Chamber’s Business Summit begins Wednesday at the Greenbrier
August 29, 2023
White Sulphur Springs, W.Va. – The annual West Virginia Business Summit that gets started Wednesday at the Greenbrier Resort is scheduled to have its largest number of participants in the event’s long history.
“We’re still registering people,” West Virginia Chamber of Commerce President Steve Roberts said during a Tuesday appearance on MetroNews “Talkline.”
Roberts said he expects more than 1,200 business leaders to be there.
It will the 87th annual Business Summit.
“This meeting is really dedicated to the ideas of better health, better education, helping small business through entrepreneurial support and big discussions about energy and the changing nature of energy in our state and nation,” Roberts said.
The summit will include new economic development announcements and discussion on how to increase the state’s workforce for the significant number of new jobs coming with various developments.
Roberts said the Chamber has some information from a new study to share about the workforce.
“We have six workers in West Virginia for every 10 available jobs. So there is a lot of room to hire more people,” Roberts said. “But we’ve got to get those people here and those thinking about leaving for greener pastures need to turn around and come back.”
Wednesday’s speakers will include Gov. Jim Justice, U.S. Senator Shelley Moore Capito and Marshall University President Brad Smith. Thursday’s schedule has remarks from U.S. Senator Joe Manchin, WVU President Gordon Gee and a forum featuring four GOP candidates for governor.
The West Virginia Poll, sponsored in part by MetroNews, will be released during Friday morning’s session.
Roberts said this Summit is much-anticipated.
“We really just can’t wait to have three days of high-level, highly-engaged conversations about the future of West Virginia and how to improve its economy, its health and well-being, education and workforce readiness,” Roberts said.
Story by Jeff Jenkins, WV Metro News