miss this opportunity to celebrate those in your community who give so much of themselves and expect so little in return.

Volunteer West Virginia is now accepting nominations for West Virginia’s most prestigious volunteer award, the Governor’s Service Award. The award aims to celebrate individuals, families, and organizations working to solve community problems in an innovative manner.

Outstanding mountaineers selected as recipients of the award will be honored at a special banquet at the Culture Center in Charleston on September 14th, 2017. So take the next five minutes and nominate the neighbor who never gives up on your town! Don’t miss this opportunity to celebrate those in your community who give so much of themselves and expect so little in return.

Nominate your neighbor here!

All nominations must be postmarked or emailed by 5pm on Friday, June 30, 2017.

If you have questions about the Governor’s Service Awards please contact Moya Doneghy at (304) 558-0111.

The Governor’s Service Awards banquet is coordinated by Volunteer West Virginia, the State’s Commission for National and Community Service. Volunteer West Virginia challenges mountaineers to strengthen their communities through service and volunteerism by identifying and mobilizing resources, promoting an ethic of service, and empowering communities to solve problems and improve the quality of life for individuals and families.

These West Virginia Business Are Giving Back to Their Communities. Here’s How You Can Thank Them.

12.16.16

Photo by Allison Thaxton/‎The Lunch Box Public Facebook Group

We didn’t have to look far to find local businesses in West Virginia that go above and beyond in supporting their local community.

Here are just a few folks who have given themselves the chance to win a free 3-course dinner at one of West Virginia’s finest restaurants during Charleston Restaurant Week. Have you entered yet? What’s keeping you?

Brigid told us about the Lunchbox in Clendenin. “To this day they will feed anyone who is hungry no questions asked. Just by opening they provided a ray of hope to our community.”

Sarah had some love for Mi Cocina De Amor in Charleston, noting its long history of supporting Habitat Again Hunger, the Humane Society and other local charities and arts and culture events.

Shouting the praises of Ferguson Services in Summersville, Stacy said “their generosity, both personally and professionally, is unmatched in our community.”

“Shortcuts in Morgantown cuts hair for the homeless and has been doing so for many years,” said Barb.

John was thankful for the commitment of Stephens Auto Center in Danville to the local volunteer firefighter effort: “managers have always been willing to allow these members to leave work and respond to emergency calls when needed.”

These are just a few of the many people who have entered their names into the draw to win a free 3-course dinner during Charleston Restaurant Week.

Be sure to enter the running by telling us about a great business that supports your local community!

Jake-Lynch

Grafton, West Virginia: Proof That the Past Does Not Define Our Future

09.01.16

The Hub’s Amanda Workman and Stephanie Tyree at the new Grafton Main Street deck – known as Toad Hall. Photo by The Hub.

As I was walking down Main Street in Grafton last week, making plans for The Hub’s 2016 board retreat, I couldn’t help but have a “proud momma moment.”

Grafton was one of the first Turn This Town Around communities, and it has accomplished so much since our first meeting back in February 2014.

As I was looking around and taking in all of the great things happening on Main Street I had to chuckle to myself as I thought back to that first meeting, and one specific conversation.

“Grafton has had outside help before and it has never worked. So good luck.”

I was new to The Hub and so excited to be at my first community meeting, when one individual (I won’t name names) said:

“Grafton has had outside help before and it has never worked. So good luck.”

Even as new Hubber I knew this time was going to be different for Grafton.

And it was! Let me name just a couple of my favorite things that Grafton is doing these days:

First Friday events,
All Aboard Grafton meetings,
the Grafton Farmers Market,
and my favorite thing of all – the beautiful Toad Hall! (We love Toad Hall so much that we’ll be having a session of our board retreat there.)

Photo by Grafton Farmers Market

I may have a new favorite thing this year, as I hear there is a haunted house in the works. If you know me even a little bit, you know how much I love Halloween.

Grafton was one of the first Turn This Town Around communities, and has accomplished so much since February 2014.

I recently said to that one individual that made the comment to me at the first meeting, “I hate to say I told you so, but I did.” This person has since become a wonderful friend of mine and of The Hub’s, and has been one of the major champions for everything that has taken place over the last 2.5 years.

So my question to Grafton now is – What’s up next?

Hi, Amanda.

WV Public Broadcasting: In the Northern Panhandle, Turning Ruin Into Ribbon Cuttings

03.07.16

Glynis Board/West Virginia Public Broadcasting

Is the Northern Panhandle experiencing an economic rebirth? More than one panhandle resident thinks so, and is working toward the goal of seeing every abandoned factory that lines the Ohio River Valley repurposed.

