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BOWDEN -- A local businesswoman was one of the speakers at the West Virginia Governor's Conference on Tourism.
Marsha Waybright, who operates three local businesses -- Laurel River Club Bed & Breakfast, Laurel Fork Farm and the West Virginia School of Traditional Skills -- spoke at the conference, which took place Sept. 10 -13 at Canaan Valley Resort.
Waybright said she "attributes most of our success from something my grandmother passed on to me. Like most West Virginians, she was blessed with a heapin' helpin' of hospitality and I watched her take care of people my whole life. You couldn't go to her house without eating something. She was always cooking and always serving."
Waybright said she is helped by every member of her family, especially with the West Virginia School of Traditional Skills, which she founded "in order to help people reconnect to nature and farm life."
She said her motivation for creating a bed & breakfast was "not only to preserve the house, which is the last house left standing from the town of Jenningston, but to also preserve the rich history of the town."
In just three years of operation, she has provided lodging for people from more than 40 countries and 41 states. The bed & breakfast has a 9.5 out of 10 star rating from Booking.com; a 4.97 out of 5 star rating from Airbnb; and has received the Superhost award every year since opening.
Waybright was also recently awarded the 2023 West Virginia Women in Agriculture Award at the West Virginia State Fair.
"My family and I have followed our passions with our focus on agritourism and education for the Bed & Breakfast and other businesses," Waybright said. "That's who we are, what we are good at. Find your passion and incorporate it into a place you love."
The conference provided education and networking opportunities for tourism professionals of all backgrounds to collaborate on different tourism projects across the state. Gov. Jim Justice said that West Virginia "has so much to offer from a tourism standpoint, it's off the chart."
The governor placed an emphasis on small businesses, such as the ones Waybright operates.
Waybright is a certified dog trainer and also trains service and therapy animals. She hopes to visit nursing homes and other venues with animals to provide comfort and aid to those with physical or mental health conditions.
Waybright's son, Collin, is the youngest Master Class Falconer in the state of West Virginia and his wife, Tiffany, is a photographer. Waybright's oldest daughter, Kendra, trains cattle and horses to use for therapy work, while youngest daughter Josie trains cats, bantam chickens and rabbits for therapy use. Waybright said she and her husband, Kendall, "teach everything from birthing to butchering animals, planting, harvesting, and preserving food."
For more information, visit www.lrcbnb.com or call 304-402-7095.