....The 4-C Economic Development Authority goes beyond the call of duty to assist in helping small business. The loan program has helped Precision Electric, Inc. to reach goals that otherwise might not have been possible. I tip my hat of approval to this program.
Connected Technologies Corridors Program
The Connected Technologies Corridors Program is an eleven-county initiative to bring a concerted technology focus to southeastern West Virginia. The project focuses on four major components – (1) technology infrastructure including improved broadband access, (2) entrepreneurial development, (3) marketing and (4) education.
Projects currently underway within the region include:
- construction of a technology facility at the Greenbrier Valley Airport.
- construction of a technology facility in Hinton.
- construction of a technology facility in Beckley.
- development of Phase II of the Raleigh County Airport Industrial Park – 300 acres.
- development of Pinecrest Business & Technology Park – 1,000+ acres.
- construction of the Beckley Bypass at Pinecrest.
- construction of the Education Center at the Woodlands.
- development of Wolf Creek Park – 1,000 acres.
- development of a tourism training facility at Wolf Creek Park.
- development of a business park in Nicholas County.
- development of a business incubator at Concord University.
- development of a business incubator at Bluefield State College.
- establishment of the Women's Business Center and Workforce Business Center.
- offering the FastTrac Planning program, a comprehensive entrepreneurship education program, through a partnership with the West Virginia High Technology Consortium (WVHTC) Foundation's INNOVA Commercialization Group.
- offering an e-commerce initiative to assist entrepreneurs with marketing their products online through a partnership with the Appalachian Regional Commission, Representative Nick Rahall, Region 1 WIB, Mission West Virginia, WVU Extension Service, WV Chamber of Commerce, Verizon Foundation WV, Microsoft Corporation and Amazon.com.
Region 1 WorkforceWV
Workforce WV is the workforce training initiative for the state of WV. In 2004 the Region 1 Workforce West Virginia Career Centers, representing an eleven-county region in southeastern WV, were the recipients of the Workforce Development Award for Excellence – Rural One-Stop System (best rural One-Stop in the nation).
Southern West Virginia Metal Fabricators' Partnership
The Metal Fabricator's Partnership is a cooperative effort to identify markets for metal fabricating companies located within the region. The partnership includes Region 1 Planning and Development Council, Marshall University and economic developers of the counties of Mercer, Monroe, Raleigh, Summers, Wyoming and McDowell.
