[3:43] everyone would please have their
[3:45] seats members and those in the
[3:47] back. I'm gonna call the
[3:49] meeting to order. The committee
[3:50] clerk has taken a silent roll
[3:51] call and a quorum has been
[3:52] established
[3:55] there being a quorum established
[3:56] I recognize the co-chair for a
[3:58] motiondamir, I move that the
[4:01] minutes from the meeting held on
[4:03] August 9,2026 be approved. The
[4:05] question is on the motion that
[4:07] the minutes from August 9,2026
[4:08] be approved. all those in favor
[4:08] say aye.
[4:11] those opposed no in the opinion
[4:13] of the chair the ayes have it. I
[4:14] declare the motion adopted.
[4:17] the next item on the agenda is a
[4:18] presentation on the success of
[4:19] the underderwood Smith teaching
[4:21] scholarship from Doctor Sarah
[4:24] Tucker, Chancellor of the WvHEPc
[4:25] Good morning Chancellor. Good
[4:27] morning Mrs Chairman. thank you
[4:28] all for having me here today and
[4:29] I am really excited to get to
[4:31] present about this particular
[4:35] scholarship today. Um, in2019
[4:37] you all made some pretty
[4:39] significant changes to the
[4:40] Underwood Smith Teacher
[4:41] scholarship programme. You
[4:43] increased that grant award.
[4:44] let me go through
[4:44] it quickly.
[4:47] well essentially you made
[4:49] this the most competitive
[4:50] scholarship in the state of West
[4:53] Virginia and so the idea was how
[4:55] do weta attract and retain
[4:57] teachers to the state of West
[4:58] Virginia. How do we make sure
[5:01] that they stay instate teaching
[5:03] in high demand fields. And so
[5:05] what you did was you provided a
[5:09] grant for25 teachers per cohort
[5:10] annually. so when we have all
[5:12] four cohorts that's100 students
[5:12] at a time
[5:15] It's10,000 dollars a year up
[5:19] to40,000 dollars. It is a
[5:21] stackable scholarship so if a
[5:23] student gets promise they still
[5:25] get10,000 dollars for Underwood
[5:27] Smith. If they get HEgp they
[5:28] still get10,000 dollars for
[5:28] Underwood Smith.
[5:33] It requires students to teach in
[5:35] the state for five years after
[5:36] they graduate
[5:39] they have to be a teacher in a
[5:41] high needs field. the high needs
[5:42] field is identified in code
[5:45] that special education,
[5:48] mathematics, science or early
[5:48] childhood education
[5:52] or elementary education I'm
[5:52] sorry
[5:57] the students move through four
[5:59] rounds of a selection process.
[6:00] so the first round is to apply
[6:01] for the scholarship
[6:04] The second round they have GPA
[6:06] and test scores applied we start
[6:07] whittling down the number of
[6:11] students. then we bring in an
[6:12] outside committee that outside
[6:15] committee scores an essay that
[6:16] each of the students write about
[6:17] why they want to become a
[6:19] teacher and then we whittle that
[6:21] group down to about30 to40
[6:23] students and then we get to
[6:25] that30 to40 we say take your
[6:26] essay and turn it into a video.
[6:30] and explain to us why you want
[6:32] to become a public school
[6:32] teacher in west Virginia.
[6:35] and they do that and then we
[6:36] select25 students at the end.
[6:41] so far our first cohort
[6:42] graduated from college in2024.
[6:47] So far we have42 Underwood Smith
[6:49] teaching scholars who are
[6:51] currently teaching in a West
[6:53] Virginia classroom in and public
[6:55] education. Now why42 and not50.
[6:57] While some students went to
[6:59] graduate school. Some students
[7:01] got into the teaching field and
[7:02] they were freshmen and they were
[7:03] like you know what I don't want
[7:05] to do this anymore so they
[7:07] changed majors just like you
[7:08] know you would see normally but
[7:10] we have42 students who are
[7:12] currently teaching in the state
[7:12] of west Virginia
[7:14] so I want to talk with you a
[7:16] little bit about the pipeline of
[7:19] these students. So in2024 we
[7:22] had111 eligible applicants
[7:23] who we did not award
[7:24] 111
[7:29] of those111 students 94
[7:31] eventually enrolled in a public
[7:33] higher education institution in
[7:35] West Virginia. Now I am certain
[7:37] that more of those enrolled in a
[7:38] private school I'm certain more
[7:39] of those went out of state. I
[7:40] just can't measure how many
[7:41] there were. I know that 94
[7:43] enrolled in a public higher
[7:44] education institution in West
[7:44] Virginia.
[7:48] In2025 we actually had220
[7:48] applicants.
[7:49] 220
[7:56] of the22167 were eligible. The
[7:57] majority of those who were not
[8:00] eligible were actually college
[8:00] students
[8:03] who decided they wanted to go
[8:04] into the teaching field
[8:07] but this program is for high
[8:09] school students who are entering
[8:10] college
[8:13] so we had to limit a number of
[8:14] those students because they were
[8:15] not eligible based on that
[8:19] criteria alone. So167 eligible
[8:21] applicants were not awarded the
[8:22] Underwood Smith scholarship
[8:26] of those118 enrolled in a public
[8:28] West Virginia higher education
[8:30] institution. We then went on and
[8:33] looked to see what fields they
[8:35] were going into and the vast
[8:36] majority of those students all
[8:37] enrolled in teacher education
[8:39] when they matriculated on to
[8:41] college. So I give you these
[8:42] numbers because these students
[8:43] are serious this is what they
[8:44] want to do for their vocation
[8:47] they're not just students who
[8:48] are sitting around thinking oh
[8:49] let me apply for every
[8:51] scholarship under the sun. These
[8:53] are students who really want to
[8:55] go into the teaching profession.
[8:57] um, and you know this this
[8:58] scholarship is terrific but
[9:00] we're all obviously limited in
[9:01] the number of students that we
[9:02] can award.
[9:07] So as of this state we've had57
[9:09] underderwood Smith scholars who
[9:11] have graduated.gain, we have42
[9:12] that are teaching in West
[9:13] Virginia classrooms some of that
[9:15] lag between the42 and57
[9:18] is that a lot of these students
[9:20] participate in therow your own
[9:21] program that you all know about
[9:24] through K1w2. So they're getting
[9:26] dual credits in teacher
[9:27] education while they're still in
[9:29] high school so we had a number
[9:30] of students who graduated early
[9:34] and who just haven't had time
[9:35] to get into the teaching
[9:37] profession yet so we'll see
[9:38] these numbers go up this fall
[9:39] and we can see how many more
[9:40] students go in.
[9:43] we also have 8 of our graduates
[9:44] who have gone on to a
[9:44] master'sgre program in
[9:44] education.
