On Tuesday July 24, the second Creative Communities Assessment Workshop was held in Hinton, Summers County. We learn more each time to we do these workshops, and we appreciate Mayor Cleo Matthews and the team of local folks in Hinton willing to be our second guinea pig.

Hinton is a town like many in West Virginia: sitting within stunning natural beauty, but with many deep obstacles to overcome in order to thrive in a new economy after a glorious industrial past. Hinton’s legacy includes the historical significance of the New River and the railroads hauling coal and people through its corridor. During the workshop, it became clear that building on these themes holds promise for the re-emergence of Hinton.

Luckily for Hinton, they have some tremendous assets to build on. In addition to the obvious recreational activities provided by the rivers, Bluestone Lake and related state and national parks, their downtown is designated on the National Historic Register. They have a growing arts community and numerous festivals. They have already built a technology center with space available for startup companies. Amtrak trains still go through Hinton and stop three days a week, providing thousands of out-of-state visitors a glimpse of the beauty of the town and rivers. Now we just need a few good reasons for them to hop off that train and stay a few days in Hinton…and ultimately move there.

Perhaps the most valuable asset at this juncture is Mayor Matthews. If only all of our cities and counties had a warm, inclusive, visionary leader such as Hinton’s, there is little doubt we could make progress around the state much quicker. Several participants indicated they were never involved in the future of their city until Mayor Matthews corralled them, made them feel valued and listened to their feedback.

As one indicator of the possibilities in Hinton and the rest of our West Virginia small towns, it is important to note the existence of Practicelink.com, one of the largest and most respected physician employment opportunity websites. More than half of all of the nation’s in-house physician recruiters now use Practicelink to source more than 18,000 physicians. Ken Allman, a Hinton native and founder of Practicelink.com, decided to locate the company headquarters in Hinton, another example of our proposition that West Virginia has the potential to attract high-tech entrepreneurs interested in a unique quality of life.

Notes from the Shepherdstown and Hinton workshops will be posted on createwv.com shortly, but we walked away believing that Hinton does in fact have a bright future if the vision of the Hinton team can be matched with tangible resources to turn identified projects into reality.