t is hard to believe but the moment we have all worked so hard for is
almost here. In only two more days, we will be welcoming nearly 400 of
our state’s most influential people in economic development, the arts,
education and business to Huntington, WV for the Create WV Conference.
You are probably already seeing the fruits of some of our labor -
statewide press coverage for Huntington, the wonderful artwork in
downtown windows, the street banners. Everyone has worked very hard -
we are truly blessed to live in a community that pulls together for an
important opportunity like this.

But there is still work to do! We still need you to “show up and show
off” over the next several days as our community rolls out the red
carpet for our guests. Here are some specific needs:

VOLUNTEERS NEEDED TO HANG ART BANNERS SATURDAY – Marshall University
artist students have designed some incredible artistic banners and
they need to be hung all over downtown before our guests arrive. A
group of volunteers will be meeting at 1:00 on Saturday to get this
done – if you can volunteer, please contact Byron Clercx at
clercx@marshall.edu.

DOWNTOWN CLEAN-UP VOLUNTEERS NEEDED – Our Litter Gitter friends are
planning a downtown clean up on Saturday to make sure that we are in
tip-top shape for our guests on Sunday. If you would like to help with
this effort, please contact Richard Cobb at richardcobbsr@comcast.net.

VOLUNTEERS NEEDED TO HELP WITH REGISTRATION – The Convention and
Visitor’s Bureau is assisting with staffing the conference
registration table Sunday-Tuesday. If you can volunteer a block of
time to help with this effort, please contact Tyson Compton at
tyson@wvvisit.org.

VOLUNTEERS NEEDED TO WELCOME PARTICIPANTS – Volunteers are needed
throughout the conference to welcome participants, help provide
directions and provide other hospitality needs. If you can volunteer a
block of time Sunday-Tuesday, please contact Julie Hewett at
jkhewett@julnet.com.

HELP SPREAD THE WORD ABOUT MOUNTAIN STAGE – There are plenty of
tickets left for the Sunday evening Mountain Stage concert featuring
Kathy Mattea. We need to get the word out to the community that ANYONE
can attend this event, and tickets are $20 each. Please invite your
friends, send an e-mail or post something about the Mountain Stage
Concert on your Facebook page or on Twitter. For more information
about the musical guests, Mountain Stage and the Sunday night
schedule, go to www.mountainstage.org.

And last, but not least – if you still need to register for the
conference, do it today! As a reminder, Create Huntington volunteers
working on the conference can register at a special rate of $99 – a
substantial savings over the regular cost of $299 for registration.
Register online at www.createwv.com.

See you at the conference!!