[9:48] So where are the42 working
[9:51] Currently they're working in22
[9:53] different counties you can see
[9:55] in your map the spread across
[9:56] the state it's a pretty good
[9:56] spread.
[9:59] we have students in lots of
[10:02] counties from the you know far
[10:03] west to the far east to the
[10:04] northern panhandle to the
[10:05] southern part of the state.
[10:07] in some of those counties we
[10:09] have multiple students so that's
[10:11] why they're only22 and not42,
[10:13] but I expect that this spread
[10:15] will continue to grow as we have
[10:16] more and more students graduate.
[10:21] so now I'm gonna do something a
[10:22] little different. those of you
[10:23] who are used to seeing me in
[10:24] front of you know that I'm very
[10:25] data heavy. I'm about to be very
[10:27] not data heavy because I want
[10:29] you to see the students that I
[10:31] get to see and I want you to see
[10:33] how amazing they are and how
[10:35] dedicated they are. So this is
[10:36] Lauren Marquardt, Lauren
[10:37] graduated from Wheeling Park
[10:39] High School gowheeling. Anyone
[10:40] hears from wheeling? I am.
[10:43] she we did an interview with
[10:45] Lauren to see what was
[10:46] important about the Underwood
[10:48] Smith scholarship for her. why
[10:50] it was important in her life and
[10:51] in her graduation. She of course
[10:52] talked about the financial
[10:53] assistance
[10:55] but she also talked about the
[10:57] confidence that it built in her
[10:58] decision to become a teacher.
[11:00] We don't just give these
[11:01] kids10,000 dollars a year.
[11:04] We bring them in as a cohort. we
[11:05] make them feel special. we have
[11:07] a banquet every year for them
[11:09] where they come and learn about
[11:11] what they're about to embark on.
[11:12] We give them a mentor teacher
[11:13] and that mentor teacher works
[11:15] with them for four years. That
[11:17] teacher helps them understand
[11:19] how to apply what they're
[11:20] learning in the classroom to the
[11:21] actual classroom where they're
[11:22] going to be teaching.
[11:25] And Lauren had a particularly
[11:27] good mentor and she talked a lot
[11:29] about how that connection with
[11:30] her mentor helped her in the
[11:30] classroom when she got there.
[11:33] how it gave her the freedom to
[11:35] be to be able to focus on being
[11:36] the best teacher she could be.
[11:39] and then really interestingly
[11:40] because of this scholarship
[11:42] Lauren was able to graduate not
[11:43] just with a bachelor's degree
[11:44] but also with a master's degree
[11:46] with $0 in debt.
[11:53] So one of her quotes that she
[11:54] provided us was that it reminded
[11:55] me that teaching is an important
[11:57] profession and motivated me to
[11:59] work even harder to become the
[12:00] kind of educator my students
[12:01] deserve.
[12:05] Today Lauren is a second grade
[12:06] teacher in Suncrest Elementary
[12:06] School in Morgantown.
[12:09] she says that the investment
[12:12] that you all made in her in
[12:12] going to college
[12:15] is going to be an investment in
[12:16] all of the students that she
[12:16] teaches in the future.
[12:19] She's building relationships
[12:21] with students and families and
[12:22] helping the young people of West
[12:22] Virginia recognize their own
[12:23] potential.
[12:27] Now I want you to meet Sam.
[12:30] Sam moved to McDowell County at
[12:31] the age of 9
[12:32] his
[12:35] concentration and focus of
[12:38] interest has been on creating
[12:39] math and he wants to be a math
[12:40] and history teacher in McDowell
[12:41] County.
[12:45] um, so Sam told us his story and
[12:46] his video you remember the
[12:47] fourth round is that students
[12:49] provided videos they are amazing
[13:06] OK. so here's why I want to be a
[13:06] teacher
[13:09] When I was 9 years old my family
[13:12] moved from Ohio to McDowell
[13:12] County, West Virginia.
[13:16] to serve in the mission field to
[13:17] bring teachers to McDowell
[13:18] County an area that desperately
[13:19] needed them
[13:23] when I moved here I instantly
[13:24] fell in love with the community.
[13:25] I fell in love with the people,
[13:26] I fell in love with the area.
[13:28] my dream is to teach in Mcdowell
[13:29] County schools
[13:33] I could really serve to a need.
[13:35] If I get the scholarship I would
[13:36] use it to be able to go to a
[13:38] school in Parkersburg and I
[13:39] would be able to get my
[13:40] education degree and double
[13:40] major in history and math.
[13:43] both of those areas we need
[13:45] teachers desperately in our
[13:46] community
[13:49] I'm going to adapt a very
[13:50] relational teaching style. I
[13:51] love developing relationships
[13:52] with people
[13:56] if you don't know someone it's
[13:56] very hard to learn from them
[13:59] my upbringing has taught me to
[14:00] be a caring and loving person.
[14:03] you never know what a person has
[14:04] been through in their life so
[14:05] you cannot just judge a person
[14:07] based on their appearance or how
[14:09] they may act in a certain
[14:10] situation you have to truly know
[14:10] them
[14:13] in the classroom I want to have
[14:14] a very powerful personality.
[14:17] when I speak I want kids to be
[14:18] able to understand that I have
[14:19] something important to say and I
[14:20] want them to be drawn to me
[14:23] in my teaching style I also plan
[14:25] to be very hands on one thing
[14:27] that I feel is very undervalued
[14:29] especially in math is relating
[14:30] math concepts to real world.
[14:33] I want to stress that I'm not
[14:35] just here to take this40,000
[14:36] dollars, spend my five years in
[14:37] west Virginia and there just bol
[14:38] to some other place. I've really
[14:39] been touched by this community
[14:42] down here my goal is to live and
[14:42] just give back to as much as
[14:43] possible.
[14:45] just know that if you give me
[14:47] the scholarship it will not be
[14:48] wasted and you can look back for
[14:50] years to come with pride knowing
[14:51] that you were able to positively
[14:52] affect southern west Virginia
[14:52] and McDow County.
[14:53] thank you.
[15:11] Hi, my name is Isabellaoge and
[15:12] I'm a
[15:20] So todayamm is living on his
[15:21] dream. He has returned to
[15:22] McDowell County
[15:25] he is teaching in Riverview High
[15:26] School and he is a math teacher.
[15:27] it's pretty remarkable
[15:31] going to give you one more
[15:32] student
[15:34] and one more video. I have
[15:35] hundreds of these it took a lot
[15:37] to figure out which two to show
[15:39] you. I figured you didn't have
[15:40] enough time to watch hundreds of
[15:41] them so I chose two that I
[15:42] thought were or we chose two
[15:42] that we thought were pretty good
[15:45] this is Bailey Bailey was in
[15:47] the2024 cohort of students so
[15:49] she is still in college
[15:52] Bailey's passion is for helping
[15:53] special needs students because
[15:55] their older brother has autism
[15:57] and she wanted to make sure that
[15:59] teachers for kids who had autism
[16:01] were able to reach them the same
[16:02] way that some of his teachers
[16:02] were able to reach him.
