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Appalachian Regional Commission Economic Diversification Awards

Project Summaries—January 2017

Implementation Award Summaries

$3,500,000 ARC grant to Big Sandy Community and Technical College in Prestonsburg, KY, for the 

Eastern Kentucky Coal County Transformation project. The ARC award will enable three easternKentucky education institutions—Big Sandy, Hazard Community and Technical College, and Southeast 

Kentucky Community and Technical College—to launch a comprehensive, employer-driven workforce 

development program focused on building the digital economy and strengthening digital innovation and 

entrepreneurship across a 16-county region in eastern Kentucky. The consortium—in partnership with 

Shaping Our Appalachian Region (SOAR) and the Eastern Kentucky Concentrated Employment Program 

(EKCEP)—will establish educational programs that develop workforce skills in emerging regional career 

clusters such as cybersecurity, medical coding, and advanced manufacturing. The program will 

specifically engage dislocated workers from the coal industry through targeted advertisements, and will 

provide adult basic education as needed to ensure that these individuals can participate in the training

courses. In addition, to support the development of a technology-driven economy beyond classroom 

training, the program will identify and promote a number of digital innovation hubs, providing facilities 

and resources to encourage entrepreneurial activities. Success coaches will be available to instill critical 

21st-century skills and provide support to nascent technology workers, and a regional committee will be 

established to monitor industry trends and best practices. The project will serve 300 trainees and 

improve the operations of 30 existing businesses in the first two years of the award, and will lay the 

groundwork for the development of a vibrant and lasting digital economy in eastern Kentucky.

$1,920,000 ARC grant to Bevill State Community College in Jasper, AL, for the Bevill State Community 

College POWER 2016 Initiative. The project will create a new Rapid Training Center at Bevill State’s 

Jasper campus that will serve as a regional workforce training and job placement hub in northwest 

Alabama—an area that has been adversely affected by the recent retirement of coal-fired power 

generation facilities and the closure of multiple coal mines. The Rapid Training Center will offer 

accelerated workforce training programs that provide industry-recognized credentials in six growing

regional industries: welding, commercial trucking, rigging, hydraulics/pneumatics, healthcare, and print 

reading. Through a partnership with the Alabama Department of Labor, individuals directly impacted by 

the decline in coal production will be offered up to $1,000 in scholarships and stipends to move them 

through the Center’s retraining programming in the most efficient manner possible. In addition, Bevill 

State is partnering with the AARP to tailor a portion of the retraining and placement support for 

individuals who are 50+ years old. The project will train 4,000 trainees over the life of the award, and 

will improve 40 existing businesses in the region.

$1,500,810 ARC grant to West Alabama Works (WAW) – Region 3 Workforce Development Council in 

Tuscaloosa, AL, for the WAW 2020 Initiative. The project will deliver job training services to fill critical 

regional workforce needs in the rapidly growing automotive and advanced manufacturing industries in 

western Alabama—an area that has been adversely affected by the changing economics of the regional 

coal economy. WAW has partnered with Mercedes Benz to develop a specific recruitment and training 

plan for positions in mechatronics and industrial maintenance at their facilities in the area. In addition,
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the project will create a “pop-up” Community Resource Center in Brookwood, AL, to serve as a hub for 

community engagement; renovate the Brookwood Technical High School and Training Center to offer 

credentialing services to students at four regional high schools for employment in hospitality and 

culinary arts, healthcare, and advanced manufacturing; and, through a partnership with Energy Alabama 

and the Alabama Automotive Manufacturer’s Association, develop business-specific plans that will 

speed the adoption of sustainable energy in Alabama’s automotive industry. The project will train 1,000 

dislocated workers and credential 500 students over the life of the award.

