The fourth iteration of the Hub Communities of Achievement Program (HubCAP IV) has concluded and our communities really showed up for the work. Cowen, Marlinton, Elkins, Petersburg, White Sulphur Springs, and Franklin took advantage of all the technical assistance offered and got moving on incredible studies and projects. Each community identified and worked on projects aimed at outdoor recreational tourism and attracting new opportunities for their towns. We spoke with some of the community team members as they wrapped up HubCAP IV and talked about what they’ve been working on over the course of the program.
Outdoor recreational tourism is something that communities across West Virginia have been focusing on as a growing industry in the state. West Virginia is poised to continue growing tourism as the natural wonders of the Mountain State continue to be developed and preserved to attract adventure seekers and give residents a chance to explore their home in a new way.
In this short series, we will highlight these Hub Communities in pairs to show the work happening across our communities and the state to grow West Virginia’s outdoor recreational economies.
Franklin and Cowen leaned into the HubCAP IV technical assistance (TA) grant funding to study ways to create an outdoor experience for citizens and visitors. In Franklin, the community-led team of volunteers decided to set themselves apart in the region by developing a unique outdoor experience: the team conducted a rock climbing feasibility study. Cowen looked to revitalize a historic and wonderful piece of land for outdoor gatherings with the development of the B&O Pond.
Franklin realized during the HubCAP IV program that they wanted to create something new and different to their town and county to attract outdoor recreation enthusiasts. After a discussion among community members, Franklin and Pendleton County realized that a study in rock climbing could help differentiate the community’s recreational draw from other communities in West Virginia.
“After a conversation with Franklin’s coach, Amanda Workman Scott, we decided that a study would be the perfect use of our (technical assistance) funding,” said Laura Brown, the Executive Director of the Pendleton County Economic Development Authority. “We are not only gathering current existing rock formations that are open for public use, but also gathering the data for private rock formations for future use. The study will give us a map to use internally as well as provide the state tourism office with information regarding tourism assets.”
Focusing on the rock study and rock climbing will set Franklin and Pendleton County apart as they navigate a way to join the growing movement of outdoor recreational economies. The study, conducted with the help of Downstream Strategies, will give the team a map of all the feasible rock faces that can be utilized to make the rock-climbing future of Pendleton County a reality.
The exciting possibility of a rock climbing tourist attraction has helped the town and county with their rebranding efforts. The county’s new slogan “Pendleton Rocks, Worth the Climb,” which came from a branding initiative with New South Media as part of the HubCAP IV technical assistance funds, shows the enthusiasm from community members to lean into this new phase of recreation in the county.
Studying natural assets is proving to be an increasingly beneficial development for Franklin and Pendleton County. Citizens have joined in to get involved and make this plan a reality. As the study continues, Pendleton County will lean into making it a destination for rock climbing, caving, slacklining, rappelling, and all the recreational outdoor activities that come along with focusing on the rock formations.
Cowen looked close to home for the recreational development project identified as part of their HubCAP IV technical assistance. Focusing on the B&O Pond, the community wants to create an outdoor gathering place just north of downtown, so the community can truly enjoy the natural beauty of the area and a small bit of history that is important to the area.
For years, the pond served as a place to provide water to service steam engines, and the site was a major repair hub for engines. During World War I and World War II, the site was the place that soldiers from West Virginia loaded onto trains to depart for and return from the wars.
Now, the area is being repurposed to create a place for the community. It has been a long-term goal of the Cowen community team to make the B&O Pond a place for families and Cowen citizens to enjoy.
With the help of HubCAP IV training and technical assistance funds, Cowen has started to work to transform the B&O Pond into a place to be active and spend time outdoors. Picnic tables have been placed around the pond, and the community is encouraged to enjoy the peace of nature by fishing and canoeing throughout the pond. As Jerry Dornburg, the Mayor of Cowen, says, “It is just the beginning of the plan created, thanks to studies from the WV Brownfields Assistance Center (a HubCAP IV partner).”
“The town is going to purchase a couple of floating docks to install for the local fisherman to launch and recover their kayaks and also for people to fish from,” Mayor Dornburg explains. “A walking trail will be developed once the area is cleared and the best route is determined. The town will also add a couple more tables and grills to the area. The team has worked with the WVU Brownfields Assistance Center to have a phase 1 environmental study completed.”
We are so excited to see our communities work so hard to transform their towns and economies…way to go!
