Written by Jason Keeling on June 16, 2009
Last year a group of people celebrated West Virginia Day by logging-on to their computers. Instead of attending ceremonial events in recognition of statehood, they started typing. Their writings offer a glimpse at the best aspects of West Virginia and counter stereotypical notions of the state.
Saturday (June 20) marks the 146th anniversary of West Virginia’s statehood. This year West Virginia residents, expatriates, and general observers are invited to participate in another online discussion, but with a different focus.
‘A Better West Virginia Challenge’
The basic premise:
Identify an obstacle that hinders West Virginia and discuss its solution.
Address the above request as it relates to one (or more) of the following:
- Business / Economy
- Culture
- Education
- Environment
- Government
- Health / Wellness
- Technology
- Infrastructure
This challenge’s purpose is to get people thinking and talking rationally about obstacles/solutions within the state. Therefore, keep in mind that submissions and comments should be offered in a constructive fashion.
Can social media lead to social change? Some may doubt the likelihood. However, consider that the citizens of Iran are bombarding social media to demand fair elections, according to The New York Times. There is no reason West Virginians can’t use such technologies to effectuate progress in our state.
Bloggers: If you’d like to be participate in the “A Better West Virginia Challenge,” before June 20 at noon, email your completed post’s hyperlink to jason(at)keelingstrategic(dot)com. On West Virginia Day, the various submissions will be listed at aBetterWestVirginia.com and 304blogs.com.
Twitter Users: Provide your thoughts at Twitter.com and use the #aBetterWV tag at the end of your updates. As #aBetterWV tagged comments increase on Twitter, they will become visible at WVTweets.com.
General Readers: Your thoughts are equally important and can be submitted as blog comments to further perspective. You might notify former residents regarding the challenge. If you’re on a social network such as Facebook or MySpace, you might offer thoughts there.
Those with further questions: Please use above email. If necessary, contact me at (304) 989-3262.
Posted in West Virginia 
38 Comments »
Written by Jason Keeling on April 30, 2009
Today the Generation West Virginia Young Leadership Conference kicks off in Morgantown, an assembly designed to promote the cultivation of young talent throughout the state. Organizers invite readers to participate by spreading word and offering feedback via social media sites like Facebook, Twitter.com, LinkedIn, and the aBetterWestVirginia blog.
Generation West Virginia serves as the figurehead for various regional groups that have formed over the last several years, such as OV Connect (Wheeling), Young Emerging Leaders of the Mid-Ohio Valley (Parkersburg), Young Professionals Committee (Huntington), Generation Morgantown, and Generation Charleston. Affiliate organizations are also forming in Martinsburg, Beckley and Pendleton County.
Individuals involved with these groups have established local networking opportunities, professional development sessions, and various service projects. In a state traditionally pained by an exodus of young people, this is an encouraging trend.
Generation West Virginia is working to: (1) Identify and advance the interests of young people, age 21 – 45, in West Virginia (2) Promote the growth and success of local young talent organizations in West Virginia (3) Retain, attract, and advance young talent in West Virginia (4) Help make West Virginia a great place to live, work and play (5) Improve West Virginia’s image internally and externally.
The easiest way readers can help promote Generation West Virginia’s mission is by connecting with the organization and inviting others to do so via the following mediums:
Your ideas/thoughts/examples relating to the above five mission elements are valued, so feel free to comment on this blog regarding such. Here are some questions to consider as well:
What do you see as strengths of West Virginia in retaining our next generation of leaders, recruiting new young leaders, and creating opportunities for them to advance?
What to you see as weaknesses/challenges for West Virginia to effectively retain, recruit, and advance our next generation of leaders?
Lastly, for those who use Twitter, watch for updates (beginning around 2:00 p.m.) and communicate with
@GenerationWV throughout the conference, marking your correspondence(s) with the “#GenWV” hashtag.
Posted in Business, Culture, Economy, Education, Government, Media, Tourism, West Virginia 5 Comments »
Written by Jason Keeling on April 7, 2009
We’re taught from a young age the importance of history. By dissecting the past, we discover a greater understanding of where society has been and where society is going. Every country, state and community chooses to remember events, people, and circumstances that have influenced its identity.