$1,500,000 ARC grant to Hazard Community and Technical College (HCTC) in Hazard, KY, for the

Intergenerational Training Center. ARC funds will be used to construct a 14,700 square foot facility at 

HCTC’s Lees College Campus in Jackson, KY, that will deliver job training and credentialing courses 

focused around four emerging regional career clusters: information technology, telemedicine and health 

sciences, mechatronics, and eco-tourism/small business development. The project will leverage the 

capacity of the Eastern Kentucky Concentrated Employment Inc. (EKCEP) and the Kentucky Career 

Center to promote and market the program to out-of-school youth and displaced and underemployed 

workers impacted by the decline in the coal industry. The project will serve a seven-county area in 

southeastern Kentucky, and will train 295 dislocated workers and credential 228 students over the life of 

the award.

$1,500,000 ARC grant to the Marshall University Research Corporation in Huntington, WV, for the 

Appalachian Hatchery project. The program, operated through the Robert C. Byrd Institute, will assist 

specific businesses affected by the decline in coal production return to profitability through the 

adoption and deployment of emerging advanced manufacturing technologies—primarily 3D printing and 

additive manufacturing. In addition, the program will provide other business assistance services, 

including shared equipment options, modern workforce development strategies, and the establishment 

of better linkages between large and small manufacturers. The program will serve a 20-county region—

including 13 Distressed or At-Risk counties—in southern West Virginia, will create or retain 375 jobs, and 

will leverage $750,000 in private investment. Additional funding is being provided by the Claude 

Worthington Benedum Foundation.

$1,325,655 ARC grant to the Marshall University Research Corporation in Huntington, WV, for the 

Sustainable Employment for Community Health Workers in Coal-Impacted Counties project. The ARC 

award will create permanent jobs for at least 26 Community Health Workers (CHWs)—who will provide 

healthcare coordination services directly to high-risk patients in coal-impacted communities across 10 

counties in southeastern Ohio, eastern Kentucky, and central West Virginia. CHWs will be a critical 

component of the local care team, supervised by a Registered Nurse and Nurse Practitioner or other 

clinician. Their inclusion in the regional healthcare workforce will streamline the provision of healthcare 

services; increase health outcomes for patients suffering from diabetes, congestive heart failure, and 

COPD—diseases that are disproportionately common in Appalachia; and ultimately drive down the 

overall cost of healthcare in the service territory. In addition to the 26 permanent jobs created, the 

project will serve 625 patients and leverage $780,000 over the life of the award. Additional funding is 

being provided by the Sisters Health Foundation and the Claude Worthington Benedum Foundation.

$1,307,650 ARC grant to the Southwest Virginia Alliance for Manufacturing, Inc., in Abingdon, VA, for 

The Heart of Appalachia Economic Transition Project. The project will align the grantee—a non-profit 

industry association of manufacturers from southwest Virginia—local workforce development boards, 

and the Virginia Manufacturing Extension Partnership (MEP) Center to deliver business technical 

assistance to coal supply chain manufacturers in an effort to return them to profitability. The project will 
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conduct outreach to prospective companies in the 16-county southwest Virginia service territory, and 

perform network analysis that will allow for participating companies to retool their manufacturing 

efforts in the most feasible, cost-effective manner possible. In addition, the project will increase the 

number of young adults pursuing careers in manufacturing by redefining the image and value of 

manufacturing among young people, their parents, their educators, and policy makers. The award will 

create 300 jobs and retain 200 existing jobs, and will positively impact the operations of 58 existing 

businesses.

$1,290,000 ARC grant to Maysville Community and Technical College (MCTC) in Maysville, KY, for the KYWV Regional Drone Technology Workforce Project. MCTC will partner with Southern West Virginia 

Community and Technical College to deliver comprehensive training courses in small-air drone 

operation to a seven-county area in southern West Virginia and a 13-county area in northeastern 

Kentucky. Specific training activities will enable graduates to operate drones and drone sensors to 

provide in-demand commercial services—such as the close-up inspection of fixed structures like power 

lines, utility poles, and cell phone towers. The project will serve 100 trainees over the two-year life of 

the award, will leverage $14,000,000 in private investment, and will, in conjunction with a previous ARC 

POWER award, further strengthen the emerging drone industry cluster in the West Virginia-KentuckyVirginia tri-state area.

