Industry leaders gather for West Virginia Chamber of Commerce Summit
August 31, 2023
White Sulphur Springs, W.Va. – Leaders from many different industries in West Virginia are gathering together at the Greenbrier to discuss the future of Mountain State economics.
Organizers of the 87th annual Chamber of Commerce Summit said the opportunity to collaborate between multiple sectors all across the state helps keep West Virginia moving forward.
“We have here in one room healthcare, education, energy, we have people representing small business, we have medical doctors, we have people from all walks of life,” said West Virginia Chamber of Commerce President Steve Roberts.
“When you bring all the folks together from all the different aspects, wherever they may be, it just makes us better. We listen to one another and we learn from one another,” said Governor Jim Justice.
During his opening speech, Governor Justice announced the re-opening of the Pleasants Power Plant under the new ownership of Omnis Fuel Technologies.
The $800 million investment is expected to create 600 jobs in the Mountain State.
Justice says the plant’s reopening is a massive economic win for the state.
“Nobody could have ever thunk it,” said Justice. “I mean, months and months and months we’ve been working on this. For it to become a reality, to where we are taking a moth-balled plant that was going to be put on boats and taken out of here, a moth-balled plant that is now back and operational.”
United States Senator Shelley Moore Capito was one of Wednesday’s featured speakers.
She says the conversations she is having at the Summit are providing her with key information she can use in Congress to try to create policy that has a positive effect on West Virginia businesses.
“It’s all about how we can help the state. This is a good way to talk to a lot of people, but to also take things back to Washington that I think can make us more effective,” Capito said.
The summit will continue to run until Friday, September 1, 2023.
Story by Rivers Upchurch, WOWK