1928 - Alderson High School - 1968

ALDERSON MAIN STREET - NEWS RELEASE P.O. Box 117, Alderson, WV  24910 December 12, 2016 Contact Alderson Main Street Improving The Community One Project At A Time

And The Winner Is… Alderson!

The   Hub’s   work   in   West   Virginia’s   coal-impacted   communities   is   all   about   unearthing   the   great   ideas   that locals have, and helping turn those ideas into reality. From   the   biggest,   boldest   dream   to   the   smallest   project,   we   think   it’s   critical   that   the   rejuvenation   of   West Virginia’s communities is led by the people that live in them. And   so   we   were   thrilled   to   be   able   to   support   three   great   local   ideas   in   our   Bucks   for   Bright   Ideas   seed- funding    contest,    the    winners    of    which    we    announced    at    our    Innovation   Acceleration    Strategy    (IAS) workshop in Beckley last week. 1st Place – Alderson’s Strategic Riverfront Enhancement Plan The   people   of Alderson   have   identified   the   Greenbrier   River,   which   flows   right   through   the   middle   of   town, as one of the community’s greatest assets. Their   goals   are   to   enhance   and   repair   riparian   zones   to   reduce   erosion   and   beautify   the   riverbank, develop   a   walking   trail   that   connects   both   sides   of   the   river,   redesign   river   access   points,   provide   signage, and connect to existing and planned town assets. Anderson’s   Jim   Russell   was   joined   by   13   of   his   fellow   community   members   to   accept   the   grand   prize   of $5,000. 2nd Place – Lincoln County’s Small Farm Cluster Locals   Nona   Conley   and   Zeke   Wood   have   been   coordinating   the   Lincoln   County   Farmer’s   Market   for   a while,   and   now   see   the   need   for   a   more   organized   structure   for   farmers   in   Lincoln   County. Their   plan strives to promote a partnership between local farmers and provide agro-tourism opportunities. Conley’s   hope   is   that   they   can   reclaim   this   piece   of   Lincoln   County’s   identity   and   create   new   economic and employment opportunities. We are pleased to award them $3,000 to get the project up and running! 3rd Place – Wyoming County’s Remote Controlled Track Project Spearheaded   by   14-year-old   Joseph   Watson   (right),   this   innovative   project   hopes   to   attract   more   visitors to Wyoming County by creating a professional quality track for remote control car racing. Watson   hopes   the   track,   which   will   be   the   only   of   its   kind   in   the   Mountain   State,   can   attract   hobbyists   from surrounding areas for regular races. Watson’s enthusiasm for the hobby shone through in his project, which netted the project $1,000. We’d   like   thank   all   of   the   teams   that   entered   the   Bucks   for   Bright   Ideas   contest.   Everyone   had   really   great projects and all of our finalists gave engaging presentations. We’d   also   like   to   thank   everyone   that   made   it   out   to   the   IAS   workshop   event.   We   know   it   isn’t   always   easy to take a day off work and travel to a workshop. We   look   forward   to   continuing   our   work   with   each   of   you   and   making   your   vision   of   your   project   into   a reality.