$1,250,000 ARC grant to the Kentucky Highlands Investment Corporation in London, KY, for the 

Kentucky Highlands Employment and Financial Training Program. The ARC award will capitalize a loan 

fund to enable Kentucky Highlands to invest in local entrepreneurs at both the start-up and expansion 

stages of companies located across 21 southeastern Kentucky counties. In addition, ARC’s award will 

engage the Appalachian Community Federal Credit Union (ACFCU) to expand their portfolio of financial 

literacy services to the project’s service territory. Specifically, ACFCU programs will increase financial 

knowledge, security, and wellness through the provision of credit builder loans, debt consolidation 

loans, payday alternative loans, affordable non-prime auto loans, and 80/20 mortgage loans. The project 

will create or retain 200 jobs and leverage $2,250,000 in private investment.

$1,213,868 ARC grant to the Southern Alleghenies Planning and Development Commission (SAPDC) in 

Altoona, PA, for the Southern Alleghenies Entrepreneurial Ecosystem project. The project will strengthen 

the entrepreneurial ecosystem of a three-county region in southwestern Pennsylvania through the 

provision of a wide array of diverse, wrap-around business support services, facilitated via business 

coaches and mentors. In addition, the award will renovate several existing entrepreneurial spaces in the 

region where much of the programmatic activity will take place. The project will create 125 new jobs 

and 25 new businesses, and will leverage $3,750,000 in private investment.

$1,200,000 ARC grant to the United Mine Workers of America (UMWA) Career Centers Inc. in Prosperity, 

PA, for the New Start Retraining Initiative for Displaced Coal Industry Workers project. The ARC award 

will deliver workforce training and job placement services to unemployed coal mine workers in eight 

southwest Pennsylvania counties and two southern West Virginia counties. UMWA will partner with the 

Pittsburgh Institute of Aeronautics, the Allegany College of Maryland, and Pennsylvania Highlands 

Community College to design and implement training programs in strategic regional career sectors 

including commercial trucking, cybersecurity, and advanced manufacturing. Training will be 

complemented by job placement and other wraparound support to ensure that each trainee has 

maximum potential for securing employment. The project will serve 400 trainees over the life of the 

award.
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$1,073,304 ARC grant to the West Virginia Regional Technology Park Corporation in South Charleston, 

WV, for the Green Mining Model Business Program. The project brings 17 public and private partners 

together to operate a system of linked activities designed to use reclaimed soils on inactive surface 

mining land to grow value-added crops; extract high-value products from these crops and market/sell 

them; and leverage land reclamation, crop cultivation, and chemical extraction and processing activities 

to provide displaced coal and energy industry workers across 13 West Virginia counties with training, 

employment, and entrepreneurial opportunities. The project will focus primarily on training these 

displaced workers to farm and cultivate lavender—during a demonstration of the project, it was 

discovered that cultivation of 2.5 acres of lavender supported the direct and indirect employment of 25 

individuals. The WV National Guard and coal company partners will donate free or reduced-cost land 

and land preparation assistance to the project, and the West Virginia Regional Technology Park will 

provide access to its multi-million dollar chemical manufacturing facilities. The project will create 250 

direct and indirect jobs, leverage $459,987 private investment, and create six new businesses.

Additional funding for will be provided by the Claude Worthington Benedum Foundation.

$1,000,000 ARC grant to the Federation of Appalachian Housing Enterprises (FAHE) in Berea, KY, for the 

UPLIFT Appalachia Recovery project. The ARC award will be used to finance three community recovery

facilities that will support residents’ recovery from addiction, provide needed health services, and create 

job opportunities in coal-impacted communities. These facilities will primarily serve three eastern 

Kentucky counties—each of which is located within the federally designated USDA Strike Force Zone.

