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ARC In the Region, a weekly snapshot of news, announcements and other tidbits from the Appalachian Regional Commission
ARC NEWS ROUND-UP  |  SEPTEMBER 15, 2016

In this Issue

 
• ARC Spotlight
• Appalachia in the News
• Investments in Action
• Upcoming Events

ARC SPOTLIGHT

ARC Invests $1.78 Million to Strengthen Western North Carolina’s Economy
Map showing location of ARC's grant investments in Appalachian North Carolina, September 2016.
This week, ARC announced nearly $1.8 million to strengthen North Carolina’s economy by expanding manufacturing training programs and bolstering rural wi-fi capabilities. With these investments, the state’s Isothermal Community College and Southwestern Community College will be able to develop robust curricula and technical training in manufacturing related to the automotive and aerospace industries, and ten rural communities in western North Carolina will be able to offer enhanced wi-fi services to visitors, residents, and students. ARC Federal Co-Chair Earl Gohl was in Spindale, North Carolina, with North Carolina Commerce Secretary John Skvarla, North Carolina Secretary of Information Technology Keith Werner, and North Carolina Assistant Secretary for Rural Economic Development Pat Mitchell for the announcement.

“Creating strong curricula and training programs in the automotive and aerospace industries, and expanding wi-fi capabilities in rural communities, will bring new opportunities to North Carolina’s families and communities,” said Gohl. “These investments will help North Carolina’s Appalachian counties compete in a global economy.”
 

APPALACHIA IN THE NEWS
Western North Carolina Communities Receive $1.8M in Grants, Citizen-Times, Asheville, North Carolina

Appalachian Sustainable Development (ASD) Gets Grant to Help Coal-Affected Communities, Bristol Herald Courier, Bristol, Virginia

Launchpad Offers $100,000 for Shoals Startups, Times Daily, Florence, Alabama

Needing Students, Appalachian Colleges Reach out to Fast-Growing Hispanic Population, Hechinger Report

Commentary: For Appalachia's Hillbillies, More Than an Elegy, Chicago Tribune
Aspire Appalachia Collaborations in Rural Development

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www.arc.gov

INVESTMENTS IN ACTION
Partnerships in Pennsylvania Promote Tourism
Pennsylvania’s Appalachian counties are fostering unique partnerships to leverage the region’s natural and cultural assets. The Pennsylvania Wilds Center, a public-private partnership growing Pennsylvania’s natural and heritage tourism industry across twelve counties, recently received ARC support through the POWER Initiative to continue capitalizing on the area’s nature-tourism assets. Visitor spending in the twelve counties of the Pennsylvania Wilds is nearly $1.7 billion annually. On a smaller scale, the ribbon was cut this week on the new Raystown Lake Mountain Bike Skills Park in Huntingdon County. Supported by ARC, this two-acre park is the latest addition to the Allegrippis Trail System (ATS) at Raystown Lake, a 33-mile network of world-renowned mountain bike trails owned by the Army Corps of Engineers, leased to the Friends of Raystown Lake organization and maintained by the Raystown Mountain Bicycling Association. The park will allow riders to practice their mountain biking skills before heading deeper into the ATS. Since the ATS opened in 2009, surrounding hotel and campground occupancies have spiked over 100 percent and local lodging revenues have increased over $43 million. 
The new Raystown Lake Mountain Bike Skills Park in Huntingdon County, Pennsylvania, will attract more visitors to the Allegrippis Trail System.

UPCOMING EVENTS
Appalachian Food Summit
Berea, Kentucky
September 16–17, 2016
Big Ideas Fest for Appalachia
Hazard, Kentucky
September 16, 2016
SOAR Health Hackathon
Somerset, Kentucky
October 6–8, 2016
Global Appalachia Workshop
Washington, D.C.
October 24–26, 2016
 
The Appalachian Regional Commission (ARC) is an economic development agency of the federal government and 13 state governments focusing on 420 counties across the Appalachian Region. ARC’s mission is to innovate, partner, and invest to build community capacity and strengthen economic growth in Appalachia to help the Region achieve socioeconomic parity with the nation.
Appalachian Regional Commission
1666 Connecticut Avenue, NW, Suite 700
Washington, DC 20009-1068
www.arc.gov   |   info@arc.gov

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