[16:04] and so let me show you Bailey's
[16:05] video.
[16:09] I may not have been born here
[16:10] but I've lived here since I was
[16:12] one in West Virginia will always
[16:13] be my home. I want to make an
[16:15] impact on the kids teaching
[16:17] elementary special education
[16:18] right here in the great state of
[16:20] west Virginia. We interrupt this
[16:21] program to bring you a special
[16:22] report
[16:25] justin we've just gotten word
[16:27] that Baileiger of Bruce and
[16:28] Mose, West Virginia is going to
[16:29] make a huge difference in this
[16:31] state by becoming a top educator
[16:32] in the field of elementary
[16:34] special education with more on
[16:35] this developing story let's get
[16:36] right to the sourceurer herself
[16:37] Bailey
[16:40] hi, thank you. Several months
[16:41] ago I committed to West Virginia
[16:43] University and will be majoring
[16:45] in elementary education with
[16:46] minors in special education
[16:48] inequine therapy. I have a
[16:49] passion for teaching because
[16:51] I've always loved kids and
[16:52] particularly those with special
[16:54] needs. My older brother has
[16:55] autism and was diagnosed right
[16:57] before I was born. I've grown up
[16:59] seeing his struggles and want to
[17:01] be the one to help kids like him
[17:03] be successful. It's personal for
[17:04] me. I care too much not to help.
[17:06] Many people feel that you need
[17:07] to be a leader in order to be an
[17:09] effective teacher. your thoughts
[17:10] on that? Yes.
[17:13] I'm a natural leader. I'm the
[17:13] coditor in chief on my yearbook
[17:15] and work with the younger staff
[17:17] to teach them everything that
[17:18] goes into producing our
[17:19] yearbook. I am also the
[17:21] secretary for my FFfa chapter
[17:22] and I helped lead the
[17:26] I understand that you are a
[17:28] finalist for the prestigious
[17:30] underwoodsmith teaching scholars
[17:31] programme. Why do you feel you
[17:32] deserve this award?
[17:35] I don't plan on teaching in west
[17:36] virginia for five years. I plan
[17:37] on teaching in west virginia my
[17:38] entire career.
[17:39] I'm not becoming a teacher for
[17:41] the schedule I'm becoming a
[17:43] teacher for the students. I feel
[17:45] like it helps students reach the
[17:46] greatest potential for figuring
[17:46] out
[17:49] every child learns the same and
[17:51] it's necessary to figure out
[17:52] what works best for each
[17:52] student.
[17:53] I have the patience
[17:58] Are there any other ways you
[17:58] will help your future students
[17:59] be successful?
[18:02] Oh yes, I want to make school
[18:04] fun and interesting so my
[18:05] students are excited with
[18:07] special ed no two days are the
[18:09] same. I will thrive in this type
[18:10] of situation and I know I can
[18:11] help my students flourish.
[18:13] Many people say they have
[18:15] someone they look up to that has
[18:16] shown them the type of teacher
[18:17] they want to be. Do you have a
[18:18] specific person that stands out
[18:19] for you?
[18:22] absolutely it's Miss Saggs my
[18:24] yearbook teacher. She's shown me
[18:26] what being a teacher really is
[18:27] she cares so much for all of her
[18:29] students and she shows it in so
[18:31] many ways she makes learning so
[18:32] much fun
[18:34] I want to be that teacher, the
[18:36] teacher that makes kids excited
[18:36] to come to school and learn.
[18:39] Bailey, thank you for sharing
[18:41] your story. Best of luck to you.
[18:42] Now back to our regular
[18:42] scheduled program
[18:47] According to Oxford
[18:56] So Bailey did an interview on
[18:57] Talkline after she was
[18:59] selected and she said it's
[19:01] really big because I'm actually
[19:03] putting myself through college
[19:04] it's going to help me so much to
[19:04] have this scholarship.
[19:11] and as you heard the iveyear
[19:13] commitment doesn't affect me
[19:14] because I plan to stay in West
[19:15] Virginia. I love it here and I
[19:16] want to see improvement.
[19:19] So this presentation is really
[19:21] just sort of a victory lap for
[19:23] all of you. I want to thank you
[19:24] for this scholarship I want to
[19:25] thank you for providing these
[19:27] students the opportunities that
[19:29] you have provided them. I want
[19:31] you to know what a trickledown
[19:33] effect these scholarships are
[19:35] going to have on our future
[19:36] students here in west Virginia
[19:38] and the kids that are going to
[19:39] come after them and that are
[19:40] going to be taught by these
[19:40] incredible educators
[19:43] I also know that we hear lots of
[19:45] negative things about West
[19:46] Virginia. look at these kids
[19:49] they're amazing. I mean these
[19:51] are amazing students and we have
[19:52] hundreds of them that apply
[19:53] every year that all want to stay
[19:55] here and all want to teach and
[19:57] all want to do better for the
[19:58] state of West Virginia I hope
[20:00] that they inspire you as much as
[20:01] they inspire me every time
[20:04] we get to get together with
[20:04] these students
[20:07] at the end of at the banquet
[20:08] that we do every year our
[20:09] masters of ceremony a woman
[20:11] named Michelle Marlowe puts
[20:12] together a quote
[20:15] that she gives to the teachers
[20:17] to try to inspire that cohort of
[20:18] teachers for the you know the
[20:19] rest of their teaching career
[20:21] and so I thought this quote was
[20:22] really poignant. This is the
[20:23] quote for this year
[20:25] Education is not the filling of
[20:26] the pail but the lighting of a
[20:27] fire.
[20:29] that's what this scholarship has
[20:31] done for these students the
[20:33] scholarship has lit a fire
[20:34] underneath them to be better
[20:36] teachers and hopefully it will
[20:38] light a fire under them as they
[20:39] teach and their students as they
[20:40] teach
[20:43] um, to work harder to try harder
[20:45] and to be better west virginians
[20:46] so thank you all I'm happy to
[20:46] answer
[20:57] Thank you chancellor very much
[20:58] great presentation I'm wondering
[20:59] if you might be able to come
[21:00] back to us with some
[21:05] madede a decision that they want
[21:15] associated with that certainly
[21:19] these students leaving high
[21:20] school maybe
[21:23] grow your own program but
[21:43] go through that transition. Yep
[21:47] are there further questions for
[21:48] the chancellor?
[21:50] the cochair has a question.
[21:51] Chancellor Tucker.
[21:53] can you tell me I
[22:10] to help
[22:13] ur r ent ly no but could I
[22:14] figure it out? Yes.
