By: Lydia Crawley
The Parsons Advocate
The Mon Forest Towns Partnership met for their Quarterly Board of Directors Meeting July 23rd. This time around, it was the Town of Davis’ turn to host community representatives from 12 towns surrounding the Monongahela National Forest and the National Forest to showcase what the Town and Tucker County have to offer.
Town of Davis mayor Al Tomson welcomed the group at the Davis Town Hall. During his welcome, he invited the representatives and guests to visit Blackwater Falls. Executive Director for the Tucker County Convention and Visitors Bureau Jessica Waldo invited those attending to visit the local shops.
“I welcome you to, if you haven’t been or it’s been a while, drive over to Blackwater Falls, take a look,” Tomson said.
The group heard about a variety of updates from Executive Director for Mon Forest Town Partnerships Josh Nease, including efforts to work with West Virginia Tourism to help the group be seen as a cohesive recreation region and efforts to gather and grant writing support.
Nease said that he was approached at a seminar. When asked about the organization’s involvement, he said that the group was only directly involved in a couple of projects, but had indirect involvement in a couple more. However, Nease said he felt the overall, impact was that more people were recognizing the Mon Forest Towns as a region and the people within that region are beginning to recognize themselves as being part of a region and not just part of a town.
‟People I didn’t even know were talking about being in the Mon Forest Towns,” Nease said. ‟This network of people and places is making a difference and having an impact and connecting people.”
Efforts were also reported to be underway for self-assessments of each community. The assessments are targeted at the outdoor recreation economy and sustainable growth in the towns as well as what the communities want, need and what the goals of each town are, with the goal of assisting the group in forming an action plan and prioritization. Tucker County communities will be completing the assessments soon. The goal is to have the assessments complete by the end of summer so that the data is available for the fall meeting.
From what surveys have already been conducted, the following trends have been determined by the organization. A trend in the communities that the group inferred was the desire for resources for trail maintenance and construction funds. Another trend was that people were wanting access to fresh, locally available food and more breweries. Hiking and bicycling were said to be the top assets along with climbing, according to the group’s research. But hunting, fishing and motorcycling were also found to important to the town’s economies.
However, the largest trend seemed to be related to jobs. The Partnership said that, according to their research, most people wanted more jobs in their communities. The future was described as one where the communities’ children could stay in the town and have a good job and want to stay there. The group said there was a need for entrepreneurship and business coaching as well as partnerships between businesses and local government.
Mon Forest Town Partnership Executive Director Josh Nease presented the group with the financial report. According to Nease’s report, the group is operating below budget. When asked if there was anything in particular that needed to be done to move grant funds from year to year, Nease said that the process was covered by the standard year-end paperwork for the grant and that no additional steps were required to transfer the excess funds.
Chair Jessica Sutton informed the group that in preparation for the MTFP Strategic Planning Process in 2026, members would be receiving emails following the meetings with instructions informing them which small groups they would be working with. These small groups would work on preparing for the strategic planning process and meet approximately once a month.
The Mon Forest Town Partnership is comprised of the communities surrounding the Monongahela National Forest that include: Parsons, Thomas, Davis, Petersburg, Seneca Rocks, Franklin, Marlinton, Durbin, White Sulphur Springs, Richwood, Cowen, and Elkins. The goal of the group is to work together, ‟to bring sustainable economic development to West Virginia’s hidden gems, improving the quality of life for residents and tourists alike.”
The group partners with Woodlands Development Group to offer opportunities, as well as WVU and the National Forest Service. The group also offers grant support. The partner-ship with Woodlands Development Group covers financial, Human Resources and back office functions
There was a break for a catered lunch featuring chicken, pork and beef along with several different sides and a variety of desserts including two cheesecakes and a variety of cupcakes. The assembly seemed pleased with the meal and enjoyed convers-ing amongst themselves during the break. The luncheon was catered by The Berry Best Catering of Davis.
‟Its a local lady who just went out on her own to start a business and its really been successful for her, so we’re real happy,” Tomson said. ‟Its another thriving business in town.”
Following the break, the assembly was given a presentation by Tucker United on their opinions of the Ridgeline Power Plant Project and House Bill 2014.
‟We’re on the leading edge, which right now I feel like is the bleeding edge,” Tomson said.
Following the presentation, those present broke up into small groups to discuss the issues presented by the members of Tucker United and then discuss their findings to the larger group.
