January/February 2014
West Virginia
When all is said and done, a lot more is said than done. Lou Holtz
* We take a look at where the people—and the political power—are moving in West Virginia.
volume 1 | issue 1
published by
New South Media, Inc. 709 Beechurst Avenue, Suite 14A Morgantown, WV 26505 1116 Smith Street Charleston, WV 25301
304.413.0104 | wvfocus.com publisher & Editor
Nikki Bowman nikki@newsouthmediainc.com Art Director
Kelley Galbreath kelley@newsouthmediainc.com Managing Editor
Laura Wilcox Rote laura@newsouthmediainc.com Senior Staff Writer
Pam Kasey pam@newsouthmediainc.com Web Manager
Elizabeth Roth liz@newsouthmediainc.com Staff
Miriah Hamrick miriah@newsouthmediainc.com Becky Moore becky@newsouthmediainc.com Office & Circulation Manager
Sarah Shaffer sarah@newsouthmediainc.com Advertising
info@newsouthmediainc.com Photographers
Nikki Bowman, Elizabeth Roth & Carla Witt Ford contributors
Jeff Barnes, David Hardesty, Amy Tawney, Kris Tawney, Tom Witt
Editorial inquiries
Please send a query to info@newsouthmediainc.com. West Virginia Focus is published by New South Media, Inc. Subscription rates: $20 for one year. Frequency: 6 times a year. Copyright: New South Media, Inc. Reproduction in part or whole is strictly prohibited without the express written permission of the publisher. Š New South Media, Inc. All rights reserved
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Focus January/February 2014
Editor’s Letter
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n 2008, I moved home to create a media company that changed perceptions about West Virginia. It’s the scariest thing I’ve ever done. I didn’t know the first thing about starting a business. I named my company New South Media, Inc. West Virginia is the southernmost northern state and the northernmost southern state, after all, and I believed it was our time to shine. So my company launched WV Living, a statewide lifestyle magazine that quickly grew with subscribers in every state and had the largest newsstand presence of any West Virginia publication. WV Weddings Magazine, the state’s first and only bridal publication, soon followed, and then, three years ago, we added Morgantown Magazine, a publication that targets the fastest growing city in West Virginia. We also created a custom publishing arm that produced The Sports and Travel Guide to the Big 12, which sold out on national newsstands from coast to coast, and Explore: Reaching the Summit. We are constantly finding new avenues and new audiences for West Virginia’s story.
Which brings us to West Virginia Focus. You are probably thinking, “Why start another magazine?” As I travel the state— and I have traveled from the southernmost regions in McDowell County to the tippy top of the Northern Panhandle—I’m constantly on the lookout for businesses to champion, stories to tell, and towns to showcase. Those are the stories that find a home in WV Living. But I’m often reminded of the other side to this coin. As I travel, I visit places that are struggling against daunting odds. I meet people who have been let down by our school system. I talk with business owners who are frightened and don’t know what tomorrow brings. I spend time with students who have no faith that there will be jobs for them after they graduate. We have much to be proud of as West Virginians. But we also have issues we need to address and solve. We need to come together to face these issues, one at a time. We need to create a culture that better encourages and supports entrepreneurship. We need to champion our small businesses and give them the tools to grow. We need to look at our policies, legal system, health care, and education in an informed way. We need our leaders to meet in the middle instead of building impenetrable partisan walls. We need them to be public servants, not party servants. The future of our state depends on it. In the spirit of full disclosure, I’m
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Focus January/February 2014
not affiliated with any political party. I identify myself as an Independent, and I vote according to issues most important to me. I’ve lived in a trailer beside a sewer plant in Two Run in Clay County as well as a suburban McMansion outside of Washington, D.C. My education began in a government-funded Head Start program for low-income children in Wallback, and I’m the first of my family to graduate from college. My relatives have served in the military and have mined our mountains for coal. I know what poverty tastes like, and I know the joys of being able to afford a pair of designer shoes. And I know West Virginia. I also know a few things about business. As an entrepreneur and a small business owner, I’ve grown my company every year. I know what it is like to work 100hour weeks, to pay your employees before yourself, to try to raise educated and thoughtful children, and still have time to put dinner on the table. I know what it is like to be completely overwhelmed, to have doors slammed in your face, only to get up the next day and try, try again. I know what it feels like to fail. We need to keep building a better West Virginia. And that, quite simply, is the mission of West Virginia Focus. This publication will focus on the issues affecting our state, provide businesses with a toolkit for growth, and champion our success stories while learning from our failures. It will educate, entertain,
and empower. It will inspire readers to think and to act. This bi-monthly magazine is for everyone who wants a better and brighter future. If you dream of owning your own business, we’ll help you. If it is your goal to be a corner office partner of a law firm, we’ll help you. If you are a community activist or the CEO of a multinational company, this publication will provide you with the tools to make your mark. West Virginia Focus is for those who represent us in the Legislature as well as the people who voted them there. Our readers are the owners of small businesses—from shops to restaurants to Internet start-ups—and the thought leaders of our state. But no matter what our profession, we all have something in common. We are West Virginians— whether by birth or by choice. And together, we can build a better state. And that is our focus.
nikki bowman Publisher & Editor
What I’m Reading Now
Featured Contributors
David hardesty
David C. Hardesty, Jr., is a professor of law and president emeritus of West Virginia University.
Why Nations Fail, by Daren Acemoglu & James S. Robinson
The Small Town Survival Guide, by Jack McCall
Uneven Ground: Appalachia Since 1945, by Ronald D. Eller
The Fault in Our Stars, by John Green
I’m a working mother—without the slow cooker my children wouldn’t eat!
The Southern Slow Cooker, by Kendra Bailey Morris
What books were on my nightstand when I launched my company »» Good to Great, by Jim Collins »» 4-Hour Work Week, by Timothy Ferris »» The Success Principles, by Jack Canfield »» The Go-Giver, by Bob Burg & David Mann »» E-myth Revisited, by Michael E. Gerber
Who were some of your mentors? My parents and my wife Susan come immediately to mind, but many others also generously mentored me during my career. A few include former WVU Presidents Paul Miller and Harry B. Heflin (deceased); the late Jimmy McCartney, former executive director of the WVU Alumni Association; William R. McDavid (deceased) and other senior lawyers in Bowles Rice; and Jay Rockefeller, who gave me a chance as a young man to serve my state. In terms of philanthropy and volunteerism, I owe much to A. Michael Perry of Huntington (founder of Heritage Farm Museum); the late Stanley Lowenstein, volunteer executive director of the Greater Kanawha Valley Foundation; WVU advocates Gerry and Carolyn Eberly Blaney; and the late James H. “Buck” Harless, entrepreneur and philanthropist of Gilbert. Executive mentors have included WVU alum Hank Barnette, former chair of Bethlehem Steel; Glen Hiner, former chair of Owens Corning; consultant George Bennett of Boston; and many of the administrative professionals with whom I worked at WVU.
Jeff Barnes Before launching the Barnes Agency 10 years ago, Jeff learned about brand identity and image enhancement as vice president of four major hospital and health care systems. A West Virginia State University alum, Jeff has secured more than 300 regional and national awards.
What is one of your favorite marketing success stories? In 1998 when I was vice president of marketing for St. Mary’s Hospital, we launched a regional television campaign that featured a 60-second commercial that was basically a prayer for healing from beginning to end. We received over 3,000 phone calls, cards, and letters from people saying “thank you.”
Tom Witt Tom S. Witt is an emeritus professor of economics at West Virginia University and currently serves as the chief economist for Witt Economics LLC. Prior to his retirement from WVU he served as the director of the Bureau of Business and Economic Research and associate dean for research and outreach in the WVU College of Business and Economics.
What is the most pressing issue facing the state today? West Virginia’s human capital (educational attainment, skills, age, labor force participation rate, and health) falls substantially below most states and will retard the state’s growth prospects in the future.
Focus wvfocus.com
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Dialogue Feedback
Rude, mouthy, fast-walkin’ Yankee!!!
I Can’t Wait!
I can’t wait for this magazine to publish. West Virginia is in great need of long-form journalism that can take a proactive look at what is holding us back from a neutral perspective.
SLOW, crazy, Sweet-tea drinking Hillbilly!
steven allen adams, via Facebook
Potential
Excited about this publication. We have such a tremendous potential to be great; we are small enough that we can turn this ship around and be at the top of all the lists instead of at the bottom. It starts with raising expectations, demanding better of ourselves and holding children accountable for results. It will take a willingness for our leaders to break the mold and forge a new path (it shouldn’t be hard, the old one is not working at all). We can be so much better. We have such promise. doug marquette, via Facebook
Great Idea
What a great idea and so needed. I am looking forward to reading your new publication. melissa giggenbach, via Facebook
Positive Light
We need this positive light on our state. Looking forward to it! drema morgan, via Facebook
Look Forward
I have been in love with your magazine from the first publication! Thank you and I look forward to WV Focus!
margaret worth, via Facebook Write to us at info@newsouthmediainc.com, or leave your comments for us on our Facebook or Twitter pages.
A state divided? We polled more than 420
West Virginians and learned that even 150 years after the Civil War, the sense of a socio-cultural north-south divide remains strong . . . and the results are lively, to say the least. To read more, see Who Are We? on pg. 52
our cover quote
Did you know college football Hall of Famer Lou Holtz is from Follansbee?
Talk To Us! Visit us on the web and let us know what’s on your mind. wvfocus.com facebook.com/westvirginiafocus twitter.com/WVfocus Focus wvfocus.com
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Focus [ January/February 2014 ]
FOCUS ON 12
Philanthropy
Hinton’s David Ziegler gives back. 15
Noteworthy Launch The Hatfields and McCoys join forces to make moonshine. 16
Artpreneur
Navigating success with Allegheny Treenware. 18
Culture
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Connections
Tweet, tweet. See who our political leaders follow. 24
Filmed almost entirely in West Virginia, Angel’s Perch is a story of loss and love.
How We Did It
19
Dashboard
Innovation
The exciting industry of 3D printing shows promise in West Virginia. 20
Stepping Up
The state’s first angel investment fund boosts the state’s economy. 21
Power Lunch
Fill up at Jim’s Steak and Spaghetti House, a Huntington institution.
Bloomery Plantation Distillery transforms cocktails. 26 The state’s labor force participation rate, personal income, and more. 28
Environment
What long-term effects face the state after January’s chemical leak? 29
Agenda
The U.S. delegation has big plans for 2014. 30
Insurance
What the Affordable Care Act means to businesses. 32
Big Idea On the cover: Images provided by Nikki Bowman and istock
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Focus January/February 2014
A Teacher Village in Welch could bring top educators to southern West Virginia.
Contents TOOLKIT 66
Lessons Learned
From bankruptcy to national distribution with Blue Smoke Salsa. 68
10 Things
Tips and resources from one entrepreneur to another. 70
Government
Knowing how to negotiate is an important part of politics. 71
Marketing
FEATURES 34
Lobby-otomy
We do a little lobbying of our own—for a solution to the lobbying conundrum.
Tips from Jeff Barnes Agency in Hurricane. 72
B2B
Martinsburg’s Strategic Resolution Experts, Inc., will improve your business. 74
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Economics
Is Power Drifting North?
76
The state’s population, and perhaps its political power, is moving northward. 52
Who Are We?
How we identify ourselves—north, south, or neither— is affecting the way we see one another. 56
Turn This Town Around
Economist Tom Witt takes a close look at home rule and its effect on our towns.
Leadership
Former WVU President David Hardesty talks about the dangers of bias in decision-making. 78
Pitfalls
Before you partner, know the pros and cons.
Follow us as we transform two West Virginia towns. Editor’s Letter
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Dialogue 7 Power Points
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Focus wvfocus.com
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“It is difficult to get a man to understand something when his salary depends upon his not understanding it.” Upton Sinclair
Caffeine Fix Ahh, caffeine! According to a 2011 study by Dunkin’ Donuts and CareerBuilder, half of American workers are less productive without coffee. Lawyers, marketing and public relations professionals, and education administrators are especially vulnerable to the need for caffeine and tend to drink the most coffee. The study found teachers and government professionals are more likely to add flavor to their coffee, while attorneys and hotel workers are most likely to drink their coffee black. What does your daily cup of joe say about you?
The Maxwell House Fanatic Your job: Personal
caretaker, night-shift employee
Where You Sip: Kroger, or the break room at work
Admit it, you don’t even like coffee.
Bloomin’ Business
Artisan cordials make for quite a tasty business at Bloomery Plantation Distillery in Charles Town.
“What do you mean, you don’t offer organic soy milk and stevia?” Your job: Actress/model, holistic nutritionist
pg. 24
Where You Sip: Opus 2 Café at Capitol Market, 800 Smith Street, Charleston, WV 25301, musicalgrounds.com
Digital Learning
You have a Ralph Nader bumper sticker on your Subaru, don’t you?
“No, thanks. I prefer tea.” Your job: Humanities professor, bookstore employee Where You Sip: The Tea
Shoppe, Seneca Center, 709 Beechurst Avenue, Morgantown, WV 26505, theteashoppewv.com
You do know we split from England more than 200 years ago, right? There was that little thing called the Boston Tea Party—and it didn’t include fancy hats and gossiping about the royal wedding.
The Anti-Starbucks Crusader Your job: Founder of an organic food co-op, president of a humanitarian nonprofit organization Where You Sip: Moxxee, 301 Morris Street, Charleston, WV 25301, moxxeecoffee.com
The global hegemony has you up in arms. Every effort counts in an interconnected world. That’s why you buy your beans from a small South American farm and roast and grind them yourself. Power to the people!
No more pencils, no more books. It’s all electronic learning one day of the year, and it all started at one West Virginia school in Morgantown. pg. 17
Making a Future
West Virginia is at the center of the 3D printing revolution—and the possibilities are endless. pg.19
King . . . Landau?
We ask Landau Eugene Murphy, Jr., what he would do if he ruled West Virginia for a day. pg. 19
Large Black Coffee Your job: Lawyer, accountant Where You Sip: Centre Cup Coffee, 2201 Market Street, Wheeling, WV 26003, centrecupcoffee.com
You’re a real go-getter. You approach each day with a hard-nosed sense of drive. You’ll do whatever it takes to knock out your to-do list—come in early, stay late, or skip lunch. You’re making the rest of us look bad, buddy.
Missed Connections We’ve got the scoop on who some of our politicians are following on Twitter. pg. 22
CHEERS & JEERS PHILANTHROPY
Helping Hinton
House Speaker Tim Miley and the creation of a small business listening tour. #GrowSmallBusinesses
The failure of the excess levy in Kanawha County that would have provided Kanawha County schools with $24.4 million and libraries with $3 million. #ImproveEducation
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written by laura wilcox rote
n the small city of Hinton along the New River, life is peaceful. Neighbors wave hello, and business owners are happy to lend a helping hand. Attorney David Ziegler made the quiet Summers County community home in the 1970s. For more than 40 years, David has been a local leader. In late 2013 David received the Lifetime Achievement Spirit of Philanthropy Award as part of Philanthropy West Virginia’s 20th anniversary. Philanthropy West Virginia, formerly West Virginia Grantmakers, established the awards program in 2007 to recognize outstanding philanthropic leaders. “I was honored and flattered and a little bit embarrassed,” David says. “What I’ve managed to do here I haven’t done by myself. There are always other people helping.” David says he’s most proud of his work with the Hinton Area Foundation. He was one of the foundation’s incorporators in 1992 and has been on its board most years. “The foundation
finance
Tax Tips Let’s be honest. With tax codes as permanent as Miley Cyrus’ hairstyle, keeping up to date with deductions and credits is a headache. Meena Ahluwalia, president at Padgett Business Services in Morgantown, shares some tax provisions set to expire after tax year 2013.
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started with zero assets and we’re now at about 3.7 million. That’s significant for a small community like Hinton. We have a goal of getting to 10 million by the year 2020.” The foundation has nearly 50 individual endowed funds covering everything from scholarships and the arts to funds that support 4-H, the veteran museum, and beautification. David has a long history of helping Hinton. He was president of a local arts group in the ’70s when he and others instigated the founding of the Summers County Public Library. Around 2000, he and another area woman started the local Humane Society. He says all of his efforts were not made alone, but alongside other passionate residents. And he says he owes it to Hinton. “The community’s been good to me. I’ve made a living here since 1974. My father instilled in me the notion that if a society gives you an education, then you owe something back.” David is a lawyer at Ziegler & Ziegler in Hinton.
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Section 179 Deduction
Work Opportunity Tax Credit
Research and Development (R&D) Tax Credit
If you hired a qualifying worker before January 1, 2014, you may be able to take advantage of the Work Opportunity Tax Credit. Qualifying workers include veterans, long-standing recipients of TANF or SNAP benefits, and ex-felons.
Many small and midsize businesses qualify for the R&D Tax Credit for expenses accrued to develop or improve a product. The R&D credit is particularly relevant for tech startups, but the research and legal fees necessary to obtain a patent are also eligible.
Some equipment and property up to $500,000 may qualify for a Section 179 deduction instead of taking a regular depreciation deduction. Land and land improvement, leased property, and property purchased from a relative are ineligible.
The West Virginia Future Fund, championed by Senate President Jeff Kessler, D-Marshall, would retain a portion of natural resources severance taxes, turning a onetime source of revenue into a permanent source of wealth for the state. #Proactive
Couldn’t retweeting lifethreatening messages like this one by Delegate Eric Householder, R-Berkeley, land you in serious trouble? #SpreadingHateIsNotCool
x 300K Freedom Industries’ leak of MCHM into the water supply leaves 300,000 people without water. #DontBeNegligent
SEND US YOURS! Share your suggestions with the subject “Focus cheer” or “Focus jeer” by emailing info@ newsouthmediainc.com.
ziegler and ziegler
A local attorney gives back where it counts.
SUBSCRIBE Now!
Focus West Virginia
Building a better state one issue at a time
A Magazine from New South Media, Inc., the publisher of WV Living, WV Weddings, & Morgantown magazines Subscribe online at wvfocus.com/subscribe or call 304.413.0104
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noteworthy launch
Rain or ’Shine The Hatfields and McCoys are at it again—but this time they’re working together.
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XXX MARKS THE SPOT
’SHINE BLIND?
Though homemade spirits are frequently riddled with impurities like methanol, which is toxic to optic nerves, distilleries monitored by the ABCA, like Hatfield & McCoy Moonshine, are monitored to assure that all impurities are removed—so feel free to drink as much as you please!
