From his office in the City that Never Sleeps, Dave Gruver is helping UGG Australia expand its consumer reach while mentoring the next generation of the fashion industry. For this Maryland native with strong West Virginia roots, where you come from is just as important as where you want to go.
The movement to incorporate additional science, technology, engineering and mathematics courses has served as a catalyst for educating West Virginia’s new work force. With the addition of the arts, turning STEM into STEAM, educational institutions are working to highlight and encourage the implementation of these fields.
West Virginia Chamber of Commerce President Steve Roberts has spent more than 30 years working to make life better for West Virginians, and his expertise allows him to help make the Mountain State an attractive home for future generations.
Without a viable broadband infrastructure, the Mountain State is lacking the most important tool to attract new businesses. Groups like Generation West Virginia, as well as a few West Virginia legislators, are championing broadband access as the key to growing and diversifying the economy.
Since 1993, Preston County’s Camp Dawson has been the home of the Mountaineer ChalleNGe Academy, where West Virginia’s at-risk teens learn the skills and confidence necessary to reach for a future free from limitations.
According to The Associated General Contractors of America, West Virginia’s construction sector dropped by 4,400 jobs, a 13.1 percent loss, over the past year. Right-to-work laws, the prevailing wage rate and work force training are all being explored as possible solutions to increase the number of jobs in the state.