[22:16] I will thank you
[22:21] that are there further questions
[22:22] for the
[22:24] delegate Hornby
[22:26] thank you madam Chair
[22:30] Unlike the vice chair I I don't
[22:31] understand the the the financing
[22:33] out can you explain with with
[22:35] where the financing comes from
[22:37] and it does the legislature
[22:39] provide you with yearly funding
[22:40] for this scholarship we
[22:43] top of my head I'm trying to
[22:45] think of what that is. I don't
[22:46] know. I'll find out they will
[22:47] find out for you in just a
[22:48] second we have an annual
[22:52] appropriation that funds um,25
[22:55] students per cohort. so we have
[22:57] at any given time once the
[22:58] program is up and running100
[22:58] students.
[23:01] roughly a million dollars per
[23:02] year
[23:02] roughly
[23:08] and you have over200
[23:12] roughly applicants that are
[23:13] eligible every single year. Last
[23:16] year we had220 applicants of
[23:19] those167 were eligible because
[23:21] the difference between the167
[23:23] and the220 was largely that they
[23:24] were students who were enrolled
[23:25] in college and the eligible
[23:26] applicants have to be a high
[23:27] school senior.
[23:29] you think that
[23:33] allowing those students that are
[23:34] already in college who are
[23:35] looking to get into the teaching
[23:39] career program would be
[23:42] beneficial to to to the program
[23:45] to allow that eligibility do it
[23:47] it's a matter of without an
[23:49] increase of cost it's a it's a
[23:51] matter of what you restrict
[23:52] right? So
[23:53] it would come down to the budget
[23:57] thank you chancellor it thank
[23:58] you madam Chair thank you
[23:58] delegate. Are there further
[23:59] questions for the chancellor?
[24:01] it's1.48 million ann
[24:05] Thank you thank you very much
[24:11] The next item on the agenda,
[24:13] I do believe we have several
[24:15] people here to speak so if
[24:16] everyone that plans to speak at
[24:17] the podium could just make their
[24:18] way down, that would be
[24:18] great.
[24:27] So the next item on the agenda
[24:28] is Reshore West Virginia which
[24:30] is reshoring opportunities in
[24:31] Westvirginia and we have several
[24:33] people here to speak what
[24:35] I'll have each of you do is if
[24:36] you could please just state your
[24:37] name and title when you step up
[24:39] to the podium so everybody knows
[24:40] who is speaking
[24:43] Mr. Bisssett, will you start? OK
[24:51] And you may begin whenever
[24:53] you're ready. awesome. good
[24:54] morning. My name is Bill Bissett
[24:55] I'm president of the weststerio
[24:57] Manufacturers association. great
[24:59] to be with you today I wanna
[25:00] thank the members of the joint
[25:00] committee as well as its
[25:01] leadership for allowing us to
[25:03] present reshore West Virginia to
[25:05] you some of you heard about it
[25:07] but I think it's an important
[25:08] program not just to grow
[25:10] manufacturing in west Virginia
[25:11] which I think is in all of our
[25:13] interests but also a way to give
[25:15] my members the building blocks
[25:17] the materials that they need to
[25:18] make their products
[25:19] which is critical
[25:22] that's literally one of the most
[25:23] biggest cons one of the biggest
[25:25] concerns I hear from my members
[25:27] is supply chain issues or
[25:29] markets and either way Reshore
[25:31] westrginia really benefits us in
[25:32] that way you'll hear a lot more
[25:33] about this in a moment but I
[25:35] also want thank delegate
[25:35] Laurie Whitman for her interest
[25:37] in this because there's an
[25:38] interesting educational
[25:39] component to this program which
[25:40] is what brings us here today
[25:45] so when President Trump took
[25:47] office a new word was
[25:48] injected into the collective
[25:49] consciousness and that word was
[25:50] tariffs
[25:53] and some of my members were very
[25:54] concerned some of them were very
[25:55] supportive oferrets because they
[25:57] have a domestic to the United
[25:59] States supply chain and market
[26:01] so it affected our membership
[26:02] very differently
[26:05] but that said the concern was it
[26:06] created a lot of uncertainty
[26:08] which business much like us
[26:08] individuals do not like
[26:11] and that uncertainty was driven
[26:13] by litigation by the on and off
[26:15] nature of a tariffs by a
[26:17] changing landscape that seemed
[26:19] to continue but when you have a
[26:20] challenge how can you turn that
[26:20] into an opportunity?
[26:23] and the way you do that is
[26:24] finding a person with expertise.
[26:25] finding a person that has that
[26:26] granular knowledge of the issue
[26:29] who could help us take advantage
[26:31] of it and benefit West Virginia
[26:33] and that person is Ed Ryan he's
[26:35] a west virginian he's educated
[26:36] from Mars University and he has
[26:38] a tremendous knowledge not only
[26:38] of US customs
[26:40] but international logistics
[26:43] and what I'm especially proud
[26:45] about Rehore West Virginia is Ed
[26:47] brings this to westvirginia he's
[26:49] lived out of state he's returned
[26:50] home we're happy to have him
[26:52] here but when I met with him
[26:53] more than a year ago he started
[26:55] explaining how we connect our
[26:56] manufacturers with each other
[26:58] instate
[27:01] to not only supply the materials
[27:03] they need but also possibly sell
[27:05] their products in state as well
[27:07] in short it's much better that
[27:09] we get these materials from Clay
[27:10] County than China.
