The West Virginia Community Development Hub (The Hub) is thrilled to announce the second Accelerate WV Group Session happening on Oct. 23 and 24. Accelerate WV is part of the Community and Business Resilience Initiative (CBRI) a program being run by The Hub as part of the Appalachia Climate Technology Now (ACT Now) Coalition.
The two-day event will bring together representatives from our six Accelerate WV communities which include Wayne, Webster County, the Fairfield neighborhood of Huntington, the West Side of Charleston, Princeton, and Ronceverte. Community teams will spend the two days learning from partners and The Hub about technical assistance opportunities, funding opportunities, and participate in team-building exercises.
“Accelerate WV is helping communities create plans geared toward economic resilience, sustainable green pre-development to revitalize local economies, and connecting communities with private and federal funding opportunities,” says Brianna Hickman, The Hub’s CBRI Project Director. “We love to see the communities engage in these group sessions in ways that push their planning for community development forward in substantial and exciting ways.”
Huntington Mayor Stephen T. Williams will be in attendance to welcome the Accelerate WV community teams to the city on Day 1 and will be introduced to the communities by City Councilmember-At-Large DuRon Jackson. Brandon Dennison, the Vice President of Economic and Workforce Development at Marshall University will then introduce a panel discussion.
The panel, which will be discussing the exciting innovation happening in Huntington, will include Marshall University President Brad Smith, Huntington Municipal Development Authority Executive Director Cathy Burns, and Delegate Sean Hornbuckle.
“We are so excited to see the Accelerate WV program create the foundation for transformational change in our communities,” says Hickman. “The Accelerate WV community teams are ready to work together in ways that will make their communities better and the work they are planning during this program is starting that work.”
