ELKINS — Close to 40 people braved the winter weather conditions on Wednesday morning to attend the inaugural “Elkins-Randolph Together: A Community Conversation” at Orchard Hall.

The event was hosted by the Elkins-Randolph County Chamber of Commerce, Elkins Main Street, and the Randolph County Development Authority.

Wednesday’s event was the first of six such gatherings planned for 2024, and focused on “Housing in Randolph County.” The gathering was open to the public and sponsored by Davis Health Systems.

The panel included representatives from the Randolph County Housing Authority, Woodlands Development and Lending, the HomeOwnership Center, and Catholic Charities of West Virginia. Mike Bell, chair of both the Housing Authority and Chamber boards, facilitated the conversation.

“The first gathering went great, particularly since we had such bad weather on Wednesday morning,” Elkins-Randolph County Chamber Director Lisa Wood told The Inter-Mountain. “We were really happy to see a relatively large crowd, and people were very interested in the topic of housing. We had some developers at the session as well as some people who were seeking to purchase homes in the area.”

Wood said the topic of housing being tied to the workforce was one of the main items discussed during the event.

“We can’t entice new workforce in the county without adequate housing,” Wood said. “So many of our businesses, especially the larger ones like Davis Medical Center, Davis & Elkins College, 22nd Century Technologies, and the larger manufacturing places, are concerned with housing for their employees.That topic was among the several that was brought up — it was a really good meeting.”

Housing data was presented by the panelists in attendance, and audience members were given the opportunity to ask questions and share thoughts about housing needs and development in Randolph County. In addition, audience members completed a survey at the end of the meeting that included a space for suggestions for other future conversation topics.

The conversation for the next session in March is set and will focus on entrepreneurship. Details about the time and venue for the gathering will be announced soon, officials said.

“We are looking forward to the other five conversations we plan on having in 2024,” Wood said.

“Since we are not holding the Elkins Entrepreneurs Expo (E3) this year like we have the past two years, we want March’s conversation to be about entrepreneurship. That gathering will be a good opportunity for people who are considering opening or expanding businesses. And it gives us the opportunity to find out from those people what they would like to see for a possible E3 Expo in 2025.”

The community conversations are scheduled to take place on the second Wednesday of every other month.

The community is invited to attend the events free of charge, and no registration is necessary to participate. 

For more information about the events, contact the Chamber, Elkins Main Street, or the Development Authority at 304-637-7500.