Specifically, the award will facilitate the development of a housing facility in Louisa, KY, that works with 

patients for 2–3 years and focuses on transitioning them from the center’s care directly into an 

internship or job; assist in the creation of a 100-bed facility in Somerset, KY, that employs a peer-based 

care model in which patients in different stages of recovery work together to get and remain sober; and 

enable an existing facility in Jackson, KY, to expand their services to an additional 990 people, to build a 

dental clinic, and to partner with the University of Pikeville for optometry care. The award will serve 

5,060 patients, create or retain 63 jobs, and will leverage investment from USDA’s Uplift America 

program and private investors.

$950,000 ARC grant to Mountain Empire Community College (MECC) in Big Stone Gap, VA, for the Power 

Linemen Career Education program. MECC will partner with regional power industry employers to 

develop and implement a training curriculum that equips participants across a four-county area in 

southwest Virginia for entry-level employment as apprentice utility line workers and positions them for 

a career as journeyman-level power lineman. The project will also partner with the Flatwoods Job Corps 

Center’s in order to utilize their outdoor instructional facilities. The project will serve 362 trainees over 

the life of the award.

$948,673 ARC grant to Somerset County, PA, for the Somerset County Fiber Extension Project. ARC funds 

will be used to install 22 miles of fiber optic cable on existing pole lines that will allow a variety of 

business, residential, medical, and educational customers in Somerset County access to broadband 

services. The area does not currently have cable broadband available and DSL service is not offered 

ubiquitously. The project will serve 1,094 businesses and 3,962 households, and will act as an economic 

and tourism driver in the county.

$856,050 ARC grant to the West Virginia Healthy Kids and Family Coalition (HKFC) in Charleston, WV, for 

the Growing Social Enterprise and Healthy Communities project. HKFC will expand the successful Try This 

WV economic and community development program to 15 local communities in the service territory—

which will enable them to phase-in second stage development activities designed to improve 
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community vitality and health. Simultaneously, Strong Mountain Communities, a southern West Virginia 

economic development organization, will build a pre-market social enterprise development program 

and create an Investors’ Circle; combined, these two activities will deliver technical assistance directly to 

social entrepreneurs, and will raise capital to invest in the creation and expansion of local social

enterprises. The project will serve 23 counties in southern West Virginia, create 100 jobs, leverage 

$1,200,000 in private and community financing, and will provide for 200 entrepreneurs and community 

leaders to receive in-depth technical assistance. 

$800,000 ARC grant to Virginia Community Capital in Christiansburg, VA, for the New Economy Loan 

Fund project. The project—which will leverage the capacity of a variety of regional governments, 

education institutions, and business incubators—will provide needed capital and targeted technical 

assistance to small business owners in coal-impacted communities across nine counties in southwest 

Virginia. Specifically, ARC funds will assist in capitalizing a loan fund that will support small business

development in the service area, and will enable a full-time technical assistance provider to deliver 

business assistance directly to entrepreneurs to build the knowledge and skills for continued profitability 

and sustainability. The project will create or retain 55 jobs, enable 17 businesses to receive loans and 30 

businesses to receive technical assistance, and leverage $4,800,000 in private capital. 

$653,400 ARC grant to the Washington Greene County Job Training Agency, Inc., in Washington, PA, for 

the Transitioning from Black to Blue: Training Former Coal Workers for Natural Gas Utility and Pipeline 

Careers in Appalachia project. The ARC award will provide a targeted retraining program for displaced 

coal workers that enables them to pursue local employment in the natural gas utility and pipeline 

industry. The training courses will be offered at three regional education institutions—Butler County 

Community College, Westmoreland County Community College, and Washington State Community 

College. The curriculum includes input from the Gas Technology Institute to ensure that participants’

knowledge and skill development is industry-standard and best positions them to find stable 

employment in an expedited manner. The project will primarily serve a 23-county area in southeast 

Ohio and southwest Pennsylvania, and will serve 100 trainees.

