Highlights is a 30 minute weekly TV show featuring organizations, events, grass-roots efforts and people who move our state and community forward in a positive way.
The show is a collaboration with HD Media, The Media Center, Jim Strawn & Company.
Special thanks to our latest sponsor, Bankers Life WV. There’s No Life Like the Bankers Life.
The show taped and premiering at 8:30 p.m. on August 8, 2022 highlights Advantage Valley and FASTER WV.
We interviewed Terrell Ellis, Executive Director of Advantage Valley and Tyler Brandstetter, Business Coach with Advantage Valley.
Terrell discussed the the mission of Advantage Valley.
Advantage Valley
in southwestern West Virginia is a nine-county region stretching from Huntington to Charleston, forming one of the nation’s most resource-rich and business-friendly corridors.
Served by three Interstates (I-64, I-77, and I-79) and several U.S. highways with Interstate access, Advantage Valley has fast connections to key cities and markets throughout the eastern half of the nation. Busy CSX and Norfolk Southern mainlines connect the region to the continent’s rail network and ports along the Ohio River and in Virginia. The area is served by six navigable rivers with truck-to-barge capabilities, two ports, and two regional airports.
Advantage Valley’s history in industries such as coal production earned local workers (and there are 617,000 of them in our labor shed) a reputation for initiative and employer loyalty. In fact, West Virginia has the nation’s lowest manufacturing employee turnover rate. With an outstanding quality of life, a low cost of living, and competitive wages, it’s easy for local employers to draw recruits to the area. Plus, our local K-12 and postsecondary educators have long worked closely with local companies to deliver workforce training and education programs aligned with the needs of employers.
Click here to watch the entire show.
Tyler talked about FASTER WV.
FASTER WV (acronym stands for Fostering Advantages for Start Ups & Entrepreneurial Resurgence in WV)
initiative is here to identify, encourage, and support businesses like yours through a series of information-packed webinars and other helpful resources.
Through its FASTER WV Initiative, Advantage Valley and its partners (WV Small Business Development Center, Unlimited Future, Inc., and the Wyoming County Economic Development Authority) are building a stronger culture of entrepreneurship in the region.
Participants will work one-on-one with a FASTER WV business coach, take an entrepreneurship training class, and consider tapping into a Revolving Loan Fund to start or grow a business in the region.
FASTER WV funding provided by:
Appalachian Regional Commission
Claude Worthington Benedum Foundation
The Greater Kanawha Valley Foundation
Unlimited Future, Inc., Truist, and USDA Rural Development
We also featured some of the area success stories.
Click here to view the entire show.
Local businesses that have worked successfully with FASTER WV include:
Clendenin Brewing – Kanawha County (beer)
Sugar Bottom Farms – Clay County (honey)
Appalachian Botanicals – Boone County (lavender)
Savannah’s Restaurant – Cabell County
We B Fryin – Kanawha County (snack foods)
For more information on Advantage Valley call 304-352-1165.
If you would like to learn more about the Highlights Program, contact Host and Executive Producer Jim Strawn at 304-541-4756.
