At the WV POWER Summit held November 17, 2021, more than 150 people interested in Appalachian Regional Commission POWER projects in the Mountain State came together to connect with peers, stakeholders, and funders; learn new skills; and build resilience for their work.
We’re sharing out videos from the panel discussions and the new POWER Talk documentary video shorts on this page. Watch the entire event on our YouTube channel.
Appalachian Regional Commission Federal Co-Chair Gayle Manchin discusses opportunities and innovation happening in the Mountain State as a result of federal funding with two West Virginia-based POWER grantees, Dave Clark (Woodlands Development Group) and Victoria Stansberry (Lewis County Commission).
How do you make your federally-funded project successful? Learn from current and recent-past West Virginia POWER grantees about key strategies for a successful launch; common challenges that happen at the start of a project and how to overcome them; tips for building strong partnerships and community advocates; and guidance on what they wish they had known at the very beginning to help set their projects on the path to success.
Host: Ralph Goolsby
Presenters: Jacob Hannah (Coalfield Development); Stephen Jones (Monongahela Outdoor Volunteers); Jeffrey Lusk (Hatfield McCoy Regional Recreation Authority); Ray Moeller (WVU Northern Brownfields Assistance Center); Ashley Shaw (Marshall Health CORE Program)
The ultimate goal of the POWER Initiative is to advance innovative economy-building strategies that continue on even after the grant funding ends. West Virginia POWER grantees share about the lessons learned as they moved into the mid-point and close-out phases of their POWER projects; tips for project pivots and course changes; and how they have built long-term sustainability into their programs.
Host: Monica Miller (M. Miller Development Services)
Presenters: Marjorie Cooke (Advantage Valley); Gene Coulson (National Consortium for Entrepreneurship Education); Joseph Howard (WV Forest Products Cooperative Inc.); Judy Moore (WV Hive Network); Derek Scarbro (Robert C. Byrd Institute of Technology at Marshall Univ.)
Learn strategies and guidance from successful previous POWER grantees, funders, West Virginia state-level Appalachian Region Commission leads, and the Appalachian Regional Commission POWER Program Coordinator. Panelists share strategies and best practices on putting together highly-ranked, competitive applications for technical assistance and implementation projects and tips on the timeline for putting together POWER project collaborations. Learn who you need to be working with, when you need to be engaging state and federal agencies, and how administrative agency partners may be able to help you put together a POWER project that scales your current work across multiple regions or states.
Host: Katie Loudin (WV Community Development Hub)
Presenters: Krista Cox (WV Community Advancement and Development at WV Dept. of Economic Development ); Mary Hunt (Claude Worthington Benedum Foundation); Braedon Koerwitz (ARC); Natalie Roper (Generation WV); Sarah Riley (High Rocks Education Corporation); Victoria Stansberry (Lewis County Commission); John Tuggle (Region IV Planning and Development Council)
Following are helpful resources for current and prospective Appalachian Regional Commission (ARC) POWER Grantees in West Virginia:
Check out the 2021 WV POWER Summit event page on our website, and view the entire event on YouTube.