Development in the southern coal fields has typically run into issues of have faith in and sustainability. For the New River Gorge Regional Progress Authority, business enterprise advancement in Nicholas, Summers, Raleigh and Fayette Counties started with relationship creating.
Jenna Grayson was a short while ago named the Director of Business enterprise Retention and Expansion at the New River Gorge Regional Advancement Authority. The new role positions Grayson to take economic improvement in the region to the upcoming degree.
Grayson’s track record is in economic development and local community engagement.
“I would say that getting individuals to realize that there are resources out there and foremost the horse to drinking water, fundamentally, is a true struggle at moments,” Grayson claimed. “But as soon as you get there, it truly is so rewarding. And so having persons to realize that there are state, regional and federal assets out there. And of course, they can be a very little little bit daunting and mind-boggling.
“But that is really why this placement is so significant, since I can be there to type of handhold, cheerlead and also take on some of that responsibility and those people requires to lessen the load on the organization operator.”
Grayson claims it is fair to say that people today are from time to time cautious of accepting condition or federal means and the folks who say they have them.
“And for good reason, suitable. There are almost certainly communities and companies out there that have expert something like that in the past that perhaps failed to pan out,” Grayson mentioned. “At situations, I do get that reaction.”
Grayson states with a very little tolerance, evidence, and info she has created a lot of relationships throughout southern West Virginia.
“I have not run into as much of that, culturally speaking, the place folks never come to feel as although they have attained the assets,” Grayson stated. “Not to say that people are jumping up and down, stating that they deserve [the resources].”
“I consider that, at this point, there are a whole lot of organizations that will just take anything at all they can get, for the reason that it has been a demanding few a long time. I imagine one particular of the struggles that I do run into with companies, particularly smaller sized corporations, is men and women that say, they you should not have to have assistance, they do not want guidance. And I am not certain why.”
Often, business enterprise house owners are worried about the expense of the assets. A free of charge service that Grayson shares details about is with the WV Hive.
“You can do small business arranging, you can get marketing and advertising, HR, accounting assist,” Grayson stated, “there’s a total plethora of assets that are readily available as a result of the hive, and it truly is a totally free company.”
The methods are intended to enable southern West Virginia, a area that is been strike especially difficult economically by coal’s increase and bust cycles and decrease in very good paying coal careers. This undertaking focuses on Nicholas, Summers, Raleigh and Fayette Counties.
“I would say that the will need is wonderful in all of southern West Virginia,” Grayson reported. “I consider these four counties just occurred to be the position that I do the job in and we as an Economic Improvement Authority have discovered [these counties] as a precedence but with supplemental means, other communities could have a very similar position that could do the exact.”
With new federal investments in tasks to assist communities diversify economically and assist business people, Grayson is keen to support recent business enterprise homeowners get what they will need to thrive in this region.
“To any company entrepreneurs out there business people, people who are business minded or entrepreneurial minded, go for it. There is no improved time than now. And, we have the means,” Grayson said. “There are so numerous options and they might seem overwhelming, but dive in and we’ll help you.”