I have officially notified my board that I will retire on June 30, 2019. That will round out my time as their Executive Director at 23 years! It has been an amazing ride and I have gathered some amazing friends along the way. WVSAE has been a wonderful resource for me over the years and I wish the organization much continued success! We will start to post my job position on Nov 1st and you can find details [...]
The 2018 HOPE Conference, WVSAE's annual meeting at The Homestead, was a great success with outstanding speakers, food, networking and more! We began with a lovely reception Sunday night. Tina Cobb of Associated Systems Professionals, taught us how to work smarter and more efficiently with database integration. She provided tips on working with Excel, Access and more, and mentioned Tech Soup may provide free email accounts for nonprofits. Frank Hartman shared his insights on opening doors to get [...]
Our first meeting in the new Charleston Coliseum and Convention Center was amazing. It started with Peruvian purple potatoes! The scrumptious lunch was followed by this incredibly rich pie or chocolate lava cake. WVU’s Rochelle Goodwin, WV Forward research scholar Priscila Santos and Marshall University’s Sara Payne Scarbro shared the process and progress of the program. They also showed described the sectors and environments they are targeting and the human capital issues they’re facing.
In a first for WVSAE, our speaker appeared via technology! Dr. Brian Anderson of the WVU Energy Institute shared the benefits of the Appalachian Storage and Trading Hub with our members and their guests at the Holiday Inn Express Civic Center in Charleston. Anderson said the WVU Energy Institute is working on clean coal, plus natural gas and oil, finding ways to take our energy resources and move them up the value chain. "We're seeing a production shift [...]
Let’s survey your current staff! How many people in your organization have been there 10+ years, are deep-rooted and likely aren’t going anywhere until retirement? We’ll call these staff “trees.” How many people haven’t been there long and their position will likely turn over multiple times in the next few years? We’ll call these our “revolving door” roles. Today, what percentage of your team are trees verses revolving doors? Is it 70/30, 50/50, 30/70? There’s no right answer [...]
Your 2018 Board of Directors met on August 20 to discuss plans for the remainder of this year and moving forward into 2019. Full details will be forthcoming, but please know there are even more exciting plans on the horizon for WVSAE, including an expansion of our social media efforts and more work to collaborate among and support our associations. We thank Jaina Perry of Adventures on the Gorge for her hospitality and for providing great weather! Those [...]
Over 30 WVSAE members and their guests gathered on August 2 and 3 at Stonewall Resort as part of WVSAE's "Summer of Fun." Our thanks to Tanya Cayton and the entire Stonewall staff for a tremendous event! Thursday was highlighted by a tour of the golf course, followed by a scavenger hunt criss-crossing the property on golf carts. At each of the eight stops, members answered a question before getting a token, a treat and a word. The goal of [...]
WVSAE Members - Our Membership Drive, hosted by Holiday Inn and Suites Charleston West on June 12, was an opportunity to learn about all the growing Craft Brewing Industry in West Virginia. Our guest speaker was Sam Moazy, Master Brewer of Big Timber Brewing in Elkins. Sam explained how recent changes in laws in the past 10 years have allowed craft brewing to explode in West Virginia, from four breweries to 37! You DONT have to go to Europe [...]
"We tried to pick the best 600 projects to stimulate economic development," according to Transportation Secretary Tom Smith during WVSAE's May meeting at Embassy Suites. The 600 projects will result in hundreds of direct jobs, as well as a multitude of indirect jobs, he said. Smith explained the $2.8 million bond funds will be used to improve bridges, Corridor H, Route 10, the West Virginia Turnpike and freeway drainage across the state. This will enable the Department of [...]
The 2018 session of the West Virginia Legislature was very successful according to Governor Justice's Deputy Chief of Staff/Senior Policy Advisor Donnie Adkins. He was the WVSAE guest speaker on April 10 at the Summersville Arena and Conference Center. "For the first time in 32 years, the budget was passed during the 60-day session," Adkins said. Other accomplishments during the session included no new taxes, pay raises for state employees, regulatory reform, lottery bond financing, mining rules and [...]
