If you study the history of West Virginia, we’ve had our share of lemons tossed our way. The state has been described as a “colony” because of the dominance of out-of-state land owners (some regions of the state have over 80% of their land owned by out-of-state corporate interests) who saw nothing wrong with extracting the resources (in the past, often through unethical means and with complicity by self-centered local leaders enriched by the relationship) without investing in the health of the communities in which they did “business.”
However, the spirit and pluck of the Mountaineers of West Virginia has lead to many heroes of yesterday and today. A lot has already been documented about the labor struggles and other examples of standing up to powerful interests. So I’d like to just share two examples of creative, innovative approaches to turning the corner on taking matters into our own hands and creating a brighter future.
The first example is MATRIC – The Mid-Atlantic Technology, Research and Innovation Center in South Charleston. The founders and current CEO of MATRIC, Keith Pauley, get a lemonade award for their work in turning an economic disaster and turning it into a ray of 21st century light.
The quick history: Charleston and the Kanawha Valley was once known as “Chemical Valley” because of the huge chemical industry presence there. Dow, Union Carbide, DuPont…literally thousands of employees in these three companies alone, many of them Ph.D. chemical engineers. Talk about the “creative class.” It was even by modern definitions highly concentrated with brain power.
But then these major corporations lost their competitive edge. They consolidated. They closed research centers and plants. And the thousands of high-paid engineers turned into hundreds, even dozens. Entire communities lost their community leaders, their Little League coaches, their PTA organizers. The population of the Kanawha Valley dropped from 300,000 to 200,000.
createwv.typepad.comcreatewv.typepad.com Enter MATRIC. From the official history of MATRIC:
“Under the creative leadership of Dr. George Keller and many others, this concern generated a vision for MATRIC, a multidisciplinary nonprofit research and development center built on the facilities and intellectual capital available in the geographical area. Strong support was also received from the Business and Industrial Development Corporation (BIDCO), a non-profit economic development corporation serving the Charleston, WV area.”
Long story short: By the end of 2007, MATRIC had put the Ph.D.’s back to work in South Charleston, attracting over $18 million in competitively won research grants. Close to 100 engineers and other professionals are cranking a 50% win rate on their research bids. New startup companies are being spun out as the research is commercialized. MATRIC is making the Kanawha Valley a center of innovation once again.
Example #2: The Hatfield McCoy Trail System. What would you do if vast tracks of land where you lived were owned by coal companies (mostly out-of-state)? What if the economics and technology of that industry had changed drastically to the point where the industry went from employing over 100,000 coal miners to less than 20,000?
In one of the most innovative steps West Virginia government (or any government, for that matter) has ever taken, a comprehensive system of ATV and dirt bike trails was proposed and made a reality. The Hatfield-McCoy Trail System consists of several hundred miles of off-road trails in its nine project counties. Each of its six trail systems is open 365 days a year to ATV’s, dirt bikes, select utility vehicles (UTVs), mountain bikes, horses, and hikers. Many of the trail systems also offer community connecting trails that allow visitors to access “ATV friendly towns” to experience the charm of southern West Virginia.
The ATV trails of Southern West Virginia are now on track to exceed 25,000 visitors this year (about 90% of which are from out-of-state), making it the “Disneyland” of the ATV world. Over a dozen states have visited to the Hatfield McCoy Trails to model their efforts after it. New businesses are popping up to cater to the visitors. Citizens are starting to embrace entrepreneurship as a self-directed path for their families and communities.
There are many other examples of course. But here are two modern examples of how West Virginians, despite being pelted with a lot of lemons, have turned the tide by embracing the unique creativity that resides in us.
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