The Register-Herald
Published: March 28, 2006

INNOVA group to offer business programs in Beckley this spring

The INNOVA Commercialization Group, an initiative of the West Virginia High Technology Consortium Foundation, will offer programs developed by the Kauffman Foundation of Kansas City in Beckley this spring.

In cooperation with the Corridor L West Virginia Spring Tourism Conference, INNOVA will present a "Listening to Your Business^™" workshop to those attending the conference today at The Resort at Glade Springs.

For entrepreneurs or business persons not involved in the tourism industry or not attending the Corridor L conference, INNOVA also will present the workshop from 1 to 5 p.m. April 5 at the Workforce Center in Beckley. The workshop will be facilitated by Scott Rotruck, chairman of the West Virginia Tourism Commission.

"We have attracted many small businesses to our conference, and I believe these entrepreneurs and businesses will greatly benefit from the FastTrac^® program," said Cindy Dragan, assistant director of the New River Convention and Visitors Bureau and a member of the Corridor L conference planning committee. "We want to do whatever we can to help make businesses in this region successful and the education this program provides will be invaluable to conference attendees."

Listening to Your Business^™ is a hands-on, facilitated workshop designed to provide entrepreneurs and business managers with the critical evaluation tools and action steps they need to maximize the growth and profitability of their businesses.

William J. Loope, executive director of Region 1 WorkForce West Virginia, said entrepreneurs and business people from southeastern West Virginia who participated in the FastTrac^® program offered last year were encouraged and inspired to make their businesses and the region more successful.

"The group that participated in the FastTrac^® program last year graduated with a more insightful perspective of the businesses where they work or the businesses they own," Loope said. "By learning about all aspects of business operations, listening to and interacting with guest speakers who are successful business people, and learning from a program that has a proven track record, participants in the Beckley program are enthusiastic and determined to make their businesses successful. These graduates have gone on to be an active and driving force in improving the business climate in this region, and I believe that all started with FastTrac^®."

The third FastTrac^® program offered in Beckley will be FastTrac® GrowthVenture^™, which will begin April 27. The program is held one evening each week for 10 weeks at the WorkForce Center and targets those people involved in existing enterprises who want to improve the performance of their businesses. The program features new content and action steps to help these business people sharpen their strategic thinking and decision-making skills as they plan for the growth of their businesses.

The 10th annual Corridor L Spring Tourism Conference will begin with registration and breakfast at 7:30 a.m. The FastTrac^® session is one of a full slate of activities throughout the day, culminating with a presentation by Bill Geist of Zgeist Consulting at 4 p.m., a reception and dinner.

For more, visit www.newrivercvb.com/corridorL.html.