'The shining example': Distinguished visitors praise Bluefield's accomplishments

Jul. 23—BLUEFIELD — Bluefield hosted distinguished visitors Friday who praised city leaders and said the city has set an example for the rest of the state to follow.

E. Gordon Gee, president of West Virginia State University, Brad Smith, former CEO of Intuit and now president of Marshall University, and Bluefield native Dr. Patrice Harris, who was the first African-American female to be president of the American Medical Association, a graduate of WVU Medical School and a member of the WVU Board of Governors, spoke at a reception at the Clover Club.

"I cannot tell you how impressed we are with what you are accomplishing," Gee said, "the energy, the commitment of the community, the building of a real infrastructure here."

Gee said the state is also heading in the right direction and has set priorities to get there, including putting a lot of energy into education at all levels for a "solid and energetic" education system.

He also said the state must have great health care and that has happened.

"No one has to leave this state to get great health care," he said, mentioning the new WVU Medicine Children's Hospital in Morgantown that recently opened.

Princeton Community Hospital, as well as PCH Bluefield Emergency Department, are now under the umbrella of WVU Medicine.

Gee said the main reason they were in Bluefield was to learn about the successes of the city and work together around the state to "create jobs, create prosperity, make sure our young people stay in our communities and make sure that what we do is to create a future for them."

"If we are one people with one voice and one purpose ... and I think that is exactly where we are now throughout the state..." he said, and people are realizing the opportunities and that West Virginia is no long country roads, but is now "bringing me home."

Gee praised Mayor Ron Martin and Jim Spencer, executive director of the Bluefield Economic Development Authority and their work and vision.

"The purpose of our trip here is not just to be here this time, but to be here many times," he said.

Gee said Smith, as the former CEO of intuit, is the "epitome" of creating jobs.

Smith, who is a West Virginia native and was in Bluefield for the kickoff of Intuit locating a prosperity hub here, said "it's awesome to be back."

Smith said he and Gee have been "collaborating together for years" and have recently been on the road together to learn what is being done around the country in economic development and education. The two universities are working together as well, and with Kendra Boggess, president of Concord University, and others.

Working together in harmony "can create amazing music," he said, and that is what is happening in the state.

Smith said the state has reached an "intersection" where talent, the education system, business-friendly policies and natural resources are "lining up with the major trends" that are shaping the future in the country.

One of those trends is a rise in an interest in entrepreneurism among people coming out of school who want to work for themselves, and the education system in the state has been working to provide the needed programs for students.

Another trend is toward remote working, he said, a product of the pandemic that has caught on.

A third major trend is a "shift in geographic presence," he said, and people now are more interested in moving to rural areas away from urban population centers.

West Virginia has the rural life they looking for, Smith said, as well as the entrepreneurial talent and "amazing business leaders and community leaders."

"The walls that used to be mountains, rivers and streams are now welcome signs," he added, and they are saying, "Come on in, come to Bluefield. This is us."

Smith said the state has "all of this unparalleled partnerships" happening and, of all the cities, "Bluefield is the point of the sphere. You have inspired an entire state."

Despite a long legacy of supplying the nation with needed energy as well as many great people, the state was left behind, he said, and "somewhere along the way someone told us we didn't matter anymore."

But "everything has broken in our favor" now.

Smith said there are two kinds of people in the world — those who need to see it to believe it and those who know if you believe it you will eventually see it.

"Bluefield believes," he said. "You started for the rest of the state and you are now the shining example, and everyone around you is standing 2 inches taller."

Smith said the state is now starting to "reimagine and reinvent ourselves," as Bluefield did.

"God bless Bluefield and God bless West Virginia. It is our time. Let's do it," he said.

"What an honor it is to be here with these two," Harris said of Gee and Smith.

"I am bullish on Bluefield and I am bullish on Southern West Virginia," adding that she used to remind everyone that "West Virginia did not stop at Charleston."

Harris said that everyone in the room knows "what a gem we are."

Although Harris lives in Atlanta, she calls Bluefield home and has bought the home here she grew up in to renovate.

"This so exciting about Bluefield leading the way," she said, adding that Bluefield also has a "strong, vibrant history" of African-Americans in Appalachia ... and that is "a critical part of history here in Bluefield."

Harris said she wants to be a part of what is happening here and in the state.

"It is an honor to be here with you," she said. "Great things are happening and more great things are going to happen with these two distinguished gentlemen helping us in partnership."

"It's a very good day," Spencer said.

Both Gee and Smith were accompanied by some staff members from their respective universities and Spencer said they toured the city, including the Intuit facility and the Granada Theater.

After the tour, they visited the city's Small Business Success Center in the Bluefield Arts Center where Spencer reviewed what has happened in Bluefield during the last seven years, from entrepreneurial training and workforce development to Intuit and the new Omnis Technologies company locating at Exit 1, among other growth.

He also talked about some future plans that are still being pursued but not ready for any announcements.

"They were very complimentary," Spencer said, "which I appreciated."

Bluefield has engaged in the three basic building blocks of economic growth, he said, which are helping existing businesses, cultivating entrepreneurship and attracting new industry.

"We have done all three and they were complimentary of what has been done."

But more is left to do, he added, and working with Gee and Smith will help.

"It is a great day for Bluefield to host the presidents of our two major universities," he said.

— Contact Charles Boothe at cboothe@bdtonline.com

Contact Charles Boothe at cboothe@bdtonline.com