53-year-old Patrick Ford has vivid memories of growing up in rural Buhler, Kansas. He remembers family farms becoming obsolete with the rise of corporate farms. It was an economic shift that happened fast. He remembers as a kid, for fun, walking through abandoned homes.

“TV would still be there, photo albums,” Ford said. “There was one [abandoned home] where the spectacles of this old man were still on the table.”

Ford says the scenes of abandoned life are burned into his memory. It shocked him that no one planned for the economic shift, that there was no transition for these families. That’s part of what motivates his work today.

The Private Nonprofit Model for Driving Economic Development

For the past seven years, Ford has been the Executive Director of the Business Development Corporation of the Northern Panhandle. The mission of the private nonprofit is to foster a diverse economy in Brooke and Hancock counties.

30 priority projects ranging from helping a small bakery open its doors to repurposing the former pottery plant Taylor Smith & Taylor.

Ford sat in his office building in Weirton in front of a white board that lists some 30 priority projects his organization is focused on ranging from helping a small bakery open its doors to repurposing the former pottery plant Taylor Smith & Taylor. Ford says it’s his goal to see new businesses taking over the the abandoned mills that line the Ohio River Valley. And he says he’s not alone…

Listen to the full story at wvpublic.org

Follow the author on twitter @GlynisBoard

Gazette-Mail: Coalfield Development Corp Offers a Pathway of Hope In the Southern Coalfields

02.29.16

Photo by Sam Owens/Charleston Gazette-Mail

By Andrew Brown/Charleston Gazette-Mail

By the time Colt Brogan reached his senior year at Lincoln County High School, his hopes of attending college and planning for a career had all but disappeared.

It wasn’t that Brogan didn’t have the ambition or the grades – he was set to graduate with honors. But part way through his senior year, he moved out of his home along the Coal River to escape what he thought was an unhealthy environment.

He still wanted to plot a way forward — to find a career, to afford an education, to build a life. But he said he felt trapped by where he grew up, who his parents were, what high school he attended, and what he could afford.

“You know, nobody was gonna help me get there. It was up in the air what I was going to do after school because nobody really cared.”

The price tag of higher education had convinced him not to go to college straight out of high school, and the chances of landing a job after graduation, he said, weren’t great.

Many of his classmates from Lincoln County confronted the same reality. Some considered nursing school. Others looked into construction jobs or work with a utility company. A few found jobs in Hamlin at the Burger King or 7-Eleven. Gone was any expectation of a job in a coal mine or manufacturing plant, like many of their fathers and grandfathers had.

For Brogan, joining the military started to look like his only way out.

“There weren’t really any other healthy choices for me at the time, because I didn’t take a lot of preparation for college because I never thought my family could afford it or that it was possible for me,” he said.

“You know, nobody was gonna help me get there. Nobody was really pushing me towards that. It was up in the air what I was going to do after school because nobody really cared.”

Then a teacher told him about a new company that had been growing in recent years and was looking to expand into Lincoln County. It offered not only a starting wage of $10 an hour, but the chance to attend community college for free.

Brogan applied, interviewed and was hired by the Coalfield Development Corp.

Now a year later, he’s attending Southern West Virginia Community and Technical College. He’s learned how to deconstruct abandoned buildings, how to build new homes, and how to create high-tunnel greenhouses. Soon, he’ll be trying to build an agricultural business on an abandoned surface mine…

Read the full story at wvgazettemail.com

Follow the author on Twitter @Andy_Ed_Brown

With Kent Spellman’s Retirement, a New Era Beckons at The Hub

08.31.15

It is with an odd mixture of excitement, sadness and great anticipation that I share with you my plans to retire as the Executive Director of The Hub in 2016.

My work at The Hub over the past seven years has been a capstone experience for me. I’ve poured a great deal of myself into The Hub, and so I’ve naturally had some moments over the past year or so when the thought of letting go seemed so perilous.

But, I know that the time is right.

It’s time for me to make space in my life for neglected personal aspirations. And time to move The Hub into younger, more creative, more innovative leadership. And time to allow The Hub to evolve beyond the limits of my vision and capacity.

I’m preparing for this transition with great joy. I’m happy about the work The Hub is doing and am extremely fortunate to have a staff that is dedicated and skilled.

