Matt Ballard 

All West Virginians want a more vibrant community and prosperous economy. This desire is certainly not unique to the citizens of our great state.   The creation of great communities that attract and retain good jobs is the goal of every country, state, county, city and village worldwide.  It is also an infinite task.  Will any state ever have “enough” good paying jobs with benefits?  Will our communities ever be as clean or safe as they could be?  The answer is no.  We must have a long-term fluid strategy to adapt to constant global change.   Almost every community or region has multiple organizations that work toward the betterment of the community and economy.  In West Virginia alone there are no less than 66 Economic Development Authority organizations, 12 Regional Planning and Development Councils, approximately 55 Chambers of Commerce and various community development organizations. The missions of these organizations often overlap as does their leadership and funding sources.  Most seek to create new jobs with healthy salaries and benefits.  Most seek to build a business climate which facilitates the attraction, growth, and retention of jobs.  Most try to create a community in which people desire to live and work.  So what if these organizations united under one roof? What if you could take the resources of two or three of these organizations and form one central organization that was more efficient and effective at carrying out the mission?  

Resource Merger

Uniting resources is exactly what the leaders of Charleston Renaissance, the Charleston Chamber of Commerce and the Business and Industrial Development Corporation (BIDCO) did when they created the Charleston Area Alliance in 2004. This resource merger for the betterment of Kanawha County took progressive thinking by leaders that realized by uniting both the human and financial resources of the three organizations, goals could be accomplished in a more efficient and effective way. The merger has not only worked, but it is an example for other communities throughout West Virginia.  The merged organization immediately realized budgetary savings.  Each organization had a copier, fax machine and accounting software, just to name a few.  Before the merger, the combined operating budgets of the three organizations totaled $1,635,000.  After the merger, the total unified budget was $1,426,000, a savings of 13 percent.  United, the organization allows more financial resources to go directly into job creation, community development and advocacy for a better business climate.  This is critical as we compete with other states and regions that aggressively pursue the same goals. Since its creation, the Charleston Area Alliance has many victories to celebrate after completing its first two years.  These successes have shown that consolidating our resources has created a stronger, more effective organization.  Thanks to the leadership of its Board of Directors, staff, members and volunteers, our community is in fact more vibrant and our economy is more prosperous. 

Fruitful First Years

Just in the first two years, the Alliance has partnered with the office of the Governor, the West Virginia Development Office and Advantage Valley in recruiting foreign companies to the area.  New companies include Applied Computing & Engineering from the UK, New Finishing Line and Esseco Group from Italy and IPS from Belgium.  

The Alliance partnered in the coalition that saved the 130th WV Air National Guard Airlift Wing and works toward helping retain our existing companies and assisting them in expansion.  It continues its assistance to MATRIC, which has kept doctoral level chemists and engineers employed in the region creating profitable intellectual capital for our state.  

The Charleston Area Alliance encourages entrepreneurs through its small business incubator.  The Alliance provides office and warehouse space, shared office services, proven networking and marketing opportunities and business counseling to start-up companies. The Alliance has nearly completed the inside renovations of its incubator building on Smith Street with 10,000 square feet of space being converted from warehouse use to usable incubator tenant space.  As it completes the final stages of interior renovations it is planning for a capital campaign to restore the exterior of the building as well.       

The Alliance has also focused on keeping, building and attracting young professionals.

The Alliance has revitalized Leadership Charleston, into the Leadership Kanawha Valley program.  The Alliance has graduated its first class from Leadership Kanawha Valley and has welcomed its second class for 2006-07.  A formal committee with representatives from a broad spectrum of young professionals has also been formed to host networking events, encourage non-profit boards to select young professionals for board seats and policy recommendations that will result in the retention of young talent in our state.

Forward Thinking

The Alliance continues the education forum known as the “Think Tank Series,”  and is in the final stages of developing “Gateway Greenspace” on Washington Street near the Clay Center and its Ecodwell project of building a environmentally friendly and energy efficient affordable home is nearly complete.  

Charleston East End Main Street which is housed under the Alliance won state-wide awards in 2006 including: Best Exterior Historic Building Rehabilitation, Best Interior Historic Building Rehabilitation, Best Comprehensive Committee Award and Mary Alice Hodgson, Program Manager, won Program Manager of the Year.         

The Alliance has provided five $1,000 scholarships to area high school students participating in the College Summit program.  Volunteer tutors continue to be placed in schools across the county.  The Greater Charleston Higher Education Council, a subcommittee of the Charleston Area Alliance Education Division, is working to educate the public on the strength of higher education in the county and leveraging higher education as a major resource in assisting with marketing and research activities that promote economic development. The Alliance is also a collaborative partner in the Entrepreneurial League System.      

Through its Chamber of Commerce division, the Alliance successfully educated the public and lawmakers to aid in the passage of the Metro Government Bill during the 2006 Legislative Session.  The Kanawha County Safety Levy was also an electorate education process led by the Alliance; the Safety Levy passed assuring continued ambulance, bus and emergency services for all of Kanawha County. Would all of these projects been completed if the organizations were still separate entities?  It’s possible, but at what expense, timetable and effort?The merger of the organizations has brought together a capable staff to assist each other using their respective skills, abilities and expertise to see projects through to completion.The more efficient administrative management created by uniting the three groups has allowed staff to have more time in the field.  In short, this merger worked and can be a model for other geographic areas of our state.   When it comes to job creation and community development, speaking with one voice is important.  As three separate organizations, BIDCO, Renaissance and the Chamber competed for volunteers’ time, funding and attention. The Charleston Area Alliance speaks with one voice.  Other areas of our state should explore this model.  After all, a positive result means a more vibrant community and prosperous economy for all of West Virginia.