Secretary of State Mac Warner is encouraging students to attend the 40th Annual Teen Entrepreneurship Summit at Camp Horseshoe in Tucker County June 11th through June 17th.
As the state’s registrar for all 103,000 entities conducting business in West Virginia, the Secretary of State’s Office is the first place an entrepreneur goes to start their business.
Since taking office in January, Secretary of State Mac Warner is doing all that he can to make it easy for people to start new businesses in the Mountain State. The Business & Licensing Division within the Secretary of State’s Office has already helped more than 4,400 new businesses get registered since Warner took office on January 16th. In addition, substantial improvements are being made to the agency’s website to make it more user-friendly and easier to file annual reports.
“We’re moving at the speed of business,” Secretary Warner said. “We’re working with our staff and the Legislature to make starting a new business in West Virginia as easy as one stop, one phone call, or one visit to our website,” he said.
Secretary Warner is particularly proud of his office’s growing relationship with the state’s young entrepreneurs. There are programs in place to assist young entrepreneurs in starting a new business which include waiving some registration fees for the first couple of years. Secretary Warner and his staff do all that they can to help promote opportunities for entrepreneurship education, such as the Teen Entrepreneurship Summit.
Enterprising high school students in West Virginia who have an interest in owning their own business are invited to attend the camp. The summit takes place under the guidance of the Ohio-West Virginia Youth Leadership Association. YLA is a wide-ranging charitable organization celebrating its 150th year of serving youth.
Students from across the state will learn the process of creating ideas, developing a business plan, building a team, and leading a successful business.
“Camp Horseshoe was built on valuing young people and giving them the skills they need to reach their potential. That’s what the Entrepreneurship Summit is about,” Regina Phillips, Horseshoe’s camp director, said of the program.
For six days, the Entrepreneurship Summit will bring together talented business leaders and resources to teach what it takes to thrive as an entrepreneur.
“A lot of the answers to West Virginia’s most pressing problems, from jobs to addiction to falling population, can be found in entrepreneurship,” said Riley Keaton, a counselor and former camper at Camp Horseshoe. “I’m excited to see Camp Horseshoe continue its history of being part of the solution here in West Virginia.”
Financial support is available for those students who need assistance. For more information, please visit https://yla-youthleadership.org/students-yla-camp-horseshoe/ or call Riley Keaton at Camp Horseshoe at 304-478-2481.