In West Virginia, the 1921 Battle of Blair Mountain represents a time when workers were emboldened to overcome significant hardships, by marching for the right to unionize, earn a living wage and establish safe working conditions. The battle between the miners and coal company agents ended after U.S. troops intervened, but the fight itself was highly symbolic of the need to balance the interests of labor and corporations. Ultimately, reforms were made.
Blair Mountain was added to the National Register of Historic Places last month, after years of collective effort seeking the designation. Much of the 10-mile tract is currently owned by interests that practice mountaintop removal coal mining.
Now, after the fact, the state Division of Culture and History’s director has requested Blair Mountain be removed from the National Register due to a loophole relating to landowner preferences.
Today at HuffingtonPost.com, author Jeff Biggers discusses the original battle’s significance and comments on the current debate over the mountain’s future as it relates to strip-mining:
Blair Mountain represents an attitude that is as relevant today as it was in 1921; that the long-term jobs and safety and health of coal miners and coal mining communities must be placed above the profit interests of outside coal companies.
Readers, what do you think, does Blair Mountain represent something of importance to West Virginia, or should it be blasted into the past for the seams of coal beneath?
Posted in Culture, Economy, West Virginia 15 Comments »
Written by Jason Keeling on February 27, 2009
Today Newsweek featured an article highlighting the state Department of Commerce’s “Come Home to West Virginia” campaign, an effort to lure former residents back to the state. For years, leaders across the state have been searching for “the answer” to counter our image problem.
Sterotypes have plagued Appalachia since the 19th Century, and it seems that more than any other state in the region, West Virginia has been on the receiving end of such negative depictions. Various political, economic, and social factors have contributed to this phenomenona, and in fact, some of these stereotypes contain elements of truth.
Talk and Defensiveness
As someone who has participated in various “official discussions” regarding image improvement in West Virginia, I’ve observed a lot of talk and defensiveness. There’s much less focus on taking actions that will address the realities that contribute to these stereotypes.
It seems particularly ironic that government officials feel they are in the best position to re-brand the state, when in fact their decisions (or lack thereof) often perpetuate our stereotypes.
Highlighting our successes is certainly important, but to really change our image, the people have to solve the problems that inhibit us statewide and locally.
Actions Bring Change
This requires fostering our personal senses of leadership, caring about our health, supporting our entreprenerial spirits, eliminating bitterness and the entitlement mentality, expanding tolerance, making prudent environmental decisions, caring about those in our embattled areas, speaking out against cronyism, and holding our government officials accountable.
Granted, it’s sometimes difficult not to be cynical about the state’s image and future, but if we don’t stop waiting on someone else to save us, then change is going to come very slow, and it’s likely to be more of the same.
Posted in Culture, West Virginia 22 Comments »
Written by Jason Keeling on February 1, 2009
On this Super Bowl Sunday, as fans await the nation’s biggest game, consider how many West Virginians love football at all levels. While there have been several athletes from the state who ascended into the ranks of the National Football League, one of the most noteworthy is Randy Moss.
Football Finesse
In his first season, he scored the most touchdown receptions by a rookie and was named 1998 Offensive Rookie of the Year. He has been designated All Pro four times and selected for the Pro Bowl six times. In 2007, he set the NFL single-season touchdown reception record, and at this time last year, he was competing in Super Bowl XLII for the New England Patriots.
On the field, he is known for blistering speed, the ability to fool defenders, and tremendous catching skills. With such talent comes responsibility, and over the course of his football career, Moss has dropped a few balls in the game of life, with news media there every step of the way to amplify the negative.
It’s unfortunate that some people continue to identify Moss with past incidents and gaffes, instead of realizing his significant maturation. Pay attention and you’ll see that his focus no longer includes just football, but family and philanthropy.
Family and Philanthropy
Last year, Moss established Links for Learning, a foundation that will build learning centers to aid southern West Virginia’s most under served student populations. The first center is scheduled to be located in Moss’ hometown of Rand. In June, he hosted a tournament at Sleepy Hollow Golf Club in Hurricane to kick off fundraising efforts for the initiative.
Moss shanked several golf shots that day, but he was all smiles, as the event wasn’t about competition, but charity and goodwill. “It’s all about the kids,” he said.
