It is great to be back on the Mountaineer Media blog! After writing a series of articles in 2021 and 2022, I had to step back because life got busy with career changes and various personal and professional pursuits. It wasn’t long after I “retired” from the blog that I started to miss the process of finding and writing about interesting Mountain State topics.

West Virginia is one of the most fascinating places in America. It’s a land of contrasts, born of secession from secession. When Virginia left the Union in 1861, leaders from the western part of the state said “No thanks” and created a new state.  Today, West Virginia is approximately a day’s drive from two-thirds of the US population, but it seems like a world away. When you travel through Canaan Valley, it’s hard to believe that the DC metro area is barely over two hours away.

Speaking of Canaan Valley, I just returned from Mountaineer Media’s Almost Heaven Classic. What an outstanding event! Friday evening featured a panel discussion between Sarah Biller, Brad Smith, and Brandon Dennison- three innovative West Virginians. All of them have been on the Mountaineer Media podcast, so be sure to check out those episodes and learn more about their amazing work! 

I had the pleasure of meeting Brandon over a decade ago, shortly after he started Coalfield Development Corporation in Wayne. I was a young financial representative trying to build my clientele, and I was referred to Brandon by a mutual friend. Brandon and I had an instant connection because we were both graduates of Indiana University. He had a really big idea- he wanted Coalfield Development Corp. to become an economic development engine for Southern WV.

His plan was to retrain displaced coal miners and transform dilapidated properties into affordable housing and other usable spaces. It was social entrepreneurship in action. Coalfield Development was and remains a nonprofit entity. 

I loved his enthusiasm, and he had a really clear vision, but I had doubts about the long term success of his venture. LOTS of people had already tried to jumpstart the Southern WV economy by offering retraining programs with little success. I quickly learned that Coalfield Development was different. Brandon provided the organization with uncanny leadership, and he and his team focused intently on their unique organizational strengths, rather than forcing themselves to follow the typical blueprint for displaced worker programs. While Coalfield Development is great at repurposing old homes and buildings, they are even better at cultivating new social and economic impact programs. According to their website, they’ve grown 72 new businesses! 

As Brandon demonstrated, innovation is not the same as thing as invention.

Coalfield Development didn’t invent a new gadget or technology. They found new ways to educate and inspire the community. Innovation is the creation of new value through new or reimagined products, services, or processes. We often think of places like Silicon Valley, North Carolina’s Research Triangle, or the Boston area as the hubs of innovation, but there are countless innovators right here in West Virginia. 

Before there was Silicon Valley, we had Chemical Valley in West Virginia. Union Carbide’s worldwide Research and Development Center was located in South Charleston. It is not an overstatement to say that the modern-day petrochemical industry was born in West Virginia.  Despite several decades of prosperity, the chemical industry in WV slowly declined throughout the second half of the 20th century. All businesses and industries have life cycles, and unfortunately for the Kanawha Valley, there were no other budding industries to take the place of chemicals. That said, the great thing about innovation is that it does not rely on existing processes. All it takes is one great idea to spark a new economic revolution in the Mountain State. 

Perhaps I’m hopelessly optimistic, but I think we’re on the cusp of a “West Virginia Renaissance,” to quote my good friend and WV entrepreneur, Terry Cyfers.

The University of Charleston, WVU, and Marshall all have centers and programs dedicated to innovation. Our business costs are the 3rd most favorable in the nation, and we finally have a structured entrepreneurship ecosystem thanks to the work of Tara St. Clair and Amber Ravenscroft (also Mountaineer Media podcast guests!) with the support of the WV Department of Economic Development. 

In the coming weeks, I’ll be providing profiles and commentary on West Virginia innovators from the past and present. In my role as the Director of the Innovation Center at the University of Charleston, I study the science of innovation and the people who have changed the world through innovative thinking. I look forward to sharing my journey through innovation with you!

1. https://coalfield-development.org/about-us/

2. Adapted from the US EDA definition of innovation: https://www.eda.gov/archives/2021/performance/key-definitions/#:~:text=Innovation: EDA defines innovation as,of the economic development ecosystem.

3.  https://www.unioncarbide.com/history.html

4.  https://wallethub.com/edu/best-states-to-start-a-business/36934