I am grateful for our great board of directors and the support they provide. I’m excited about the opportunities West Virginia has before it, and the potential we have to realize those. And I am constantly impressed with the remarkable partners across the state that join us in this work, and optimistic about the direction the winds of change are blowing.

It is healthy for an organization, especially one like The Hub that is focused on innovation, constant evolution and regular reiteration, to experience a leadership change that will bring fresh thinking and new perspectives to the work.

We are going through a process of reimagining The Hub, and developing a vision of what we can do in the coming years to advance community and economic development across West Virginia.

To help with the transition, I’ve appointed Stephanie Tyree to be our Deputy Director. In Stephanie, and her colleagues at The Hub, I’m fortunate to have a remarkable staff that understands and embraces the culture we have created – a culture that is so central to our success. It’s exciting to think about what they might do in the coming years!

In October, we will begin a comprehensive search for this new leadership. Keep an eye out for the job posting. We are looking to cast the net far and wide, and hope you can help us unearth any potential candidates.

Meanwhile, we are going through a process of reimagining The Hub, and developing a plan to achieve the vision of what we can do in the coming five years to advance community and economic development across West Virginia. We expect that plan to be in place by March 2016, so the new leadership will have an effective guide.

I look forward to my continued work with all of you in the coming months. I have been humbled by what you are doing and the great things you are accomplishing. You have enriched my life and taught me so much. Thank you!

Ritchie County Mom Tackles Lack of Physical Activity Options in Rural WV

08.21.15

This week The Hub heard from an amazing woman in Ritchie County by the name of Meggan Hostuttler. Meggan has spent the last three years on a weight loss journey that has seen her lose 90 pounds and complete many 5K races and half marathons with her son, Logan. She is currently training for the NYC Marathon, raising money the Jimmy V Foundation for Cancer Research.

But while Meggan says she was lucky to have a lot of help from her family and employer, many people in places like Ritchie County fight an uphill battle from the start as they do not have affordable access to things like gyms, healthy eating classes and daycare that are necessary to transform your lifestyle.

I’ll let Meggan tell you her story…

I was always unhappy with my weight, even as a young child. But I lacked the commitment and self-confidence it took to make a lifestyle change to better my health. I battled bullying in high school and missed out on so many memories growing up because of my weight.

In August 2012, I was at the beach with my family and was taking pictures of my oldest son, Logan, in the lifeguard chair. I found myself repositioning him to cut down on the number of rolls showing on his belly. I took that photo through tears because I realized it was my fault. He was modeling his eating habits on my own, as well as my lack of physical activity. I decided, right then, that it was time to make a change for myself and for my children. When I got home, I rid my house of all processed foods, we eliminated fast foods, and we started exercising as a family. Our journey had begun.

I realized it was my fault. He was modeling his eating habits on my own, as well as my lack of physical activity.

But if I was going to help him, I had to push through myself.

I started with workout videos and completed one cycle but became bored. But I began to see some progress, which gave me a little boost of confidence that I could finally make this happen.

I needed something different. I read endless articles. I had tried all the fad diets and failed miserably. I saw a post on Facebook about a 5K run and became intrigued. I thought “I’ll give running a shot.”

I started out with 1/4 of a mile, which was miserable for me. But I kept a journal with some short-term and long-term goals for myself and for my son. One of those was to be able to run a mile without stopping. It took a few months, but we checked that off. We kept adding distance until soon we were running three miles consistently.

One goal was to be able to run a mile without stopping. It took a few months, but we checked that off.

Logan signed up for his middle-school cross-country team, and I signed up for a program through my employer called Running 101. I found it helpful to take advantage of the encouragement, training plans and tips. My family and I signed up for our first 5K to support a friend. Logan did great for his first time!

My time was not what I had hoped, but I quickly realized the running community was exactly where I belonged. The encouragement and support that I felt was incredible. There was none of the judgment or belittling I had feared.

We were persistent in our training, and signed up for new races. The pounds began to drop for both of us and the quality family time we were spending together was amazing!

We were persistent in our training. The pounds began to drop for both of us and the quality family time we were spending together was amazing!

Since that first race, my family has completed multiple 5Ks across multiple states as a team! My family is stronger together and we cherish every mile.

But one thing that has become painfully obvious to me during this process is the lack of access many people in my community have to affordable fitness centers, healthy cooking classes, and other resources and support that is necessary to help people start this difficult journey.

There is a huge need and virtually zero access.

Our community does have a gym in Harrisville, but it is only open two evenings per week. There are few, if any, affordable and accessible group exercise programs or personal training programs to allow folks to get on the right path.

