[ community ]
Harrison
County
JENNIFER JETT PREZKOP
BEN QUEEN PHOTOGRAPHY
CELEBRATE
If there’s one thing Harrison County
knows, it’s resiliency. Its efforts to maintain
a strong economy despite adversity have
even caught the attention of the Appa-
lachian Regional Commission (ARC),
which recognized Harrison County as
one of 10 resilient U.S. communities in its
“Strengthening Economic Resiliency in
Appalachia” report last year. This West
Virginia county has been praised for its
use of a multi-sector approach to find
prosperity despite an overall downturn
in coal in the state over the past decade.
Those who live in Harrison County
have always known what ARC is now
helping the rest of the country see: success
can be found when a business community
is structured for diversity. It is Harrison
County’s smart mix of industry—health
care, aerospace, biometrics, manufactur-
ing, oil and natural gas, social services,
public administration and retail and food
services—that enables business growth
and job creation. Harrison County is an
example of successful diversity not only
for the state but the entire country as well.
In an effort to recognize these successes,
West Virginia Executive magazine (WVE)
held the Celebrate Harrison County re-
ception last November. Hosted by Bridge-
port Conference Center and sponsored
by the Celebrate Harrison County special
section advertisers that appeared in WVE’s
Fall 2019 issue, this event brought together
professionals from a wide variety of indus
tries and backgrounds in the Harrison
County area. Attendees enjoyed Bridge-
port Conference Center’s catering, wine
from West Virginia Fruit & Berry and
meaningful conversation on how Har-
rison County can continue to grow and
prosper.
“FirstEnergy applauds West Virginia Executive
magazine for hosting the Celebrate Harrison
County reception. Events like this go a long
way to promote the region and provide area
business leaders the opportunity to network
and discuss ideas. The reception was well
attended, and much of the discussion focused
on ways to further promote regional economic
development and workforce development.
North Central West Virginia is a great place to
live, work and raise a family. Thank you, West
Virginia Executive magazine, for playing such
an important role in promoting our state and
making our communities stronger.”
– M. Gregory Hefner
Manager of Regional External Affairs
FirstEnergy
“I enjoyed meeting other business leaders
in and around Harrison County during the
Celebrate Harrison County reception so much.
To have a statewide magazine recognize
West Virginia’s communities like Harrison
County shows the magazine’s dedication to
the success of small businesses in our state.
In growing a small business over the past 25
years, our goal has been to become a regional
business that represents West Virginia, and
SPONSORED BY
16
WEST VIRGINIA EXECUTIVE
Harrison County has proven to be a great place
to do that. We are so pleased to be in the heart
of central West Virginia in one of the fastest-
growing counties, and we look forward to our
future growth in Harrison County.”
– Becky Titchenal
Co-Founder
West Virginia Fruit & Berry, LLC
“As the Harrison County business community
continues to grow and prosper, professional
networking opportunities like Celebrate
Harrison County are critically important. As a
small business entrepreneur and a member
of the West Virginia Legislature representing
Harrison County, it is important to me to
take advantage of opportunities like this and
meet other business owners. The Bridgeport
Conference Center was a great venue for the
reception—I was one of the first to arrive and
one of the last to leave. I appreciate the fact
that a statewide publication like West Virginia
Executive magazine recognized Harrison
County with this opportunity.”
– Ben Queen
Owner, Ben Queen Photography
Member, West Virginia House of Delegates