The triple-X mark historically used on moonshine jugs indicates that the shine has been run through the still three times so it’s almost pure alcohol.
carla witt ford; sources: discovery.com, flask.com
Written by Miriah Hamrick
ancy Hatfield, greatgreat-granddaughter of the legendary Devil Anse Hatfield, learned an important family secret at a young age. It had nothing to do with family feuds or star-crossed lovers, or even a single stolen pig. Nancy’s father introduced her to perhaps the only Appalachian tradition more infamous than the fight that defined her family legacy—he taught her to make moonshine. “My daddy taught me the same way his daddy taught him, by showing me hands-on,” she says. “I would haul water to the still for him and he would show me how everything was done.” Nancy, just a kid, was even allowed to sample the final product. Those early sips gave her a taste not only for exceptional moonshine, but also for the independence of owning and managing her own business. Nancy went on to make a living by launching and operating different ventures in the community—she owned Billie Ann’s Restaurant in Gilbert and she still manages the Devil Anse Trail Houses at the head of the Hatfield-McCoy Trails. She really wanted to follow in her father’s footsteps and open a business to sell the family’s esteemed moonshine, but unlike her forefathers, Nancy wasn’t too keen on breaking the law. “It wasn’t until many state governments started to allow private ownership of distilleries around 2009 that we thought this might be a possibility,” she says. After federal regulations loosened in 2011, Nancy began making concrete plans
UNDERGROUND OPERATION
XXX
The most innovative still site on record is the 1970s “cemetery still,” which hid underground operations with above ground tombstones.
with her daughter Amber Hatfield Bishop and son-in-law Chad Bishop. The Hatfields may know a lot about moonshine, but the trio realized marketing the Hatfields without the McCoys might be foolish. “Nothing goes together quite like the Hatfields and McCoys,” Chad says. “The names together have been synonymous with feuding and fighting, but we wanted the names to be associated with something positive, something for the community.” Ronald McCoy had been a family friend for years, and luckily, he loved the idea. He represents the McCoys in the business by helping with production as well as the creative aspects. Even if private distilleries are now legal, there’s still a tangle of paperwork and approvals needed to get one off the ground. It took more than a year to pull everything together, from selecting a location to securing the appropriate permits. Hatfield
DEAD DRUNK
Bootleggers were known to hold fake funerals, filling coffins with illegal alcohol, such as moonshine, for undetected transportation.
Get your and McCoy Moonshine’s distillery opened to the public hands on some Hatfield on October 30, 2013, and by and McCoy November 1, the first shipment Moonshine. left for the West Virginia Alcohol Beverage Control Administration for sale in liquor stores in the state. The moonshine is proudly made in West Virginia by hand, using ingredients and distributors based in West Virginia—which is important, as the crew wants to keep the product as local as possible. It seems like the days of bad blood between the Hatfields and McCoys are a thing of the past, replaced by a family legacy just as important. “Making legal moonshine has been a dream of our family for many years,” Nancy says. “You could say moonshining is in our blood.” Hatfield and McCoy Moonshine 297 James Avenue, Gilbert, WV 25621 304.687.3340, drinkofthedevilcom Focus wvfocus.com
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artpreneur
Out of the Woods A keen eye and courageous spirit are important in both art and entrepreneurship for one woodworking couple. written by miriah hamrick photographed by katie hanlon
T
his story begins with an ending. Stan and Sue Jennings went to work in the mines of Preston County one cold day in December 1984 when they discovered all employees had been laid off. The couple was forced to find creative ways to bring in extra money in order to make ends meet—like making trinkets from wood scraps to sell. “We didn’t intend to be business owners,” Sue says. “We just wanted to pay a few bills.” But Stan and Sue realized they enjoy working with wood, so they took their products on the road to exhibit for craft shows. Whether or not they planned it, a business had begun. Neither of them has any formal education in business, but observation and experimentation have led them to a comfortable, rewarding level of success. “I study everything,” Sue says. “I get a lot of inspiration by seeing how other people do things. It gives me an advantage, to be exposed to a lot of like-minded people with a great sense of creativity.” For example, when the business started out as Allegheny Harvest in 1990, they made a variety of items from West Virginia hardwoods. But in observing other successful artists, they realized specialization was paramount.
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“
There’s so much taking you away from creating. But as an artist, you need to be working on your product as much as possible. Your time is so valuable.” Sue Jennings
Utensils from Allegheny Treenware are icons in West Virginia kitchens.
“You have to pick a specific art form and become very good at it. If you don’t, everything you do will be fractured,” Sue says. Far and away, their kitchen utensils were the best-selling objects. So they changed their focus and their name—treenware is an old Saxon word for wooden utensils related to food preparation. Some lessons came from observation, but some simply came from experience. The couple asked for help when they needed it, and they relied on common sense and trial and error to find what worked for them. They discovered they complement each other as business partners. Stan handles logistics, keeping everything organized and driving production. Sue keeps the artistic side of the business thriving with her versatile approach. But they still had some dynamics to tweak, figuring out how much time to spend on self-promotion and traveling, administrative duties, and hands-on creating. Sue could learn to process payroll, for example, but if she paid a minimal fee for a payroll service to handle it and spent those three or four hours creating new works to sell instead, would she make more money? Turns out, she could—but only if she actually spent that time doing work. “An artist’s biggest asset is their dedication and selfdiscipline,” she says. “There’s so much taking you away from creating. But as an artist, you need to be working on your product as much as possible. Your time is so valuable.” Which is why the couple chooses to control their market. “We reached a place where we were close to overstretching ourselves,” Sue says. “We had 12 employees at the time and an out-of-control demand for product.” They considered going into debt to create a more mechanized workshop—the market was there, and they knew they could make it. But Stan and Sue are both happiest when they’re working with wood, and that move would require a lot more of the business aspect than the hands-on work they loved. “We said no. We changed our market from retail shows to wholesale,” Sue says. This allows the couple to spend their days on the 45-acre complex they call
both home and work in Preston County. They still juggle many roles— artists, business owners, distribution managers, and most recently, tour guides. Visitors are free to stop by during business hours to get a glimpse of life in a successful studio. It’s become one of Sue’s favorite responsibilities. “We get to share our work and how we make it, but we also get to share our life. Our shop is in our backyard,” she says. “We take a piece of them with us each time, and when we get back to work, we still have that. It keeps me inspired.”
Stan and Sue Jennings are happiest working with wood.
Allegheny Treenware, 1922 South Evansville Pike, Thornton, WV 26440, 304.892.5008 alleghenytreenware.com
A Spoonful of Advice Competition is Constructive “Competitive edge is important for a lot of artists. You have to put your product out there to be judged against your peers. It makes you strive to put your best foot forward. Then, if you’re not chosen, it should challenge you to figure out why and try again.”
Don’t Be Afraid to Get Help “A lot of artists cannot conceive having an employee because their work is so dependent on their special skills that they can’t teach someone else to do. But if you are a selfsupporting artist, you need help in order to make a living.”
Reading Isn’t Just For Nerds “Trade magazines have great info. The Craft Report is one of the best out there. I got a lot of business advice from them.”
Just Beginning? “The beginners working out of their living rooms have to have self-discipline to begin. They have to investigate shows, shops, and galleries to find a place where their work belongs. In West Virginia we have Tamarack. Jurying into this establishment is one of the best learning experiences. They will give you a better sense of where you are with your business and what you may want to try.”
Find Time Every Day to Focus on Your Art “As an artist, you need to be working on your product as much as possible, but you also have to do office work and keep your art in shows. There’s so much taking you away from time spent creating.”
education
Book Learning West Virginia leads the way in a new school of thought— sans paper. Written by Miriah Hamrick
Mark your calendars— Digital Learning Day is February 5 this year. Students across the country will eschew pencils and paper for hands-on, technologybased courses. Although the annual event sets aside a space to integrate technology in educating and engaging ways, it’s connected to a year-round mission to equip children with the tools they need for success in college and careers. The initiative was launched by the Alliance for Excellent Education, headed by former West Virginia Governor Bob Wise. But that’s not the only link between Digital Learning Day and the Mountain State. The idea was inspired by Mountainview Elementary in Morgantown, which held a “No Paper, No Pencils Day” in 2010 to encourage interactive and digital learning activities. The Alliance heard how successful the effort was, with many students dubbing it the best day ever, and used it as a model for Digital Learning Day. The first Digital Learning Day took place in February 2012, and more than 16,000 teachers in 42 states participated. It’s proof that West Virginia is capable of providing innovative education for a brighter future despite underwhelming national education rankings. digitallearningday.org Focus wvfocus.com
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Culture
That’s the Ticket West Virginia is ideal for one independent movie crew.
angelsperch.com
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Focus January/February 2014
angel’s perch
The tiny town of Cass has seen many labels over the last 100 years. It’s been the heart of a booming lumber industry, a dying community in search of options, a state park, and most recently, the filming location for the new independent drama Angel’s Perch. The film tells the story of one man’s journey home to see his grandmother, who suffers from Alzheimer’s. A quick trip is extended as the protagonist examines the meaning of his own memories and how to overcome them to find happiness. After more than 125 screenings this summer, the film was released on cable video-on-demand programs and DVD and BluRay on December 1, 2013—a distribution enabled by a tax incentive offered by the West Virginia Film Office.
Manufacturing a Future innovation
KING for a DAY Landau Eugene Murphy, Jr., season 6 winner of America’s Got Talent, has a few ideas for what he’d do if he ruled WV. I’d get an NBA team into West Virginia. I live in Logan, and they’ve had a lot of great basketball teams down here, starting when Willie Akers was the coach. Get Governor Tomblin to put his hair in dreadlocks like mine for one day. Maybe I could dare him to do it, and if he does, donate some money to his favorite charity or something. What do you think, Gov?
don rutt photography; istock
Get West Virginians off the couch and outdoors. Diabetes is a big problem here, and obesity, and it’s a real shame. We have the prettiest state in the country (I know—I’ve seen a lot of ’em on tour) and people from all over the place come here to ski, golf, mountain bike, hike, and take advantage of all we have to offer, but too many people who live here take it for granted. Get some more good paying jobs in here. I know a lot of people in West Virginia are really struggling, and I personally know what that’s like. The best jobs I could ever get before I won America’s Got Talent were detailing cars, washing dishes in restaurants, and working on a road crew. I was grateful for the work, but it was hard to pay for your kids, get groceries, and things like that.
West Virginia is situated to revive an industry many consider dead with 3D printing.
W
written by miriah hamrick
hen you think of manufacturing, the words “bright future” probably don’t come to mind. Years ago, the jobs moved into developing countries, where children are paid next to nothing to sew buttons on designer shirts and factories burn to the ground every few months due to lack of regulation. But experts argue change is brewing, with a third industrial revolution poised to reclaim American manufacturing jobs through the promise of increased efficiency and endless opportunity for customization. The future, they say, is in additive manufacturing—and for once, West Virginia is ahead of the curve. “This is not your grandfather’s manufacturing,” says Anne Barth, executive director at TechConnectWV. “The industry is going digital, and this will be a miraculous breakthrough for every sector of society.” Mmm, just like Mom used to print!
At the heart of this resurgence is the 3D printer. Using a design created by computer software, 3D printers deposit layer after layer of material until a solid object is unveiled. It sounds like something from a science fiction novel, but experts insist—it’s the future. In West Virginia, the authority is the Robert C. Byrd Institute for Advanced Flexible Manufacturing (RCBI). RCBI has focused on strengthening manufacturing in West Virginia for the last 20 years, and when a new trend emerged with additive manufacturing, they saw an opportunity too important to miss. “Manufacturing is still vibrant in the global economy,” says Martin Spears, associate director of public information at RCBI. “It may not take as many people to complete one job as it used to, but we knew this could reclaim a lot of jobs that have left the United States.” Martin sees benefits that extend beyond the realm of manufacturing, though. As technology evolved, 3D printers became capable of creating objects made from metal, plastic, or even human tissue. In addition to hard-to-find parts for equipment, the printers can create a customized hip joint or a human ear—or even a plate of pasta primavera. “It can contribute in useful and lucrative ways to other industries in the forefront today, like the biomedical field or the arts,” he says. RCBI alone has eight printers, with more on the way, and businesses and organizations in cities across the state use them as well. “Customization and individualization can benefit any market,” he says. “There is an opportunity for innovation and a competitive advantage, and that can only be positive.” Focus wvfocus.com
19
Bottom Drawer
A group of investors finds a way to stimulate the state’s economy.
I
Written by Miriah Hamrick
n a country slowly emerging from a recession, there’s a lot of talk about job creation. Each economic report ushers in buzz about growth, and in a time of exceptional partisan polarity, politicians from both parties pledge their dedication to it. In West Virginia, it’s more of the same. With coal on the decline, there’s room for new industries to take root—and one group of entrepreneurial experts with deep pockets and a deeper passion for West Virginia are providing their own boost to the state’s economy through the state’s first angel investment fund, the West Virginia Growth Investment (WVGI). “It’s like Shark Tank,” says Morgantown’s Mike Green, chairman of WVGI, explaining how angel investment works. “We’re a group of investors who listen to people looking for funding and advice, but with West Virginia style and pizzazz.” He says the investors behind WVGI aren’t quite as tough to please as the investors on ABC’s show, but he does point out an important distinction: Angel investors use their own money to support businesses they like, and often provide advice or mentorship as the business grows. In part that’s because there’s an
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Focus January/February 2014
expectation their investment will provide a return. “We’re a for-profit company. We’re interested in getting a return on investments,” Mike says. The investors look at the scalability of the business, or its potential and plan for growth, as well as an exit plan for investors. Mike says typically the investors get their money back through dividends in the company, or when the company is sold or there is a public offering—and that takes time. Whether you’re an entrepreneur looking for funding to get your idea off the ground or an owner of an existing business with an eye for expansion, you could be eligible for a capital infusion by WVGI. The company opened operations to the state in November 2013 after three years of investment on a smaller, more informal scale. Mike says since then they’ve had a number of interested people seek information about funding, from a broad array of businesses— which is what WVGI is looking for. “We aren’t focused on any particular industry,” he says. “We’re concerned with helping West Virginia by growing the economy. Our goal is to create companies, which creates jobs and tax revenues.” wvgrowth.com
There’s an interesting story behind one West Virginia community’s peculiar name. West Virginia has no shortage of towns with interesting names—Big Ugly, HooHoo, and Booger Hole among them. In the midst of giggles and guffaws, have you ever stopped to think where names like this came from? Take Pickle Street, for example, an unincorporated community on Route 33 in Lewis County. At the general store in this community, asking for pickles was code for whiskey during Prohibition. And since West Virginia ratified an amendment for statewide prohibition in 1914, six years before the 18th Amendment was passed, the residents of this tiny town were pushing “pickles” for almost 20 years in order to earn their name.
nikki bowman
Green Light for Growth stepping up
That’s the Spear-it
the power lunch
HOUSE
past perfect
most notable patron
Jimmie Tweel Carder has served as the general manager of the restaurant her father started for more than a decade. Her 96-year-old mother, Sally Tweel, is a regular and credits her longevity to the restaurant’s home style food.
“We call this picture of President Kennedy our million dollar picture,” Jimmie says. “It’s probably meant that much to our restaurant. People will wait 45 minutes to an hour to sit in this booth.”
regulars Retired NFL Quarterback Chad Pennington recently brought his family to Jim’s. A photo posted on Facebook gathered 2.2K likes, 85 comments, 345 shares, and reached 50,000 people.
tradition trumps
Jim’s 3 Most Popular Dishes
Fried Haddock Fish Dinner $10.75
Cheeseburger on Grilled Bread $3.35
Spaghetti with Meat Sauce $6.37
“It took my father five to six years to add diet soda after it was first introduced to the menu. He said it was a fad. And even then he’d only order it in 2-liter bottles.”
in many ways jim’s steak & spaghetti house defies description. It is, quite simply, a special place where the past meets the present, where important decisions are made, and where memories are treasured—all over a plate of the signature spaghetti or a slice of homemade coconut cream pie. Maybe it’s the vinyl booths or the walls lined with memorabilia, or maybe it’s the chrome-trimmed counter with swiveling bar stools that overlooks a sizzling griddle. Maybe it’s Jimmie Carder, the daughter of the original owner Jim Tweel, who greets you at the door like a long lost friend, who makes it so special. Or maybe it’s all of the above. What began 75 years ago as Jim’s Dairy Bar has metamorphosed into a beloved Huntington culinary institution where affordable comfort food and an atmosphere that wraps its arms around you bring legions of devotees—from politicians to students to retirees to professionals. “People come back again and again because it always tastes Cash or check only, 11 a.m.–9 p.m., closed Sundays and Mondays, 920 Fifth Avenue, the same,” Jimmie says. Huntington, WV 27501, 304.696.9788, jimsspaghetti.com, facebook.com/jimsrestaurant
written and photographed by nikki bowman
Focus wvfocus.com
21
Democratic Governors
connections
Tweet Me, Maybe?
Democratic Party
@DemGovs
governor
Earl Ray Tomblin @ertwv
We check in on some of West Virginia’s politicians to see who’s following whom.
Following
159 2,449 Followers
Macy’s @Macys
Don’t miss a word during the session—subscribe to the list “lawmakers” published by @WVLegislature. Results compiled in December 2013
WVU Women’s Soccer
@wvuwomenssoccer
WV Penitentiary
Neil Diamond
Pres. Barack Obama
@WVPenitentiary
@NeilDiamond
@BarackObama
Howard Monroe American Mountain Theatre
Hoppy Kercheval
state senate PRESIDENT
(radio talk show host) @radiomonroe
@HoppyKercheval
Jeff Kessler @JeffKesslerWV Following
934 2,044
@AMT_Elkins
Followers
Davisson Brothers Band
Wheeling Dog Park @Wheeling Dogpark
@DavissonBroBand
Bob Huggins
WV Clean Elections
@CoachHuggs
Blue & Gold News
@WVCleanElection
KEY = Following, notably = First five follows = Following = Who follows whom
@penguins
= Democrat = Republican = Not on Twitter
Natalie’s Musket @NataliesMusket
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Focus January/February 2014
WV Legislature photography
@BlueGoldNews
Pittsburgh Penguins
Shepherdstown Street Fest
Tudor’s Biscuit World
@ShepStreetFest
@TudorsBiscuits
STATE House majority leader
Landau Eugene Murphy
Lynette Maselli
Tony Caridi
(Mountaineer Sports Network) @TonyCaridi
(media specialist, Office of the Senate President)
John Unger
Michele Bachmann
@SenatorUnger Following
520 927
@MicheleBachmann
Larry LaCorte
Followers
Not on Twitter!
@RepMcKinley
STATE senate majority leader
@landaueugenejr
Harry K. White
Rep. David McKinley
(political consultant) @wvlarry
The Associated Press
WVGOP
Beth Walker
(lawyer) @bethwalker
STATE House mINority leader
Sen. Joe Manchin @Sen_JoeManchin
Tim Armstead @ArmsteadWV Following
585 964
Followers
Rusty Webb (lawyer) @RustyWebb
Don Suber (media)
Men’s Health Magazine
Rep. Shelley Moore Capito
@MensHealthMag
Steve Stewart
(Appalachian Power) @stevengstewart
Gary Howell (delegate) @71Demon
@RepShelley
STATE SENATE mINority leader
Mike Hall
Beer Loves Charleston WV
@MikeHallWV4
@BeerLovesCharWV
Following
John C. Casey (FOX Engineering) @JohnCCasey
Susan Miley
25 101
(wife)
Ryan Thorn
Followers
(Cliffs Natural Resources)
Evan Jenkins’ Hair
@EvanJenkinsHair
WV Feminist Army
speaker of the house
Tim Miley
@WVFeministArmy
@timotheymiley Following
John Overington (delegate)
Sen. Jay Rockefeller
851 1,386
Plancha Tacos in LA @Plancha Tacos
Energy Efficient WV @EEWV
Nathan Drain
(Harrison County Democratic Executive Committee)
Followers
Nicole DeSimone (employee)
Old Gold n Blue
Brammo Motorcycles
Rider Pharmacy
@RiderPharmacy
@BrammoSays
Focus wvfocus.com
23
Bloomery SweetShine offers great flavors like limoncello, ginger, and chocolate raspberry.
