BY CHARLES BOOTHE FOR THE BLUEFIELD DAILY TELEGRAPH

Local, state and national dignitaries were in Welch Monday morning to celebrate the official groundbreaking of Renaissance Village, a housing project for teachers.

A $7 million project by the revitalization group Reconnecting McDowell, the four-story facility, which is located beside the movie theater in downtown Welch, will include 16 apartments designed specifically to house teachers, offering rental property at an affordable price.

It will also include retail commercial space…

Read the full story on the Bluefield Daily Telegraph site »

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 »