Oct. 23, 2012
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Building Creative Communities the Focus of Start NOW Fair
W.Va. State University sponsoring free business fair during Create WV Conference
INSTITUTE, W.Va.–Building creative communities for the new economy is the focus of the annual Create West Virginia Conference in Charleston, and West Virginia State University is playing a larger role than ever before in the two-day event. The University’s Extension Service is sponsoring a free trade show and presentation session Saturday, Oct. 27, from noon to 5 p.m. at the Charleston Civic Center. Participants in WVSU’s DigiSo program will provide informative presentations on a variety of new media topics.
Sessions will focus on skill-expansion and information-sharing with topics such as entrepreneurship education at WVSU, videography, photography, app technology, self-publishing and protection from hacking.
Contributors include DigiSo “anchors” KD Lett, Tiffany Finkton, Steve Schmidt, Bill Gardner, Doug Imbrogno and others. DigiSo is a digital and social media incubation program at WVSU’s Economic Development Center (EDC); anchors are local professionals working in various forms of new media who provide educational sessions for participants and an overall “face” for the program.
“This fair is a tremendous opportunity to continue growing our region’s creative economy,” said Jenny Fertig, program leader for Community and Economic Development with WVSU Extension Service. “Our anchor presentations will provide attendees a wealth of first-hand knowledge, and the diverse line-up of vendors offers something for everyone’s business goals.”
Trade show vendors will provide information on launching a business, achieving creative goals or kicking off new ideas. Participants include the WV Small Business Development Center, Charleston Area Alliance, West Virginia Film Office and several others.
The fair follows a Friday morning keynote speech from WVSU President Dr. Brian O. Hemphill, focusing on universities as innovative economic hubs, and an open house/tour for conference attendees at the EDC in conjunction with the Charleston Area Alliance.
The Start NOW Fair is a free portion of Create WV and open to the public. A full presentation schedule and vendor list is available online at createwv.org.
West Virginia State University is a public, land grant, historically black university, which has evolved into a fully accessible, racially integrated, and multi‐generational institution, located in Institute, WV. As a “living laboratory of human relations,” the university is a community of students, staff, and faculty committed to academic growth, service and preservation of the racial and cultural diversity of the institution. Its mission is to meet the higher education and economic development needs of the state and region through innovative teaching and applied research.
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