The name Mail Pouch usually evokes a visual image of an idyllic barn in a pastoral setting and an automatic sense of familiarity with the product. Perhaps the country’s most well-known outdoor advertising tool, the surviving landmark Mail Pouch barns are important and treasured pieces of Americana. What many people don’t know is that Mail Pouch Chewing Tobacco was a product of West Virginia.
It’s almost autumn—a time when the leaves change, the air gets crisp and apples and pumpkins come into season. West Virginia is a great location for celebrating the season, and we’re in no short supply of fall fest opportunities. Here, we have selected 15 notable festivals that provide an excuse to get out, see the foliage and maybe even eat some tasty treats.
The main streets in the Mountain State are alive and well, due in large part to Main Street West Virginia, a program that provides technical assistance to West Virginia’s nationally certified main street communities: Charleston East End, Charleston West Side, Fairmont, Kingwood, Mannington, Martinsburg, Morgantown, Philippi, Point Pleasant, Ripley, Ronceverte and White Sulphur Springs. These communities are learning how to make their revitalization efforts more effective with Main Street services and training customized to meet their local needs with the help of Main Street West Virginia State Coordinator Jennifer Ferrell. West Virginia’s main streets help showcase the best of the state and are a powerful force to meet the challenges of the 21st century.
For our first executive issue, the staff at West Virginia Executive went on the search for an experienced, widely-knowledgeable Mountain State professional who not only had a business that has exceeded the state’s borders but who could share with us important insight as to what is taking place in West Virginia’s business community.
Tim Warden has found a way to make his hometown the headquarters of one of the state’s most successful businesses in international operations. Engart Inc., a wet dust extraction company located in Beckley, was named the 2013 West Virginia Small Business Exporter of the Year by the U.S. Small Business Administration.
When I was acquiring a business six years ago, one of the people involved with the deal suggested I explore a business networking organization called Young Presidents’ Organization (YPO).