Entrepreneurship plays a vital role in economic growth. According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, in 2015 startups that were less than a year old created 3 million jobs. The National Small Business Associations’ 2016 Year-End Economic Report showed that small business owners were anticipating economic expansion in 2017 to increase significantly, the highest indicator reported since 2008.
“West Virginia is a very small state, and we have every problem in America, but we are small enough to be able to—if we stack our hands and have courage and have the will—solve our problems. We have to start right here and right now.”
West Virginia’s colleges and universities are not only critical for improving the state’s educational attainment and training the state’s workforce, but they are also economic drivers in their communities and the state as a whole.
The new secretary of the West Virginia Department of Commerce is no stranger to promoting economic development. A thriving entrepreneur, engineer and business owner, Woody Thrasher has proven himself to be a successful businessman and is now tasked with putting those skills to work managing the state’s commerce department, bringing new businesses to West Virginia and helping diversify the state’s economy.
In an effort to celebrate elite lawyers produced by the Mountain State who are solving problems and striving for balance, the West Virginia University (WVU) College of Law and West Virginia Executive magazine teamed up to create the Lawyers & Leaders honors program. This program recognizes the accomplishments of legal professionals who have made a positive impact on the state and the nation, who have dedicated their careers to serving others and their communities and who go above and beyond to make West Virginia and the U.S. better places to live.
Two West Virginia nonprofit organizations are doing their part to fight for the Mountain State’s future through important research, data collection and reporting. The Cardinal Institute for West Virginia Policy is dedicated to researching, developing and communicating effective public policies and acting as a voice for free market, and the West Virginia Center on Budget & Policy is a policy research organization that supports informed public dialogue and policy. Through the information these two independent organizations provide, policy makers gain knowledge, perspective and guidance to assist in facing the great task at hand: finding a solution to the ongoing budget deficit by jumpstarting the economy, creating jobs and diversifying the state’s industries.