Create West Virginia

Creative Cone Awards Announced

There are literally hundreds (thousands?) of creative people in communities throughout our state taking a leadership role by sticking their neck out to instigate positive change. To honor their work and to honor the work of specific individuals who have earned our respect and admiration for their creative accomplishments, the Create WV team launched the first "Creative Cone" awards on the last day of the conference.

Why a "creative cone"? Because we're all working in creative communities "under construction." Some communities are a little further down their path, but we're all at various stages.

Please join us in celebrating the work of this year's honorees:

Jeanne Mozier, Berkeley Springs - We're not sure it's possible to think of Berkeley Springs without thinking of Jeanne. She's the entrepreneurial heart and soul behind the creative power of this little town in Morgan County who has earned multiple "top arts town" designations and is the first certified arts community in West Virginia.

Keith Pauley, Charleston - Keith is the CEO of MATRIC, the research non-profit launched in 2004 that has put the Kanawha Valley on the R&D map again by putting Ph.D.'s back to work in the Kanawha Valley. Under Keith's leadership, MATRIC has hired dozens of new highly-paid researchers and spawned new commercial companies from their work.

Marlon LeBlanc and Jason Staples, Morgantown - OneWVU arose, according to Sharon Mallow, program coordinator for the President’s Office for Social Justice, after an incident occurred at the University in which a student athlete was called a racial slur. WVU soccer coach Marlon LeBlanc has been a founding visionary leader for the initiative, and Jason Staples a key leader in delivering tangible efforts to build awareness and commitment to diversity at West Virginia's flagship university.

Reverend Matthew Watts and Reverend Ron English, Charleston - West Virginia has had its share of ugly incidents and bad PR in the past year that forced us to ask many difficult questions to confront both our public image and our personal commitments. Luckily, we have two long-time civil rights and community champions working in Charleston who have helped build connections, share balanced insights via the media, and championed the urgent need for the Kanawha Valley and all of West Virginia to value its citizens from all ethnic, racial, and age backgrounds. Their accomplishments are too numerous to name, but their impact is felt across many realms such as mentoring youth, creating job opportunities and building diversity leadership.

Dr. Stephen Kopp, Huntington - Dr. Kopp is a champion of building creative communities in West Virginia through 21st century education, technology and research. Under his leadership, Marshall University has aggressively launched their implementation of "Bucks for Brains" and personally participated in the Create Huntington initiative. Dr. Kopp is a passionate, shining example of how leaders in our state can lead us into the new economy and greater prosperity.

As we mentioned earlier, there are many, many folks doing fantastic creative work throughout the states. But we thank the honorees above for their examples of leadership and creative problem-solving in our great state. Thank you to all of them for their leadership!

Pre-Conference Thoughts: It's Been a Creative Year!

As we get set to launch the Create WV 2008 Conference today, we asked ourselves "Has there been any impact on West Virginia in the past 12 months? Do we see tangible progress towards building the New Economy?"

We asked in a survey "Is your community actively including key pillars of building creative communities for the new economy in your local growth and development plans?" And here's what you said:

• We're actively infusing new economy thinking into our plans - 33%
• We're just getting started, but we're committed - 38%
• Not sure - 5%
• Not yet - It's not well understood, but we're open to the possibility - 14%
• Not at all - It's not understood or accepted in our area - 10%

That's pretty good momentum. We also asked you to help us build a list of what's going on out there. And boy did we come away feeling excited! Here are just a FEW of the highlights from the last 12 months:

QUALITY OF PLACE

• Community Development Hub launched
• 40% increase in total arts funding in West Virginia
• Create Huntington and the Old Main Corridor Project
• WV Music Hall of Fame launched
• Chuck Mathena Center in Princeton opened
• Gary Bowling's House of Art opened in Bluefied
• Clay Center Community Arts Programs in Mingo, Logan, Kanawha, Lincoln, Clay
• 30th Anniversary of the Morgan Arts Council!
• American Mountain Theater opened in Elkins
• Pocahontas County Artisan Co-Op and Opera House
• Charleston's East End Wi-Fi program launch

DIVERSITY

• Diversity Leadership Academy and Communities United Against Hate forums in Charleston
• One WVU Campaign
• Five Inclusive Communities program members in WV: Morgantown, Parkersburg, Clarksburg, Huntington, Ranson
• "Communities in Schools" in Greenbrier County

TECHNOLOGY and R&D

• Bucks for Brains and Bucks for Jobs program passes
• NETL Tech Support Facility in Morgantown
• CWP Inc - Fossil fuels research partnership with WVU, Carnegie Mellon and Pitt
• Statewide broadband plan revealed
• Robert C. Byrd Science and Tech Center at Marshall
• Marshall Institute for Interdisciplinary Research launched
• MATRIC expansion in South Charleston
• Tech Connect WV reveals Blueprint for Tech-Based Economic Development
• State support for SBIR grants
• Blanchette Rockefeller Neurosciences Institute
• WV Angel Investor Network

EDUCATION AND TALENT

• 21st Century Learning Initiative by WV Dept of Education
• Center for Educational Technology at Wheeling Jesuit
• STEM initiative at Marshall University
• Come Home to WV campaign by WV Dept of Commerce
• Globaloria program - learning via online gaming

We know there are more, so please take the 5-10 minute survey to let us know what is going on in your community! There is nothing better to build momentum in our state than to share the progress that is happening in every county.