Bloomin’ Business How We Did It
Bloomery SweetShine makes a name for itself with artisan cordials made on the farm.
I
written by laura wilcox rote | photographed by deborah kopper & elizabeth roth
t all started with a few lemons and raspberries—in West Virginia of all places. “Growing lemons in West Virginia is rather unique. We’re the very first commercial grower of lemons in the whole Mid-Atlantic,” says Rob Losey, director of sales and distribution at Bloomery Plantation Distillery. Husband and wife team Linda Losey and Tom Kiefer bought a dilapidated
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Focus January/February 2014
1840s log cabin in December 2010 from Craigslist, and cocktails as we know them haven’t been the same since. The Charles Town business quickly blossomed and, even, transformed—
Bloomery Plantation Distillery is open Fridays, Saturdays, and most federal holidays from 11 a.m. to 8 p.m.
from its original product line to what is now a growing line called Bloomery SweetShine. The idea to make limoncello came after a trip to Italy when Tom and his family fell in love with handmade limoncello. When they returned home and couldn’t find that same taste, they set out to make their own. Rob came on as their first employee, building the greenhouse, planting the raspberry field, and doing countless other tasks. Tom’s brother also works for Bloomery, and the company has grown to five full-time and five part-time employees. But the group didn’t necessarily set out to start a business in West Virginia. Linda, Tom, and Rob have farms in Baltimore, while Rob also has a cottage in Charles Town. To be a mini-distillery in Maryland, you first have to be a vineyard, but Bloomery didn’t want to become a vintner and grow grapes. So they began to look elsewhere. “I don’t think we could have picked a better location than Charles Town,” Rob says, noting the area’s tourists and proximity to D.C. Plus they had support in West Virginia—from local governments and consumers. They work closely with officials in Jefferson County, which happens to be one of the few counties in the state with an agriculture development officer on its economic development team. “That has been a big plus in helping us get our name out and find resources to help us with sourcing what we can’t grow,” Rob says. “If we can’t grow all our raspberries we source raspberries from local farmers.” In order to be a mini-distillery in West Virginia,
25 percent of raw agricultural ingredients have to be grown on-site. The team grows lemons, raspberries, ginger, pumpkins, and walnuts on the property and the peaches come from Martinsburg. “It’s not really farm-to-table, but farm-to-bottle. No farm, no hooch,” Rob says. In the first 26 months, Bloomery saw nearly 30,000 visitors. “We sell out of every bottle we make. Our biggest challenge is keeping up with production,” Rob says. In fall 2010 what was called, simply, Cello, began to transform as flavors expanded. When the distillery opened it offered four products; now it offers nine. One of the first flavors was hard lemonade, using a byproduct of the limoncello and hand-squeezed lemons. When the staff started to add more adventurous drinks— incorporating chocolate, peach, pumpkin, and ginger—they realized they’d traveled far from the limoncello family. “Outside of the distillery—in bartenders’ hands and on the liquor store shelves—the name Cello was putting us in a pigeonhole,” Rob says. “People thought of Cello as an afterdinner drink or a sipper. We are so much more than limoncello. It’s our flagship and our number one seller and absolutely phenomenal, but when you start tasting the peach and the pumpkin and the ginger, they are really nontraditional and Cello was the wrong moniker.” So staff at Bloomery set out to find a name that was fun, memorable, and authentic for their products. “Everything we do starts with 190-degree moonshine,” Rob says. “We wanted the labels to be reminiscent of turn-of-the-century seed labels. We’ve personified all of our labels on our bottles—we’ve got the ginger guy and the pumpkin girl and so on.” Linda found an award-winning artist to do the design, and in March 2013, the new line was launched. Bloomery has won many awards, including Best Overall Marketing Campaign for a Tourism Business in West Virginia. The distillery has also won nearly 20 international and national medals and awards covering everything from packaging to taste. Employees at the distillery offer free tastings in an intimate, rustic space on the
farm, and Rob and the gang never fail to please with lively presentations. “We try to make that a really fun experience to help us build our brand,” he says. “One of our biggest challenges is being able to carry that fun experience outside of the distillery and into the market. It’s one thing to have a nice looking bottle, but as a small business, marketing budgets are limited. We have family, friends, and volunteers help bring our bottle characters to life and take them on the road to various events.” Staff at Bloomery think outside the box, traveling across the state Visit Bloomery and beyond, even partnerPlantation ing with giants like the Distillery in Smithsonian National Zoo the Eastern Panhandle. and dressing up for events.
The distillery is hosting more of its own events, too, and hopes to do more mixology classes in the future. Rob says the next hurdle to overcome is being able to sell on Sunday. He says few great Sunday brunch options exist in West Virginia because restaurants can’t sell a Bloody Mary or mimosa until 1 p.m. He says the distillery is a lot like a winery, and there are 50 or so wineries within 20 miles of Bloomery. “I watch West Virginia dollars drive right by my door every Sunday, and I’m not able to pull Virginia dollars in. That’s painful.” Bloomery SweetShine is sold in West Virginia liquor stores and in Washington, D.C., many restaurants, and soon on shelves in Virginia and Tennessee. Bloomery Plantation Distillery 16357 Charles Town Road, Charles Town, WV 25414; bloomerysweetshine.com
Focus wvfocus.com
25
dashboard
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Our West Virginia Economic Dashboard provides a visual representation of the state’s performance relative to the U.S. economy. We present the latest monthly data compared with year-ago data, as well as one-time indicators available on a yearly basis such as gross domestic product and per capita personal income.
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West Virginia’s Economic Dashboard
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10
United States’ Unemployment Rate, Nov. 2012 Seasonally Adjusted (percentage out of 100)
U.S. Total Non-Farm Payroll Employment (thousands) Seasonally Adjusted
134,472
prepared by witt economics, llc
136,803 0
30K
60K
90K
November 2012 November 2013
120K
Source: U.S. Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics and West Virginia Labor Market Information
Per Capita Personal Income U.S.
West Virginia
10K 0
2011
Source: U.S. Department of Commerce, Bureau of Economic Analysis
26
Focus January/February 2014
$35,082
20K
$43,735
30K
$33,822
40K
$42,298
50K
2012
Percent Change in GDP, 2011–2012
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10
West Virginia’s Unemployment Rate, Nov. 2012
Source: U.S. Department of Commerce, Bureau of Economic Analysis
Seasonally Adjusted (percentage out of 100)
Labor Force Participation Rate in 2012
r=revised p =preliminary
Nebraska
72.5
3
Minnesota
70.3
4
South Dakota
69.5
5
District of Columbia
69.4
Bottom Five
Percent of 16+ Pop.
47
Louisiana
59.4
48
South Carolina
59.3
49
Mississippi
58.9
50
Alabama
58
51
West Virginia
54.4
Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
600K
500K
400K
300K
200K
654.1p November 2013
2
650.1r November 2012
72.7
121.3p November 2013
North Dakota
116.2r November 2012
700K
1
775.4p November 2013
Top Five
766.3r November 2012
800K
Percent of 16+ Pop.
100K
0
WV Total Non-Farm Payroll Employment (thousands), Seasonally Adjusted
Goods-Producing Payroll Employment (thousands)
Service-Producing Employment (thousands)
Source: Workforce West Virginia, monthly release
Focus wvfocus.com
27
Environment
Water Woes
I
n a state where leaders typically try to shield businesses from the cost of regulation, Freedom Industries’ January 9 chemical spill just upstream from regional drinking water intake was an inevitable disaster. Many agency actions could have prevented the contamination of tap water for 300,000 when an unknown volume of 4-methylcyclohexene methanol leaked from an aging tank and seeped through faulty secondary containment into the Elk River in Charleston, but simply were not done. It was hours before the water company became aware of the spill and issued a “do not use” order. Residents quickly learned that not much is known about the toxicity of “crude MCHM”—that it can blister the skin and causes vomiting, but nothing about its effects at various quantities or concentrations. More than 15 percent of the state’s population essentially lost running water. Nearly 170 turned up at hospitals with chemical exposure symptoms, and businesses, schools, and the Legislature shut down. It was four days before the advisory began to be lifted, in zones. Among the issues raised: West Virginia’s general storm water permit, the only environmental permit held by the facility, requires preparation of a spill prevention and response plan. The company was aware that its secondary containment was deficient—it had set aside money to upgrade the structure—but had no response plan. As issuer of the permit, shouldn’t the state Department of Environmental Protection confirm the establishment of a procedure? The company files forms with the state each year detailing chemicals
28
Focus January/February 2014
and quantities stored. Yet neither the water company nor public health and environmental protection officials had studied this chemical’s characteristics or inspected the facility. And residents learned five days into the crisis that the public safety department does not map such facilities in relation to drinking water intakes. Digital mapping is widely available—wouldn’t this be an obvious application of it? The Freedom Industries spill is not an isolated example of poor regulation and planning. Spills and explosions attributed to regulatory failures happen too regularly. In the chemical industry, the U.S. Chemical Safety Board’s recommendation following the deadly 2008 Bayer CropScience explosion that the state develop a Hazardous Chemical Release Prevention Program was ignored—and ignored again after a fatal 2010 DuPont incident in Belle. We will soon have estimates of the spill’s cost to households, businesses, and disaster relief agencies and organizations. But the damage to West Virginia’s reputation can never be quantified. Media outlets like the Washington Post, the Wall Street Journal, CNN, and National Public Radio reported day after day on the plight of businesses and residents without water. The New York Times took particular note of a state history of lax environmental regulation. It resurrected its own 2009 investigation finding that hundreds of businesses had polluted with impunity in the state—citing observations by DEP employees of a tendency to waive sanction for businesses that “promise to try harder,” and a “revolving door” through which regulators pass to highpaying jobs in companies they previously regulated. Tourism in Charleston is just one example. “Probably most important to us and to the city is the long-term perception factor,” says Charleston Convention and Visitors Bureau President and CEO Alisa Bailey, who had reviewed a study of the effects on tourism of BP’s 2010 Deepwater Horizon spill and other disasters. “It looks like we can expect it to take 15 months to two years to get back to where we were.” At a time when groups are fighting to attract people who will establish careers
and raise families in the state, this spill is a sucker punch. But we can’t give up. We all have to be diligent and hold our government agencies and businesses accountable.
Kudos to Ken @Kenwardjr at The Charleston Gazette rocked coverage of the Freedom Industries spill. Here are just a few of his hundreds of tweets. 11:17am · 14 Jan 14
New for @wvgazette: WV officials acknowledge they had no plan for potential Freedom spill into drinking water. 7:32am · 14 Jan 14
@iaret220 what “most media outlets” don’t realize is just because something isn’t listed hazardous material doesn’t mean it’s not hazardous. 8:52 pm · 13 Jan 14
All you national enviro groups - why aren’t you asking @GinaEPA why EPA is silent on WV water crisis and chemical spill? 8:18pm · 13 Jan 14
Also DEP: Freedom had set up one cinder block and used one 50-pound bag of some sort of safety absorbent powder to try to block the chemical 6:53pm · 12 Jan 14
Red vs. Blue arguments over something like this chemical accident are boring. Both parties fail to enforce chemical safety laws. 3:13pm · 12 Jan 14
If you were wondering, state & local officials in WV have known that Freedom Industries was storing this stuff on site since at least 2008. 7:52pm · 10 Jan 14
Lots of people will make jokes about lawsuits over this chemical spill, but plaintiff lawyers may play major role in getting to truth. 5:18pm · 9 Jan 14
Breaking: WV DMAPS spokesman tells us that WV American Water is issuing “do not use” order for water customers in CRW, surrounding counties.
Top Issues
Bills We’ll Be Watching in 2014 1
Prescriptions for Pseudoephedrine
Most contentious in 2014 will be House and Senate legislation to require prescriptions for pseudoephedrine-type drugs that are used in the making of methamphetamine. Pharmaceutical companies and retailers portray it as an issue of access; bill sponsor and House Health Committee Chairman Delegate Don Perdue, D-Wayne, says the dangers meth labs pose have made it an issue of public health. “It’s going to be tough. We’ll probably lose, but we’ll keep coming.”
2
AGENDA
A Look Ahead West Virginia’s congressional delegation shares some of its legislative priorities for early 2014. Senator Jay Rockefeller (D)
Expand Internet access, improve transportation infrastructure, get West Virginia workers the job training and resources they need, boost manufacturing and attract new business to the state, and strengthen our ability to compete in an increasingly connected world.
Senator Joe Manchin (D)
Job growth and economic development in West Virginia and the U.S., a long-term fix for America’s financial house— reduce debt, responsibly cut out-of-control government spending, and make our tax system simpler and fairer.
Congressman David McKinley (R, WV-1)
Dealing with rural issues. This includes access to health care, overreach of the EPA, funding for sewer and water lines, and the protection of the coal industry in West Virginia.
Congresswoman Shelley Moore Capito (R, WV-2)
Continue to work to ensure a more prosperous future for the people of West Virginia: affordable American energy, job creation, education, and access to choices in health care.
Congressman Nick Rahall (D, WV-3)
Continue bringing federal investments to West Virginia to grow our economy and create jobs.
Prescriptions for “Forced” or “Fair” Pooling A controversial
measure that would allow gas producers to incorporate the resources of hold-out natural gas mineral owners where other neighbors have signed leases, pooling has been under discussion for several years. Interim study in 2013 may have brought stakeholders to agreement on language.
3
Medical Marijuana Introduced by Delegate Mike Manypenny, D-Taylor, in 2011 and 2013 and subject of a hearing before the Joint Committee on Health in November, legislation to allow medical uses of marijuana is expected again in 2014. Nineteen states and Washington, D.C., allow it.
4
Future Fund Senate President
Jeff Kessler’s legislation diverting a portion of natural gas severance taxes to a West Virginia Future Fund permanent endowment for economic development is expected back on the floor. It will be the fourth try at the fund; we’ll see if taking 19 West Virginia legislators to North Dakota last summer to research a working model did the trick.
Focus wvfocus.com
29
insurance
Uncostly Care? Kris Tawney of Tawney Insurance Consulting answers tough questions around the Affordable Care Act.
Y
ou know it as Obamacare, but did you know West Virginia stands to benefit the most of all states from the Affordable Care Act (ACA)? According to a study conducted by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, more than 80 percent of uninsured West Virginians will receive financial assistance through subsidies in the ACA’s Health Insurance Marketplace or expanded Medicaid. Many businesses are wondering just how the act will affect them.
I’m a small business owner with fewer than 25 employees and I already provide insurance benefits to my employees. How will ACA affect my company? You will likely be able to keep your current plan, but there will continue to be changes. Many companies received early renewal options this past fall to change their renewal date to December 1, 2013, to allow more time to prepare for the Affordable Care Act. If you chose this option, you can still make changes and adjust your plan or overall strategy at any time. Note that underwriting will no longer be based on health conditions and there will be no more health questionnaires for employees. Your pricing will be based on your employees and their families’ age, region, and whether they smoke. People often think they are obligated to their existing insurance company for a year. That is not true. You can explore options.
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Focus January/February 2014
There could be an opportunity to minimize costs by changing your current plan design or the manner in which you deliver it. Small groups often get the least attention from traditional sales-driven insurance agents so it is important to look at options and force your agent to show you all the possibilities. It is also imperative to look at the additional insurance benefits like dental, vision, and life insurance you offer and make sure you have updated rates. Look at your overall benefits package so you are looking at the holistic costs. Also understand that if you have 25 employees on your health insurance plan, you are likely paying your insurance professional $8,000 or more annually to take care of you. Expect the highest level of expertise and execution. Do I receive a tax benefit for providing health insurance? There is a small business tax credit for health care expenses for small businesses that meet certain criteria. You must cover at least 50 percent
of your full-time employees’ premium cost, have fewer than 25 employees, and the average annual wage of your employees must be less than $50,000. The amount of credit you receive is on a sliding scale. The smaller the business, the larger the credit. Speak with your accountant if you feel you are close to these numbers. It may have been overlooked and there may be some additional dollars there. I’m hearing a lot about the Health Insurance Marketplace. As a business owner, how do I determine if I should keep my current insurance provider or utilize the Marketplace? The Health Insurance Marketplace is an important aspect of the Affordable Care Act. Some people think the Marketplace is a different insurance than what they can buy right now, but it is not. It is the same insurance by the same insurance companies inside the Marketplace versus outside the Marketplace. For example,
Highmark operates inside and outside the Marketplace. The plans are offered in both places. One thing to keep in mind is that insurance companies make the decision whether or not they want to participate, so you may have more options outside of the Marketplace versus inside. I’m a small business owner and I’ve never provided insurance benefits to my employees. What are the steps I need to take? You need to engage an unbiased consultant. I would caution against calling a traditional insurance salesperson because many in this industry now are trying to sell all the product possible to get as much money in the door as they can. The process of evaluating insurance plans and costs has actually become easier in 2014. It requires a simple census of your employees with a few key items that insurance companies use to price plans. You will want to analyze different methods of offering insurance to your employees. Some will find that offering a group health plan is the best avenue. Others will look at providing a defined contribution method in which they give employees a certain monthly allotment to buy the insurance plans of their choice. This is a viable option for many companies now because all individual health plans are guaranteed issue. This means you cannot be denied coverage. Many people in the past were denied coverage. Employers were forced to use group products and did not have the flexibility that they do in 2014.
into account the “pay or play” mandate in 2015, which penalizes companies with more than 50 full-time equivalents for not offering insurance. You will need to take stock of your employees and the average number of hours worked. You may have one group of employees to whom you may not want to offer insurance and you may be able to get by with doing that with minimal cost and exposure to penalties. Engage with a consultant who understands your business and has the expertise to understand where your profit centers are and what your insurance obligations are in those sectors. By law you are obligated to offer insurance to 95 percent of your employees who work an average of 30 hours per week or more if you have more than 50 full-time equivalents. What happens if I offer insurance, but my employees opt out? Keep in mind that your requirement as an employer in 2015 is to offer insurance, not for the
employee to take it. The individual is in charge of their decision. As an employer, you only have to make coverage available to those who work an average of more than 30 hours per week and are considered full-time. Keep in mind the plan must meet certain requirements. There may be different employees at different pay grades, but you must ensure you treat all of them within the rules of the law and the benefit options available. The employer mandate includes penalties for an employer with more than 50 full-time equivalents who does not offer health insurance. The rule does not go into effect until 2015, but it is a smart idea to plan now. With Medicaid expansion, Medicare, and CHIP (Children’s Health Insurance Program), you have a number of places your employees may fit, which will minimize the amount you have to cover. Tawney Insurance Consulting, LLC 304.594.8871, tawneyinsures.com
I own a couple of small businesses in different industries. Each company has a different number of employees. Combined, I have more than 100 full-time employees and 75 part-time employees. What is in store for me? Quite a bit of analysis and a number of strategic planning sessions. You really need to dig into the options within the law and understand your obligations and when they take effect. A clear understanding of underwriting and the new rules placed on insurance companies will be very valuable to you. Each industry you are in business in will have different pay grades and requirements to attract and retain employees. Some may require insurance and some may not. Take Focus wvfocus.com
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It Takes a Village BIG IDEA
A community for teachers is coming to downtown Welch.