Our community does have a gym in Harrisville, but it is only open two evenings per week. There are only a few affordable and accessible group exercise programs or personal training programs to allow folks to get on the right path.

There are only a few exercise groups that meet within the county, but I think sometimes the costs associated with fitness classes discourages people from participating.

There are a few exercise groups that meet within the county but I think sometimes the costs associated with fitness classes discourages people, particularly in rural areas, from participating. Free group exercise sessions that are open to all fitness levels would be great! It’s a lot easier to do it with friends to help you out!

I grew up in a very loving home but physical fitness and healthy eating was not a priority. I felt like I was starting at square one when I tried to learn the ins and outs of healthy eating. There are endless articles online, but for most people in Ritchie County it is really difficult to find tools and resources to help people learn about proactive and affordable things they can do to improve their health.

If the community was promoting healthy living, more people would step outside their comfort zone and participate.

The other issue is child care. There are plenty of youth groups or kids looking for community service that would be willing to volunteer in exchange for those hours if the opportunity was there. I have done all of this virtually on my own (I do have great family support!) because linking people up is nearly impossible without a common, organized goal – which should be getting fit!

Lastly, do not underestimate how important community support is to encouraging people to take those first steps. I was so intimidated to run in my local area. I was so embarrassed to put myself out there. Then people started seeing changes and all of a sudden I started passing runners and walkers on my same routes that would thank me for inspiring them.

If the community was promoting healthy living, more people would step outside their comfort zone and participate. There are multiple 5K races in and around my county, however, it often boils down to being able to afford to do them. I know a $20 entry fee doesn’t seem like much to most, but it’s a lot when you are living paycheck to paycheck.

We agree with Meggan that the places in West Virginia that have the greatest need to support physical activity and healthy lifestyles are the places with the fewest affordable resources.

If you want to get involved in a movement to help change that, get in touch with me at the email address below.

Mary M. Hunt – Recipient of the Jean Ambrose Champion of Community Development Award for 2015

05.04.15

Mary Hunt, center, receives the Jean Ambrose Champion of Community Development Award from Hub Board Chair Dr. Michelle Foster, left, and Jean Ambrose.

The people at the heart of West Virginia’s community development work do not often have the time or the inclination to congratulate themselves as individuals or celebrate their achievements.

It’s one of the reasons we created the Jean Ambrose Champion of Community Development Award; to give credit where credit is due, but also to inspire others to follow in the footsteps of West Virginians making real strides to build a better future for our communities and the people who live in them.

On Thursday, following a day of infectious energy and idea sharing at Hubapalooza, we proudly announced Mary M. Hunt, Senior Program Officer of the Claude Worthington Benedum Foundation, as the recipient of the Jean Ambrose Champion of Community Development Award for 2015.

We had 16 nominations for this award this year, all of them very deserving. But when we considered the state-wide impact of the various nominees and the broad and long-lasting legacy of their work, Mary was without peer.

There are few, if any, nonprofit or community development organizations in West Virginia that have not been helped by Mary’s guidance and support over the past 34 years.

There are few, if any, nonprofit or community development organizations in West Virginia that have not been helped by Mary’s guidance and support over the past 34 years.

Her career in this space extends back to the Harrison County Department of Housing and Community Development in Clarksburg, where she worked as director in 1981, and the Mayor’s Office of Economic and Community Development in Charleston, in the late 80s and early 90s.

She joined the Benedum team in 1999. Since then, Mary has made 279 grants totaling $21.2 million to organizations in West Virginia, all of them inspired by her belief in the people of this state and her constant challenge to them to think deeper, work harder, and be more effective.

As Jean Ambrose said as she presented the award named after her: “The community development advances we have been making in West Virginia wouldn’t have been possible without Mary’s fierce intelligence and her persistence in asking the tough questions that, frankly, make us squirm, but force us to admit that what we have been doing isn’t good enough.”

“Rex Hunt, who planted so many trees that he knew he would never see grow.” What a terrific metaphor for a poignant truth behind much of the work we all do.

Mary is a strategist, guide and mentor for many of us in the community and economic development realm. It was moving to hear Mary speak of where she found her inspiration for building a better West Virginia: her father.

“Rex Hunt, who planted so many trees that he knew he would never see grow,” she said.

What a terrific metaphor for a poignant truth behind much of the work we all do.

Congratulations, Mary Hunt. It is our great joy to stand with all of those people and organizations that you have stood behind, to applaud you for your passionate commitment to community development in West Virginia.