Snowshoe Mountain to Host, Learn From Create WV

(Snowshoe, W.Va.) – As Snowshoe Mountain Resort prepares to host the Create WV Conference, October 20-22, the resort is looking forward to welcoming hundreds of attendees to the mountaintop. But the exposure and visitation is not the only thing exciting Snowshoe’s top executives; the mountain’s leaders are also planning on attending many of the Conference’s sessions, positioning Snowshoe as an active part of West Virginia’s future.

“This conference is important for West Virginia’s future and for the future of Snowshoe Mountain,” explained Bill Rock, president and chief operating officer of the resort. “Our customer base can go anywhere for their vacation, but there is something special about West Virginia and the natural beauty and excitement that visitors find here. What we never forget at Snowshoe is that we have to pair that organic experience with exceptional costumer service and amenities. That’s what brings people back time and time again, and what has made Snowshoe the state’s top tourism destination.”

The Create West Virginia Conference, which is expected to bring 300 visitors to the mountain, will provide training to leaders of all types, including planners, educators, elected officials, community developers, entrepreneurs, artists and business owners. With an overall focus on helping West Virginia communities prepare for growth in the new “Idea Economy”, the conference has an exciting agenda of workshops, keynote presentations, panel discussions and break-out sessions. Attendees will be able to choose from several specific learning tracks or content areas, including place, education, tolerance, technology, and business.

“I think that this approach to economic and community development is a dynamic one, and one that can truly help West Virginia and its citizens enjoy a brighter future,” continued Rock. “I’ve encouraged several representatives from our management team to participate in the conference, and I hope that our resort leaders can also become leaders in the state.

“We believe that this type of discussion will help attract new, creative talent both to the resort and to the state, as well as allow the young people in this state to stay home and find the creative, lucrative jobs that they desire. I’m thrilled that many of our local elected officials and community leaders will be attending, and I look forward to the positive ideas and actions that come out of this type of gathering.”

Create WV Chairman Jeff James affirmed Bill Rock’s observations, “I really believe that as we help shape a larger and more vibrant creative community outside the boundaries of the resort, we are really helping Snowshoe to attract and retain high caliber talent. That will certainly provide a competitive advantage for them.”

To register for the conference, interested parties should go to the event registration Web site at www.CreateWVEvents.com or call (304) 342-6970. For more information about Snowshoe, please go to (www.SnowshoeMtn.com). Finally, for more information about the Create WV initiative, a project of Vision Shared, please visit (www.CreateWV.com).

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Create Huntington Wants to Bridge Gaps, Welcome Diversity

The Huntington Herald-Dispatch has tuned into the grass roots movement Create Huntington and the peoples' efforts to forge an exciting future for West Virginia's "other" major college town:

Marshall President Stephen Kopp and Huntington Mayor David Felinton established a steering committee for the Create Huntington project, which asks, what’s your vision for the city of Huntington?

As part of the steering committee’s search for a livable, progressive, creative community, they learned that the city has a rich cultural history. Prospects for the city seem favorable for attracting the creative class, who can choose where they work and live thanks to communications technology. Specifically, the group wants to connect the dots from missing components to ideas that will increase the city’s uniqueness and livability.

There is great momentum, passion and leadership in Huntington - the recipe for meaningful change. You'll learn more about what's going on in Huntington in the Resources & Tactics track at the Create WV Conference Oct 20-22 on Showshoe Mountain.

Need a Good Real Estate Investment? Follow an Artist

We were happy to find yet another validating article that reinforces one of the strategies we've championed via Create WV. BusinessWeek outlines why artists are a driving force in redevelopment:

The reason is that artists are happy to move where real estate investors aren't prepared to go—crime-ridden inner cities with trashed-out apartments, inside rat-infested buildings that seem destined for the wrecking ball.

Artists aren't looking for the next hot neighborhood, just large, affordable spaces where they can grind, hammer, saw, and generally make a racket in the name of creativity. But they often set the stage for redevelopment, and home buyers who follow their lead can sometimes get in while real estate prices are affordable.

Can this model work in rural, small town West Virginia? It can, and it has. Artists were core drivers in the success of Berkeley Springs and Lewisburg. Small cities such as Cumberland, MD, have used "arts and cultural district" designations to spark artist relocation programs, which in turn have sparked growth in their formerly dying downtown area.

Artists are artists due to many non-financial motivations, but one can't help but think if they positioned themselves as real estate tastemakers they could earn quite a bit as economic development consultants. At the very least, this growing awareness should generate more appreciation, inclusion and support for artists in your community and throughout West Virginia.

