BECKLEY, W.Va. — Appalachian Regional Commission federal co-chair Gayle Manchin on Wednesday joined southern West Virginia leaders on stops to multiple Beckley businesses.
Manchin, who joined the commission in May, toured multiple businesses to better understand how the commission’s investment of $1.5 million has affected business development and job opportunities.
The Appalachian Regional Commission is a federal agency focused on economic and regional development in 13 states from Mississippi to New York. All of West Virginia’s 55 counties are in the agency’s scope of interest.
Manchin is familiar with Raleigh County; she was raised in Beckley and graduated from Woodrow Wilson High School.
“It’s a new Beckley with a new vision and great leadership, and wonderful things are happening,” she said.
The investment is through the commission’s POWER Initiative; grants are targeted toward communities and regions impacted by job losses in the coal industry. Manchin noted all of West Virginia is eligible for funding through the program.
“It’s one thing to read about a grant on a piece of paper where everybody has dotted the I’s and crossed the T’s, but it just does not make up for coming and seeing in person the buildings, to meet the people, to see where the work is being done and how it all happens,” she said. “There is no replacement for being there in person.”
One of the businesses that benefited from the program is Fruits of Labor, a culinary establishment that trains people seeking treatment for drug addiction and at-risk youth. Its operations include cafes, a bakery and a 218-acre farm with expansion efforts in Beckley, Alderson and Montgomery.
“The wonderful thing that we see in each of the communities that we are going into is that the community starts to understand and engage with recovery,” founder and president Tammy Jordan said.
“Participation in active recovery is so important within our students so that they see that they are being educated, certified, trained and employed. That starts to create this atmosphere of encouragement and hope, and then the community is coming in and they understand what’s happening behind the scenes. They understand what is going on.”
Jordan said the Appalachian Regional Commission is an important partner in the business and its expansion efforts.
“We have the opportunity to be able to purchase some of our equipment that we need to be able to open each of our facilities,” she said.
Manchin was also joined by representatives of Raleigh County Memorial Airport, the New River Gorge Regional Development Authority and WV Hive.