BY EMMA PEPPER, DIRECTOR OF STRATEGIC NETWORK COMMUNICATIONS, THE HUB

Congratulations to the City of West Huntington, Mingo County Redevelopment Authority, and Economic Development Greater East (EDGE) for being selected to be a part of the Rural Economic Development Innovation (REDI) initiative provided through the U.S. Department of Agriculture!

Through the REDI initiative, these groups and associated communities will receive free technical assistance for up to two years to help create and implement actionable economic development plans.

Actionable actionable economic development plans include:

• Evidence-based assessments;
• Quantifiable goals;
• Plans to improve the local and regional economy; and
• Metrics to track implementation and progress.

The USDA’s Innovation Center created REDI to support recommendations identified in the Report to the President from the Interagency Task Force on Agriculture and Rural Prosperity.

BY CAITLIN TAN FOR WEST VIRGINIA PUBLIC BROADCASTING

Walking down the streets of Greensboro, Pennsylvania, it feels a bit like a ghost town. There are houses, business signs, a post office, but only two cars drive by in 10 minutes and no one is walking the streets.

The small town in southern Pennsylvania is just across the West Virginia border. It sits on the banks of the Monongahela River, surrounded by small hills and patches of trees. In years past, the town has weathered the boom and bust of a pottery industry, river trade and coal. Lately, it has been more bust than boom.

But now, some artists are trying to stimulate the local economy using what they know best: creativity…

Read/listen to the full story on the WVPB site »

BY ERIN BECKER, CHIEF MARKETING OFFICER, WV FOREST PRODUCTS COOPERATIVE

The West Virginia Forest Products Cooperative (WVFPC) will host an Open House to show of its brand new state-of-the-art manufacturing space and talk about its role in revitalizing Appalachia’s economy through developing the value-added forest products industry.

Event Details:

Dates: Friday, April 26 and Saturday, April 27
Times: 9am to 4pm
Location: 325 Hardwood Ln, Princeton, WV 24740

The event is open to the public and is especially geared toward those with interest in woodworking and wood manufacturing. Anyone who is interested can stop by at any time during the 2-day event to tour the space, meet the staff, see equipment demos, and enjoy refreshments.

The WVFPC is a nonprofit whose mission is to support artisanal forest products businesses by providing access to state-of-the art manufacturing equipment, ongoing technical training, business coaching, and product marketing through its website.

Environmental sustainability is also a large focus at the WVFPC, which takes care to use only wood sourced from sustainably managed Appalachian hardwood forests and to always look for ways to lower its environmental impact.

“Our goal is to establish West Virginia as a national center of expertise for sustainable hardwood forest management and innovative wood products manufacturing,” says CEO and Founder Joseph Howard.

The space is equipped with several CNC (Computer Numeric Controlled) machines, 3-D printer, Laser Cutter/Engraver, 6-head moulder, plus a variety of legacy woodworking tools. “Since we got started in October 2018, our small team has been working hard to order our machinery and get it up and running, and now we’re ready to show everyone what we can do,” says Chief Marketing Officer Erin Becker.

For more information about the WVFPC, visit them on the web at wvfpc.com and on Facebook @wvfpc. Also feel free to email at info@wvfpc.com or call at 304-716-4846.

BY EMMA PEPPER, DIRECTOR OF STRATEGIC NETWORK COMMUNICATIONS, THE HUB

WV Forward, the Office of U.S. Senator Shelley Moore Capito, WV Department of Commerce, Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond and Claude Worthington Benedum Foundation put out an open invitation to stakeholders to discuss how to accelerate deal formation within designated West Virginia Opportunity Zones at three events coming up in Morgantown, Shepherdstown, and Charleston.

The invitation states that investors, lenders, developers, property owners, entrepreneurs, business owners, lawyers, accountants, researchers, startups and community and economic development professionals are welcome to attend free of charge. The event organizers also encourage others to join.

Event details:

Morgantown, WV
Thursday, April 25, 2019
3:30pm – 5:30pm
Partnered with the WV Bioscience Summit.
Life Sciences Showcase and Reception immediately to follow panel discussion.
Marriott Hotel at Waterfront Place,
3 Waterfront Place, Morgantown, WV

Shepherdstown, WV
Friday, April 26, 2019
9:30am – 2:00pm
Shepherd University 
Robert C. Byrd Center for Congressional History and Education (CHE), 
213 N. King St., Shepherdstown, WV
Lunch provided w/ RSVP

Charleston, WV
Monday, April 29, 2019
10:30am – 3:00pm
WV Regional Technology Park, Building 2000,
1740 Union Carbide Drive, South Charleston, WVLunch provided w/ RSVP

Head to the RSVP page »

FROM THE APPALACHIAN REGIONAL COMMISSION

“Economic resilience [is] the capacity of a local economy—town, county, or region—to recover or bounce back from an ‘economic shock.’ Economic shocks can come in many forms, such as the Great Recession of 2008 or a major employer shutting its doors. Understanding what makes a community resilient to an economic shock is very important and can help communities in the transitioning Appalachian economy.”

This is the central theme in Strengthening Economic Resilience in Appalachia, a new study published [last] week by ARC identifying factors common across communities experiencing persistent economic growth despite economic disruptions. The report includes a statistical analysis of key factors common to economic resilience, as well as a guidebook featuring ten communities that have rebounded after experiencing significant economic shocks. Using 35 measures of demographics/mobility; economics/industry; and community/health, each of Appalachia’s 420 counties was given a “resilience score.” From there, researchers conducted further analysis and field interviews to identify commonalities across counties with higher resilience scores.

In the accompanying Guidebook for Practitioners, case studies from counties in the Region and across the country offer additional insight into how communities have rebounded from the Recession and other dramatic economic changes in mining, manufacturing, hospitality, education, transportation or similar industries. These findings can successfully inform economic development strategies across Appalachia.

“This research highlights what we see every day at ARC—examples of Appalachian communities exhibiting resilience despite significant economic disruptions,” said ARC Federal Co-Chair Tim Thomas. “Communities which are thoughtfully investing in community infrastructure, capitalizing on cross-collaboration, and cultivating entrepreneurship are driving the Region’s economic future.”

The research was conducted by Downstream Strategies, Dialogue + Design and Associates, the Northeast Regional Center for Rural Development, and West Virginia University with funding provided via ARC’s POWER Initiative.