written by laura wilcox rote | photographed by nikki bowman
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Focus January/February 2014
E
nticing teachers to move to economically depressed areas across the U.S. isn’t easy, but in McDowell County, one group hopes that’s about to change for their local schools. Reconnecting McDowell is changing the face of education in Welch in southern West Virginia with something they call a Teacher Village—housing that will include approximately 30 apartment-style units, group areas for teachers to collaborate and relax, and amenities like a streetlevel coffee shop that will be open to the general public. Groundbreaking on the village is expected in spring 2014. McDowell County is the first rural community to build housing to attract young teachers, and the county could be a
“One of the goals of the Teacher Village is to attract and retain teachers because a teacher may be interested in coming to the county but there’s no place for them to live,” says Janet Bass, AFT spokesperson. The
model for others facing waning populations and crumbling infrastructure. “The whole Reconnecting McDowell program is really unique, certainly in a rural area, but anywhere really,” says Janet Bass, spokesperson for the American Federation of Teachers (AFT). Reconnecting McDowell has already funneled more than $10 million into the county in an effort to revive the 3,600-student school district—under state control for more than a decade. The Reconnecting McDowell board of directors approved a plan in late 2013 to purchase property in downtown Welch for affordable housing for teachers and other professionals. Community Housing Partners, the architecture firm designing the housing, presented options for the Teacher Village when the board chose to enter into a
“
We are helping this proud community reclaim the promise of great schools and access to the services and programs they need to thrive.” randi weingarten, AFT PRESIDENT
village should stimulate economic growth, too. An estimated 40 new construction jobs are anticipated, for instance, and there is opportunity for more retail space. “It could have a ripple effect.”
purchase option on the property of the longclosed Best Furniture and Katzen buildings. The facilities will resemble a college dormitory with collaborative workspaces, common rooms, and a small gym that could draw young teachers from top schools around the country. “This is a huge milestone for a greatly anticipated endeavor intended to help retain teachers in McDowell County and to spark economic development,” says Gayle Manchin, chair of the Reconnecting McDowell board. The board will decide in early 2014 whether to renovate the existing buildings or construct new. “We continue to hear that new housing is essential to bring in great teachers who will want to stay and to spearhead an economic revival in the downtown area,” says AFT President Randi Weingarten. “We are helping this proud community reclaim the promise of great schools and access to the services and programs they need to thrive.” About three years ago Gayle approached Randi about helping McDowell County schools. After some discussion they decided it couldn’t just be about education, but that addressing poverty and inequity must be part of the mission, too. “We set out to deal with the underlying problems these families are facing,” Janet says. Gayle and Randi assembled a team of partners, which has since grown tremendously. Reconnecting McDowell currently has more than 100 partners across government, nonprofit organizations, businesses, and the community—from Fortune 500 companies to local government. Visible improvements in the county’s 14 schools have already been made since the partnership started in late 2011. Every school now has high-speed Internet, and by spring 2014 middle school students will be eligible to receive free laptops. “There’s just been an incredible amount of work that’s been done,” Janet says. reconnectingmcdowell.org Focus wvfocus.com
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Past reforms have professionalized lobbying . . .
. . . but another set of efforts seeks to track . . .
. . . the money that buys influence.
written by
nikki bowman
Pam Kasey
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Focus January/February 2014
T
he American League of Lobbyists announced in November that it would now be known as the Association of Government Relations Professionals. The explanation: The organization’s scope has broadened. That didn’t keep eyes from rolling. “What do you call a trade organization that represents lobbyists, when ‘lobbyist’ has become a dirty word?” asked The Business Journals’ Washington Bureau chief. “These savvy professionals … know that reputation matters. And they know that theirs stinks,” read The Washington Post. It smells in state capitals, too. Charleston lobbyist Chris Marr, co-founder of CRW Management Group, says he’s considered calling himself a government affairs professional, a policy educator—even, he jokes, a policy entrepreneur. State and federal reforms over the past quarter century have largely professionalized the lawmakerlobbyist relationship. But even if blatant corruption has been mopped up, the stench persists. Here’s why: Money still buys influence, and we still suspect spendy lobbyists get more than their share, sometimes to the detriment of the rest of us. Some West Virginia legislators want to track it.
Fringes of Government
Anyone who tries to influence government is a lobbyist. It’s a right each of us gets, part of our freedom of speech, and thousands of people in the state do it each year. A council member who pleads for city sewer funding, a teen who writes to oppose year-round
school—they’re lobbyists. But those who do it for a living have to register with the state, and 300-some professional lobbyists are registered in West Virginia at any given time. About 70 percent are in-house lobbyists who promote their organizations’ and companies’ interests as part of their jobs. The remaining 30 percent, contract lobbyists who hire themselves out to advocate for multiple clients’ agendas in Charleston, are the most immersed in capitol culture. Taken together, this corps of lay and professional advocates operates at the fringes of government, nudging and tugging it where they think it should go. It’s an important function, especially in states like West Virginia that have part-time citizen legislatures. Our 34 senators and 100 delegates—by profession real estate agents, mayors, pastors, lawyers, and business owners— can’t be experts on the subjects of the hundreds of bills that are introduced each year. Lobbyists educate policymakers about the unintended consequences of bills, Marr says. Delegate Barbara Fleischauer, D-Monongalia, says lobbyists’ expertise helps to refine laws as they’re crafted. “We definitely rely on them to fill in some gaps for us.” All of that dialogue up front minimizes legal challenge at the back end. And once bills are passed, lobbyists work with members of the executive branch—employees of agencies like the Department of Environmental Protection and the Bureau for Public Health—to shape the rules that will carry them out. Like other professionals, lobbyists take pride in their skill. “You know how a bill becomes a law, but there are a lot of nuances that aren’t explained or taught,” says Julie Archer, in-house lobbyist for the Focus wvfocus.com
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nonprofit West Virginia Citizen Action Group. “Even though I’ve been doing this for over 10 years, I pick up on something new every year.” A good lobbyist knows his subjects cold, according to 20-year contract lobbyist Tom Susman at the firm TSG Consulting. “You have to be a subject matter expert.” Working in a profession with a too colorful past, almost all are quick to say integrity is their main asset. “Ask any member of the Legislature about me—they’ll tell you I’m honest,” says contract lobbyist Paul Hardesty of Capitol Concepts. “I’d rather hurt their feelings than lie to them. That’s the way you have to do this business.”
“We don’t make very much as citizen legislators. The idea that somebody could be making five times as much as we are to influence us is troubling.” barbara fleischauer, d-monongalia
There’s Spending . . .
In decades past, the West Virginia Coal Association maintained a hotel suite in Charleston any time the Legislature was in session. It was occupied, so it’s told, by lobbyists Carmine Cann and Ned “Big Daddy” Watson, both former chairmen of the powerful House Judiciary Committee. Legislators were welcome to the suite’s food and liquor and a seat at the card table day and night. It was exactly the kind of behindclosed-doors largesse that joined “lobbying” and “corruption” in the public mind. All that changed in 1989 with the West Virginia Governmental Ethics Act. No longer are lobbyists permitted to give, or legislators to receive, in such private and unlimited fashion. These days lobbyists report their spending on gifts, which are capped at $25 a year for any one public official, and on meals, which are not capped; they also report certain travel, lodging, and advertising expenses, along with any campaign contributions—mainly, the types of expenditures that most raise suspicion. Citizens can now learn which employer or clients each lobbyist works for, which lawmakers they’re
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Focus January/February 2014
feeding, and how much they’re donating to whom. Topping the spending list is always the high-profile and candid Hardesty, who represents 30 clients and spent more than $100,000 in the past five years. His reports tally meals, mostly—dinners with lawmakers and their spouses, catered events for whole groups of legislators and their staffs—as well as sizeable campaign contributions. And the public now has a snapshot of these expenditures for the state as a whole: $325,000 in 2009, about $450,000 in 2010 and 2011, and a little more than $570,000 in 2012. Those last three were election years, and heavier on campaign contributions.
. . . And There’s Spending . . .
But while gifts, meals, and campaign contributions are the lobbying expenditures most susceptible to abuse, they’re a small part of the total influence industry. In a 2012 State Integrity Investigation headed up by the nonprofit investigative Center for Public Integrity, or CPI, West Virginia pulled a dismal score of 53 out of 100 on lobbying disclosure. Many states scored in the 90s, and only seven came in below West Virginia. Why? While the state drew high marks for registering lobbyists and for requiring disclosure of some expenditures, it ranked low in two main areas. One is disclosure by lobbyists of their compensation. The other, reporting by lobbyist employers and clients of their expenditures. Why would anyone think the compensation of lobbyists, private citizens exercising a constitutional right, should be public information? “Personally, I think that’s an invasion,” Marr says, echoing the sentiments of other lobbyists. “It may make for sexy media fodder, but it’s a business-to-business transaction and I don’t think the amount a lobbyist is paid compromises the process.” But 24 states do require some form of compensation disclosure, and it can be by far the largest part of all lobbying expenditures reported. In 2012 lobbyist compensation was three-quarters of the total $9 million in spending reported in Vermont, for example, and three-quarters of $54 million reported in Maryland. The implication seems to be that, while the public is worrying about steak dinners and cocktails, what brings the most value—the most influence—to lobbyists’ clients is the lobbyists themselves: the relationships they form, their time learning about issues, their presence at the capitol and at agency offices. While reporting meals and campaign
“Lobbyist: anyone who tries to influence your way of thinking.” How did you get your start? I was director of the Office of Coalfield Community Development during the Wise administration. I was on his legislative team and we lobbied the governor’s agenda. I was also vice chair of the Coal Truck Task Force, working on the coal truck bill. It was kind of a baptism by fire. I found it extremely interesting.
Paul Hardesty Sole proprietor, Capitol Concepts Lobbyist since 2007
nikki bowman
Clients: Alliance Coal; Alpha Natural Resources Services; American Electric Power; BrickStreet Mutual Insurance Co.; Centene Corp.; Coal River Energy; Contractors Association of West Virginia; CVS Caremark; E.L. Robinson Engineering; General Cigar Co.; The Greenbrier; Hatfield-McCoy Regional Recreation Authority; Loved Ones in Home Care, Inc.; MarkWest Energy Partners; Mining Repair Specialist, Inc.; MorphoTrust; Natural Resource Partners; Northwood Health Systems; Patriot Coal Corp.; Peerless Block & Brick Co.; Penn Virginia Resource Partners; PepsiCo; Petroplus & Associates; Petroplus Lane; Swedish Match North America; Taggart Global; TSG Consulting; Tyler Mountain Water Co.; West Virginia Retailers Association; West Virginia University Research Corp.; West Virginia United Health System
How much of your time do you spend lobbying? January through early April, the legislative sessions and the budget week following the session, that’s lobbying 24/7—you have to be there to participate. And interims each month. The rest of the time, it turns more government relations—if my clients have issues with regulatory stuff, with state or local government entities, I try to help them navigate that process. Favorite methods? I entertain quite a bit. I tell my clients when they hire me, “If you want me to generate white papers and do fancy reports, go hire someone else. If you want me to introduce and pass legislation that affects your business, I’m your guy.” What makes a good lobbyist? Honesty. If I lie to one of those 134 members, I’ve damaged my credibility and I can’t repair that. I will not represent a client if I don’t believe in what they do. I can’t sell something I don’t believe in. I’ve turned down some big hitters. It’s easy to sell a product you believe in. Why do we need lobbyists? Companies need to protect their interests and their brands—I think that’s critical. And in a part-time legislative process, members need to be apprised of the issues. Lobbyists provide that service. Would you like to share how much you are paid for lobbying? A bill comes up every year in the House of Delegates to get us to divulge our contracts and I’ve never been a fan of that. If it ever passes of course
Reported Spending January 2009–August 2013:
$102,600 Campaign Contributions: Reported spending 2009–2013 Reported contributions 2010, 2011,
2012
$4,000
to Democratic candidates for governor
$16,550
to Democratic and Republican candidates for state Senate and House of Delegates
$17,400
to Democratic and Republican candidates for governor, commissioner of agriculture, attorney general, Senate, and House of Delegates
I’d comply with it. I’ve gotten criticized before because I take people to dinner. I report that dinner to the Ethics Commission. What are the dangers of lobbying? I think it’s got a stereotype that it will never get rid of as a direct result of things that have gone on in Washington and in other states. I’ve heard the same horror stories as everyone else, about moneyed interests still having a lot of influence. Legislators don’t make much money for what they do and the price of an election keeps continuing to grow. Should we watchdog that better? Anything you watchdog is appropriate. Someone has to watch it. Random thoughts A lot of people have preconceived notions about what a lobbyist is and does. The best way to get a grasp on it is to be part of the legislative process and learn for yourself. Last time I checked, the doors were open. Focus wvfocus.com
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“You have to lay a solid foundation of information and research for the January session.”
Megan Roskovensky Director of Communications and Research at the Law Office of Philip A. Reale Lobbyist since 2011 Clients: Alkermes, Inc.; American Bail Coalition; Braskem; CGI Technologies & Solutions, Inc.; Clay Center for the Arts & Sciences; Humana; Independent Oil & Gas Association of West Virginia; Health Management Systems, Inc.; MultiState Associates, Inc. on behalf of HealthPort; MultiState Associates, Inc. on behalf of U.S. Fireworks Safety Commission, Inc.; Odebrecht; Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America; Wells Fargo Insurance Services of West Virginia, Inc.; West Virginia Community Action Partnership, Inc.; West Virginia Interactive; West Virginia Society of Oral & Maxillofacial Surgeons; West Virginia Beer Wholesalers Association; West Virginia Kennel Owners Association
How did you get your start? I was a legislative staffer from 2006 to 2010 and I got to know the process and the people involved. I was recruited by a lobbying firm because of my experience.
Why do we need lobbyists? With a citizen legislature, it’s just impossible for them to learn and research as much as needed to make good decisions on legislation. I think that’s the hole we can fill.
How much of your time do you spend lobbying? All of my time is spent working to forward clients’ interests in West Virginia. During the session and interims, I’m down at the capitol a lot. But we operate by a philosophy that the session is not the time to get real things done for the state of West Virginia—we consider lobbying to be a yearround thing. Outside the session, we learn about the subjects that are of interest to our clients and educate members and the administration about those subjects. You have to lay a solid foundation of information and research for the January session.
What makes a good lobbyist? Passion, thick skin, a sense of humor, and a real love for your state. But ultimately it comes down to honesty. I know, or at least I hope I know, our legislative members recognize that I care about them, our state, and my own integrity enough that I will always be truthful. We won’t always agree, and that’s OK.
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Focus January/February 2014
$4,620 Campaign Contributions:
Reported spending 2009–2013 Reported contributions
Would you like to share how much you are paid for lobbying? I guess I’ll pass. How do you measure your success? A lot of what our clients like is just to know we’re not going to let anything slip through the cracks. And as a female, sometimes just someone recognizing me as a valuable resource gives me way more of a high than getting a bill passed or an amendment adopted. Lobbyist she admires Lisa Dooley with the Municipal League is a wonderful person and I will be happy if I can make my career look even remotely like hers. She’s a
2012
$100
to a Democrat for the state House of Delegates
straight shooter, she’s knowledgeable, she’s respected, and she’s just a good person. Random thoughts Everyone who works at this office is a West Virginian. We strive to make our clients’ interests line up with the state’s interests.
nikki bowman
Favorite methods? We do very, very little entertaining—that’s not our style. I love to visit. I worked with a lot of these people for several years before I became a lobbyist— I know their wives and husbands, I know their kids—so most of my time at the capitol during the session is checking in, saying, “How’s everything going?” Sometimes I say, “I’m sorry, I gotta lobby you for a minute.” And we do also generate white papers.
Reported Spending January 2011–August 2013:
Reported Lobbying Expenditures, 2012 Compensation Other; in various states, office expenses, subcontracted research, expert witnesses, etc. Gifts and meals, travel and lodging, advertising, and in WV and WA, campaign contributions
contributions may minimize corruption, disclosure of compensation begins to reveal the more subtle paths of influence. $60,000,000 Several West Virginia legislators believe lobbyist compensation should be public information. Delegate John Ellem, R-Wood, $50,000,000 introduced a bill in 2013 that would require lobbyists to report their compensation and its sources. “It’s about transparency,” he says. His bill died in the Judiciary Committee. Delegate $40,000,000 Troy Andes, R-Putnam, has offered a bill each year since 2010 that would require lobbyists to report their compensation agreements. $30,000,000 Dead four years in Judiciary. Fleischauer has been at it the longest. Seven years running, she’s introduced a bill to require disclosure of lobbyist compensation, along with contingent $20,000,000 compensation—payment specifically for successful lobbying. Seven years running, dead in Judiciary. What’s the hardest kind of bill to pass? One lobbyists hate. $10,000,000 Asked why disclosure of lobbyist compensation is a good idea, Fleischauer gave a current example. “The drug 0 companies have a lot of lobbyists at MD NJ the capitol arguing against the idea of prescriptions for the drugs to make meth. I’d Source: Individual states’ lobbying expenditure reports like to know how much they’re spending on that,” she says. She wants the constituents of anyone who votes against prescriptions to know how much money the industry spent to influence their votes. And, finally, she wants to expose any disproportionality. “We don’t make very much as citizen legislators,” she says— lawmakers get $20,000 a year for what is, for most, a day-in, day-out occupation alongside their profession. “The idea that somebody could be making five times as much as we are to influence us is troubling.” Ellem and Fleischauer plan to pursue legislation again in 2014, and they expect a fight. “I think there’s a lot of behind-the-scenes resistance to something that some in the lobbying community probably see as a private matter,” Ellem says. “I don’t have any john ellem, r-wood illusions about it being easy.” But maybe there’s a better approach: the state’s other shortcoming in CPI’s investigation, reporting of expenditures by lobbyist employers and clients. Because, the fact is, our 300-some lobbyists are straw men in this discussion. Meager or enviable, their compensation is really only meaningful as part of the total government relations spending of the
WA
WV
“I think there’s a lot of behindthe-scenes resistance to something that some in the lobbying community probably see as a private matter.”
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500-some consumer, trade, labor, and environmental organizations and companies they represent. In 34 states, such influence-seekers have to report what they spend on lobbying. These states’ rules can capture lobbyist compensation, but also other lobbying related expenditures that would otherwise never be known, like spending on research and on experts to testify at committee hearings.