[27:13] how do we do that and what's
[27:14] interesting about manufacturing
[27:15] a lot of my members don't know
[27:17] another manufacturer 20 minutes
[27:19] away we're probably the closest
[27:21] thing to an interconnection of
[27:23] manufacturing our association in
[27:25] the state but using technology
[27:27] using the custom codes using
[27:29] many things that Ed understands
[27:30] very very well he's assembled
[27:31] this team that I think allows us
[27:33] to not only benefit
[27:34] manufacturing the state and
[27:34] economic development
[27:37] but also train the next
[27:38] generation
[27:39] in how they can work in this
[27:40] field and benefit our state as
[27:41] well
[27:42] without further ado Ed Ryan
[27:47] Thank you Bill
[27:50] just a special thanks to
[27:50] delegate
[27:53] Diman for allowing us to
[27:57] our our story
[28:01] just being a teacher and being a
[28:04] delegate at the same time
[28:05] what an amazing balance I know
[28:06] you're probably missing your
[28:09] thank them for us for your
[28:11] service here at the capitol
[28:13] I'm met Ryan I'm the founder
[28:17] of Reshore West Virginia I
[28:18] wanna to talk to you about our
[28:18] course
[28:20] I'm so excited about the
[28:21] educational offering that
[28:23] we're providing through Reshore
[28:25] West Virginia and I think the
[28:27] best way for me to do that is to
[28:28] give you several different
[28:30] through so I've brought up
[28:34] a bunch of my friends and
[28:37] partners to talk to you about
[28:39] Reshore West Virginia and the
[28:40] educational piece and how they
[28:43] serve to be a part of that so
[28:44] with that I'd like to
[28:46] ask Mr Matt Turner to come up
[28:47] from higherducation
[28:48] Policycommission
[28:53] Thank you Ed. thank you chairs
[28:55] and members speaking on
[28:56] behalf of the higher education
[28:58] Policy commission, I'm not sure
[29:00] if it's evident yet but Ed has a
[29:02] tremendous amount of enthusiasm
[29:03] for the state and certainly for
[29:05] this project and he's
[29:06] challenging us he really is and
[29:09] trying to adapt platforms
[29:10] that were not initially
[29:12] intended for one of his academic
[29:14] programs to to make it happen
[29:15] and we continue to work with him
[29:16] but
[29:18] you know this is a real
[29:19] opportunity for the state
[29:19] building a workforce that
[29:21] understands the economics and
[29:24] practical skills that are
[29:25] bringing manufacturing supply
[29:27] chains back home and we
[29:28] certainly believe this is
[29:29] something that west Virginia
[29:30] higher education should support
[29:32] so as I said our statewide
[29:34] online platform our online
[29:35] learning platform is called
[29:37] WVrocks. it was designed for
[29:39] returning students and has
[29:40] helped so many countless
[29:43] students who are entering
[29:43] higher education again through
[29:45] the region's bachelor of artts
[29:46] program to to
[29:47] try to get them on a the fast
[29:49] forward track so that they can
[29:51] complete their degrees and we're
[29:52] working with Ed and his team to
[29:56] use that platform to try to make
[29:57] his coursework that will help
[29:59] students understand the
[30:01] reassuring concept to make that
[30:02] available statewide. he's
[30:03] already successfully implemented
[30:05] it at at least one of our
[30:05] schools I think what two is that
[30:08] rightd University of Charleston
[30:11] and and Wvu and we're trying to
[30:12] adapt our platform to make that
[30:13] a statewide option for that so
[30:17] that work continues but we
[30:18] really are thrilled with Ed's
[30:19] enthusiasm for this and bringing
[30:21] the right partners together and
[30:22] we're we're proud to support
[30:22] this this effort and
[30:25] look forward to continuing to
[30:27] work with the reshore project to
[30:28] see how we can open this up to
[30:29] even more institutions across
[30:30] the state so we're we're pleased
[30:32] to support that and and eager to
[30:33] see what the next steps are
[30:34] thank you all
[30:39] Um, next I'd like to bring up
[30:43] Doctor John Saldanaha, Doctor
[30:45] Saldanaha is the chair of the
[30:47] supply chain management program
[30:48] at West Virginia University.
[30:48] Johnn.
[30:55] Good morning John Saldanna,
[30:56] professor of supply chain Man
[30:59] andc's chair of global supply
[31:00] chain Man.
[31:00] so
[31:03] listening to Ed when he first
[31:05] pitched this to me I said you
[31:06] know this is perfect because in
[31:07] this current s business
[31:09] environment strategic sourcing
[31:10] is particularly challenging
[31:14] The long established trade
[31:15] routes that we have currently
[31:17] have been altered by
[31:18] geopolitical forces
[31:20] we have taken for granted supply
[31:20] sources
[31:23] existing decades that are now
[31:25] risky due to historic
[31:26] restructuring of tradegre
[31:26] agreements
[31:29] consumer demand has also become
[31:31] much harder to predict due to
[31:32] constantly changing markets
[31:37] so the only certainty in today's
[31:38] business environment is
[31:39] uncertainty.
[31:42] the supply chain management
[31:43] program at the Chambers College
[31:45] of Business is very proud of our
[31:48] graduates100% place and rate at
[31:51] global brand name ins companies
[31:53] like General Electric, General
[31:55] Motors including companies here
[31:57] in our state toyota Lockheed
[31:59] Martin. We also very proud of
[32:00] our graduates being placed at
[32:03] high impact institutions like
[32:05] Georgetown Carnegie Mellon
[32:06] after they graduate.
[32:09] sayingying this we believe that
[32:10] the potential of Reho West
[32:11] Virginia's coursework
[32:13] to contribute to our students
[32:15] career successes in this new
[32:16] business of mind with is
[32:16] critical.
[32:21] today supply chain mans consider
[32:23] supply chains as malleable
[32:24] they're not fixed anymore.
[32:26] because of this unreliable
[32:26] sourcing
[32:30] and accelerated clock speed of
[32:30] market changes that happen
[32:34] all of these give rise to
[32:35] requirement for new sources of
[32:36] supply.
[32:39] so going back to the literature
[32:41] I looked at what are the
[32:41] advantages of reassuring
[32:44] over the relatively low cost of
[32:44] offshore sources of supply.
[32:49] Most importantly is lower cost
[32:50] of supply chain logistics
[32:51] obviouslyviously lower
[32:53] transportation costs but most
[32:54] importantly the
[32:55] removal of the layers of
[32:56] bureaucracy
[32:59] that are embedded in executing
[33:00] global sourcing decisions
[33:03] reassuring also reduces the
[33:05] distances to our sources which
[33:06] makes our manufacturers in west
[33:07] Virginia
[33:09] more agile and more responsive
[33:10] to
[33:15] So we view the reassuring west
[33:16] Virginia co that we did
[33:18] in spring semester of2026 as a
[33:19] living lab
[33:22] the course provided our students
[33:23] an experiential learning
[33:25] opportunity to work on complex
[33:27] problems that supply chain
[33:27] managers are working on
[33:28] currently.
[33:31] so as we all know experiential
[33:32] learning is the most effective
[33:35] mode of pedagogy that we all
[33:36] want to strive for in higher
[33:36] education
[33:38] so I supervised a group of
[33:39] students who worked on one such
[33:40] project this past semester.
[33:43] first the students had to frame
[33:44] the objective
[33:47] and articulate the project
[33:48] deliverables then they had to
[33:49] formulate an implementation plan
[33:53] they also had to execute the
[33:54] plan
[33:56] they had to develop a
[33:56] methodology
[34:01] be able to identify data analyze
[34:02] the data and then arrive at the
[34:03] project deliverables.
[34:06] Most importantly the students
[34:06] had carefully think through
[34:09] how they could communicate these
[34:11] findings in a compelling and
[34:12] concise report to the managers
[34:13] who they were working with
[34:18] The report and subs subsequent
[34:19] presentation to the organis
[34:21] organization's managers needed
[34:22] to clearly convey the
[34:23] deliverables along with the
[34:24] sourcing strategy
[34:27] and the plan along with
[34:27] assessment of post
[34:29] implementation risks and
[34:30] rewards.