The Hub’s Communities of Achievement Program (HubCAP) offers participating communities a time-tested curriculum to accelerate their community-led economic development efforts. We support community teams over a multi-year period to move forward a clearly defined community development project from initial idea to long-term implementation and financing. These projects are the spark for community revitalization including through activities such as building redevelopment, increasing business opportunities, and improving community engagement practices.
To learn more about HubCAP, reach out to Stacy Thomas at s.thomas@wvhub.org
Emma Byrne, Director of Impact We at The Hub are thrilled to announce the newest addition to our team, Emma Byrne. Emma
The West Side neighborhood of Charleston participated in the recent West Side Health Fair in Charleston. Lined up along the Kanawha River
As part of our work with the Building Resilient Economies in Coal Communities (BRECC) Initiative, The West Virginia Community Development Hub (The
Our work is made possible thanks to incredible partnerships with other community development organizations across the state. From local economic development authorities (EDAs) to state level nonprofits working to uplift communities, all of our partners are crucial in making West Virginia the best it can possibly be by working together.One partner that made our work truly profound this year is Coalfield Development. For years, Coalfield Development has worked to rebuild Appalachian communities by inspiring the courage to grow, activating the creativity to innovate, and cultivating communities of opportunity in central Appalachia.We are proud to be part of Coalfield Development’s ACT Now Coalition, a broad network of organizations working hand-in-hand to uplift communities throughout Southern West Virginia. The ACT Now Coalition is infusing more than $63 million into programs to help communities using business development, building revitalization, and so much more.The Hub is leading the Community and Business Resilience Initiative as part of the larger ACT Now Coalition to bring other partners with us to build up community and business resilience in the Coalition’s footprint.“For decades, we’ve known the economy of southern West Virginia needs diversification. Some progress has been made on this goal, but not nearly enough,” Brandon Dennison, CEO of Coalfield Development, said about the ACT Now Coalition. “ACT Now constitutes a tangible opportunity to take a major leap forward in this generational challenge to become a vibrant, growing, diversified economy. In the wake of continued coal-job losses, nothing could be more important for our region.”Our partnership with Coalfield Development is giving us a chance to take our work to new communities and to build upon our years of experience. Working alongside Coalfield Development in this large undertaking to bring $63.8 million to communities in Southern West Virginia is validation that the work happening to uplift West Virginia communities continues to grow.
The Hub works alongside communities across West Virginia coaching community teams as they come together to make transformative changes in their towns. In 2022, one town stands out for its continued work and unwavering commitment to making its community a place where people want to live, work, play, and visit.Petersburg, located in Grant County at the northernmost point of the Mon Forest, is filled with community members who want to make their town a destination. Not only have businesses opened, and stayed open, the town has transformed the way they present to the world through rebranding and outdoor recreational development.As part of the HubCAP IV program, Petersburg utilized its technical assistance to push forward with projects to bring transformative change to its community. Part of the work Petersburg worked towards was creating plans to pave a hike and bike trail that runs along the Petersburg dike. The proposed trail will run approximately three miles along the Petersburg dike and will include multiple entrances for walkers and bikers. The group secured a $25,000 grant from Senator Hamilton, which was matched locally by the City of Petersburg, the County Commission, and the Board of Education, each adding an equal share to bring the total to $50,000.This year, Petersburg witnessed a major upgrade to one of the town’s most iconic and historic structures: The Hermitage Inn. The hotel, which dates back to 1841, has been renovated and once again welcomes guests to stay the night and have a nice dinner in the restaurant.The Hermitage Inn is the first project initiated and completed as part of the Downtown Appalachia: Revitalizing Recreational Economies (DARRE) program. Seeing the old hotel returned to its majesty has been an incredible development for Petersburg adding another jewel to the downtown area.Seeing Hub communities come together to create transformative change thrills us. Community members are the subject matter experts on what their towns need. Our commitment to accompaniment and walking alongside communities as they do the hard work guides us in our work. Celebrating their victories with them gives us a moment to uplift those making the work happen.