Employer and client spending give a much wider window on influence than would lobbyist compensation alone. The reporting requirements in Maryland, for example, enable the State Ethics Commission to publish each year the total each organization and company spends lobbying. Building Trades for National Harbor, a large upscale development, spent the most in 2012, at $2 million, while Maryland Workers for National Harbor, at number four, spent another $700,000. Rounding out the top five were a gaming corporation, a government fraud watchdog organization, and a realtors’ association. Compared with this kind of information, the paychecks of individual lobbyists hold little interest. Wisconsin goes a step further, uncovering Closely followed bills introduced in 2011 in Wisconsin and West Virginia the paths of influence from beginning to illustrate the difference in lobbying disclosure. Wisconsin residents were able end. Lobbyist employers and clients report to track influence (lobbying.wi.gov) on their hydropower bill precisely—which spending. More usefully, the reports detail organizations spent how many hours lobbying the bill and their intent. West numbers of hours spent on each bill and Virginia residents read dozens of newspaper stories and opinion pieces about executive matter lobbied. The state’s “Eye the horizontal well legislation, but ultimately cannot know whether lobbying was on Lobbying” website (lobbying.wi.gov) balanced or skewed. Both bills passed, in amended form. has made all this data publicly searchable since 2000. The very limited amount of For the bill Against the bill Raised concerns 24-hours information documented in West Virginia is available only in hard copy. Wisconsin: Senate Bill 81, relating to eligibility of hydroelectric Is this a good model for West Virginia? resources under the renewable portfolio standard. It depends on the goal. Using Fleischauer’s drug company example, West Virginians can Manitoba Hydro currently find out how much the lobbyists employed by drug companies spend on lawWisconsin Public Service Corporation makers—although, for those with multiple clients, they can’t be sure which client it’s for or whether any specific bill is discussed. RENEW Wisconsin With lobbyist compensation disclosure, they could attach some salary figures to that unWisconsin Solar Energy Industries Association certainty. With requirements like Wisconsin’s, they would know exactly which drug Orion Energy companies devote how much attention to Systems exactly which bills.
Time is Influence
Wind on Wires
. . . And Then There’s Spending West virginia: House Bill 401, establishing the Natural Gas Horizontal Well Control Act
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Focus January/February 2014
No data. West Virginia does not gather data on the lobbying efforts of individual companies and organizations.
Now, about those campaign contributions. Candidates for legislative office are allowed to ask lobbyists for campaign contributions, and lobbyists are allowed to make them. Even though contributions are reported, it’s the one area where observers of influence feel the potential for corrupt dealings is still pretty wide open. Senator Mike Green,
Favorite methods? We take lunch down from Potomac State College and their culinary program and invite all the legislators and office staff. We also have a middle school steel drum band that entertains our guests. What makes a good lobbyist? My success is actually getting to our legislators one on one, getting them to understand our projects.
D-Raleigh, introduced a bill in 2013 to prohibit lobbyists from making campaign contributions to or raising money for legislative Why do we need lobbyists? You incumbents or candidates during need to explain your needs. That’s what the 60-day regular session, when it’s all about. You need to request and the temptation to trade favors be informative. When we first started would seem to be highest. That taking Mineral County Day in Charleston bill died in Senate Finance—raising seriously, we had to identify ourselves the question, what’s the other as being located next to Cumberland, hardest kind of bill to pass? One Maryland. That’s changed. legislators hate. Lobbyists, unsurprisingly, are What are the dangers? From my all for it. “I like the legislative perspective, sometimes lobbyists get process—I don’t like campaigns. a bad name because they just go too Executive Director, Mineral County 2014 is going to suck,” says Marr. far—they can be aggressive. There’s Chamber of Commerce and Convention and Visitors Bureau Hardesty has similar thoughts. a time to be aggressive and a time to Lobbyist since 2007 “Election year stinks. I’ve already be informative. received nine invitations for Employer: Mineral County Chamber of Commerce fundraisers next week,” he said in How do you measure your success? and Convention and Visitors Bureau mid-November. He routinely gives Some of the things we’ve had really $15,000 to $20,000 in election years, good success with were the Frankfort and he’s up front about it. “I have a PSD water system and sewer system. Reported Spending January 2011–August 2013: large list of clients; I’ve been very We got grants for the courthouse roof fortunate in this business, and here and records management grants I’m expected to participate. The for microfilming; money for Ridgeley legislators who I think do a good job community center upgrades; a Fountain for the state, I try to participate.” PSD well water protection grant; we have The Center for a Brighter fire hydrants in Elk Garden, and we also Future, a think tank headed up have a new Keyser primary school. State by Morgantown businessman and How much of your time do you spend funding for these things came due at least former gubernatorial candidate lobbying? My main time is when we’re in part to lobbying efforts. Bill Maloney, wants to take it even in Charleston for Mineral County Days. further than Green. “We have a Throughout the year of course there are Random thoughts Maybe I’m a beggar, bill written to entirely disallow opportunities to meet with legislators and I but I enjoy it very, very much. I truly do. political donations from registered take advantage of that, too. This is just part of me. lobbyists and their immediate families. Lawmakers are going to have to figure out better ways to raise money,” Maloney says, adding that he is working with a bipartisan the rationale that the government has a compelling group of potential sponsors. state interest in preventing the appearance of quid There is some question whether such a law pro quo,” statutes prohibiting contributions yearwould violate lobbyists’ freedom of expression. round are vulnerable to challenge. “You can cap A number of states ban lobbyist contributions the amount of contributions to a candidate, but you outright to some classes of state-level candidates— can’t say someone can’t contribute at all,” he says. California, Kentucky, and South Carolina among But WVU law professor emeritus and ethics scholar them. West Virginia University law professor and Forest “Jack” Bowman doesn’t see it as a violation. state constitutional expert Robert Bastress feels He says, “You can choose to be a lobbyist or to that, while Green’s bill prohibiting contributions contribute. Not both.” during the session might be constitutional “under
Anne Palmer
courtesy of anne palmer
$21,200
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The balance of West Virginia’s population has been drifting northward since the 1950s. Political power seems to be moving now, too. Should our southern counties be worried? written by Pam Kasey
Nikki bowman
W
Corners like this are becoming all too common in West Virginia.
Murals in Welch depict a more colorful past.
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Focus January/February 2014
Less Coal, Fewer People
In 1950, West Virginia’s demographic center was in northern Clay County, near mile marker 40 on Interstate 79. This point had moved southward every decade since 1880, the year first calculated by the U.S. Census Bureau, as the southern counties’ coalbased economy grew and thrived. But after 1950 the center reversed direction, moving steadily northward through Braxton County. It’s on track to cross into Lewis County by 2020, landing somewhere near mile marker 80—a difference of 40 miles in 70 years. That migration is due in some part to population increases in the north, but much more to population losses from the south. The reasons are much discussed: coal mine mechanization, primarily, along with the departure of the chemical industry, and lack of economic diversity to temper the resulting job losses. The social effects of decades of population and economic decline have been devastating. Among them, 30 to 50 percent of children living in poverty in many southern counties, high school graduation rates under 80 percent, and 30-plus percent of residents reporting only “fair” or “poor” health in the Centers for Disease Control’s ongoing and extensive telephone survey— far worse even than the 25 percent average in West Virginia, which as a whole reports the worst health in the nation. In every kind of quality of life measure, southern counties have come to dominate the bottom year after year. This is not like coal’s cyclical downturns of the past. “I think we’ll always have a viable coal economy here in the south, but based on what the industry folks tell us, we’ve probably peaked out as far as production and employment,” says Wyoming
nikki bowman
hen Harrison County Delegate Tim Miley took oath in June 2013 as speaker of the West Virginia House of Delegates, a remarkable thing went relatively unnoticed. For the first time in 100 years, the Senate president and Speaker of the House both hailed from northern counties. It should come as no surprise, with the constant news of the northern counties’ economic growth. It seems, actually, a natural sign of things to come. But for the South, the timing of northern ascendancy— just as the coalfields are getting mined out—could be unfortunate. “Without political power to be sure we get at least our fair share of resources, our infrastructure will not develop. That consigns this part of the state to being a permanent backwater,” says Beckley lawyer and former Raleigh County Senator William Wooton. “Twenty or 30 years from now, absent the ability to transition the economy, it’ll be a beautiful area to drive through with very few people living here and no jobs.” Is power shifting northward in West Virginia? Should the southern counties be worried?
Williamson is a West Virginia Community Development Hub Blueprint Community.
County native and Hatfield-McCoy Trails Authority Executive Director Jeffrey Lusk. The data backs that up. Miner productivity is dropping now that the thickest, most accessible coal seams are mined out—from a peak of more than 10,000 tons per miner per year in 2000 to less than 7,000 tons in 2010 and continuing to plummet. It’s become clear the southern counties’ one-time bounty of extraordinarily high quality coal will never bring sustained wealth to their communities and residents. In fact, it’s left them impoverished—bringing to mind the economists’ “resource curse,” or the observation that regions naturally rich in oil, coal, or other natural resources often end up poorer than regions that have to work harder to produce wealth. A failure to develop other economic sectors is a primary reason.
Hardly Any Lights to Turn Out
When the coal was plentiful—observes Hamlin lawyer and oil and gas company owner Lloyd Jackson, a 1980s and ’90s Lincoln County senator who chaired the Judiciary and Education committees—residents made extraordinarily good incomes right out of high school and even before. “As that evaporates today, we find a lot of the workforce doesn’t have the education and skills,” Jackson says. “And the technologies haven’t been put in place. From broadband to mobile phones, a lot of parts of southern West Virginia are just devoid of those things. This has been baked in for a lot of years, and now it’s being served.” Outside the Charleston-Huntington corridor, less than 25 percent of adults in the southern counties have education beyond high school, compared with more than 25 percent for many northern counties. Less than 80 percent of households—in some southern counties much less—have access to highspeed Internet, compared with close to 100 percent in many northern counties; cell phone coverage is lagging similarly. And the expense of putting water and sewer lines and good roads in the mountainous terrain has left many areas without. All of this is not to minimize similar declines that have followed the loss of steelmaking in the northern panhandle. But while those northern counties have begun to lay over their existing infrastructure a new economy extracting and processing shale gas, the south has little of such infrastructure to build on.
Leaders need to resist the temptation to bring a vast majority of resources back to their areas solely because of their position as opposed to need.” House Speaker Tim Miley
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As Go People, So Goes Representation
Bodies Sent to the West Virginia Senate in the 1950s = one senator = South = North
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Focus January/February 2014
The suspension bridge in Wheeling is a Northern Panhandle icon.
same was true in the Senate, even as recently as the 1990s. “When I served in the state Senate every major position was filled by someone from south of the Kanawha River,” says Wooton, who chaired the Judiciary Committee. Did that concentration of leadership mean attention and appropriations were a little likelier to flow southward? Maybe in some years. “For the distribution of scarce resources by any governmental body, people are naturally going to favor seeing those resources spent in the areas they represent. That’s just human nature,” says Jackson. “There’s always been a little bit of friction between the North and the South. I know there have been feelings from some of the northern people that they just didn’t get their share of attention and leadership positions,” Chambers says. Things may be different now. With the redistricting that followed the 2010 census, those 13 southernmost counties have only 8 of 34 seats in the Senate, or less than a quarter of the voice. The northernmost 15 counties, which had 8 seats in the 1950s, increased to 10. And now the leaders of the two houses of the Legislature are from Harrison and Marshall counties in the north— both counties coincidentally, but interesting to note, prominent in the new and growing shale gas industry.
rebecca kiger fotografia
In the 1950s so many people lived in the 13 southernmost counties that they made up five entire Senate districts and part of another. That gave them 11 of 32 seats in the state Senate—more than a third of the voice in that powerful house. Southern counties held the state’s economic prowess through much of the 20th century—and, with it, political power. They reared most of our governors. And when the occasional Senate president or House speaker came from the north, their most influential committees were largely headed up from the south. “Frankly, during most of my tenure in the Legislature, it seemed like most of the leadership positions were from southern West Virginia,” says U.S. District Judge Robert C. Chambers, who served as delegate from Cabell County in the 1970s, ’80s, and ’90s and as House speaker in the last decade of that. The
Familiarity Breeds Support
If the South is to prosper again, it’s the business community that will make it happen, and some business leaders are watching the Legislature. “Clearly there’s going to be more sympathy for mountaintop mining among southern leaders than the ones from the North,” says Dave Arnold, longtime white water rafting entrepreneur and co-owner of Adventures on the Gorge in Fayette County, when asked whether he thinks northern leadership will mean less support for southern needs. “It’s not going to hurt our business. Rafting is a statewide thing—some of our biggest supporters are far from the rivers. But clearly there are certain industries that are going to be hurt more.” If the state doesn’t put money into the = one senator South, change the education system = South and roads, he adds, “We’ll feel like = North we’ve been cheated.”
We’re all going to have to work harder down here to educate the leadership. I think, with a more northern leadership, we would be remiss to not be concerned.” Jeffrey Lusk, Hatfield-McCoy Trails Authority Executive Director
Bodies Sent to the West Virginia Senate in the 2010s
elizabeth Roth
While southern leaders have lived the region’s history, northern leaders may be deeply unfamiliar with its needs and the opportunities to address them. “We receive a certain amount of funding from the state. And more importantly, there are regulations that affect us and we need the folks who write those rules to understand our project and how it works,” says Lusk, whose HatfieldMcCoy Trails Authority is one of the most dynamic and promising diversification efforts happening in the South. “But it can be very difficult to get your arms around the concept of ATV riding being an economic engine,” he says. “Our biggest problem is going to be getting that northern leadership down to the town of Gilbert, or Man, or the city of Logan so we can say, ‘There is the ATV lodge, the ATV parts store, the ATV rental company that takes people on the trail,’ or, ‘Here’s a new restaurant.’ And it’s not just us; a new wood products park, a coal-to-liquids facility, we’re all going to have to work harder down here to educate the leadership. I think, with a more northern leadership, we would be remiss to not be concerned.”
Shepherdstown is filled with unique shops and fine dining, just 90 minutes from the D.C. area. Focus wvfocus.com
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Morgantown is the state’s fastest growing city.
Legislative Leadership 1953-1954 What Do Today’s Northern Leaders Say?
= Senate chairperson = House chairperson
elizabeth Roth
= Senate speaker Some northern leaders say today’s = House speaker concentration of leadership in the North doesn’t necessarily reflect a trend. “This may have more to do with personalities, loyalties, allegiances, and friendships than anything else,” says Delegate Tim Manchin of Marion County, who ascended to the powerful House Judiciary chairmanship when Miley became speaker. Miley sees it similarly. “I don’t know that this necessarily happened due to population shift,” he says. “I think it depends more on the person and skills and qualifications and credibility among their peers they’ve earned over their legislative service.” They’re backed up by the academic view. “There are waves that go through legislatures of strong individual personalities, people who are smart and ambitious, and they could be from any part of the state,” says West Virginia University political geographer Kenneth Martis. “Even though the north is growing fast, the bulk of the population still is in CharlestonHuntington and it’s going to take a long time, in my opinion, to make a significant shift in the political power base.” In the Senate, where the 2010 redistricting resulted in a more obvious shift of representation from south to north, leaders see it more starkly. “As populations decrease in the South but explode in North Central West Virginia and the Eastern Panhandle, you are seeing a shift,” says Senate Majority Leader John Unger of Berkeley County, who chaired the Senate’s redistricting effort. Kessler agrees. “It’s just natural, due to more representation going to more populated areas.”
There are waves that go through legislatures of strong individual personalities, people who are smart and ambitious, and they could be from any part of the state.”
Whether their rise to leadership is transitory or a sign of things to come, northern leaders in both houses say they strive for broad representation. “We were very conscious to make sure in the Senate that our leadership team was diversified geographically,” says Unger. Committees are chaired by senators from both panhandles, northern and central parts of the state, and all the way down into the southernmost counties. Miley’s new team is similarly spread out. He’s going into his first session with an awareness of the state as a whole. “Leaders need to resist the temptation to bring a vast majority of resources back to their areas solely because of their position as opposed to need,” he says, addressing Lusk’s concern head-on. “It’s critically important to make sure you spend a lot of time with the delegates and senators from other parts of the state and visit those places to try and have an appreciation of their needs.” The northern leaders say their priorities are not regional, but statewide. “We’re formulating an agenda that benefits southern West Virginia and the entire state,” Miley says. He’s interested in holding schools and school systems accountable, not only for high graduation rates, but for preparation that propels students into productive and satisfying adult lives. “That’s how you start changing the mindset, changing the culture about education.” He wants to see access to true high-speed Internet statewide to take advantage of all opportunities in education and business. Then,
Kenneth Martis, West Virginia University political geographer Focus wvfocus.com
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Legislative Leadership Today = Senate chairperson = House chairperson = Senate speaker = House speaker
In the past 10 years Mingo County has seen a sharp decline in population.
If Things Continue
“People in the North who haven’t enjoyed as much authority as they’d have liked might see an opportunity now,” Jackson says. “But I really think these people are bigger than that. I think everyone understands you have to address every area of the state.” Lusk hopes he’s right. “I don’t think the state would ever write off these counties as not viable,” he says. “Southern West Virginia is an asset to the state.” Good things could come of a more inclusive, more diverse power mix—not so much a shift from south to north, but from the South northward, bringing all the state’s problem-solving smarts to bear. Arnold, for one, thinks more diversity in the power structure can only be a good thing. Chambers expresses a similar thought. “The southern counties are fairly homogeneous and tend not to be influenced very much by other parts of West Virginia or communities external to West Virginia,” he says. “There’s great value in the experience that other parts of the state have had by being in such close proximity to places that are different from West Virginia. If the political center of gravity moves north in the state, that may bring in new ideas—being constantly aware of where West Virginia falls short and other areas do better, and likewise, what attributes we have that make West Virginia special.” In one encouraging example, the current Senate leadership is interested in a more flexible approach to legislation, Unger says—not telling counties exactly what they have to do, but establishing goals and standards and letting them choose their own paths to achieving them. “That opens up room for creativity and innovation, which means you can harvest ideas you might have never thought of on your own,” he says. “The best thing is to make sure every region’s voice is being heard in policy development. It’s been proven over and over again—it doesn’t diminish policy, but makes it richer and better.”
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he says, “We have to find out what we can do to maintain the economic viability of our coal industry—and make sure we maintain the economic viability going forward of the gas industry, and of timber.” And he’s formed a new standing committee that will hold panel discussions across the state to learn how the Legislature can promote small business, entrepreneurship, and economic development in all regions. On the Senate side, Kessler knows economic devastation from his region’s experience with the steel industry’s decline and says the needs of the South won’t be overlooked. “Not as long as I’m in charge.” He speaks of the Select Committee on Children and Poverty created last year in the Senate, which is focusing on education. The Senate has also allocated additional funding to addiction treatment and recovery programs needed in the South and elsewhere. And Kessler plans to add a new provision to his Future Fund legislation that would set aside a portion of natural gas severance taxes for economic development. “Right now it would give a portion back to the counties of origin. That’s nice for northern and North Central West Virginia, but I intend, in addition, that we give back for economic diversification to those areas that have historically been energy-producing counties. The southern areas that have given so much deserve a boost.” Although natural gas severance tax revenues amount so far to less than one-quarter of coal severance tax revenues, the proposed fund has been projected to accumulate $1 billion to $4 billion in 20 years.
Trains loaded with coal still rumble through southern towns.
