Building the Future

Southern West Virginia is experiencing no shortage of new accomplishments, from vibrant arts and cultural initiatives to advancements in health care. This momentum would not be possible, however, without the dedicated and passionate community members and professionals driving the region toward its fullest potential.

Community

In Southern West Virginia, community prosperity is key to success, and many organizations in the region are working toward that goal.

Robert Shafer, mayor of Summersville, says the town is working on amending its 50-year Federal Energy Regulatory Commission license to add a low flow unit to the city’s dam.

“We have two turbines that currently run the dam,” he says. “When flows get low, those turbines don’t generate power. Therefore, we’re looking at putting in a low flow unit to capture all flows released from the dam.”

Summersville is also enhancing its aesthetic quality through its beautification committee. Marianne Taylor, executive assistant to the mayor, says the committee is currently working on an outdoor space at the public library for children’s projects and outdoor reading.

The city’s homeless commission, made up of 25 community volunteers, has worked to help those in need by hosting resource fairs to provide things like hygiene kits, food and clothing. The Ministerial Association also hosts The Table, a free community soup kitchen.

“Summersville is really proud of our efforts to try to offer a hand to people who need it,” Taylor says.

Southern West Virginia also uplifts its communities by aiding local entrepreneurs with programs like Accelerate WV, which offers coaching, planning and funding for local economic resilience.

According to Judy Moore, NRGRDA deputy director and WV Hive executive director, the WV Hive is seeking a location for a food incubation hub to build a shared commercial kitchen for food and beverage entrepreneurs.

“In our Accelerate WV partnership with the WV Community Development Hub, we’re seeing tremendous impact because we are at the core of the community conversations,” Moore says. “We’re getting in touch with the leaders of communities who then connect us to the entrepreneurs we need to work with.”

Concord University is helping youth prosper, one example being its involvement in the Special Olympics. Concord partners with the Special Olympics year-round, often hosting events at the Carter Center or Callaghan Stadium.

“Our student athletes and coaches volunteer as support staff for Special Olympic events, and olympians are recognized in the fall with a signing day, making them an official part of the Mountain Lion family,” Lindsey Byars, director of marketing and public relations, says.

Ascend WV is expanding community in the New River Gorge and Greenbrier Valley. Emily Huguenin, director of talent attraction and retention for West Virginia University’s (WVU) Brad & Alys Smith Outdoor Economic Development Collaborative (OEDC), says 171 remote workers have relocated to the region through the program.

Huguenin also mentions First Ascent, an initiative aimed at offering remote, hybrid and entrepreneurial work opportunities. She says First Ascent has helped 20 recent university graduates launch careers in Southern West Virginia.

“Through talent attraction and retention, we are changing the narrative that quality of life and a successful career are only found by leaving,” Huguenin says. “Those whose jobs allow them to live anywhere are choosing West Virginia over anywhere else in the country.”

The City of Beckley has been promoting community through exciting partnerships as well, according to Director of Outdoor Development Mitch Lehman. These include the Beckley Outdoors Coalition, which promotes coordination and offers resources, and Beckley Area Trails, which works to build and maintain the town’s trail systems.

“This kind of grassroots involvement is critical to sustaining high-quality outdoor recreation infrastructure in the long term, and it’s been inspiring to see the level of energy and commitment they bring,” Lehman says.

Education

West Virginia’s education sector is constantly growing with new opportunities, and the story is no different in Southern West Virginia.

Becky Sullivan, executive director of the New River Gorge Convention & Visitors Bureau (CVB), says CVB staff is educating elementary school students on outdoor ethics through the Leave No Trace program.

“Within the next school year, we will go into the classrooms in Fayette County and cover all the elementary school age kids, fourth and fifth grade, to give them the Leave No Trace principles and lessons,” Sullivan says.

Lisa Strader, director at Visit Southern West Virginia, emphasizes the importance of the program in teaching outdoor ethics early.

“I think it’s a really good thing to teach at a very young age when a huge part of our tourism footprint is in parks, and if people don’t keep them clean and take care of them, we won’t have that anymore,” she says.

