Ryan Thorn , USDA Rural Development West Virginia State Director , speaks to GSU President Dr . Manchin , West Virginia House Speaker Roger Hanshaw and others at the launch of the Pioneer Community Network .
challenges are many ,” David Hutchison , vice president of advancement and government affairs for GSU and executive director of the GSU Foundation , says .
The RPN also gives community members an opportunity to work together and drive more opportunity and investment to their areas .
“ At RPN meetings , partners often exchange knowledge and best practices , learn from each other ’ s successes and failures and implement proven strategies for community development ,” Hutchison says . “ Social ties are strengthened as communities collaborate , leading to a richer cultural exchange and stronger regional identity . By banding together , these 20 counties can leverage their collective voice and resources to address systemic issues , improve the quality of life for their residents and create a more vibrant future for rural West Virginia .”
While many of the nation ’ s RPN community networks cover only a small percentage of territories , the two networks in West Virginia encompass nearly half of its counties . This highlights the importance of giving attention not only to vast rural areas but also to smaller communities , a focus of both community networks .
Kye says they do this by using an engagement system that allows them to identify local needs and challenges by working with individual communities and interacting with them in person .
“ We coordinate partner meetings twice a year to discuss potential regional projects , the work that ’ s already being done throughout these regions to address the priority areas and how the RPN team can further assist communities ,” Kye says . “ We use this time to gather feedback from members , and these conversations inform how we approach our work moving forward .”
Using this strategy , maternal health care access was identified as a need in the Southern West Virginia Community Network . This allowed the network to
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