[34:33] so at every stage of the
[34:34] cappstone project whether in
[34:37] reading comprehension whether in
[34:39] writing oral communication
[34:41] project management, mathematical
[34:42] modeling students were
[34:43] challenged to develop an
[34:44] analytical mindset.
[34:44] so
[34:48] this was a real boon for our
[34:48] students
[34:51] when they interviewed with
[34:53] potential employers the
[34:54] employers saw the value that
[34:54] they brought to Westvirginia
[34:55] firms
[34:58] so this value in delivering
[35:00] theoretically theoreticallyrin
[35:01] rigorous scientific analysis
[35:03] supported by Reho Westvirginia's
[35:05] platform supports firm's
[35:07] decision making calculus to
[35:09] build reliable and competitive
[35:10] sources of supply here in
[35:10] westvirginia.
[35:15] So I believe this coursework has
[35:16] the potential of building a
[35:17] virtue cycle of helping west
[35:19] Virginia firms improve their
[35:20] strategic sourcing
[35:22] while also building a pipeline
[35:23] of talented supply chain
[35:25] managers trained in strategic
[35:27] sourcing from west Virginia
[35:29] manufacturers that in turn
[35:31] builds more business for other
[35:32] Westvirginia manufacturers.
[35:35] so we are supply chain
[35:35] management programme at West
[35:37] Virginia University is grateful
[35:38] to partner with Ed Ryan
[35:40] in his effort to generate new
[35:40] business for West Virginia
[35:41] manufacturers.
[35:44] This partnership also achieves
[35:45] West Virginia University's land
[35:46] grant mission
[35:48] to improve the economic
[35:49] prosperity of the residents of
[35:50] Westvirginia.
[35:53] in doing so we believe that West
[35:54] Virginia could become an example
[35:55] for the rest of the country
[35:57] we can demonstrate how to
[35:59] leverage the current business
[36:01] environment to encourage greater
[36:03] manufacturing capacity in west
[36:05] Virginia and thereby also build
[36:07] the US domestic manufacturing
[36:08] capacity that we have lost over
[36:09] the last half century.
[36:09] thank you
[36:17] Thank you Dr. Saanha next I'd
[36:19] like to bring up two speakers
[36:21] from Marshall University, Derek
[36:22] Scarborough from the
[36:29] Thank you Ed and thanks members
[36:30] for having me. My name is Derek
[36:31] Scarborough. I'm the director of
[36:32] Marshall's Advanced
[36:33] Manufacturing Center.
[36:35] the advanced manufacturingent at
[36:37] Marshall is a very externally
[36:39] focused applied engineering
[36:41] workforce development arm of
[36:43] marshall that works with
[36:43] business all across the state
[36:47] last year we did projects
[36:49] with358 companies and many of
[36:52] those are workforce training
[36:54] engineering custom tooling kind
[36:56] of projects but many of them are
[36:59] also supply chain issues helping
[37:02] companies find sources for
[37:04] certain services or products
[37:07] they need and also helping
[37:09] smaller companies figure out how
[37:11] to get into a larger supply
[37:13] chain so we try to work both
[37:14] sides of the equation there and
[37:15] help
[37:17] companies develop business
[37:19] opportunities especially close
[37:22] to home and what Bill said about
[37:25] many companies not knowing about
[37:28] resources in their backyard you
[37:30] know we have many examples of
[37:31] where we connected a larger
[37:33] company with a machine shop in
[37:35] the same county that had never
[37:37] talked to each other before and
[37:38] now they're supplying parts to
[37:41] each other it's great but what
[37:43] excites me about what Ed is
[37:44] doing with Reshore west Virginia
[37:49] is he's bringing his expertise
[37:51] and export import knowledge
[37:54] along with a powerful set of
[37:55] data
[37:59] that folks like us and these
[38:00] other organizations can use
[38:03] in applied work directly with
[38:07] businesses in your districts
[38:08] to help them realize
[38:10] opportunities opportunities to
[38:11] sell and source
[38:14] more products in the area
[38:17] and these classroom projects
[38:19] that are happening with the
[38:20] student teams working on Reshore
[38:23] you know they're going to be
[38:26] able to dig into specific
[38:26] examples
[38:28] specific companies
[38:31] and help go through that data
[38:33] withedd's expertise to look for
[38:35] those opportunities and then
[38:37] organizations like mine can
[38:39] perhaps come in to say all right
[38:42] we've identified this business
[38:43] that's got this capability that
[38:45] makes this widget that this
[38:47] company across the state buys
[38:52] from Asia and help them maybe
[38:53] get up to certification
[38:56] train additional workers so they
[38:58] can expand capacity what have
[39:01] you so it's a a good way to grow
[39:03] an economy helping existing
[39:04] businesses find more
[39:07] we're all in very excited to be
[39:08] part of this
[39:14] Thank youerrek next from
[39:16] Marshall University I'd like to
[39:16] ask Kit Sowards to come up
[39:23] thank you madam Chair and the
[39:24] members of the committee for
[39:24] this opportunity
[39:30] marshall and also the associate
[39:31] director of the Appalachian
[39:32] Transportation Ins
[39:42] re sh or ing actct as part of
[39:43] that initial study we determined
[39:46] that there was roughly $680
[39:49] million of products using2025 to
[39:51] date data that could reasonably
[39:53] be reassured in West Virginia
[39:54] we've been working with Reshore
[39:55] West Virginia since that effort
[39:57] to examine that for the
[39:59] entire13state Appalachian
[40:00] regional commission.
[40:02] footprint and that work
[40:03] continues we see a lot more
[40:11] our efforts so far have really
[40:12] made us understand that we just
[40:13] can't look at what products
[40:18] that's only the starting point
[40:19] what we really wanted to
[40:21] question is how do we turn that
[40:22] information into a disciplined
[40:25] it starts with
[40:41] harmonized tariff schedule data
[40:42] allows
[40:45] but also what trade def
[40:55] from there we'd use economic
[40:56] impact
[42:27] our outreach and help manu
[42:37] that's where our research can
[42:38] make reshoring a practical
[42:50] So this is one of my first
[42:51] students from University of
[42:55] Charleston I wanna give a
[42:56] special shout out he couldn't be
[42:58] here today but he gave me my
[42:59] first chance to teach in the
[43:00] un
[43:05] thank you doctorRoth for that
[43:06] opportunity with that I'd
[43:09] like to ask Kelton Bobbitts to
[43:10] come up and talk about his
[43:23] Morning everybody my name is
[43:25] Kelton Bowitz. I am an MBA
[43:27] student at the University of
[43:29] Charleston and anybody that
[43:30] knows me knows I am a very proud
[43:30] Westvirginian
[43:33] grew up infayette County no more
[43:34] than5 minutes away from the
[43:35] Newriver Gorge Bridge and
[43:36] haven't grown up in such a
[43:37] beautiful part of the state I
[43:39] got to experience so many of the
[43:40] great things our state has to
[43:42] offer. but I also got to
[43:43] experience some of its
[43:45] challenges so to better
[43:46] understand these challenges I
[43:46] went to the University of
[43:47] Charleston double major business
[43:48] man and political science
[43:52] and decided to pursue my MBA in
[43:54] my first semester in my MBA
[43:57] career I got the opportunity to
[43:59] take Ed's course and it was a
[44:00] little daunting and I didn't
[44:01] know if I was getting in over my
[44:01] head.
