I’ve spent the last decade deep in the heart of West Virginia. Not behind a desk, but on the road, in firehouses, church basements, roadside diners and mountaintop communities where cell service disappears and pride of place runs deep. I can tell you where to find the best hot dog at a roadside stand and the finest bowl of pinto beans at any firehouse in the state.
I’ve been there to help small businesses grow, register people to vote, expand water access and listen to the people. Here’s what I’ve found: across every holler and hill, from the coalfields to the capital, West Virginians are starving for community.
They don’t just want broadband or budget line items. They want to belong. They want to be seen, celebrated and connected. They want someone to notice the mural downtown, the revitalized storefront, the high school football team that’s quietly making a comeback. And when a church shuts its doors or a school is lost, that pain runs deep. It’s more than a facility. It’s a fracture in the soul of a place.
But make no mistake, the spirit is still there. Community champions are still showing up, invisible to the headlines, but vital to the heartbeat of this state. What they need isn’t another slogan or press conference. They need to feel energized, supported and seen in return.
West Virginians are born with community in our DNA. We carry food to a neighbor who’s grieving. We sit in hospital waiting rooms just so someone doesn’t have to sit alone. We know what it means to show up for one another with no fanfare and no filter. Just front porch civility, kindness and presence.
But here’s what we can’t keep doing: romanticizing that story without acting on it. West Virginia does a great job telling its story. We talk about being America’s outdoor playground. We showcase the nation’s newest national park, our rugged beauty, our people. And that’s all fine and well. We can tell our story all day, but until we believe that story ourselves and really shift our own mindsets, it’s just that—a story we are telling.
A story with no action is just that: a narrative with no movement.
Quite frankly, I’m tired of the talk. I’ve sat through summit after summit, panel after panel, visioning session after visioning session. Everyone wants to “move the state forward” until it’s time to move. It’s not enough to plan. It’s not enough to convene. We must create, collaborate and build.
We are not the “next generation.” We are the now generation. We are actively in the arena. We hold the roles. We have the reach. And if we’re not implementing, then what exactly are we leading? Because the generation behind us is watching, and if we don’t model action now, we’ll pass down the same cycle of small thinking and deferred dreams.
That’s why West Virginia urgently needs a mindset shift.
We must stop believing the lie that our geography limits us. It doesn’t. In today’s economy, the globe is your marketplace. Social media, e-commerce, remote work and virtual services have cracked the door wide open. You can scale a company, build a movement or launch a brand from anywhere, including right here in the Mountain State.
We need to all immediately adopt a creator economy mindset. One that doesn’t wait for permission. One that understands we can pilot the systems, test the models and launch innovations that ripple beyond our borders. That’s the ultimate beauty of West Virginia. We’re the perfect size, perfectly positioned and perfectly underestimated. Which makes us the perfect place to lead.
It’s time to move from storytelling to system-building. From nostalgia to the next steps. From local pride to global presence.
I’ve seen what’s possible when West Virginians are empowered to lead. Let’s stop waiting. Let’s stop apologizing. Let’s stop settling. Let’s believe who we are and then act like it.
West Virginia doesn’t just deserve community. We are community. Let’s build accordingly.
I leave every West Virginian with this question: What are you doing to build, create and collaborate in your community to make it better for our next generation of leaders?
“Bradley Harris is the founder of Bradley Harris & Associates, a strategic advisory firm. With over a decade of experience in state government, economic development, public affairs and regulatory work, he has traveled across all 55 counties helping West Virginians build stronger communities, smarter systems and lasting solutions.”
