By Courtney Sisk
In corporate America, the purpose of having a meeting, conference or retreat is to provide an environment in which a company’s team can exchange ideas, develop solutions, drive business and strengthen relationships. Conference spaces around the country come in all sizes, accompanied by a long list of available amenities. The decision on how to choose one location over all the others can be a tough one to make.
What people all over the country and from all industries are coming to realize is that West Virginia’s many unique features and opportunities not only meet a planner’s event criteria but, in many ways, exceed them. From small gatherings to large conferences, historical tours to team building exercises, West Virginia has the resources to accommodate groups of all sizes and ensure meetings are successful in every aspect. Whether meeting planners are looking for a grand banquet hall or a state-of-the-art conference room, it’s available in West Virginia.
Planning Your Trip
The West Virginia Division of Tourism’s Web site is often the first stop for meeting planners and group travel coordinators who are researching the state’s regions and attractions. Through the site, they can develop travel itineraries and map out their trips, adding stops or sites they want to include in their visit, then share these online travel plans with their groups.
In addition to the Web site, visitors can get planning assistance from travel counselors by calling the tourism department’s toll free number, (800) CALL-WVA. The tourism department also has a full-time group coordinator on staff. Kathy Johnson acts as the liaison between the meeting planners and the private sectors.
“The main reason people want to hold their meeting or conference in West Virginia is because it’s more cost effective here than other states,” says Johnson. “West Virginia also offers very unique venues and activities, and we’re not far from major cities.”
As a matter of fact, West Virginia is centrally located between the Mid-Atlantic and the southeastern U.S., a location that puts it within a day’s drive of more than 75 percent of the United States’ population. This close proximity to so many people makes the Mountain State an ideal destination for both frequent meetings and annual conferences.
Whether traveling by car or plane, it’s easy to get to the Mountain State from almost anywhere. West Virginia sits at the crossroads of six interstates: I-64, I-68, I-70, I-77, I-79 and I-81. It is also home to eight commercial airports, many of which offer direct flights to major regional hubs. For visitors in the Washington, D.C. area, the MARC Rail’s Brunswick Line will bring them by train to Harpers Ferry and Martinsburg in the Eastern Panhandle.
When planners begin to explore which city or region of the state they would like to visit, the local convention and visitors bureaus (CVB) and chambers of commerce prove to be sources of valuable information. CVB staff members can help people make the right local connections so their trip to West Virginia is a memorable one. Specifically, a CVB can help in selecting the right event facility and assist with pre-event planning and arrangements, as well as itineraries for attendees and their families.
In Jefferson County, the most visited county in West Virginia, the local CVB has developed special itineraries to suit different schedules and interests, which can be viewed at www.wveasterngateway.com/itineraries.php. They can also create an individualized itinerary for those guests with specific needs. In Southern West Virginia, the local CVB can assist with brochure mailings, local tour information and visitor center information displayed at your meeting or conference.
A Nationally Recognized Destination
The nation’s leaders are recognizing that West Virginia is one of the premier places in the country to hold a major event. The Mountain State will host the nation’s governors for the National Governors Association’s (NGA) Summer Meeting in July 2015.
NGA’s nine-governor executive committee selected West Virginia over several other states because of its excellent accommodations and venue options, as well as its overall appeal. The state’s strong bid demonstrated its ability to meet all of the association’s criteria for hosting a summer meeting, including hotel and meeting space, transportation requirements and security and volunteer needs.
“I’m thrilled to have the opportunity to showcase wild, wonderful West Virginia to my colleagues from across the country,” says West Virginia Governor Earl Ray Tomblin. “White Sulphur Springs is one of West Virginia’s small town gems, and I’m confident this will be a productive and memorable experience for everyone involved.”
In addition to the recognition from the NGA, the city of Charleston was awarded the distinction of hosting the Travel South USA Domestic Showcase in February 2014.
The domestic showcase is an event for southern tourism organizations to connect with qualified tour operators focused on developing southern tours. As the host city and state, Charleston, WV had the unique opportunity to highlight its tourism products while providing a first-class experience for more than 500 delegates in attendance.
The reasons Charleston was chosen for the showcase include the city’s 3,500 citywide hotel rooms, with more than 1,400 in downtown Charleston alone, and its easily navigable downtown area, which is full of thriving, local restaurants and unique shops.
Charleston is also the perfect gateway to other West Virginia activities. The Mountain State is known for its skiing, world-class zip line canopy tours, whitewater rafting, ATV trails, golfing, hiking, fishing, rock climbing, mountain biking, canoeing and kayaking. All of these adventures and more are within an hour’s drive or less of Charleston.
And what would West Virginia’s outdoor adventures be without participation from the Boy Scouts of America (BSA)?
In 2013, more than 50,000 Boy Scouts and their leaders attended what was one of the largest events ever held in West Virginia: the National Scout Jamboree.
The jamboree was held at the Summit Bechtel Family National Scout Reserve, a 10,600-acre site in the New River Gorge near the towns of Fayetteville, Mount Hope and Glen Jean. The site lies adjacent to more than 70,000 acres of the New River Gorge National River area, providing the Scouts easy access to activities such as whitewater rafting, hiking, bicycling and rock climbing.
The work to attract the event to West Virginia started in 2007, when the BSA decided to move the National Scout Jamboree from its former location on a Virginia military base to a permanent facility that the organization would own. West Virginia competed in a nationwide search to become the new host to the Scout camp. Proposals were submitted for 82 sites in 28 states.
Candidate sites were required to be at least 5,000 acres in size, lie within 25 miles of interstate highways and near adequate medical facilities and have spectacular scenery as a backdrop for recreational activities. Gary Hartley, spokesman for the BSA, says two deciding factors in the Scouts choosing the Fayette County location were its access to outdoor recreation and its location to population centers on the East Coast.
“This is a beautiful state with a great outdoor environment and, even more importantly, great people,” says Hartley. “Everyone from government officials to the locals really pulled together to make it a phenomenal success.”
The next national jamboree will be held in 2017. In 2019, the reserve will host the World Scout Jamboree, the first time in more than 40 years that the event has been held in the United States. The World Scout Jamboree is expected to draw 100,000 Scouts from more than 160 countries and territories around the globe.
West Virginia’s capabilities to provide meeting space and entertain all age groups is a best-kept secret—but not for long. As Travel South, the National Governors Association and even the Boy Scouts of America will tell you, events of all sizes and purposes find great success along the rivers and throughout the hills of the Mountain State. For more information or for help in planning your next meeting or conference in West Virginia, visit www.wvtourism.com.