[44:04] but I was I spent hours and
[44:06] hours looking over data, looking
[44:07] at manufacturers in West
[44:09] Virginia really trying to
[44:11] piece it together in a way that
[44:12] could produce something valuable
[44:13] and while it was difficult and
[44:15] challenging that's exactly why I
[44:17] was able to grow from the
[44:17] experience and that's why it was
[44:19] so valuable to me because I
[44:21] learned more about tariffs,
[44:23] international trade and the
[44:24] domestic manufacturing in west
[44:26] Virginia than I did in any class
[44:27] in undergrad and the reason why
[44:28] was simple
[44:30] it's because we were focused on
[44:32] solving a real problem outside
[44:32] the classroom
[44:35] what we did in the research was
[44:37] we took an industry select a
[44:39] business within that industry
[44:41] figureed out what that business
[44:42] imported and asked a very
[44:42] practical question.
[44:45] can that be manufactured in west
[44:46] Virginia
[44:49] If yes then we ran a comparative
[44:50] analysis of the domestic
[44:53] manufacturing cost to the landed
[44:55] or imported costs and to make
[44:56] the research as actionable as we
[44:58] could we made an implementation
[44:58] plan
[45:00] very different than just writing
[45:01] a paper for a grade.
[45:03] interestingly enough through
[45:04] some of my connections in
[45:05] economic development I was able
[45:07] to send my research to some
[45:09] individuals in that field now
[45:11] did they do anything with my
[45:12] research I don't know but
[45:15] what I do know is this is that
[45:18] they now have an option that
[45:18] they didn't have before
[45:21] and I think that's what makes
[45:23] this course so valuable because
[45:24] I know I've had friends and I'm
[45:25] sure many of you have
[45:26] experienced this as well who
[45:27] have wanted to stay in west
[45:29] virginia they wanted to work in
[45:30] west Virginia raise families in
[45:31] west Virginia but they weren't
[45:33] able to not because they didn't
[45:34] want to but rather they
[45:35] struggled to find the
[45:36] opportunity here.
[45:38] and that to me is a tragedy
[45:41] and I also think that's where
[45:42] this course can add value
[45:44] because I'm just one student
[45:47] doing one piece of research but
[45:49] imagine if hundreds of students
[45:50] across this state were asking
[45:51] the same questions that I was
[45:53] asking in my research going
[45:54] through the data, looking at
[45:56] manufacturers trying to find
[45:57] that opportunity. Not every
[45:59] piece of research is going to be
[46:00] a major breakthrough and some of
[46:01] it might not even be used but
[46:03] that's ok because somebody some
[46:05] student is bound to find
[46:06] something that'll change West
[46:07] Virginia for the better
[46:11] and to me that's a win for
[46:13] everybodyudents gain real skills
[46:14] knowledge and abilities
[46:17] manufacturers gain ideas in west
[46:19] virginians ultimately gain
[46:20] opportunity.
[46:22] so if there's anything that I
[46:23] would like the committee to take
[46:25] away from my experience as a
[46:26] student that's been through this
[46:26] course it's this
[46:29] students are learning real
[46:31] knowledge and skills while
[46:32] having the potential to solve
[46:33] real problems
[46:35] I'd encourage this committee to
[46:37] support giving other students
[46:38] the opportunity that I've had to
[46:39] give back to the communities I
[46:41] care so much about because I
[46:42] believe that the best thing that
[46:43] you can get from a college
[46:45] experience is not simply a
[46:46] degree but rather the ability to
[46:47] look at a problem
[46:50] figure it out and have the
[46:51] confidence that your work can
[46:53] make a difference and for me
[46:54] that's exactly what this course
[46:55] did
[46:56] thank you so much for your time
[47:02] he got an A if you're wondering
[47:07] yeah amazing yeah so our last
[47:09] our last speaker I want I
[47:11] want you all to hear from
[47:11] who's the beneficiary of all
[47:12] this
[47:14] and that's our westvirginia
[47:17] manufacturers we had the
[47:18] opportunity to work in our
[47:18] second
[47:21] with one of our state's greatest
[47:22] man
[47:26] if you've not heard of
[47:27] rubberlight, hopefully today
[47:29] we'll shed some light on some
[47:31] of the amazing things that we're
[47:33] making in our state so with that
[47:34] Jeff Gord
[47:42] Well it's it's my pleasure to be
[47:43] here in front of you and I'm
[47:45] struggling with whether I talk
[47:47] about all the great things that
[47:48] rubberlight does.
[47:49] or all the great things I've
[47:55] Mr Ryan's the one that
[47:56] invited me here so I'm going to
[47:57] try to stick to that but rubber
[47:59] lights are relatively small
[48:01] company in terms of people and
[48:03] size about a half a million
[48:04] square feet under roof in
[48:04] Huntington
[48:06] and about165 employees
[48:09] but we're big in global
[48:11] footprint and product footprint.
[48:12] We export to about 20 different
[48:13] countries
[48:16] I'm sure that most of you
[48:19] probably use a product that has
[48:20] rubber light materials in it
[48:23] and we like to look at rubber
[48:24] lead as one of the best kept
[48:25] secrets in west virginia
[48:28] but we don't necessarily need to
[48:30] be a secret in west virginia and
[48:30] this was a great opportunity
[48:35] for us when Ed came to me and
[48:36] our president
[48:40] Brad Mayo and pitched what
[48:41] reshore west virginia was
[48:45] we thought this is brilliant
[48:46] they're taking just volumes and
[48:49] volumes of data import export
[48:51] data and translating that into
[48:53] materials that we could sell
[48:57] in our state materials that
[48:58] we're exporting to Malaysia
[48:59] China
[49:03] Australia and indeed our
[49:04] largest customer is in Malaysia.