$500,000 ARC grant to the City of Whitesburg, KY, for the Whitesburg Daniel Boone Hotel Stabilization 

project. ARC funds will be utilized to make immediate and urgent repairs to stabilize the historic, brick 

Daniel Boone Hotel—which represents the city’s rise after the arrival of railroads and the opening of the 

region’s coalfields. The hotel is a central component of Whitesburg’s economic development future and 

revitalization plans. After the structure is stabilized and renovated, it will be a regional destination and 

economic driver. The project will create 23 jobs, leverage $2,000,000 in private investment, and will

attract 9,900 additional visitors annually to the area.

$471,843 ARC grant to the SEDA-Council of Governments in Lewisburg, PA, for the Central PA Asset 

Based Economy—Adaptive Reuse of Coal-Impacted Land and Outdoor Recreation as an Economic Engine

project. ARC funds will be used to position reclaimed mine land in five central Pennsylvania counties as a 

regional outdoor tourism destination. Specifically, the project will construct an EMS/cell tower to 

provide 911 and cellular communications and broadband services to the Anthracite Outdoor Adventure 

Area (AOAA); design and construct 15 miles of new multi-use trails; develop and construct in-facility 

campground infrastructure; provide support for a coordinated marketing campaign focused on the 

region’s tourism options; and provide entrepreneurial assistance activities to build-out the service 

industry around the increased tourism activity in the area. The project will drive 12,000 new visitors 

annually to the area, generate over $18,000,000 in non-export revenue, and create 26 jobs.
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$400,000 ARC grant to the West Virginia University Research Corporation in Morgantown, WV, for the 

Manufacturing Value Stream for Shale project. The project will transition companies and suppliers 

affected by the downturn in the coal economy toward the emerging shale-manufacturing sector by 

providing direct economic diversification and investment assistance. The applicant—partnering with the 

Manufacturing Extension Partnership (MEP) Centers in West Virginia, Pennsylvania, and Ohio—will 

identify specific companies in the tri-state service area with shale-manufacturing assets and 

opportunities; assess participating companies’ prospective entry points into the shale-manufacturing 

value stream; and deliver direct guidance to SMEs on value chain opportunities. The award will create 

400 new jobs and 12 new businesses. Additional funding is being provided the by Claude Worthington 

Benedum Foundation.

$300,000 ARC grant to Woodlands Community Lenders (WCL) in Elkins, WV, for the Financing 

Entrepreneurship in Randolph, Barbour and Tucker Counties project. The ARC award will expand WCL’s 

proven, comprehensive set of services to the tri-county area of Randolph, Barbour, and Tucker Counties 

in northeast West Virginia. Specifically, the project will deliver program participants services focused 

around small business development, real estate and downtown redevelopment, innovative financing of 

entrepreneurs, and finance packaging. WCL will work closely with local small business development 

center business coaches, and with Main Street/OnTRAC staff to provide technical assistance to 

borrowers. The project will create 100 jobs and 25 businesses, and will leverage $1,100,000 in additional 

private investment.

Technical Assistance Award Summaries

$100,000 ARC grant to the Northwest PA Regional Planning and Development Commission in Oil City, 

PA, for technical assistance to develop a feasibility study for broadband access in the Northwest 

Pennsylvania region. The Northwest PA Broadband Assessment project will include capacity building 

among regional partners, identify gaps in high-speed internet infrastructure, and recommend solutions 

to improve internet connectivity among residents and local business. State sources will provide an 

additional $86,047 to support the project. 