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Who Are We? Northern? Southern? How we identify affects the way we see one another. written by Pam Kasey
W
e took the occasion of a new, more northerly power structure in the current Legislature to check in on the state’s south-north relations. Let’s just say they’re lively. Northerners are “rude, in a hurry, usually implanted from another state,” according to a Monroe County native who self-identifies as southern, in one of 428 responses to an online survey we conducted in late 2013. Another comment called southerners “blue-collar, hard-working, nice, polite, down-to-earth, and friendly.” Northerners were more reserved but offered a few choice observations of their neighbors, too. “Resistant to change, anti-gay, and racist,” says a Hancock County native of southerners—and, of fellow northerners, “tolerant of people of different religious and ethnic backgrounds; valuing education more.” Forty percent of respondents say they consider themselves southern and 31 percent northern, and many found fault in the opposite persuasion. Why, 150 years after the Civil War, do so many of us still see things along north-south lines? Maybe in part because those cultural divisions go back much further than that, even into the 1700s, according to Fayette County native Paul Rakes. He’s a former steel worker and coal miner who sees himself as southern and who now lectures on Appalachian culture as an associate professor of history at WVU Institute of Technology. “In the early days you had folks come across the Pennsylvania route, down the Ohio River, and into the more northern part of the state, as opposed to those who came from the Virginia route and up into New River country,” he says. “The ones
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Focus January/February 2014
Where Our Staff Stands originally from
27%
73%
out-ofstate
west virginia
Identify themselves as
55%
45%
northern
southern
Favorite northern word
SCHLEP Favorite southern word
y’all Favorite northern import improved by the South
Hot dogs, but with chili and slaw, of course.
who came down the Ohio ended up getting tied to the commercial areas of the middle colonies and middle states—New York, Pennsylvania— while the folks who came into the southern part of the state got tied back to the more agricultural Richmond and Virginia market.” The lingering differences may get in the way of problem solving. Nearly 75 percent of respondents to our survey believe there is a sociopolitical north-south divide in the state. Rakes says even regional language can throw up barriers. “A couple times when I was in school at WVU folks got irritated in regard to something I said: ‘You have to help me with that.’ For a southerner that means, ‘I don’t know how to do that.’ It’s a request. For folks in the northern part of the state, it sounds like a demand.” Layer on top of that different political cultures—a southern, “traditionalistic” political culture that’s grounded in personal relationships and aims to maintain the social hierarchy, as opposed to a northern, “individualistic” culture that expects government to support the marketplace—and, he says, “People can end up talking past one another.” But Rakes thinks, over time, modern media is creating familiarity between the cultures that breaks down the suspicion and mistrust, and he says education helps, too. In a hopeful sign, about 30 percent of respondents to our survey see West Virginia as a unified whole that is neither northern nor southern but Appalachian or mountain or mid-Atlantic. And many spot in their fellows hospitality and kindness, honesty and loyalty, open-mindedness and intelligence and diligence—just the stuff that’s going to be needed to solve the state’s persistent problems.
Is there a social/political north-south divide in West Virginia?
Where do you stand on philosophical political lines?
72%
56% socially liberal
73% say there is a divide
fiscally conservative
What political party do you most identify with? Overall results
28%
independent
41% democratic
31%
republican
Why 171 133 124 are you asking? WV is the South!
How do you identify yourself?
consider themselves southern
consider themselves northern
consider themselves neither
of people who consider themselves northern say wv is part of the north
90% 62%
36% democratic
of people who consider themselves southern say wv is part of the south
of people who consider themselves neither say wv is neither
39% republican
25% independent
People who consider themselves northern
54%
a non-west virginian southerner’s take on the poll
Is West Virginia North, South, or Neither?
61%
People who consider themselves southern
20% democratic
republican
26% independent
People who consider themselves neither
32% democratic
30% republican
38% independent Focus wvfocus.com
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Northerners Say. . . Frequency with which northerners use specific words to describe southerners:
47 19 17 16 14
accent
conservative
friendly
laid-back
(aka mouthy coffee drinkers*)
“Traffic. Small yards.” a southerner’s take on the north
Connotations associated with the words northerners use to describe . . .
slow
Themselves
Southerners
Frequency with which northerners use specific words to describe themselves:
24 17 15 14 14
liberal
neutral
open-minded
fast
educated
urban
S: Loud and secretly crazy N: Openly crazy a neutral person’s take on the north and south * Phrases our respondents used when describing northerners and southerners. Other choice phrases included: uppity, nice haircuts, weird accents, and “wound a little tight” for the North; and insular, outdoorsy, defensive, and “loves sweet tea and guns” for the South.
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50% 44%
Focus January/February 2014
positive
6%
28% 44% 28% positive
neutral
negative
negative
Top five words used to describe northerners overall:
Fast Liberal Urban Educated Busy
Southerners Say. . . “My grandma had diabetes, my mom had diabetes, so I’m going to get diabetes and I’ll eat whatever I want!” a northerner’s take on southerners
74 39 26 25
friendly
hospitable
accent
laid-back
family
Frequency with which southerners use specific words to describe northerners:
53 30 19 14 13
rude
hurried
arrogant
liberal
Connotations associated with the words southerners use to describe . . . Northerners
Themselves
26% 26% neutral
fast-paced
37% 47%
positive
48% negative
Frequency with which southerners use specific words to describe themselves:
57
(aka Nascar-loving fundamentalists*)
neutral
positive
16% negative
Top five words used to describe southerners overall:
Friendly Laid-Back Conservative Slow Sweet Tea S: Believes in never living above the Mason-Dixon line N: Doesn’t think WV is southern a southerner’s take on the two sides
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Grafton is a former hub for the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad.
Meet the eight towns competing in our monumental Turn This Town Around campaign—a historic partnership between West Virginia Focus, the West Virginia Community Development Hub, and West Virginia Public Broadcasting. Vote for the town you want to see transformed at wvfocus.com. written by Nikki Bowman
majestic buildings stand as bruised and battered stewards and thought, “What would it take to turn this town around?� Well, we think about it—a lot. And we aren’t the only ones. In close partnership with the West Virginia Community Development Hub and West Virginia Public Broadcasting, we are launching an ambitious undertaking. We want to find out what it will take to turn our towns around, and we are going to document it every step of the way. The mission of our company, New South Media, Inc., is to change perceptions about our state, not just how others look at us, but how we look at ourselves as West Virginians. We do that by telling our state’s story—one town, one person, and one business at a time. We connect our readers with our communities and the people and businesses that work endlessly to champion them. In every issue of this magazine, we are going to take it one step further by including one feature that will follow our Turn This Town Around campaign. With your help, two towns will be chosen—one from the northern part of the state and one from the southern part. The two towns you select will become living laboratories. Our goal is to help ignite change, to rally the community with a set of goals and deliverables, to showcase the successes and failures, to identify challenges, and to figure out what works and what doesn’t. The West Virginia Community Development Hub, one of the state’s leaders in the field of community development, will coordinate the effort. The Hub will connect the two communities with training on civic engagement, leadership development, and project management; provide a community performance coach; help them assess their strengths and vulnerabilities; develop a community vision and plan; and link them to technical assistance providers in key areas like civic engagement, the local food movement, community sustainability, and organizational development.
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According to the Hub and its Community Building Toolkit, there are common tenets that enhance the success of communitybuilding efforts. These include:
 Broad-based community engagement in decision making
 Creation of community collaboration teams
 Mapping and leveraging community assets
 Achieving clarity of purpose on a path forward
 A non-linear, Design-Do planning
process that focuses on short-term goals
 Shared leadership and accountability  Connection to regional trends and issues  A willingness to take risks
Community revitalization doesn’t just happen, and it certainly doesn’t happen overnight—that’s part of the challenge. Historically community improvement initiatives stall at the implementation stage. Every community has development plans sitting on the shelf. When plans
elizabeth roth
Have you ever driven through a town where once
aren’t implemented and momentum stalls, many concerned community members throw their hands up in frustration and quit. But we know the most valuable resource isn’t money. It’s people—people who care about their communities. We must help them fuel the flames of change. Every community has people who care, but sometimes we are overwhelmed by the challenges and don’t know where to start. That’s where our extensive list of partners comes in. Together we can be catalysts for change. Our Turn This Town Around revitalization campaign will look at the restoration and repurposing of existing buildings and assess economic resources, employment opportunities, and ways to expand the tax base and keep money circulating in the community. We will help our communities create programs to prevent blight and abandonment, improve livability by attracting businesses and social activities, and foster incubators for entrepreneurship and the arts. We will reach out to our local schools, encourage and embrace involvement from the youngest among us, and in doing so, hope to inspire them to see their state as a place of opportunity. There will be naysayers. Jack McCall, the author of The Small Town Survival Guide, calls them the “Coffee-Break Cynicism Society.” You know the types. The ones who are always complaining, the ones who are the first to say something can’t be done or “That’s not the way we do things.” Guess what? They aren’t the captains of this ship, and there isn’t any room on the boat for those who would rather sink. We aren’t just going to talk about the problems and challenges. We are going to do something about them—and we are going to do it together and document the entire experience. And when we say we, we mean everyone. There are many groups and businesses in our state that are focused on improving West Virginia. Groups like Generation West Virginia, a network of young talented leaders focused on solving the “brain drain” issue, or Create West Virginia and their grassroots efforts at building creative communities (just look at what they did in 2013 during their conference in Richwood), An 1896 or the Main Street West Virginia rail station is in the program, helping a dozen Alderson communities improve their Historic downtowns. The West Virginia District.
elizabeth roth
The tiny town of Rowlesburg in Preston County is home to a WWII museum.
Center for Civic Life trains people across the state to come together to discuss and resolve challenges. There’s also Imagine West Virginia, a group dedicated to making policy recommendations that would positively impact the state, the Tamarack Foundation, a nonprofit that strives to nurture artisan entrepreneurs, and the West Virginia Food and Farm Coalition, a group working to build our agricultural economy, not to mention the West Virginia Small Business Administration or the West Virginia Small Business Development Centers. And although the list goes on and on, we are all concerned with one thing— building a better state. If we all row our boat in the same direction, we will accomplish more and reach our destination faster. We are possibilitarians. Together we can make the possibilities reality. There
Vote for the town you want to see turned around! Choose one northern and one southern town.
Vote at wvfocus.com are no easy answers. There is no quick fix. We cannot bring back the past, but we can envision a brighter future and work toward that goal. There is no time to waste. Let’s turn our towns around.
We aren’t just going to talk about the problems and challenges. We are going to do something about them— and we are going to do it together and document the entire experience.
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➡
North
Grafton A former hub for the Baltimore and Ohio Railroad, Grafton is the county seat of Taylor County. South of U.S. Route 50 and about 15 miles east of Interstate 79, the Grafton Downtown Commercial Historic District includes 72 buildings, including the Grafton Hotel, B&O station, and Andrews Methodist Church—the International Mother’s Day Shrine. “Grafton used to be a busy, booming railroad town, but the railroad slowed down and the economy isn’t what it used to be,” says Brennon O’Sullivan, superintendent at Tygart Lake State Park. “There’s pictures in the local library of hundreds of people walking around Main Street, but today we could use more businesses in downtown.” Brennon says the city does its best to work with limited resources. “There’s great potential in Grafton because of the surrounding areas. We are reopening the swimming pool this summer, and the state park is now open year-round.” City Manager Kevin Stead says, “The city of Grafton is excited about this wonderful opportunity to not only showcase our assets and possibilities, but to identify our limitations and explore how we can address them in a positive way.” Population: 5,164 Area: 3.8 square miles Median age: 41.7 Median household income: 29,232 Mean travel time to work: 24.9 Education attainment High school graduates: 49.8% Associate’s degree: 4.5% Bachelor’s degree: 9.6% Graduate degree: 2.8% Notables: Tygart Lake State Park, Grafton National Cemetery, Anna Jarvis House, Grafton City Hospital, Arch Coal
Hundred This incorporated Wetzel County town is off the beaten path and the only known town in the country to be called Hundred. It was named for Henry Church, who lived
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to be 109 years old and was known as “Old Hundred.” Hundred was a B&O flag stop and experienced an oil and gas boom in the late 1800s. Linnea Kumher, director of the Hundred Public Library, lives about six miles outside of town, and says she loves working in the area. “There is so much potential. I just wanted to stay here and do anything I could to help,” she says. She says the Wetzel County town is growing and residents young and old are invested in making the tiny town a better place. There are clubs for kids to keep them out of trouble and new stores. Still, the town needs new housing and a community center, she says. “We’d like to have a place where people can walk indoors in the bad weather,” Linnea says. “And we need a main building like a community center very badly. Right now we have to either hold meetings in churches or sometimes the high school, but they are already so busy and they have a very small parking space.” Population: 299 Area: 0.50 square miles Median age: 44.1 Median household income: 32,500 Mean travel time to work: 38.5 Education attainment High school graduates: 57.8% Associate’s degree: 12.8% Bachelor’s degree: 2.8% Graduate degree: 3.2% Notables: Hundred 4th of July Parade, Sweet Melissa’s Restaurant, oil and gas industry
Petersburg Petersburg is a gateway to the Potomac Highlands, with popular outdoor destinations like Blackwater Falls State Park, Canaan Valley Resort State Park, Dolly Sods Wilderness, Smoke Hole Caverns, and Seneca Rocks within easy driving distance. It is the county seat of Grant County, and the Potomac Eagle Scenic Railroad will take you from the South Side Depot in Petersburg to Romney. Although outdoor adventurists flock to the area, they often drive through the town on their way to other locations. But Petersburg is at the center of it all, says Hanna Weaver, executive director of the Grant County Convention & Visitors Bureau. Hanna lives and works in Petersburg and says the area is a
hub for tourism—from fishing to train rides to just plain exploring the great outdoors. “It’s a really beautiful area,” she says. But the town could use a stronger downtown presence. “Petersburg is laid out differently. There’s a lot of historic homes, but there’s not really a downtown,” Hanna says. “That would be nice to have, like a lot of other towns have—like Shepherdstown.” People often stop by the visitors’ center in the South Side Depot and then walk to the gift shop next door. Then they cross the street to a local restaurant. But after that, they get in their cars. “That’s one thing visitors comment on when they come down here,” Hanna says. “There’s not really a strong Main Street with shops you can walk to. It’s scattered in Petersburg.” Countless people used to walk the streets of Grafton. The small town of Hundred is home to various community groups, but needs a new local meeting place. Petersburg is a popular stopping point for tourists in the Potomac Highlands.
Population: 2,467 Area: 1.62 square miles Median age: 47.1
nikki bowman
The Contenders
Median household income: $33,352 Mean travel time to work: 21.4 Education attainment High school graduates: 46.6% Associate’s degree: 6.6% Bachelor’s degree: 7.7% Graduate degree: 3.7% Notables: Potomac Eagle Scenic Railroad, Spring Mountain Festival, outdoor destinations, the river
nikki bowman
Rowlesburg Rowlesburg is situated on the Cheat River in Preston County, just 13 miles south of Kingwood. A former coal town, it now has a small, dedicated historic district. Lucille Grim says there’s a lot to be proud of in Rowlesburg, and volunteers have been working hard to bring new life into the town, working on multiple museums in an effort to boost tourism. “There is a lot of history here. It’s an old, old town, and it was a railroad town, but when the railroad left it was all downhill
for us,” she says, adding that life there hasn’t been the same since the 1985 flood. Lucille, curator of the Rowlesburg Area Historical Society, has lived in the same house in Rowlesburg for nearly 50 years. “People keep coming back to retire—and they are helpful for a couple years—but when you retire you lose your zip. We need some young people.” She says the area desperately needs more jobs, too. “There just isn’t any money.” Population: 584 Area: 1.1 square miles Median age: 48 Median household income: $37,917 Mean travel time to work: 36.3 Education attainment High school graduates: 57.5% Associate’s degree: 2.1% Bachelor’s degree: 10.6% Graduate degree: 2.7% Notables: WWII Museum, Preston County Sports Museum, Cannon Hill Civil War Memorial, West Virginia Chestnut Festival
South Alderson The Greenbrier River divides the town of Alderson into two parts with portions in both Greenbrier and Monroe counties. Located 15 miles south of Lewisburg, the Alderson Historic District has 165 structures and a restored 1896 rail station. The historic federal prison camp is the town’s largest employer, with Martha Stewart, “Squeaky” Fromme, and Billie Holiday being a few of the infamous women to be incarcerated there. Margaret Hambrick, treasurer of Alderson Main Street and volunteer grant writer and public information officer for Alderson, sees great progress in the town’s adoption of a green team and receipt of a recycling grant, but acknowledges there’s not enough economic development. “We’d like to see more things right here, which would have Focus wvfocus.com
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Population: 1,184 Area: 608 acres Median age: 42.8 Median household income: 26,875 Mean travel time to work: 29.8 min Education attainment High school graduates: 38.2% Associate’s degree: 5.1% Bachelor’s degree: 13.2% Graduate degree: 5.1% Notables: Alderson Historic District, Alderson’s Store, Alderson Memorial Pedestrian Bridge, C&O Railroad Depot, Alderson’s Annual Fourth of July Celebration, The Greenbrier River
Hillsboro Hillsboro in Pocahontas County is most famously known as the birthplace of world-renowned author Pearl S. Buck. The two-story Dutch-style house where Pearl was born in 1892 is on the National Register of Historic Places and is now a museum. Hillsboro is also the site featured in the movie Patch Adams, where real-life Dr. Patch Adams purchased land in West Virginia to build a medical clinic based on his unique philosophy of doctor-patient interaction. “We’re a small town, but we think we’re pretty lucky to be Hillsboro in Pocahontas living here,” says Bill Beard, County has rolling hills and county commissioner and beautiful land. long-time farmer. “We do
lack employment—that’s probably why we have as few people as we do in our area. We devote a lot to tourism.” Population: 260 Area: 0.36 square miles Median age: 39.3 Median household income: $16,953 Mean travel time to work: 20.9 Education attainment High school graduates: 50.2% Associate’s degree: 3.2% Bachelor’s degree: 3.2% Graduate degree: 0% Notables: Little Levels Heritage Fair, The Pearl S. Buck Birthplace Museum, Gesundheit! Institute, The Pretty Penny Cafe, Beartown State Park, Droop Mountain Battlefield State Park
Matewan Perched on the banks of the Tug Fork River and Mate Creek in Mingo County, Matewan was the site of the Battle of Matewan, also known as the Matewan Massacre, between Baldwin-Felts detectives and coal miners. The event inspired the movie Matewan. The town also figured prominently in the infamous Hatfield and McCoy feud. The small town has flooded 36 times since 1949, and in 1997 a floodwall was built. “Matewan is a unique little town, and the town’s people have done a great job of preserving Main Street and historical areas,” says Jeffrey Lusk, executive director of the Hatfield-McCoy Trails Authority. “It’s also a great connection to the Hatfield-McCoy Trails.” But Jeffrey says the town could use
some assistance, too. “Matewan needs more entrepreneurs, more capital and vision, people who will make the investments and build up the retail infrastructure to turn those old buildings into a thriving Main Street. The opportunity is there. Thirty-six thousand Hatfield-McCoy trail riders come through the town every year. Matewan just needs a grassroots effort to spur some excitement about entrepreneurs building the retail and lodging infrastructure.” Population: 499 Area: 358 acres Median age: 45.4 Median household income: 36,750 Mean travel time to work: 28.4 Education attainment High school graduates: 40.8% Associate’s degree: 2.5% Bachelor’s degree: 5.9 Graduate degree: 2.4% Notables: Matewan Depot, Hatfield-McCoy Trail System, Historic Matewan House Bed and Breakfast, Tug Fork River
Pineville Pineville is the county seat of Wyoming County. Castle Rock, a looming 200-foot limestone outcropping that resembles a castle, is a local landmark beside the public library. The area is known for its close proximity to Twin Falls State Park and the Hatfield-McCoy Trails. “What makes Pineville a wonderful place is that it’s full of passionate, caring people,” says Kathy Brunty, Wyoming County Family Resource Network director. She says the area would benefit from public transportation and more activities for local youth. For the most part, she says, kids have no place to go. Population: 668 Total area: 0.84 square miles Median age: 49.4 Median household income: 48,158 Mean travel time to work: 17.9 Education attainment High school graduates: 29.9% Associate’s degree: 3.2% Bachelor’s degree: 6.8% Graduate degree: 8.9% Notables: Twin Falls State Park, HatfieldMcCoy Trails, RD Bailey Dam, Horse Creek Lake, Clear Fork Valley Golf Course
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kirsten boehmer Photography
more people living here, too,” she says. “We need to draw more people to the town rather than serving as a bedroom community for Lewisburg.”
