By: Mat Cloak
The Parsons Advocate
After six successful years, Anne Jones is retiring as the Executive Director of the Tucker County Development Authority Board. Since Jones began her work, Tucker County saw the highest business growth of all 55 counties in West Virginia, equaling a 47 percent growth in the last six years.
Jones was first hired for the position as a part-time employee after the position was left vacant for 10 months. As an example of Tucker County’s growth through Jones’ tenure, there were nine applicants for the position after Jones’ retirement was announced.
Skiing originally brought Jones to the area. Before Tucker County, she was the Director of Career Management at Georgetown University. She also ran the recruiting and human resources programs at Citigroup. When she first visited Tucker County, she was captivated by the natural beauty that enamors so many. She also saw room for incredible growth.
After she was named Executive Director, Jones began looking for specific areas to grow. She was particularly impressed by the number of nonprofits and small, or “micro,” businesses in the area. Likening the Development Authority Board to economic gardeners, Jones said, “I decided pretty early on that instead of bringing in that 50 person company, it made sense to help the four person business be a five person business.”
In September 2011, the board used a $2,500 grant to compose an album of local musicians that worked as “a metaphor for the level of professionalism that we have in our community,” Jones said. The “We Live Here” album sold 800 copies, and the proceeds went on to fund community events like ArtSpring.
The Farm to School program is another success Jones points to as an example of the county’s ability to collaborate and innovate. The program connects public schools directly to farms in order to purchase food for school meals.
Outside of the immediate community, Jones worked to develop a reputation and rapport with the state government in Charleston. Through Jones’ planning, Tucker County officials, citizens, and musicians came to Charleston for their first day at a state legislative session. The representatives of Tucker County brought food and music to share with the state politicians. After one senator joined the band to play a few tunes, Jones laughingly recalls being told to quiet the party.
The West Virginia Small Business Development Center asked Jones to join their Advisory Board. She spoke on creative economies for the Rural List Conference in Washington, D.C. Jones expressed great pride to be able to speak to conference attendees from around the world about the economic growth in Tucker County.
As far as her next step, Jones plans to remain in Tucker County to focus on her business, Piton. The business has a for-profit side and nonprofit side with career management and education as the respective focuses. As Jones put it, the goal of Piton is to help anyone make a career change.
Steven Leyh was hired as Jones’ successor. “We don’t need another Anne Jones,” Jones said. “I don’t like maintaining, I like growing.” Tucker County may be at a time where maintaining growth is key. Even though Jones is stepping down as Executive Director, it is apparent her head and heart are still committed to this community. After all, when speaking of Tucker County, she exclusively says, “we.”
