SWV Community Network unveiled

Nov. 11—ANSTED — USDA Rural Development and West Virginia Community Development Hub representatives helped launch the Southern West Virginia Community Network during a special event on Wednesday.

USDA Rural Development officials say the agency is "a committed partner in creating economic development opportunities in West Virginia communities. This investment is just one example of how the agency's program helps strengthen rural businesses, create jobs and build a vibrant economy."

Ryan Thorn, state director of USDA Rural Development, was joined by Stephanie Tyree, executive director of the WV Community Development Hub, USDA Rural Development and WV Community Development Hub staff and regional stakeholders for the event in the Hawks Nest State Park Lodge.

"Last week, the president and Secretary Vilsack announced the second cohort of the Rural Partners Network, which includes West Virginia," Thorn said before the gathering commenced. "We're holding launch events for the community networks that were selected in West Virginia."

Last week, USDA Secretary Tom Vilsack announced that the agency's Rural Partners Network was expanding into 20 underserved counties in West Virginia to help rural people create "new and lasting economic opportunities." RPN is an all-of-government program that partners with rural people to access resources and funding to create local jobs, build infrastructure and support long-term economic stability on their own terms.

The southern network will include 12 counties "basically from Wayne County over into Monroe, Summers and Raleigh County," Thorn said during the Fayette County stop. "These counties will make up the Southern West Virginia Community Network, and the whole intent of Rural Partners Network is to get federal resources into communities that have historically been underfunded or haven't received a fair share of funding compared to their peers.

"At Rural Development, I always say that we are advocates for investors and partners to rural communities, and the people, businesses and organizations within those communities. I'm thrilled that Rural Development has been tasked with implementing, coordinating and managing Rural Partner Networks here in our communities.

"There are more than 20 federal agencies and commissions that make up Rural Partners Network, and each of those agencies has what they call a federal desk officer that is dedicated solely to working with these federally-designated Rural Partners counties."

The RPN designation carries no dedicated funding for specific projects, but Thorn said the program creates a clearing house to help identify projects for which communities don't often have the resources to seek funding or technical assistance. The networks can often steer them in the proper direction, said Thorn.

"In the coming weeks, coming months, probably in the next three months, we'll have community liaisons. We're able to hire three additional staffers," he said. A supervisory community planner will help Thorn oversee overall operation, and the liaisons will "plug directly into these networks, where their sole focus is working with these local communities and stakeholders" to identify projects and bring them to fruition.

U.S. Sens. Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.) and Shelley Moore Capito (R-W.Va.) recently helped introduce the endeavor. The West Virginia Pioneer Community Network, sponsored by Glenville State University, will serve eight counties, and the Southern West Virginia Community Network, sponsored by the West Virginia Community Development Hub, will serve 12 counties.

"I'm pleased USDA is establishing The West Virginia Pioneer Community Network and the Southern West Virginia Community Network to help expand access to critical economic resources for our rural communities," Manchin said in a press release. "The Rural Partners Community Networks ... will boost economic development across our great state and identify opportunities that will help create good-paying, long-term jobs and bolster local infrastructure."

"Throughout my time in Congress, I have worked to make sure that resources remain available to our communities to create opportunities for our residents to succeed," said Capito. "(This) announcement will build on that momentum by supporting a network of individuals in 20 West Virginia counties tasked with helping communities navigate resources, such as those I helped include while negotiating and crafting the bipartisan infrastructure law."

"I'm incredibly excited that USDA Rural Development will be the lead federal agency to coordinate the Rural Partners Network (RPN) initiative in West Virginia," Thorn said in a release from the senators. "The RPN initiative is a testament to the Biden Administration's commitment to creating new opportunities from the bottom up while building economically diverse and more resilient rural communities."

The West Virginia Pioneer Community Network will serve Braxton, Calhoun, Clay, Gilmer, Nicholas, Roane, Webster and Wirt counties. The Southern West Virginia Community Network will include Boone, Fayette, Lincoln, Logan, McDowell, Mercer, Mingo, Monroe, Raleigh, Summers, Wayne and Wyoming counties.

"This (the RPNs) is in addition to the work that we already do," Thorn said. "In the last fiscal year, we invested more than $100 million into West Virginia, so this just builds on that work that we already do."

The networks can be used to strengthen basic infrastructure in communities, rail trails or purchase of a police vehicle, to name a few. "Anything and everything in between there is eligible and is a priority for these RPNs," Thorn said.

Wednesday's launch event provided Rural Development officials and WV Community Development Hub staff the opportunity to lead a discussion about goals, priorities, partners and next steps for the network. Among the stakeholders present were representatives from the New River Gorge Regional Development Authority, various planning and development councils, economic development agencies and others.

For more information, visit rd.usda.gov/wv or Google USDA Rural Development.

Email skeenan@register-herald.com; follow on Twitter @gb_scribe

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