WVU Medicine Princeton Community Hospital is advancing education through a partnership with Bluefield State University, hosting eighth graders on campus who want to explore nursing careers. The hospital also provides post-secondary students with clinical hours and offers nursing students financial support and job placement through its Aspiring Nurses program.

“We are very active in supporting the next generation of nurses,” Karen Bowling, president and CEO of Princeton Community Hospital, says.

WVU Tech in Beckley is renowned for its STEM education. Ramon Stuart, president of WVU Tech, says this includes a top 100 engineering program, the state’s only four-year construction management degree and the number one return on investment of any other four-year institution in West Virginia.

“We know we can educate you, graduate you and elevate you,” Stuart says. “We are keenly focused on trying to create an environment where you want to live, work, play and raise a family in Southern West Virginia.”

Stuart believes a strong university-community bond—what he calls communiversity—can make this a reality. Recently, WVU Tech began matching scholarships at Shady Spring High School to support local students in pursuing higher education and has also launched an initiative to help out-of-state students find a home in the Mountain State.

“I believe one of our greatest exports in West Virginia, specifically Southern West Virginia, is the exporting of our educated young people,” he says.

Arts and Culture

Arts and culture help Southern West Virginians express creativity and celebrate what makes the region unique.

Moore says the WV Hive is advancing this mission by partnering with the Tamarack Foundation for the Arts through the West Virginia Creative Network program. This initiative will provide specialized training for WV Hive staff to enhance their ability to support artisan entrepreneurs.

“We all recognize—and see it happening across the state—that artisans are at the heart of revitalization efforts in many of our communities,” Moore says.

The NRGRDA and WV Hive are also developing PATTERN, a textile training and manufacturing initiative. The project aims to transform the bottom floor of a former manufacturing space in Beckley into an industrial sewing center, with the main floor serving as a small batch production facility.

“This all came from the fact that we had WV Hive clients coming to us with a product idea or interest in textiles and we didn’t have the resources, nor could we find the resources because they didn’t exist in the state. So, we’re developing it ourselves,” Moore says.

Strader says Beckley is amplifying its music scene through the new Bill Withers Park, a dedicated music space featuring outdoor instruments and a statue of West Virginia-born Bill Withers himself.

“The goal is to make it a 100% music park,” she says. “There will be murals and things as it moves along, and the annual Bill Withers music festival, which was hosted this year on June 28.”

Valerie Pritt, director of public relations at Experience Greenbrier Valley, says the Greenbrier Valley Theater has a stellar upcoming season with acts, including Beautiful: The Carole King Musical and The Burnt Part Boys.

“We’re very lucky to have a professional theater here in West Virginia, along with Carnegie Hall in our backyard you can walk to in two blocks,” she says.

Lewisburg—recently awarded Best Small Town Food Scene by USA Today—hosted the 100th annual West Virginia State Fair in August 2025 as well, which featured a variety of musical acts.

Outdoor Recreation and Tourism

Outdoor recreation and tourism are major draws in Southern West Virginia. Sullivan touches on tourism numbers, saying the New River Gorge has seen some exciting growth in recent years, including 1.8 million visitors and $1.2 billion of visitor spending in 2024.

Fayetteville Town Manager Matt Diedrich says Fayetteville will draw in visitors with a new boutique hotel, located on the site of the previous middle and high school, offering much-needed lodging and amenities.

“There’s a lot of history for those that went to school there, and it will be a neat lodging experience to add to the uniqueness we have with some of the Airbnbs and such in the area,” he says.

For trail development, Summersville is adding 15 to 20 miles of hiking, running and biking trails to its 128-acre recreation complex project that is currently underway. The complex will also include a dog park and an inclusive playground.

“The thing I always like to highlight about this complex is that it’s not being built by government,” Shafer says. “It’s being built by the citizens. All our various committees are loaded with citizens.”

Visit Southern West Virginia’s nine-county region is seeing new paths in areas like Needles Eye and Piney Creek. Using the Bandwango platform, Visit Southern has incentivized exploration by offering prizes for visiting sites—first with its New River Gorge, Beckley and Beyond passes and next with craft spirit trails.