Since 2018, The Hub has been working diligently to bring Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion into our work. For years, the organization has been working internally to expand on one of our core values: “We believe diversity creates strength.”We believe that now is a time when we must work from the ground up to commit to long-term efforts to build power through leadership development, programmatic strategies, and partnerships that commit to building power and advancing racial equity.Looking back at our organizational history, we acknowledge that our work in rural communities with populations of less than 15,000 has not reached a diverse cross-section of people in West Virginia. Because of this, we began to ask, “Who isn’t here?” when examining our involvement in communities. The social unrest in 2020 led us to examine our role in white supremacy, ableism, classism, and gender discrimination, and the ways we have perpetuated unjust systems in our communities and across West Virginia.Since 2020, our equity journey has included a staff racial equity learning series, making internal commitments to increasing our hiring and retainment of diverse staff including creating full-time Racial Equity Fellowship and VISTA positions, committing to increased coaching for rural communities of color across the state, and tackling the inherent challenges of advancing equity across the community development field within a highly rural, majority white state where Black and brown leadership has been historically marginalized and under-invested.Our belief in the power of local people to see the value and the potential of their place, and of each other, is at the core of our belief in the potential we have to build power in West Virginia to advance racial equity, inclusion, and accessibility while disrupting systems that have historically excluded some communities.We are committed to engaging in conversations to uplift communities and leaders of color to move from talk to action on why race matters in West Virginia as we work to disrupt these systems. We will support investment in Black-led organizations and rural Black leadership. And we are committed to driving public and private investments into these spaces, both organizational and geographic.
A core team led by Unleash Tygart, Inc participated in Opportunity Appalachia, receiving technical assistance to support a community development project located in an Opportunity Zone.
Core teams led by Thundercloud, Inc. and the City of Huntington participated in Opportunity Appalachia, receiving technical assistance to support community development projects located in Opportunity Zones.
A core team led by Crawford Holdings, LLC participated in Opportunity Appalachia, receiving technical assistance to support a community development project located in an Opportunity Zone.
Residents participated in round 4 of The Hub’s capstone Communities of Achievement program with a focus on building local recreational economies.
Residents participated in round 4 of The Hub’s capstone Communities of Achievement program with a focus on building local recreational economies.
Residents participated in round 4 of The Hub’s capstone Communities of Achievement program with a focus on building local recreational economies.
Residents participated in round 4 of The Hub’s capstone Communities of Achievement program with a focus on building local recreational economies.
Residents participated in round 4 of The Hub’s capstone Communities of Achievement program with a focus on building local recreational economies.
A core team led by Woodlands Development Group also participated in Opportunity Appalachia, receiving technical assistance to support a community development project located in an Opportunity Zone.
Residents participated in round 4 of The Hub’s capstone Communities of Achievement program with a focus on building local recreational economies. Read their community case study.
Residents participated in the Blueprint Communities* program to engage their neighbors and co-create strategic plans for their future.
Residents participated in the Blueprint Communities* program to engage their neighbors and co-create strategic plans for their future. Read their community case study.
Residents participated in the Blueprint Communities* program to engage their neighbors and co-create strategic plans for their future. Watch their community documentary.
Residents participated in the Blueprint Communities* program to engage their neighbors and co-create strategic plans for their future. Read their community case study.
Residents participated in the Blueprint Communities* program to engage their neighbors and co-create strategic plans for their future.
Residents participated in the Blueprint Communities* program to engage their neighbors and co-create strategic plans for their future.
Residents participated in the Cultivate WV program to kickstart community and economy building. Read their community case study.
Residents participated in the Cultivate WV program to kickstart community and economy building. Read their community case study.
It has been a year of abundant opportunities and partnerships across the state, and a year that has pushed all of us to work harder, faster, and smarter – together.At The Hub, we say that “the work works when you put in the work.” This means that our approach to community-based development, and individual leadership development, really does transform local communities, especially when we all work together for the same goal, and stay committed to working together for the long haul.In 2023, we continued to be amazed at the local leadership, drive and innovation we saw in communities throughout the state that are building locally-driven development from the ground up. Our network of community leaders, partners and opportunities keeps growing and shows no signs of slowing in 2024!
We extend our deepest gratitude to everyone for being part of the larger Hub community as we reflect on this year’s deep impact in West Virginia communities through our work. We are thrilled to have champions who believe in our mission that every community in West Virginia can achieve economic growth when they are supported with the tools and training they need to lead and spark positive change.
We believe strongly in the fact that putting in the work yourself to improve your neighborhood, your town, and our state is where true transformational change happens. With strategic partners and thought leaders like you in the work with us, we continue to be able to walk alongside community teams as they do the work to uplift their communities.Thank you to all of the community teams and leaders who are brave enough to keep showing up every day, and putting in thousands of hours of volunteer time to support your communities and the entire state. Your determination in the face of difficult work and far-off successes is something to applaud yourself for – and to celebrate.Whether you’re volunteering on the ground in your community, sharing our stories of hope with your friends and neighbors, or attending a virtual event with The Hub, your participation in our work is what keeps it going. Thank you for all your work and support this past year, and we are excited to continue in the work with you in 2024!In Continued Accompaniment,
