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The City of Weirton recently released a series of videos in an renewed effort to market the area.
The videos, which included glimpses of local business, community events, development efforts, and more, were produced in cooperation with the National League of Cities (of which Weirton is a member) and CGI Digital.
This is the third time city officials have put together such a marketing campaign, and those wishing to do so may view the videos on the city’s website.
There has been much transformation in our area over the years. While many of us still remember the days of Weirton Steel or Wheeling-Pitt bustling and keeping our communities going, we also recognize the steady decline of those industries while realizing there are people now alive (whether born here or having moved to the valley) who have no memories of those "glory" days.
We see new businesses and industries coming in. We see individuals willing to bet on our communities and invest. While, it may not be happening as quickly as we would like, (and there aren’t as many success stories) it is happening.
We see long-standing community activities continue to provide our residents with something to do, while new events are popping up all the time.
With the digital age in which we live, it is all being put out into the world at large, whether through a large, organized marketing effort, or a simple email or social media post.
We have three active chambers of commerce working to support the businesses of Hancock, Brooke, and Jefferson counties, and beyond. We have groups such as the Top of West Virginia Convention and Visitors Bureau, whose mission is to market the region and attract visitors. We have seen investment from the state and federal levels of government through efforts to attract businesses, improve our infrastructure, and put programs in place to draw people from outside of the region.
Those, of course, are the big, organized efforts.
In reality, there’s a lot we each are doing to showcase our region.
This newspaper, and other local media outlets, report on the events of the Ohio Valley on a daily basis. We let people - local and otherwise - know of the comings and goings, the school events, the chamber of commerce activities, the government actions, and more to help keep everyone as informed as possible.
The days of only those who have this newspaper delivered to their home, or those who pick one up at the store, being in the know are long gone. We have had a website established, in some form, for more than 20 years. We’ve been active on social media since at least 2009. Anybody with any interest can access those platforms and see some of what’s going on here.
Each of you with an online presence has a similar potential. Everything you put out into the cyber world is available for viewing in some form. For good or bad, for better or worse, the word gets out there faster than many of us ever thought possible, through words, photos, and video.
It all promotes the area. People have such an opportunity to see what goes on here, our thoughts, our actions and our reactions. They form an opinion based on what they see and hear.
I, of course, would never condone sanitizing that image, or the information put out into the ether. Bad things happen along with the good. There needs to be a clear picture of everything that goes on in an area.
It’s just interesting to think that each of us has such an opportunity or ability to potentially shape our future.