Assistant Secretary of Defense Todd Weiler visits the Patriot Guardens program at Camp Dawson . Photo by WVARNG .
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how to weed and how to fertilize . Tying Patriot Guardens to the flood recovery is helping individuals re-establish themselves and grow to a bigger capacity than where they were before the flood .”
Patriot Guardens has also extended its efforts to Nicholas County , where they received a grant from the Office of Surface Mining to plant 100,000 apple trees on a post-surface mining site .
“ We see tremendous opportunities through the post-surface mining sites and the flood zones ,” says McHugh . “ This is an opportunity to work with the mining companies during reclamation to steer their efforts toward agriculture , which would also produce additional jobs .”
Taking on Tourism and Technology
To assist towns considering new opportunities to increase their tourism-based economic activities , the WVARNG offers mapping and grant writing services to evaluate empty properties , such as those impacted by the flood near White Sulphur Springs , WV . The Guard is also evaluating tourism-based opportunities along the Cherry River in Richwood and the Elk River in Clendenin , as well as new opportunities for West Virginia ’ s emerging foodie market .
Another unexpected economic opportunity following the flood is software development . Mined Minds , a company uniquely committed to West Virginia , offers coding boot camps and apprenticeships to help out-of-work miners jump-start careers in the tech industry . After the flood , the company expanded its work to Clendenin , where it guaranteed 20 software jobs that allow employees to work from home .
“ A Clendenin building that had eight feet of water in the basement when the flood waters first started to recede is now home to a software development company that has hired 11 of the first 20 jobs they ’ ve committed to in the area ,” says Hoyer . “ Who would ’ ve thought that before the flood there would be 20 software development jobs in Clendenin ? That ’ s a pretty good example of where we think we can go in turning this bad situation into a unique opportunity to allow us to be the catalyst to reinvent these economies .”
Through the post-flood recovery economic development efforts , the WVARNG hopes to lead West Virginia into the future .
“ The flood recovery is both a big challenge and a big opportunity to change the future of West Virginia ,” says Hoyer . “ I ’ ve told the communities that we don ’ t want them to think about what they used to be . We don ’ t want them to think about this process from the standpoint of looking like they did 30 years ago . Instead , we want them to envision what they want to look like 10 years from now . We are not going to look back .” •
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