$100,000 ARC grant to Jobs for the Future (JFF) in Boston, MA, for the Career Online High School: A 

Leapfrog Strategy for Appalachian Communities project. JFF will partner with Cengage Learning to 

eliminate high school completion barriers for individuals in Appalachian states and help them progress 

along learning and career paths. Key to the project's success will be the integration of a cutting edge 

high school diploma completion model with educational and career pathway strategies and supports to

ensure long term workforce and economic opportunity for students. Through a competitive process, JFF 

will work with coal-impacted communities from Kentucky, Tennessee, and West Virginia to help 

students complete high school and secure in-demand jobs. The project will train 40 students and expose 

1,000 participants to the high school completion program.

$99,670 ARC grant to Appalachian Voices in Norton, VA, for the Southwest Virginia Renewable Energy 

and Economy Project. The project will conduct a feasibility study, develop a strategic plan, and provide 

capacity building assistance to determine the viability of a renewable energy plan for the Southwest 

Virginia region. The project’s activities will include a structured process for engaging local officials and 

organizations that are interested in renewable energy as part of the region’s economic diversification 

strategy. 
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$77,680 ARC grant to the Alabama Center for Sustainable Energy (ALCSE) d/b/a Energy Alabama in 

Madison, AL, for technical assistance for a study of strategies to develop an advanced energy economy, 

with an emphasis on coal-impacted communities. It will identify the advanced energy industry of the 

coal-impacted areas, the available jobs within that industry, the resources of community colleges to 

support workforce training, and the career centers that can facilitate placement in the advanced energy 

industry of unemployed workers. The project will also support stakeholder engagement to explore and 

harness additional careers in sectors such as aerospace, advanced manufacturing, entrepreneurship, 

healthcare and information technology. Local sources will provide an additional $79,857 to fund the 

project.

$61,603 ARC grant to the Virginia Coalfield Coalition, Inc., for technical assistance to conduct a 

comprehensive assessment of Southwest Virginia’s telecommunication needs, which include identifying 

current levels of service, any gaps in that service, and the affordability of various broadband solutions. 

The Virginia Coalfields Telecommunications Planning Grant will develop a road map to address the 

specific deficiencies in each community and assess building capacity amongst regional partners. Local 

sources will provide an additional $37,757 for the project. 

$50,000 ARC grant to the Armstrong County Industrial Development Council in Freeport, PA, to develop 

an Economic Development strategy for the county. The Armstrong County 2017 POWER Technical 

Assistance project will, in cooperation with local partners, build a road map for shaping the delivery 

system of economic development services and programs in Armstrong County. The plan will look at new 

and existing services, programs and initiatives. Local sources will provide an additional $60,820 for the 

project.

$48,000 ARC grant to Tri-County Council for Western Maryland, Inc., in Frostburg, MD, for technical 

assistance to develop an economic development plan for the I-68 region in Maryland and West Virginia. 

The I-68 Regional Economic Partnership project will include the development of a regional asset map, 

regional labor shed analysis, a target industry list, as well as county and regional lists of 

recommendations. The data and maps developed through the project will serve as resources for 

companies looking to build, hire, or expand in the region. Workforce training and job creation are two 

anticipated outcomes of the project. Local sources will match the $48,000 in project funding provided by 

ARC.

$36,700 ARC grant to Unlimited Future, Inc., in Huntington, WV, for capacity building and development 

of a feasibility study for expansion of local food systems. The Beefing Up the Local Food Economy project 

will support the planning process for a value-added meat processing facility in a local, vacant plant. The 

project will also look at workforce training programs serving the meat business and at expanding market 

opportunities for producers across the region, which includes Kentucky, Ohio, and West Virginia. Local 

sources will contribute an additional $20,000 to the project. 

$34,750 ARC grant to Grayson Land Care, Inc., in Fries, VA, to develop a feasibility study for the 

development of an abattoir, or slaughter house, in the I-81 and I-77 corridor, a region which includes 

parts of Virginia and West Virginia. The Blue Ridge Plateau Abattoir project will, in cooperation with local 

partners, directly support the development and planning tasks needed to launch the facility and 

implement a workforce training program. The proposed abattoir would strengthen the local food system 

and help diversify the regional economy.