Morgantown Dominion Post
17 April 2007
By Evelyn Ryan
Bob Gay/The Dominion Post - West Virginia first lady Gayle Manchin visits one of the displays at the Mon River Summit before delivering the luncheon address at the event Monday.
First lady Gayle Manchin, harkening back to her days as a schoolteacher, proclaimed "E" the letter of the day for the 2007 Monongahela River Summit on Monday.
"You want to think about the impact" of what you do on "the environment, economic development, education and education leaders," she said to about 70 people at the summit luncheon.
She was one of two keynote speakers at the summit who stressed the need to involve the community in planning the vision of the future look of the riverfront.
And money isn't necessarily the key to achieve what you want, Manchin said.
"It's not really all about the money," she said. "It's about the commitment and dedication of people; their relationship and the fact they share a vision."
A truly successful project, one that sustains itself and grows, is not dependent on one leader, she said, it is one where every person involved is a leader.
"To really sustain and empower a project, you need many leaders," Manchin said. "It's about how you engage everyone in the community, and how you create this vision. When it happens as it did in Morgantown, you have growth."
She did not directly address issues involving the Monongahela River. The Manchins know area rivers first-hand. They have a home on the Tygart Valley River, just above where it meets the West Fork to form the Monongahela, and spent time on the river before her husband, Gov. Joe Manchin, was elected to state office.
Jim Bowen, vice president of RiverCity Co., Chattanooga, Tenn., was the other speaker. He helped spearhead the revival of a defunct riverfront for this Tennessee River community.
He cataloged the steps that were taken, starting in 1986 when RiverCity was formed, to create the spectacular multimillion-dollar Tennessee RiverPark - a major attraction for tourists as well as residents. Since 1990, more than $2 billion has been invested in the Chattanooga riverfront.
"The vision has to be your vision," Bowen stressed. Your local community "has to be involved in implementing your plan.
"You need to have a public process, and it has to be a meaningful public process. Get everyone's ideas."
Developing a plan is easy, he said, implementing can be difficult.
"To do things right, you need to plan correctly with the community, design well, build well, and maintain, manage and secure it well, and program it well," he said.
By programming for the community, you cause the community to develop the habit of coming down to the riverfront, he said.
The 2007 Monongahela River Summit is a collaborative effort of the Morgantown Area Chamber of Commerce, the Community Visions Foundation and its Monongahela River Recreation and Commerce Committee, and the Upper Monongahela River Association. This is the second year for the summit.