Marketing Tips and Tricks to
Leadership
start another year of business off right.
Don’t let bias get in the way of making the best decisions.
pg. 71
pg. 76
As leaders of our state, we have a responsibility to fight for jobs, to foster job creation, and to be good stewards of taxpayer resources. We must continue to keep our taxes and cost of doing business low, and this is particularly true when times are tough.� Governor Earl Ray Tomblin, 2014 State of the State Address
Lessons Learned
SPICE OF LIFE
Robin grew her business for 10 years without borrowing a cent, meeting all orders with one 40-gallon pot and two stovetops. But in 2002 she faced the decision every small business owner eventually encounters—grow or go. So she took out a loan to move to a bigger building and install a semi-automated production line. Business was steady, but Robin worried about the financial risk she had assumed. She tried to branch out—she Struggle has been an essential ingredient installed observation for success for this leading entrepreneur. windows and a gourmet coffee shop, marketing herself to tourist buses. “I took any opportunity I could. That’s what obin Hildebrand tears up entrepreneurs do. They are scrappers and when she gets to the end survivors,” she says. of her success story. “I Then, in 2008, the recession hit. Times see me in my basement got tough. She managed to stay in business 20 years ago, loading my with forbearance from lenders, but things pickup truck with jars,” she says. “Now didn’t get better. Specialty stores that I see a semitruck backing in beside my sold her salsa closed. Sales dwindled. Yet store in Ansted. It’s something I used to she continued visiting business classes dream about, and now it’s reality.” Blue and women’s groups across the state, Smoke Salsa started in Robin’s basement trying to encourage people to think like two decades ago, but since its modest entrepreneurs. “I talked about the highs beginnings the business has become a and lows of owning a business, how it’s allWest Virginia mainstay. Robin is widely encompassing,” she says. “I tried to smile recognized as one of the state’s leading and stay positive, but meanwhile I was in entrepreneurs, but hers hasn’t been a the hardest fight of my life.” When Robin linear journey to the top. It’s been a wild was denied another extension on her loan ride tinged with trials and triumphs, in 2010, she had no choice. A few months but the process has equipped her with later, she announced that Blue Smoke Salsa a necessary skill—turning impossible would be closing the doors. challenges into opportunities for growth.
R
But then something incredible happened. State politicians stepped in as advocates, insisting this couldn’t happen to one of the best businesses in West Virginia. They reached out to her lenders, going as far as Washington to assure Robin received an extension. Even then, she was hesitant to face another two years of daily struggle. “I was so beat down, I didn’t know if I could survive the stress of making it work,” she says. Tamarack joined the fight, starting a “Save Blue Smoke Salsa” Facebook page. Orders poured in from across the Mountain State. That burst of support gave Robin the boost she needed to stay in the game— but not without a new plan. Robin knew she needed to focus on distribution, on securing more accounts and expanding her brand beyond state borders. She decided to close the coffee shop and scale back on retail in order to focus on wholesale growth. By making this decision, Robin—the biggest employer in the tiny town of Ansted—had to lay off some of her employees. “That was incredibly difficult. These people were family to me,” she says. “I didn’t want to give any of them up, but I had to.” Yet she still couldn’t break into untapped markets—not with the resources she had. “I had equipment that wasn’t operational because I couldn’t pay to get it fixed,” she says. A man she hired as a part-time consultant, John Yates, introduced her to the owners of White House Foods, a Winchester-based branch of National Fruit Product Company. John knew Robin needed capital to grow, and without taking on a partner or selling part of her business, her means of acquiring it were few. He introduced her to White
A Study in Salsa Up and down and all around—Robin’s hit all the stops on her way to the top.
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1993
After successfully selling salsa to coworkers and friends, Robin installs the first commercial kitchen in the basement of her house.
1994
Robin hires her first employee.
1997
Robin rents a storefront building and Blue Smoke Salsa moves to downtown Ansted.
written by
Miriah Hamrick
“I took any opportunity I could. That’s what entrepreneurs do. They are scrappers and survivors.” Robin Hildebrand, Blue Smoke Salsa
House Foods, who loved Blue Smoke Salsa and wanted to see it grow. In the spring of 2013, Robin joined forces with White House Foods. They immediately infused capital for renovations, and less than a year later, production levels have doubled. Robin has been able to hire back all but one of the employees she laid off three years ago, plus a few more. “We’re looking at a second shift of production, plus another production line,” she says. “White House Foods has treated me like a queen. It’s unbelievable how doors have opened.” Robin is securing retailers in surrounding states every week— and she won’t stop until Blue Smoke Salsa is available coast to coast. She says she’s glad she reached out for help when she needed it, and she encourages others to do the same. “There are more people in your corner than you know,” she says. “Just keep the faith and don’t ever give up.” bluesmokesalsa.com
2002
In need of a bigger facility, Robin takes out a loan to buy the building across the street and sets up a retail store and coffee shop inside.
2011
After struggling through the recession for nearly three years, Robin announces that Blue Smoke Salsa will cease production—until support pours in, giving Robin the boost to continue.
2013
photographed by
carla witt ford
Robin Hildebrand’s Words of Wisdom: “People think when you own your business, you have it made. Every day is a tremendous risk and a tremendous responsibility. Many times I’ve wished I could be one of my employees. But in the end, it’s all worth it.” “I can’t say enough about this state and how it’s stood behind me. West Virginians are hardworking and proud people, and they want to take care of their own. They have truly taken care of me.” “My employees work hard, and I see them as ambassadors of Blue Smoke Salsa. I encourage them to take ownership in the product. By taking ownership in it, they find pride in what they do.” “You have to know how to talk to people. My mother always said there was a reason we have two ears and one mouth. You have to listen twice as much as you speak—that’s a Robin philosophy.” “You can’t be intimidated when you meet important people. Everyone likes to meet a genuine person—they appreciate it. That translates to trust, and before you know it, you have a customer for life.”
Robin partners with White House Foods for help to bring Blue Smoke Salsa to the national market.
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Top 10 Learned Lessons
10 BOOKS every Entrepreneur
should read
The life of an entrepreneur is rife with adjectives— stressful, lonely, challenging, risky, rewarding. Fortunately those who’ve gone before us have shared their insights, lessons learned, and wisdom. These books will help you in your journey. The Start-Up of You: Adapt to the Future, Invest in Yourself, and Transform Your Career by Reid Hoffman and Ben Casnocha
Learn career management tips and strategies of some of the country’s most successful Silicon Valley entrepreneurs. Written by LinkedIn co-founder and chairman, the lessons are applicable to employees and employers alike.
Good to Great: Why Some Companies Make the Leap . . . and Others Don’t by Jim Collins You’ll find this book on every successful business leader’s shelf. It answers the question, “How do good companies become great ones?” This best-selling classic will identify patterns of organizational success—from CEOs to employees. Practical advice backed by research on how to build the right team helps transform a mediocre business into a memorable one.
Rework by Jason Fried and David Heinemeier Hansson This is not your run-of-the-mill book on business. The back cover reads, “ASAP is poison. Under-do the competition.
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Meetings are toxic. Fire the workaholics. Emulate drug dealers. Pick a fight. Planning is guessing. Inspiration is perishable.” If that doesn’t pique your curiosity, then you aren’t an entrepreneur.
The E-myth Revisited: Why Most Small Businesses Don’t Work and What to Do About It by Michael E. Gerber The author delves into why most small businesses fail and how to create a company that doesn’t. He tracks the lifespan and stages of businesses and illustrates how all businesses can learn a few things from successful models of franchising, whether they are franchises or not.
The Art of the Start: The Time-Tested Battle-Hardened Guide for Starting Anything by Guy Kawasaki From pitching ideas and writing a business plan to raising capital and branding, this book serves as an essential guidebook for starting anything. It walks readers through the steps of turning ideas into action.
The Lean Startup: How Today’s Entrepreneurs Use Continuous Innovation to Create Radically Successful Businesses by Eric Ries The Lean Startup is the anticonventional entrepreneurship handbook. Its method provides strategies to navigate the chaos, energy, and uncertainty facing startups by debunking common wisdom. It will cause you to rethink and retool your business.
The Go-Giver: A Little Story About a Powerful Business Idea by Bob Burg and John David Mann As I was planning the creation of my company, I had an epiphany while reading this parable, and the lessons I learned still apply today. If you focus on giving, the money will follow.
Delivering Happiness: A Path to Profits, Passion, and Purpose; A Round Table Comic by Tony Hsieh, illustrated by Rob Ten Pas The founder of Zappos, the mega online shoe and more retailer, created an unconventional company by focusing on his company’s culture. An inspiring story of success.
Founders at Work: Stories of Startups’ Early Days by Jessica Livingston This is an inspirational anthology of interviews of successful entrepreneurs like Steve Wozniak of Apple, Max Levhin of PayPal, and Caterina Fake of Flikr, who share what they did right, what they did wrong, the challenges, and how they overcame them.
How to Win Friends & Influence People by Dale Carnegie This is one of the most successful self-help books of all time that espouses practical and valuable advice on relationship building and communication skills. It may be an oldie, but it’s still a goodie.
written by
Ten Mobile Musts
These mobile must-haves flex serious muscle as business building tools. Dropbox A multi-platform cloud storage provider that gives you and your team access to documents, photos, and videos. Great for sharing large files with clients. Square This has become the goto virtual cash register for small and large businesses alike. Order the card reader, stick it in the microphone jack on your phone or tablet, and you’re ready to swipe credit cards. Receipts can be emailed directly to the purchaser. Evernote A sophisticated and uber popular organizational tool that allows you to store and share documents, pictures, and web pages across platforms. Numerous books have been written to help you utilize it to the fullest. Google Drive An ingenious cloud storage and file sharing service that simplifies and organizes collaborative editing of documents. AnyList Want to create a communal to-do list with others? Try AnyList. Haiku Deck A popular PowerPoint alternative to create simple and stylish presentations and slideshows. SignNow Always on the road? This mobile eSigning solution allows you to turn around agreements immediately by signing from your phone or tablet. Camera to PDF (Camera 2 PDF on Google Play) Use your camera phone to take photos of documents, receipts, and contracts. This app turns the photos into PDFs. Doodle This app takes the hassle out of scheduling group meetings, no matter how far flung the attendees. Streak Streak turns Gmail into a CRM (Customer Relationship Management) organizational tool with file and email sharing, sales tracking, event planning, and more.
Miriah Hamrick
carla NIKKIwitt BOWMAN ford
photographed written byby
10 Things Entrepreneurs
Should NOT Do!
Every entrepreneur knows the statistics, and the statistics are grim. Eight out of 10 new businesses fail. But God bless the entrepreneurs—they do it anyway. They believe their startup will be one of the successes. And why shouldn’t they? For every piece of advice on what entrepreneurs should do, there’s an equally long list of things they should not do. Here’s our top 10 to help you beat the statistics.
1
Launch a business without market research. Many startups begin with a great product but fail to research the market. Before launching your company, get to know your market, listen to customer feedback, and create a plan so your product reaches your audience efficiently.
2
Start without a plan (but don’t spend years reworking it). The process of creating a business plan forces you to think long-term. It helps you articulate goals, milestones, and costs, but don’t spend years redrafting. Many startups spin their wheels at the business plan stage and never shift out of neutral. It is a forecast and a blueprint for you to follow, but as every successful entrepreneur knows, opportunities present themselves that may not be on the business plan. You have to be able to take detours.
3
Take no for an answer. Entrepreneurs see the world differently. If you are seeking funding for your venture, you may be met with resistance. You’ll probably be told “no” more than “yes.” Listen to why people are saying “no” and learn from it. But remember others will gladly point out the difficulties in achieving your goals. Don’t let “no” deter you.
4
Launch without a budget for marketing. One of the biggest mistakes startups make is spending all of their capital on creating a product or business without setting aside a budget to market and promote their business. You should not rely on word-of-mouth or “free” or earned media to tell your story. If your story is worth being told, it is worth being advertised.
5
Begin by focusing on making lots of money. If your primary goal is to make $1 million in a year, you
will fail. Ask yourself what is your mission? If your mission is to create the best possible product or business that fills a gap or a need, the money will come.
6
Be indecisive. Successful entrepreneurs make hundreds of decisions every day. If decisionmaking is difficult for you, an entrepreneur’s life may not be for you.
7
Be inflexible. Entrepreneurs see holes in the market where others do not. They are flexible and able to move quickly to fill those holes. If an opportunity presents itself, an entrepreneur is able to veer off the well-trodden road for a more scenic path.
8
Be cheapest on the market. Just because you are new, doesn’t mean you have to undercut your competition in price. Provide more value and better quality than competitors.
9
Believe starting your own business will give you free time. Many think that by owning their own business they will have more free time. Ask any entrepreneur if that is the case and they’ll tell you they work harder and longer now than they ever have.
10
Spend your early profits on prestige items. There are many stories of successful entrepreneurs who reward themselves for their hard work by spending their early profits on the dream car, a big office with a view, elaborate vacations, or a better home. Resist the temptation. If you overextend yourself, you’ll be putting those hard-earned items on the auction block.
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Government
written by
Getting Lawmakers To Yes
Knowing how to negotiate is a crucial first step in getting what you want.
Pam Kasey
Bucklew, who teaches conflict management and alternative dispute resolution at WVU’s College of Business and Economics.
“Identify and educate yourself on the interest of the other party,” Bucklew says. “You can’t negotiate effectively if you don’t know what goals they’re trying to accomplish.” It may take some digging to get from the other party’s position to the underlying interest. He recalls a hospital collective bargaining situation in which the employees demanded no more overtime. He and his team asked for more information and learned the employees felt overtime was distributed unfairly. If additional people were trained in the needed skills, they suggested as negotiations proceeded, overworked staff could get a break and others could get overtime they wanted. Once the interests were identified, the agreement was improved for everyone.
B
udget, energy, health care—negotiations among U.S. lawmakers keep stalling or breaking down entirely on the nation’s most fundamental issues. As the 2013 West Virginia legislative session gets under way, we talked with experts about how state lawmakers can keep things moving toward agreement and serve as an example for their national counterparts. Negotiating skills can be learned, says Thomas Patrick. In fact, as director of the Dispute Resolution Skills Institute at West Virginia University’s College of Law, he’s one of several professors in the state who teach them. And while a lot of legislators are lawyers and may use negotiation techniques regularly in their practices, anyone can benefit from the techniques developed
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by the Harvard Negotiation Project. The fundamental idea is to focus on interests, not positions. “Two kids are fighting over the last orange,” Patrick says, drawing from the project’s book Getting to Yes to explain the difference. “Mom—the adjudicator—gives each of them half. In her mind, justice has prevailed. One child peels his half, throws the peel away, and eats the fruit. The other child peels her half, uses the peel for a flavoring of some kind, and throws the fruit away. If Mom had been mediator instead of adjudicator, she could have said, ‘Let me ask you, Bobby, Sue, why do you want the orange?’ By uncovering their respective interests in the orange, she could have helped negotiate a decision that satisfied each of them fully.” Two tips lawmakers or anyone can use for better negotiating come from Neil
Respectful, interest-based negotiating brings about better outcomes and can become the norm for a group, Patrick says. “I don’t think it’s our default, but I think it’s a culture that can be promoted.” Members of the public attending legislative committee hearings or viewing them online can keep an eye out for poor and effective negotiating skills. Interactions that are emotional or critical are unproductive, Bucklew says. “If you hear someone say, ‘I really want to understand where you’re coming from,’ or, ‘Help me understand what you think we need to accomplish,’ you’re watching somebody with negotiating skills at work.” The Harvard Negotiation Project followed its 1981 best-selling Getting to Yes with Getting Past No, Getting Together, and Getting Ready to Negotiate (The Getting to Yes Workbook).
istock
“The effective negotiator also knows what their BATNA is,” Bucklew says. That’s Best Alternative to a Negotiated Agreement, the standard against which a negotiator measures any proposed agreement and without which he or she is negotiating in the dark. “You also need to know the other party’s BATNA. Part of effective negotiations is making their BATNA less attractive to them and yours more attractive to you.”
Marketing
4
Testimonial advertising
Potential customers will probably trust existing customers more than you.
Jeff says: “Having your customers share their experiences and reviews sends a meaningful and credible message to others who are evaluating use of your business.”
5
Social media The writing’s on the wall. You’re missing a vital link to customers if you’re not taking advantage of this medium. Jeff says: “Should social media be a part of your business plan? The answer is yes, as it can be an effective platform for building and reinforcing your brand. It has not proven particularly effective, however, in driving customer acquisition and sales. Do not feel compelled to cover all social media platforms. Pick one or two that reach your targeted audience and use them for what they do best—building customer relationships.”
Resolution for reinvention 6 Start the year off right by trimming down and tightening up your marketing strategy.
The year 2013 is behind us. As businesses set out to plan for another year, Jeff Barnes of The Barnes Agency shares a few tips to help businesses grow.
1
Your brand A good logo and a
catchy slogan aren’t enough.
Jeff says: “Consistency is key. While your virtual assets, like your company logo and promotional materials, should all be integrated to communicate your brand, effective branding extends equally to your internal operations and the delivery of customer experience. Where there is consistency between promotional promises and customer experience, strong brands live.”
2
Your website Life moves fast on
the web. Don’t get stuck in the past.
Jeff says: “Does your website support your brand and clearly communicate what you want prospective customers to know about your business and its services? If not, start by updating your web content to make it relevant. Keep both content and images fresh.”
3
Don’t rule out traditional media Yes, the Internet is an ever-
growing aspect of our lives. But all the old venues are still alive and well.
Jeff says: “Studies support that there is still power in traditional advertising and indicate U.S. consumers trust TV, print, radio, and magazine advertising more than non-traditional formats.”
Earned media You don’t have
to be a writer to reap the returns of a good press release.
Jeff says: “Recognize the importance of writing press releases. Earned media is free promotion for your business and viewed as more credible than paid selfpromotion.”
7
Networking It’s more than free
drinks. The old meet-and-greet keeps customers connected to the company.