[49:07] and and we thought well this is
[49:09] brilliant. it seems to make a
[49:10] lot of sense so he's mining the
[49:13] data the materials people are
[49:14] bringing into west Virginia and
[49:15] just saying look rubber light
[49:16] makes
[49:20] and so we had the good fortune
[49:22] of being part of a capstone
[49:22] project with
[49:25] students from Drctor Saana's
[49:26] class
[49:29] and I can't tell you how
[49:30] impressed I was with
[49:35] did a study without our help
[49:37] without any insight from us,
[49:39] using the reshore West Virginia
[49:42] methods our methodologies I
[49:43] should say and I'm sure a little
[49:45] bit of Mr. Ryan's talent and
[49:46] insight and
[49:49] they put together an amazing
[49:50] study
[49:54] that was just found was very
[49:57] accurate and found an absolute
[49:59] custom potential customer that
[50:01] we've actually had in our sites
[50:03] for many years but found it
[50:05] challenging to compete with the
[50:06] foams that are made
[50:12] supply chain
[50:15] but I'll tell you rubber
[50:17] light is a company that does not
[50:19] chase nickels and dimes at the
[50:22] expense of dollars. so we are
[50:25] almost solely US based in terms
[50:27] of our raw materials buying our
[50:29] building blocks for the
[50:30] polymers that we make all
[50:31] domestically.
[50:34] we use a few specialty catalysts
[50:36] and things that come from places
[50:36] because no one else makes them
[50:40] but basically all of our carbon
[50:41] building blocks come from the
[50:43] United States and even one
[50:45] product line it's all west
[50:48] virginia. The one side of the
[50:49] reaction is made in New
[50:50] Martinsville the other side's
[50:51] maden South Charleston and
[50:53] they're we're putting them all
[50:55] together to make a line of
[50:57] highly specialized technical irs
[50:59] that are used in processes
[51:01] that is it's quite an
[51:02] innovative piece of material.
[51:05] so anyway, back to the the
[51:07] cappstone project. The students
[51:11] we had the opportunity to host
[51:13] them at at uhrubberli they came
[51:14] down we gave them tours
[51:16] they knew what they were looking
[51:17] at as they were looking through
[51:19] there was it was they were
[51:20] they did their homework
[51:23] and and they're their study and
[51:25] the the quality of of the output
[51:27] of that capstone project I was I
[51:28] was impressed
[51:30] and honestly I'm kind of a hard
[51:33] guy to impress so I wasn't
[51:33] expecting too much and so
[51:37] I have no dog in this fight but
[51:39] I do know that supply chain
[51:41] security is our bread and
[51:42] butter. That's Rubberli's bread
[51:43] and butter and the more young
[51:45] people know or the people coming
[51:47] into the workforce understand
[51:51] the criticality of supply chain
[51:52] the better off all of our
[51:53] companies are going to be
[51:55] you know sustainability is a
[51:56] word that's kicked around a lot
[51:59] in my industry in the
[52:01] chemicals and polymer industry,
[52:03] but the primary sustainability
[52:05] is security of supply and that's
[52:07] where we live that is our bread
[52:08] and butter. So through C covid
[52:09] we didn't lose a beat
[52:13] some of our lo much larger peers
[52:14] in the industry they did why?
[52:16] sourcing of materials
[52:20] to save those nickels and dimes
[52:22] and and that's something that
[52:23] that rubber light does not do so
[52:25] I encourage you to learn a
[52:26] little bit about rubber light
[52:27] and what we do. I thank you for
[52:29] those that already do advocate
[52:32] for us, uh, uh, such as
[52:33] Billissett here in the west
[52:35] Virginia Manufacturers
[52:36] association for ed for Marshall
[52:39] University we get quite a few
[52:40] of our technical resources out
[52:43] of Marshall we use an
[52:45] informal internship program.
[52:47] I've hired 3 engineers,2
[52:48] chemists
[52:51] multitude of technicians
[52:51] staff out of Marshall
[52:53] University. it's a nice
[52:54] resource to have
[52:57] thank you again. good luck.
[53:03] thank you all
[53:05] for taking the time to to come
[53:06] in today
[53:11] so as as as you heard today
[53:12] this is our mission
[53:15] rubber light's a great
[53:21] about1,000 manufacturers
[53:25] we want to introduce
[53:33] about4.9
[53:39] we're gonna do that through the
[53:40] reshor
[53:45] so this coming semester at WU
[53:46] I've got
[53:49] reshoring opportunities in west
[53:51] Virginia I want thank
[53:53] doctorctor Saldanaha for his
[53:55] partnership and mentoring me to
[53:58] become an adjunct instructor
[54:00] I never dreamed of being a a
[54:03] college professor but I think
[54:05] the necessity of the opportunity
[54:06] demands it so
[54:09] I'm inspired by students like
[54:11] Kelton who can get up here and
[54:13] and tell you his story and
[54:14] show you
[54:21] so we're gonna be running the
[54:23] reshoring opportunities in west
[54:25] Virginia of course at Wvu but
[54:26] then we look to expand that
[54:27] so I would ask
[54:33] man to assist us in bringing
[54:35] that course to universities both
[54:38] private and public across the
[54:38] great state of westvirginia
[54:41] we see an opportunity for
[54:42] hundre
[54:49] and pour in at that same level
[54:50] that Kelton has
[54:57] One product one import
[54:57] opportunity
[55:01] So with that I'd like to
[55:07] Any questions
[55:15] thank you
[55:17] I really appreciate this
[55:18] presentation
[55:21] have you guys looked at access
[55:23] to capital once you've done the
[55:24] research on saying here's a
[55:26] here's a need and the demand
[55:28] level in West Virginia it can be
[55:28] met
[55:31] now you need an entrepreneur
[55:32] who's going to be able to go out
[55:33] and access capital is where is
[55:34] that next step addressed yet?
[56:06] So when you're when you're
[56:07] talking to banks is it across
[56:09] the state is it just a couple of
[56:10] them you don't have to tell us
[56:11] which one they are and the
[56:12] reason I ask is because
[56:15] in my private life there's a
[56:17] lot of banking relationships we
[56:18] have and when things those needs
[56:19] come up they will sometimes
[56:21] reach out and say hey you might
[56:22] want to look into this type
[56:22] thing
[56:26] I would encourage that part of
[56:27] it because I was there's there's
[56:29] a million ideas and you guys are
[56:30] really going through and and
[56:31] getting the plan to implement an
[56:32] idea
[56:34] in one of the biggest challenges
[56:35] I think we face once we get to
[56:36] that spot in west Virginia is
[56:37] having
[56:40] access to capital to get it done
[56:40] here
[56:41] so it's
[56:45] if if you're finding barriers as
[56:47] you go along along that path
[56:48] it'd be I'd be interested in
[56:48] hearing what those barriers are
[56:59] right thank you gentlemen very
[57:00] much.
[57:03] Is there any other business to
[57:04] come before the committee
[57:08] OK they bring no further
[57:09] business before the committee. I
[57:10] recognize the co-chair. madamir,
[57:11] I move that the meeting be
[57:13] adjourned. All those in favor
[57:14] say aye.
[57:16] those opposed no in the opinion
[57:17] of the chair the ayes have it
[57:18] the meeting is adjourned. Thank
[57:19] you everyone.