The new secretary of the West Virginia Department of Commerce is no stranger to promoting economic development. A thriving entrepreneur, engineer and business owner, Woody Thrasher has proven himself to be a successful businessman and is now tasked with putting those skills to work managing the state’s commerce department, bringing new businesses to West Virginia and helping diversify the state’s economy.
In an effort to celebrate elite lawyers produced by the Mountain State who are solving problems and striving for balance, the West Virginia University (WVU) College of Law and West Virginia Executive magazine teamed up to create the Lawyers & Leaders honors program. This program recognizes the accomplishments of legal professionals who have made a positive impact on the state and the nation, who have dedicated their careers to serving others and their communities and who go above and beyond to make West Virginia and the U.S. better places to live.
Two West Virginia nonprofit organizations are doing their part to fight for the Mountain State’s future through important research, data collection and reporting. The Cardinal Institute for West Virginia Policy is dedicated to researching, developing and communicating effective public policies and acting as a voice for free market, and the West Virginia Center on Budget & Policy is a policy research organization that supports informed public dialogue and policy. Through the information these two independent organizations provide, policy makers gain knowledge, perspective and guidance to assist in facing the great task at hand: finding a solution to the ongoing budget deficit by jumpstarting the economy, creating jobs and diversifying the state’s industries.
In the wake of the June 2016 flood, thousands of volunteers from across the country poured in with donations, ready to work.
For Susan Jack, the 2016 flood in Clendenin, WV, was a time of both physical and personal rebuilding. Jack was ready to leave her hometown before the flood hit. Her job was ending on June 30, and her daughter had just finished her sophomore year at Herbert Hoover High School. The two were planning to move to Dayton, Ohio, where Jack had plans to pursue a new employment opportunity.
According to Brandon Dennison, the CEO of Coalfield Development Corporation, the number one problem West Virginia employers report is finding skilled workers to fill their open positions.