In January, Moss traveled back to Charleston, where he donated clothing and distributed food at St. John’s Episcopal Church. This occasion was not announced to the media and unbeknownst to Moss, I was asked by one of his associates to be there.
The needy in attendance were glad to get warm clothing and appreciated being served a hot meal by a national sports celebrity. Moss exchanged smiles and good-humored banter with those in line. Despite the Patriots barely missing the playoffs this season, he received much encouragement. “I like you ’cause you could smoke T.O.,” said one gentlemen in reference to NFL receiver Terrell Owens.
“My son went to Dupont [High School] with Randy and he was a knuckle-head back then, but now I see a man who’s righting the ship,” said Jerry Hicks. “I appreciate that he’s giving back to the state,” added Kenneth Terrell.
As Moss continues to invest time, energy, and resources back into his home state of West Virginia, perhaps his critics will be dissuaded from naysaying and instead become compelled to give of themselves as well.
— Thanks to Sarah Cooper for the above golf photo and her other shots of the first Links for Learning event.
Posted in Culture, Education, West Virginia 7 Comments »
Written by Jason Keeling on January 2, 2009
Three years ago today, an underground explosion shook areas of Upshur County during the early morning. The blast, later determined as the result of lightning, occurred at International Coal Group’s newly acquired Sago Mine.
Thirteen miners were unaccounted for. By evening, family and community members had gathered at the Sago Baptist Church, while national and international news media arrived within the small town of Tallmansville. As rescue teams entered the Sago Mine, observers were hopeful for a result similar to Pennsylvania’s Quecreek Mine accident, in which every trapped miner was saved.
During the evening of Jan. 3, 2006, a miscommunication between rescuers was overheard, and via mobile phone, a bystander spread misinformation that 12 of the Sago miners were alive.
Soon afterward, ICG officials were informed of the situation’s reality, that 12 miners had perished. Company representatives waited almost three hours before relaying the correct information.
In the meantime, family members believed their prayers had been answered, joyously clinging to each other, holding candles, singing “Amazing Grace” and awaiting the miners’ arrival. Competitive news outlets compromised sound journalism, interviewing jubilant relatives live, and pasting front page stories with incorrect accounts that the men had survived.
Tragically, the families would soon learn that only Randal McCloy Jr. was alive. Their joy turned to sadness and anger. Instead of allowing the families to grieve in a private and dignified manner, cameras swarmed the scene like a perverse form of reality television.
Let’s remember the men who died in the Sago Mine, the surviving Randal McCloy Jr. and the affected families.
- Tom Anderson, 39, of Rock Cave
- Alva “Marty” Bennett, 51, of Buckhannon
- Jim Bennett, 61, of Phillippi
- Jerry Groves, 56, of Cleveland, W.Va.
- George Junior Hamner, 54, of Gladyfork
- Terry Helms, 50, of Newburg
- Jesse Jones, 44, of Pickens
- David Lewis, 28, of Phillippi
- Martin Toler Jr., 51, of Flatwoods
- Fred Ware Jr., 58, of Tallmansville
- Jackie Weaver, 51, of Phillippi
- Marshall Winans, 50, of Talbert
Posted in Business, Culture, Government, Media, West Virginia 2 Comments »
Written by Brian Alcorn on November 26, 2008
During a recent meeting of businesspeople in Morgantown, there was some discussion about the struggling economy. However, more emphasis was placed on methods to help each other cultivate opportunities, with less attention on gloom-and-doom thinking.
Networking expert Ivan Misner recently suggested at Entrepreneur.com that he would “refuse to participate in a recession.” This doesn’t mean putting your head in the sand. Instead, simply focus on what you have control over so that your business is not at the mercy of uncontrollable forces—like a down-turned economy.
During this meeting, two real estate executives discussed their economic outlook. Despite the condition of their industry, they projected sustained growth in 2009, and attributed such to the professional relationships they had worked to develop, which often lead to increased business.
You can’t hide from a recession, but it’s fully within your control to develop mutually-beneficial professional relationships. In your experience, how important are business relationships to weathering out an economic storm? Someone out there is positive about the opportunities that exist in the upcoming New Year, right?
~ Alcorn is an executive director with BNI.
Posted in Business, Economy 3 Comments »
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