Is Charleston Dying?

West Virginia ends up at the bottom of a lot of "best of" lists, but Forbes Magazine seems to take particular sadistic glee in showcasing what they perceive as our unworthiness. The latest? Charleston ends up on their "Top 10 Fastest-Dying Cities" list.

Our capital city ended right up there with Flint, MI, Buffalo and Detroit as cities where people continue to migrate out and jobs are scarce. Granted, Charleston continues to lose population (prompting Mayor Danny Jones and other leaders to seriously consider metro government as a stop-gap solution). However, even Forbes acknowledges that our job situation isn't nearly as bad as the other "dying" cities:

Of all the cities on our list, only Charleston currently has employment above the national average. Though its economy has grown slowly and the population of the area is older and shrinking, the West Virginia capital is a transportation hub for the region and is home to the state's banking and health care industries, as well as a cultural center.

Is Charleston dying? With the rise of FestivALL, the Clay Center, Appalachian Power Park and many other positive developments, it sure doesn't feel that way.

One discouraging impact of these lists, however, is the attitudes that can develop after so much bad news. Take a look at the "comments" section of the Charleston Daily Mail article about this ranking, and you get the sense that Charleston residents are pretty negative about their future. That's not a good sign. If we want our communities to change, it will be up to us...not the evil "others" who often get blamed for the state of affairs.

Charleston is a great small city. Visit almost any city of its size and you have to come away feeling pretty positive about what we have. The big question - how can we turn around the growth trends and get more people excited about this area?

Got a Cool Downtown?

Blue Ridge Country magazine would like to write about it. Blue Ridge Country magazine is asking for possible entries for its November/December feature on downtowns, big and little, of  Appalachia. If your downtown has done something unique and exciting for its revitalization, revision and reinvigoration, the magazine would like to know. Submit entries to Tricia Sizemore at [email protected] by August 15 with a brief description, relevant Web address(es) and contact information for organizations in the town.

Is the Future Bright for Small Towns?

Although the vast majority of Americans live in urban areas (83.5%), would they change their geographic location to a smaller community if given the opportunity? Several indicators point to a strong affinity for smaller communities. From a recent BizJournals article:

• A 2005 poll by Where to Retire magazine found that only 8 percent of respondents were planning to spend their golden years in urban centers. The other 92 percent were opting for retirement in rural towns or suburbs.
• Thirty-nine percent of Americans surveyed by Adweek in 2002 chose small towns as the best places to live, citing "sense of community" and "friendlier people" as the key reasons. Suburbs and big cities were picked by 27 percent and 21 percent, respectively.
• A 1998 poll by Professional Builder magazine asked participants to select the ideal site to build a home. Two-thirds said they would break ground far from any major city.

Unfortunately, few act on these desires for simpler, more sustainable living arrangements. Forces beyond their control (at least their perceived control) seem to keep them tethered to larger, more expensive urban centers. Probably the most obvious of these forces is job opportunities, although as telecommuting grows this may wane as a barrier.

Some are bucking the trend, however. The U.S. Census Bureau recently reported that 235,000 families moved from metropolitan areas to nonmetropolitan regions in 2006 -- an average of 640 families per day.

In addition to the obstacle of a perceived lack of job opportunities in smaller cities and towns, there are other obstacles that need to be overcome in order to encourage urban dwellers to spread out:

• Cultural amenities - While there is no way a smaller city can match the breadth and depth of cultural offerings in a San Francisco, New York or Chicago, there are often "enough" cultural assets to assuage the fear that a small city is a cultural backwater. And when the average adult tallies up how often they attend the ballet or a concert, it may not be worth the extra cost and frustration of living in a larger city. It may be more cost effective to take a couple of "big city" getaways while living in a smaller area. 
• Diversity - For the growing number of 1st and 2nd generation immigrants, having an established immigrant community is very attractive. And even non-immigrant families are attracted to the rich cultural diversity of larger cities. Many smaller cities lack this, making it more difficult to attract newcomers.
• Modern Housing - Many smaller communities, having lost quite a few citizens over the years, are often stuck with older housing stock that - while inexpensive - is unattractive for new families or established, career-minded families.
• Academic Options - Heads of career-minded families are often concerned about the quality and diversity of academic options in a smaller area, both for their children and themselves for ongoing career growth.

Many of the top small cities are located near larger metro areas (e.g., Morgantown, WV), thereby alleviating some of these obstacles. Cities like Charleston are not so close to major cities and must invest in overcoming these obstacles.

West Virgina small cities ranked fairly low in BizJournal's list of 140 "Micropolitan" areas with population between 10,000 and 50,000 residents and with a regional population of at least 65,000 (larger regions such as Charleston and Huntington were not eligible for this list): Beckley #79, Clarksburg #101, and Bluefield #119. West Virginia's low rankings had a lot to do with past population loss and low job growth. Here is a list of how BizJournals.com developed their rankings.