“That has been very successful,” Strader says. “We kind of pitched that locally first, and it grew from there.”

Ascend Greenbrier Valley is spear-heading the development of new mountain biking trails and a stronger biking community through the creation of a new International Mountain Biking Association (IMBA) chapter.

“When Ascend Greenbrier Valley members realized a local mountain biking association would activate trail development and connectivity, they teamed up with other bike enthusiasts and started the first IMBA chapter in the region: Greenbrier Valley Off Road Biking Association,” Huguenin says.

The City of Beckley is also enhancing its mountain biking offerings with the development of a new beginner-friendly bike park near Elevation Sports. Designed to help newcomers build foundational skills, the park aims to make the sport more accessible to those wanting to get started.

“Because it’s located right next to local businesses, it also serves as an economic catalyst,” Lehman says. “We’ve found that proximity between recreation and commerce leads to more foot traffic, increased spending and stronger local economies.”

Lehman also mentions the New River Gorge Ride Center Initiative, led by the WVU OEDC, which is working to develop more than 50 miles of diverse mountain biking trails.

“The ultimate goal is to earn an IMBA Bronze-Level Ride Center designation, which would be a major win for the region,” Lehman says.

For tourists seeking a bit of adrenaline, a new mountain coaster, Brush Creek Holl’r, opened in Princeton this year.

“We’re excited for West Virginia’s first mountain coaster in Princeton,” Jamie Null, executive director for Visit Mercer County, says. “Riders can take in the beautiful mountain views while controlling their speed, which is part of what makes it fun for all ages.”

Mercer County also welcomes tourists with Huey, a mobile visitors center, which travels to local events and festivals. It also offers a Huey AI chatbot for visitor information.

“As the way people seek out travel information continues to change, we’ve evolved how we connect with them,” Null says. “In addition to our printed travel guide, we’re meeting visitors where they are with Huey. Whether it’s discovering a scenic trail or waterfall or finding local restaurants and events, Huey is always ready to help.”

Greenbrier is introducing a unique aspect of tourism through The Greenbrier Goat led by Aaron Coleman, where Coleman’s three pack goats will carry items for tourists traveling along the Greenbrier River Trail.

“You get to go and enjoy the scenery and hike along with Aaron and see all there is, but your equipment is being hauled by goats,” Pritt says.

Health Care

Southern West Virginia has made strides in expanding and improving care.

Joshua Cline, executive director of advancement at Concord University, says the university is working on a new, much-needed physician assistant program.

“The launch of our physician assistant program is going to be a big success story in how to better meet the health care needs of West Virginia, Appalachia and the world,” Cline says.

Raleigh General Hospital is training and retaining nurses as well with the implementation of a Patient Care Technician program, which helps nursing assistants gain credentials and certification.

“It’s taking individuals within the hospital and giving them that advanced certification or program so they’re better off to care for our patients, but it also gives them a pay increase and supports retention within the facility,” Courtney White, marketing director at Raleigh General Hospital, says.

On August 20 and 21, the West Virginia School of Osteopathic Medicine (WVSOM) hosted a groundbreaking ceremony for its new Greenbrier Valley Bio Hub as well as the WVSOM Bio Forum, which included discussions on how to develop more biology development and investment.

WVSOM collaborated with many organizations to develop this event, notably the West Virginia Department of Economic Development (WVDED).

“WVSOM is an osteopathic medical school, so collaborating with WVDED marks a new partnership, but it’s a mutually beneficial opportunity,” Don Smith, associate vice president of government and external relations and chief communications officer for WVSOM, says. “Research is a vital component of medical education, and the bioscience industry offers both educational and economic development opportunities.”

Bowling says two major projects are underway at Princeton Community Hospital—an expansion of its Bluefield campus and the development of a new cancer center.

The expansion includes a 24,000-square-foot addition, 18,000-square-foot renovation and elevated emergency and behavioral health services. The hospital’s new cancer center will bring its clinic, radiation oncology, infusion and surgical offerings all to one location.

“WVU Medicine’s continued investment in Southern West Virginia is not only improving access to high-quality care but also serving as a powerful economic engine,” Bowling says.