Last year a group of five Palestinian journalists made Wheeling, WV  one of their few stops in a cross country trip.  I was pleased to be invited to the meeting at Oglebay Resort along with Juliet Terry of A Vision Shared and Don Rigby of RED.

Late last week a contingent of local leaders met at RED’s headquarters to meet with representatives from the United States Commercial Service about potential business opportunities in Turkey.  In case you hadn’t figured it out yet, this ain’t your daddy’s Wheeling anymore.

If you aren’t from around here, you should understand that “Turkey” has only one meaning to Ohio Valley-ans: the funny looking birds you see walking across your backyard in the morning that have their own hunting season.

For many years, our area – public and private alike – have focused solely on what’s worked in the past without an eye toward the future.  Although, the concept of an open global economy benefiting an area is not new, it’s refreshing to see our leaders exploring these options.

Too often the media and local residents have complained about things like the internet and how other areas are hurting us instead of looking at the opportunities that it presents.  Obviously I’m biased – I’m the president of a WV search marketing firm – but consider us for a minute.  We’re located in Wheeling, WV because we want to be here and our clients come from places like Los Angeles, Pittsburgh, and Chicago (as well as smaller towns in other states – we’re not elitists).

Our company is hardly alone.  Look at compaines like Schedule Star and their offerings for high school football, basketball, soccer, and more high school sports.  Or Orrick servicing their offices from all over the world.  And the list goes on.

Certainly meetings mean nothing if action doesn’t follow, but these meetings are the RIGHT thing to do and I’d like to applaud all involved.

Tags: Don Rigby, exporting, Juliet Terry, Oglebay Resort, Orrick, Palestine, RED, Schedule Star, Turkey, Vision Shared, wheeling wv