WVE : Give us your perspective on the current state of the economy in West Virginia .
WT : Our current situation is not good . You can see that when you measure categories , and we are 50th in category after category . We can do dramatically better . I think we suffer from a self-esteem problem — we don ’ t recognize how good we can be .
One of our biggest challenges is the fact that we are losing people . The good news is I totally believe we can turn this thing around . One of the keys that attracts businesses to areas is quality of life , and that is one of the reasons people live in West Virginia — the quality of life is second to none .
I think we need to focus on those bright spots . We still have a great workforce . No question about it , a lot of folks have picked up and left , but our high schools turn out good graduates every year . If we have opportunities for them , they ’ ll stay here and work or ideally come back . At the core of it , West Virginians are great workers , and I think if we can provide opportunities for them , we ’ ll see good things happen .
WVE : Based on these observations , what goals have you set for the commerce department over the next four years ?
WT : One of my goals is to dramatically change the economic landscape of West Virginia . That ’ s a pretty significant goal , but it ’ s nothing less than that . In order to do this , we must dramatically increase the number of employment opportunities within the state , and to me , it ’ s all about jobs . My job is to bring in jobs , and I have a variety of venues to do that . In the short time that I ’ ve been in this role , I ’ ve seen a lot of opportunity . Everything from manufacturing to forestry to tourism — there are all kinds of areas where we are not performing to the level we could be .
Thrasher delivering a commencement address in May 2017 . Photo by West Virginia University .
WVE : What do you believe must be done to resolve our financial crisis ?
Thrasher speaking at the Bidell Gas Compression announcement in Weirton . Photo by WV Department of Commerce .
WT : If we ’ re going to change things , we ’ re going to have to do something dramatically different . I think , to some extent , being rich in resources has led to a certain level of complacency within state government . We have not diversified our income or our sources of industry . We ’ ve tolerated the removal of our resources and watched them leave the state . I think it is mandatory that the department of commerce refabricate our economy . I think we do that through diversity , whether it ’ s bringing broadband to small communities , which will allow them to attract businesses , through automotive manufacturing or taking advantage of the shale gas initiatives . In the end , we ’ re the ones who should be responsible for solving the problem of how we diversify our economy and move up in the rankings .
WVE : What does West Virginia need to do to be more competitive with surrounding states ?
WT : I think we have laid a great foundation to be competitive . The right-towork bill , workers ’ comp bill and judicial reform have all resulted in West Virginia being able to finally have a seat at the table . That ’ s the first step , but it ’ s not the only step . I think some of our legislators are misguided when they believe that all government needs to do is get out of business ’ way . While I agree with that , there is a second very important component . We have to be able to incentivize businesses to come to West Virginia . We have to have the capital to be able to generate sites , train the workforce and set up entrepreneurial coaching if we ’ re going to be able to compete .
WVE : What initiatives is your department working on to improve the business climate in West Virginia ?
WT : We ’ re doing a bunch of exciting things that cover all of the different divisions throughout the department , including the Division of Natural Resources , tourism , workforce and forestry , and certainly at the center of that is the development office . We really want to not only be reactive to businesses that are interested in West Virginia , but we want to be proactive . We want to go out and identify those businesses that we stand a good chance of recruiting . To do that , we need dramatically more staffing . We ’ re very excited about a new initiative called the EXCEL program , which will recruit loaned executives and retired executives to help with our staffing . In that way , we ’ re going to be able to go out and target a whole bunch of industries and cover a lot more bases than we have in the past .
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