Create West Virginia

We plan to make good use of your time in Huntington for the Create West Virginia Conference and let you learn first-hand from many of the people who are working to transform the City. New to the conference this year is the Huntington Project Track. Using Huntington as a living laboratory, this track will:

1. Provide practical illustrations of the concepts “Creatives” have discussed for years
2. Illustrate what can be done when people just get to work
3. Inspire participants to “just do it” when they go home.

I’d like your thoughts about the plan for the track. The Project Track will include 3 sessions, each comprising 2 regular conference sessions. Participants will leave the conference area and head out into the “field” to see some of the projects the community is using to create an inspiring dynamic place. Each session will include a guided tour pointing out specific problems the community faces and some of the tactics we’re using to address them.

Each will also include a detailed panel discussion with the people who are “boots on the ground”, leading and working on the projects, who will provide practical no-nonsense information about their successes and failures. They will also include a facilitated brainstorming session, modeled after Create Huntington’s Chat ‘n Chew, allowing participants an opportunity to brainstorm ways they can address their community’s issues and plan to take specific action when they get home.

(Re)Building a Sense of Community
Facilitator: Stacy McChesney, President of the Neighborhood Institute of Huntington

We all lament that in today’s society we arrive home in the evenings only to close the garage door and turn on the television, never getting to know our neighbors and never feeling like we’re part of a larger community.

This session will explore how one neighborhood is creating a sense of place and rebuilding a sense of community. In doing so, they are making the community safer and adding greatly to the local amenities. In this session, participants will receive practical information about a host of community initiatives, such as: building a neighborhood organization, improving the safety of your community, ways to maintain the housing stock, and innovative approaches to increasing recreational opportunities.

Town and Gown: A path to success
Facilitator: Bill Bissett, Chief of Staff, Marshall University

When we say “town and gown” many people think about ways that a college or university can enrich the lives of residents. However, that’s just half of the equation. This session will focus on the various ways higher education and the community can partner to enrich the lives of residents and students, expand the economy, and help the school recruit students, researchers and faculty.

The Elephants in the Room: Dealing with a community’s biggest problems
Facilitator: Tim White, Coordinator, City of Huntington’s Weed and Seed Program

Every community has big problems. We might as well deal with them. This session will take a frank look at the major obstacles in Huntington (drugs, dilapidated housing, poverty, absentee landlords) and what the community is doing to address them. In doing so, it will provide practical tips, a roadmap, and inspiration for what any community can and must do if it is going to begin to take on the big issues.
 

Posted by Thomas McChesney, Lead Planner for the Huntington Project Track