Jeff says: “Attend events, support causes, and seek speaking engagements to keep you and your business top-of-mind. Try to meet your customers face-to-face as much as possible. While phone calls, texts, and emails make communication convenient, sometimes your customers need to see you in person so you can look them in the eye and thank them for their business.” The Barnes Agency 109 Chase Drive Suite 200, Hurricane, WV 25526; 949 Third Avenue, Suite C, Huntington WV 25701; thebarnesagency.com Focus wvfocus.com
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B2B
The J Right ThinG One West Virginia CEO asks all the right questions to take herself—and others— to the top.
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eannette King always wanted to own a business that would grow while helping others. In 2007 she started her journey with the launch of Strategic Resolution Experts, Inc. (SRE), a Martinsburg-based company that helps businesses of all sizes in the commercial and government sectors. Jeannette says she barely had a clue how to get a business off the ground when she started, but she wasn’t afraid to ask questions. She set out with a $10,000 tax return and little else. “I had no other money in the bank, and I’m not married. From that I’ve grown my company to more than $3 million.” Jeannette continues to ask all the right questions, but now she asks them of her clients in an effort to improve their businesses. SRE does a little bit of everything for both government and commercial companies in the areas of IT
governance, human capital and strategic planning, project and program management, and training. SRE also uses its organizational expertise to support charities for the country’s military, veterans, and their children as well as helping educational institutions globally. “One of my customers says, ‘Jeannette, you ask all the annoying questions.’ That’s what we do. We say, ‘Did you think about this?’ We help solve the problems.” At its core, the company solves problems at the strategic level. “If an organization has business processes that aren’t working—things that are costing them money—we come in and evaluate how they’re operating their businesses,” Jeannette says. SRE manages projects, implements solutions, and trains staff—the latter of which Jeannette says may be the most important. “Having computers is great, but if you don’t have people who can operate them, it does no good,” she says. Jeannette may be CEO of a successful company now, but it hasn’t always been easy. Growing up, she split time between living in a trailer in Bluefield and a housing project in Baltimore. “I grew up with an appreciation for folks who work hard but don’t always make their way ahead,” she says. “I didn’t know I was poor then. I thought standing in the cheese lines was fun.” Her family couldn’t afford to send her to college, so she joined the U.S. Navy instead. “I realized at a very young age that the only way I would get ahead was to get an education,” she says. “I knew I had to do something different with my life. I didn’t want to struggle like my parents did.” She put herself through college while in the Navy and
courtesy of jeannette king
SRE President Jeannette King with Director of Business Development Curt Anderson.
written by
Top Tips Training is key. Jeannette invests $10,000 in training per employee. “I tell my employees, ‘You should be better off when you leave me than when you came.’” She hopes her employees will stay, but if they don’t, she wants them to leave saying, “Wow. I learned so much.” Have an effect. “I always tell my accountant I’m never going to be rich because I give all my money away,” Jeannette laughs. “I want to have a positive impact on the people in my community, in my state, and my fellow veterans. I feel like we’re doing that. I have a lot of big plans and I want to go a lot further because I feel like I can impact a bigger population as a my business grows.” Do the right thing. “The biggest thing, and it’s the hardest in business, is to make sure you do the right thing. Be honest. Do the lawful thing. Be up front—whether it’s your business partners or your employees. When you do the right thing you will develop amazing relationships with people that will carry you through your whole life.” Have a mentor. “Find good mentors. I’ve had amazing mentors,” Jeannette says. But, she cautions, make sure you’re being told the truth, which leads to her next point. Be smart. “Always make sure you’re informed. If someone tells me something I will go look it up. Show me in black and white where it says this and then I’m good.” Stay humble. “Never forget where you came from because you could be there again. There are no guarantees in life,” Jeannette says. “These aren’t so much business things, but to me, they are. When you do the right thing, the right things will happen.” sreinc.us
finished her degree when she got out of the military, then as a single parent. She went from making $38,000 to $80,000 upon receiving her degree. “It was pretty amazing. It was like, ‘This is all I have to do?’” After September 11, 2001, she took a job working at the Operations System Center for the Coast Guard in Kearneysville as a government contractor. After two years she left the Coast Guard to work as a consultant and worked for both government contractor and commercial organizations. In 2007, upon realizing her knack for quickly resolving organizational problems, she started her own business. “My passion is really helping people,” Jeannette says. “I wanted to start a business I could grow and use my success to help other people. I am very proud to say I am doing that to this day.” Today SRE employs 20 people, and about half of those live in West Virginia. Bringing sustainable employment to the Mountain State is important to Jeannette, who herself lives in the Eastern Panhandle in Inwood. She takes great pride in being able to employ local people. When an employee bought a new house, she went to visit. “I saw his house and I cried. I’m so proud that I was able to help make this happen. It’s a big deal. He’s a young guy and he deserves this.” SRE is a Woman-Owned, SBA Certified 8a / Small Disadvantaged Business. Jeannette is one of less than 300 nonminority 8as, but was certified because of her background and social disadvantage. “I’m from West Virginia. I was born economically and socially disadvantaged,” she says. Jeannette is used to outsiders’ frequent perceptions of her state, but she’ll always remember when a colleague told her being young, blonde, and West Virginian wasn’t necessarily a bad thing. “They expect you to be an idiot, and you blow them away.” She says the whole process has been—and continues to be— very interesting. “It is still a man’s world in government contracting,” she says. She says growing the business has taken longer than it could have over the years, but she refused to work in any “gray area.” “Even if someone says you can make $1 million, you walk away from it if it’s not right,” she says. “That’s not
Laura wilcox rote
“My passion is really helping people. I wanted to start a business I could grow and use my success to help other people. I am very proud to say I am doing that to do this day.” Jeannette King, SRE
worth it to me. I’d rather work really hard and struggle until I make it.” Currently at any given time SRE has six to 12 ongoing projects. The company does a lot of work with the U.S. Department of Homeland Security. “What I love about what we do for the government is being a part of something bigger. Even if we’re not, say, in the security part of the work, what we do contributes to the security of our homeland,” Jeannette says. Sometimes projects are short-term and sometimes they take longer. “I tell my customers, ‘We don’t want to stay here for 100 years. We want to come in, find the problem, solve the problem, train you, and move on.” Then, she says, if SRE is needed later for an evaluation, they’ll come back and review. “Our business model is really to help them become selfsufficient. We want to teach them what we know so they can do the work.” SRE also works with volunteer organizations like Final Salute, Inc., which provides housing to homeless female veterans and their children. “Female veterans are the largest growing homeless population in the country,” Jeannette says. “Being a single mom and growing up how I did, I realized that could’ve been me and that could be me in the future.” Focus wvfocus.com
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Moving S Toward Local Control
ince the Great Depression West Virginia has had a very centralized government with minimal independence afforded to counties and municipalities. Highway construction and maintenance, for example, is the responsibility of the state, except in the case of municipalities— counties cannot enact sales and income taxes to fund the infrastructure needed by their citizens. And while public education is the responsibility of elected county boards of education, effective control lies with the state Board of Education and Legislature. The end result of more than 80 years of centralization is that local officials run to Charleston for financial support and cannot craft Chief economist Tom S. Witt programs demanded by residents. But state budgets are increasingly looks at the opportunities strained and, at the same time, top-down offered by home rule. solutions don’t always work for every part of the state. In 2007 the Legislature enacted the Municipal Home Rule Pilot Program to give municipalities the opportunities to craft taxes, rules, and services to meet the needs of their voters. The four cities enrolled in the pilot program—Bridgeport, Charleston, Huntington, and Wheeling—were largely successful in tailoring programs and taxes to meet their needs. Among the changes enacted and approved by the Home Rule Board have been streamlining designbuild processes, elimination of B&O tax and replacement with local sales tax, and improvements in fee collections. All changes, however, must be approved by a state board. Based on such successes, the Home Rule program is expanding to 20 cities in 2014. But it’s still a pilot program. I believe our state is at an inflection Tom S. Witt is an point between state and local government. We must move emeritus professor of responsibility for programs and revenue sources to county economics at WVU and municipal governments—the state’s fiscal issues make and chief economist at it imperative. Local economies with adverse demographic Witt Economics LLC. profiles, low human capital resources, and isolation from wider markets will have less opportunity to determine their destinies. But those that have human capital and access to wider markets should not be constrained by restrictive policies oriented toward equity of treatment. The shift would align West Virginia with surrounding states, where responsibility for basic public services is met through modern local government structures and not subject to approval by a state board. It’s time for a reset.
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written by
TOM S. WITT
Why Home Rule Rules Administrative rules governing local governments are best developed by local government officials with guidance from the state. This can better ensure use of national best practices in administration and delivery of local services. Home rule aligns the decision making with revenue and expenditure decisions. This can lead to operational efficiencies across government units, particularly when there are incentives for mergers of municipalities and/or county government. Local governments can make quicker decisions versus waiting for West Virginia Legislature action. Home rule allows taxes and services to be tailored to meet the needs of local communities without impairing their abilities to compete for business. With more than 50 percent of West Virginia’s population in a border county, more options for fiscal and administrative structures are needed to meet the competition. For example, Ohio, Pennsylvania, and Virginia levy local sales taxes while Kentucky, Ohio, and Pennsylvania levy local income taxes. Local residents receive services from local government. The services desired in Monongalia County are dramatically different from those of McDowell County residents. In 2013 the West Virginia Legislative Auditor recommended expansion of broad-based home rule to all Class I, II, and III municipalities and discontinuation of the Home Rule Board. The Legislature decided, instead, to expand the pilot program to allow participation by more municipalities.
courtesy of tom witt
Economics
Leadership
David C. Hardesty takes a hard look at bias in business.
recently came across an article in the Wall Street Journal that pointed to faulty decisions on the part of doctors due to biases in their decision-making processes. Thirteen biases were mentioned, along with seven steps patients could take to prevent or detect diagnostic errors. I wasn’t surprised. Letting biases—that is, making decisions based on cognitive patterns and predispositions rather than evidence— is more common than one might think in the decision processes of lawyers, business executives, government officials, generals, churches, university administrators, and decision-makers in every other domain of expertise. Of course, not all biases are bad. Being “biased” in favor of integrity or excellence in a meeting usually improves decision-making. Here are some steps leaders can take to prevent bias from distorting a group’s decision.
David C. Hardesty, Jr., is a professor of law and president emeritus of West Virginia University. He teaches courses related to leadership, management, ethics, and trends in the legal profession.
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First, establish a culture of respect
Consider involving outside sources (consultants or experts) in the
for all opinions. Encourage all to speak up and appreciate the skeptic in the room. Sometimes a contrarian causes a group to re-think what appears to be a unanimous opinion.
process. These may include trained neutral facilitators and subject matter experts.
You should always appoint balanced groups based on multiple
Follow the best planning method for the task at hand. Sometimes
needed strengths, not on shared characteristics. Decisions are normally made by groups.
When delegating decisions, work hard to frame the question directly.
To quote one decision theorist, is it “May I smoke while I pray?” or “May I pray while I smoke?” Seek input from others on the framing of the question itself before seeking to resolve it.
When giving out assignments
that are important to the organization, try to remain neutral, refrain from favoring one side or the other, and shy away from hints as to desirable outcomes. Everyone wants to please the boss, sometimes to the boss’ detriment.
Think in terms of final states rather than gains or losses. Cash in the bank can cause recklessness. Ask, “Will what we do retain and advance the wealth (or other goals) of the organization?”
we need full blown strategic planning, sometimes we need project planning, sometimes we need to just get started and adapt as we go forward.
Be realistic. Generals start wars because they think they can win. The five-year survival rate for a small business is less than 35 percent. Assign a group skeptic, perhaps the CFO. Solicit outside views. Consider outside inputs on inside problems. Listen to clients, customers, patients, and readers. Encourage transparency. Most will appreciate your efforts to continuously improve. After reaching preliminary consensus, allow time to pass before one
last meeting at which residual doubts can be surfaced and discussed.
Finally, after a project is completed, do what the military calls an
“after action review.” Whether the effort was successful or unsuccessful, ask why and remember what you have learned for the next effort.
courtesy of david hardesty
Avoiding Bias When Making Decisions I
written by
David C. Hardesty, Jr.
Common Biases Solving the wrong problem because the question before the group has been framed incorrectly. Mistaking symptoms for the problem. Anchoring on the first or last information we read, or trying to decide before gathering all available information, including conflicting information. Group think, or trying to please the boss or go along with the crowd. Looking for evidence that confirms our predisposition rather than looking for evidence that refutes it. Overconfidence, based on good experiences in the past. (This is sometimes cited as the root cause of the Challenger disaster.) Sunk cost bias, or favoring an option in which we have already invested a lot of time and money. Illusion of control over matters over which we have no control; think stock market. Failure to understand the risks of various options, including the status quo. Failure to process information correctly or overweighting the advice of one advisor. Gender, racial, or ethnic stereotyping is really prejudice, but can certainly lead to poor decisions. Failure to recognize the possible independent or reactive moves of competitors.
Focus wvfocus.com
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Pitfalls
Partnership Protocol Unlucky at love, unlucky at business—in marriage and partnership, commitment is key.
Partnership Pointers
Hesitant about that 80 percent statistic? Amy Tawney, a partner at the Charleston office of Bowles Rice, offers tips for setting up a partnership with minimal risk. Consider what type of entity is appropriate. To avoid personal liability, consider forming a limited liability company or “S” corporation. An S corporation provides the same tax treatment as a partnership, but also liability protection for individual members and shareholders.
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hoosing a business partner is like choosing a spouse. If you think divorce is prevalent, here’s a shocking statistic. Forbes estimates that while half of marriages end in divorce, nearly 80 percent of business partnerships dissolve within the first five years. And like divorce, the legal complications that arise at the disintegration of a partnership are formidable—it could even mean the end of the business. With such bleak prospects, you might wonder if it isn’t easier to forgo that option, bear the brunt of full responsibility, and hope for the best. Partnerships do offer appealing advantages, and for Robert Simpson, those advantages amounted to a successful business. In addition to being a full-time instructor in the Division of
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Have a written partnership agreement that describes each partner’s roles and responsibilities, how decisions are made, and compensation. If partners each own 50 percent of the business, a provision for determining deadlocks should be included as well as allocation of profits and losses and how amounts change over time. Accountancy & Legal Environment in Marshall University’s College of Business, Robert is also a partner at Dixon Hughes Goodman’s Charleston office. “The beauty of partnership is the ability to bring diverse talents to a common enterprise,” Robert says. “I’m very optimistic about partnerships because of that ability, but it adds a dimension that needs attention.” The decision to enter business with someone is not to be taken lightly. It’s possible to simply shake hands and call it a day, but Robert advises the first step toward a successful partnership is transparency—first with yourself, then with your partner. “You have to be honest with yourself about your own strengths and weaknesses. You’re looking to complement yourself with another person or group of people,” he says. “That’s why you do business outside a sole proprietorship.”
Agree on initial contributions to the partnership and document that in partnership agreement. Each partner’s ownership percentage should be commensurate with capital contributions. Have an exit plan. Include provisions for the purchase of each partner’s interest upon events like death, disability, employment termination, divorce, and retirement. The purchase price should be agreed upon in advance and based on a formula. Consider purchasing life and disability insurance to assist with the cost of the buy-out. Amy Tawney specializes in commercial and financial services litigation and has won industry awards. bowlesrice.com
written by
Miriah Hamrick
“Often people go into business because of what they agree on, but they don’t take into account the things they might disagree on.” Robert Simpson, Marshall University’s College of Business
When you’ve found someone who seems like a good fit and you’ve established a business plan, the next step is to delineate areas of responsibility. This is something you’ll want to have written down. Robert suggests you start the discussion with the key success factors of business—finances, marketing, product quality, human resources, and administration—and assign responsibility and accountability based on each other’s areas of strength. “That means making an agreement to defer to the other person’s expertise. It doesn’t mean to be uninvolved or to not discuss it when issues arise,” he says. “It simply gives you a place to dig in and analyze the problem. It provides a process for working through issues.” Because issues will arise. Every business comes with its fair share of challenges, and Robert says one of the most important discussions that should occur between potential partners is about conflict resolution. “Often people go into business because of what they agree on, but they don’t take into account the things they might disagree on,” he says. “Disagreements happen, and often they reach a standstill. This is where businesses get tripped up.” You should know how your partner reacts to conflict and whether you can disagree without getting emotions involved. Robert insists that in the majority of cases, it’s not bad intentions that cause intractable problems. It’s a skill set that’s missing. “You have to know from the beginning if you both have the skills to work through these things,” he says. Are you both committed to respect one another’s approach? Are you both willing to take the time to understand one another and work for a consensus? If the answer is no, you should reevaluate your partnership. But if the answer is yes, you might be one of the lucky few who succeed. Robert found success in partnership, but he is quick to point out there’s not one right answer. “To be in the most creative and energetic mode—the positive mode that builds business—you have to have a level of comfort, and that ultimately comes from the relationship,” he says. Like a marriage, a successful partnership requires a commitment to honor and strengthen the relationship, and that commitment will look different depending on the people who make it. It’s those interpersonal elements that make or break it. “If there is a sound plan and a way to keep that plan through commitment, you can make it work.” Focus wvfocus.com
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Sylvia Mathews Burwell The White House budget director and West Virginia native navigates the murky waters of finance and the future.
S
he’s solved perhaps the most serious crisis facing our country since the Great Depression— the government shutdown of 2013. “The government shutdown was avoidable and it is clear why this type of self-inflicted wound should not occur again,” says Sylvia Mathews Burwell, Hinton native and director of the Office of Management and Budget (OMB). “It inflicted completely unnecessary damage on our economy and took a toll on families and businesses in West Virginia and across the country.” In her career she has solved problems big and small—as past president of the Walmart Foundation, former president of the Global Development Program at the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, and even as deputy director and deputy chief of staff to the president during the Clinton Administration. The Harvard and Oxford alum seems to have always had a knack for problem-solving and recently shared with us her thoughts on West Virginia’s strengths and weaknesses and her own ability to get things done. written by laura wilcox rote
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West Virginia’s Strengths
West Virginia’s most important assets are its natural resources that range from its people to its incredible beauty. Harnessing the power of those resources to the fullest extent possible to promote economic growth is a challenge, but it’s important to the state. I have a large map of my home state in my office at OMB so people know how proud I am to be a West Virginian.
2
Advice to Small Businesses
You have a friend in President Obama. He is committed to a strategy that will strengthen the economic recovery, create jobs, and help small businesses in West Virginia and across America grow and prosper. Over the past five years, the president has cut taxes for small businesses 18 times. The Small Business Administration, with 27 offices across the state, is a great resource for West Virginia entrepreneurs and small business owners, offering loan guarantees, advice, and support to attract new businesses and help our neighborhood stores thrive.
3
Getting Things Done
I strive to deliver impact, no matter the size of the problem. I start by asking and answering the question, what does success look like? By clearly defining the outcome you can chart a path to success. One reason I am attracted to trying to solve big problems and working toward positive change is my West Virginia roots. In Hinton, my hometown, folks worked together to respond to needs and drive change. Whether it was collecting money in the neighborhood for flowers when a neighbor’s relative passed or trick-or-treating for UNICEF to help less fortunate children around the world, I grew up in a place that instilled the important value of service to others.
courtesy of office of management and budget
POWER POINTS
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