West Virginia and the Need for Young Professionals: Stop Talking and Start Marketing

For the last two years all I’ve heard is “We need more young professionals in West Virginia.” And that’s pretty much all I heard today at Generation West Virginia’s Young Leaders Conference. Well West Virginia, it’s time to shut up and roll up ‘yer sleeves on this one.

It seems we spend so much time focusing on the need for young professionals in wild, wonderful West Virginia that we can’t see the forest for the Spruce, Maple, and Oak trees.

What do young people look for in a potential new homeland? Progress. Movement. Energy. And more progress.

We’ve laid the foundations for current young professionals in our beloved Mountain Mamma with the creation of Generation West Virginia, Generation Charleston, Generation Putnam, Generation GAP, Generation Greenbrier Valley, Huntington Young Professionals, Generation Morgantown, North Central Young Leaders, OVConnect, Pendleton County YPC, Young Professionals of the Eastern Panhandle, Young Emerging Leaders of the Mid-Ohio Valley, Vision Shared, and several other organizations.

Furthermore, we’re making progress by drafting legislation to improve our state’s future that’s being introduced and passed in the West Virginia State Senate and House of Delegates. This legislation is being sponsored and moved along by members of the organizations above who serve in the House, such as Delegates Amanda Pasdon and Doug Skaff. This progress wouldn’t have been possible without the hard work of several amazing young professionals, and the advice of a few “older” ones.

This is our biggest marketing asset. Rather than talking about the need for young professionals, it’s time we showcase our progress and ask the rest of the nation’s young people to join our movement. Why did so many youngsters from sea to shining sea hop on Obama’s 2008 campaign bandwagon? Because they saw progress being made and they had a call to action. (While I know this isn’t a proper comparison, the marketing tactic is the same.) They were inspired.

Once someone comes to West Virginia, it’s hard for them not to fall in love with all our state has to offer. West Virginia is inspiring, full of possibilities and huge feats that need to be accomplished.

I see pretty much the same people and hear the same names over and over again at leadership conferences in West Virginia. These are the founders of West Virginia’s future, now it’s time for us to ignite this passion in others by marketing our progress and giving the nation’s young people a call to action: come to West Virginia and join our movement to build something better than anyone’s dreamed.

You’re probably thinking, “Okay, we need jobs.” “Yikes Cartney, too many regulations and there isn’t a Neiman Marcus here…. HELLO!” Or maybe you’re saying to yourself, “This girl is way too tired from the special election and needs a vacation.”

Wake up West Virginia, we need to move to the second phase of recruiting young people to our state.

While I’m all for West Virginia students going to in-state colleges and universities, we have to make sure some of our best and brightest leave, because they need to bring back the ideas and energy to West Virginia to create something so unfathomable, it will put our state on the map for even greater things.

Let’s tell the nation about what great things we’re accomplishing here in West Virginia. Let’s focus on spreading our passion to our friends who live out of state and get them here. It might start off small, but when a raindrop falls on Cheat Lake… it produces a ripple.

Jobs and Incentives for a Young, Energetic Workforce in WV

When I wrote about Generation Charleston's Brains for Business bill, several people commented to me and tweeted “what about the jobs?” Well here’s an answer:

Today, WVONGA released a study from the WVU College of Business and Economics, Bureau of Business and Economic Research (BBER) on the significant economic impact of Marcellus shale drilling.

But first, here’s a little background about West Virginia and natural gas. According to the report, from 1906 – 1917, West Virginia lead the nation in natural gas exploration and development. Total told and natural gas employment in West Virginia has been on the rise, yet it accounts for a very small percentage of our state’s total employment, barely 1.5% from 2001-2009.

The Marcellus shale stretches approximately 95,000 square miles from western Maryland, to eastern Ohio and southern New York, to West Virginia. Here at home, the Marcellus shale is between 0-75 feet thick, and in the northern part of the state over 100 feet thick.

According to the WVU report, for 2009, the economic activities associated with the Marcellus created roughly 7,600 jobs for West Virginians and paid $297.9 million in employee compensation. $14.5 million in state taxes came from Marcellus development in 2009.

Even better, it’s possible that Marcellus development created between 7,600 and 8,500 additional jobs here in West Virginia in 2010. By the year 2015, West Virginia could see 19,000 more jobs because of Marcellus development and related activities.

The most impressive thing to me about these numbers is that they’re conservative estimates! The economic benefits of royalty payments, exploration of the Marcellus, bonuses to landowners, pipeline and transportation of the natural gas extract from the Marcellus, and several other factors were not included in the above estimates. For a further look at the report, click here.

So now we’ve got jobs and incentives for a young, energetic workforce to come to West Virginia. Before I hear one more person shut either the Brains for Business bill or job creation through the Marcellus shale development down, what suggestions do you have? I’m happy to listen to complaints, but only if there is light at the end of your complaint tunnel.

West Virginia needs to take action now before its too late. Yes, our economy is more stable and our budget is in better shape than surrounding states, but that will not be the case if we do not continue taking progressive actions.

Avoiding WV’s brain drain: Brains for Business

Yesterday the Charleston Area Alliance hosted their annual Issues and Eggs breakfast, kicking off the first day of West Virginia’s 80^th Legislative Session. Several gubernatorial hopefuls were in attendance, including Speaker Thompson, Secretary of State Natalie Tennant, Treasurer John Perdue, Acting Senate President Jeff Kessler, Senator Brooks McCabe, and former Secretary of State Betty Ireland. Interesting to note that Acting Governor Tomblin was not in attendance, nor do I recall him being there last year.

The topic of discussion, just like last year, was the Brains for Business bill. For tax years beginning on or after January 1, 2011, this bill allows a credit against state income taxes for any eligible taxpayer for a portion of the interest paid on a qualified student loan by the taxpayer in the tax year that the taxpayer paid the interest on the qualified student loan. The tax credit is equal to the amount of money paid as interest on a qualified student loan in the tax year up to a maximum of $500.

A carryover is allowed for any amount the credit exceeds the taxpayers state income tax liability. No carry back to a prior taxable year is allowed. A tax credit is subject to recapture, elimination or reduction if it is determined by the Tax Commissioner that a taxpayer was not entitled to the credit claimed.

Only taxpayers under the age of 40 are eligible for the tax credit and the loan must have been used for the purposes of paying educational expenses or living expenses to obtain a degree from a regionally accredited post secondary institution in the United States or any accredited post secondary institution within West Virginia.

In addition to the tax credit, the bill also allows a deduction in the amount of $25,000 received from any source after December 31, 2011, by a taxpayer who has graduated from a higher education institution in a tax year, which is not more than two years prior to the year in which the taxpayer is filing. This deduction is limited to two years, and is only applicable to those graduating from a regionally accredited post secondary institution in the United States or any accredited post secondary institution within West Virginia.

According to Julie Cyphers, one of Generation Charleston’s two new co-chairs, "It is important to create an atmosphere in West Virginia where businesses know that the young talent they need to thrive has a significant incentive to remain in West Virginia."

Hopefully the bill will be introduced next week, but we will not know for sure until tomorrow. It was introduced last year and did not pass, but several elected officials are much more optimistic about its success during this legislative session (and for what it’s worth, this Politico in Stilettos wholeheartedly endorses this bill).