Original intro/outro music:
"'Till I See Stars" by The Parachute Brigade
The sun does not always shine in West Virginia but the people always do and I'm delighted to be here.
Brandon Dennison:These are historic times in Appalachia. A lot has changed. A lot is changing now and a lot still needs to change. In our podcast, we talked with change makers right square in the middle of all this working to ensure the changes for the good.
Ashley Stinnett:You're listening to Change in the Coalfields podcast by Coalfield Development. I'm your guest host, Ashley Stinnett. Welcome Notre Dame crew to the podcast. Typically Brandon is sitting in this desk, but I am guest hosting and we will keep this conversation very casual. What was the process? How did you all hear about like, Who are these Coalfield people? Where the heck is Appalachia? Which for the record, it is Appalachia, not Appalachia. What walk us through that? How did you like...Coalfield...Appalachia? What is West Virginia? Why am I going? All that.
Kelly Rubey:Ashley, I know that you said you don't want to be the teacher, you want to be casual, but I am the teacher. So now I'm going to be the teacher. I'd actually love to hear from one of the students first about what their reaction was, you know, they they knew Appalachia and Coalfield Development were part of our front lines in America course. So what were some of those early thoughts that you had? And when you found out that this was the team that you would be on?
Michael Rziha:Yeah, so I did not know that's how you pronounce Appalachia, but forever now, I will just think about throwing apples at people. When I think of Appalachia, so that's perfect.
Ashley Stinnett:Well, wait a minute. And Michael, before you get into this, you're wearing green. Now is this for your alma mater? Or is it for Marshall?
Michael Rziha:I'm gonna go with my alma mater. I was in West Virginia, it was great. I love the people at Marshall, but but I, I am a Notre Dame student through and through. So we're gonna go off...
Ashley Stinnett:and there's nothing wrong with that.
Michael Rziha:So yeah. So, you know, I applied to come to West Virginia. I really did not know much about Appalachia and West Virginia, in general. But, but I've, I've learned a lot through the process. You know, I knew that that West Virginia has had its struggles related to to coal mining and, and the opioid crisis. But but our trip and our project is really, you know, helped me see, I guess how that is truly affecting West Virginia. But but in terms of, of working with Coalfield. Yeah, I wanted to work with it with a company that works with with rural entrepreneurs and people in in rural America and, and the West Virginia project and here with Coalfield, you know, has allowed me to do that and, and I've really enjoyed kind of getting to know more about West Virginia, more about Coalfield and more about how they're working with people in these very small towns with with so many struggles and, and hoping, you know, bring life and energy and passion and pride back in, back into those towns.
Ashley Stinnett:And you all are, the involvement that you've been in with our organization has been invaluable. And we really appreciate that. Why MBA students, you know, grad students is, I've been there and done that you all are very much wiser beyond your years than what I ever was. So just, we deeply appreciate, I mean, there's not a conversation that, you know, we have almost every week or every other week where we don't you know, you all are brought up in that conversation and the great work that you're doing for us, and the level of commitment and care that you're putting into that. So that's a great,
Kelly Rubey:My pleasure is really ours is very much mutual. Please go ahead, Dylan.
Dylan Van Sky:Yeah, I think that's a great moment to give a little bit of a pitch for Notre Dame also, because I don't know, you know, I've spent a lot of time with these guys. I think we're we're pretty fun. I don't know if I would call us a bunch of wise old sages, though. I think more so you know, we we have the privilege of being in, in a program and at a school that really focuses on deploying people that can use their skills and their knowledge for good so that I think it's more than anything, I think it's a great pitch for Notre Dame, even if we're not too great on the gridiron this year.
Ashley Stinnett:I bet you, know what better than what our trajectory is. We were talking right before we came on, you know, little Marshall goes to South Bend (and) wins, which was unheard of. And then we have snatched defeat from the jaws of victory somehow because our season is now not that great. You guys are rebounding.
Patrick In:I don't know, we lost to the 1-4 Stanford team. So..
Ashley Stinnett:Yeah, that's true. That's you know...
Patrick In:We're a little rocky still. So...
Ashley Stinnett:Speaking of football, was there a little bit? Did you guys get a chance to get over to campus? Did you check out Marshall and the stadium - probably significantly smaller than what you're accustomed to? Lots of history here. I don't know if you guys have seen the film - We Are Marshall - but you know, a lot of history with the plane crash here in Huntington. And and that, so? But so so you're, you're now on board with Coalfield. And you arrive for the first time? Because had any of you all been to? Well, I guess had anybody been to West Virginia prior to that, or if you have been to this part of West Virginia, because geographically we're actually a pretty large state.
Patrick In:I'd say West Virginia was a first time for me. It's just funny I being in Huntington, I didn't realize looking across the river both ways - like was Kentucky and Ohio, which I have spent a lot of time there having like been from Indiana, gone to Indiana University. And so it's close to the southern part of the state, which is closer Kentucky, a lot of Ohio people coming through. So I think what shocked me the most coming here was actually like how close it was. And I was like, why haven't been here yet. So yeah, that was first time experience for me, heading down there.
Dylan Van Sky:It's a similar experience for me also. So I don't mean to cut you off. But it's a similar thing for me. I spent four years in Pittsburgh, and I think I had driven through the northern panhandle a couple of times. I played baseball in high school. My conference was in the northern part of West Virginia. So I kind of thought I knew a little bit about West Virginia, but then you come down and it's you know, once you get to be in the southern part of the state, you really can feel the difference for sure.
Ashley Stinnett:It is very different. I mean, geographically, it's pretty spread out. From the southern coal fields all the way over to the eastern panhandle, which you're almost in DC. You know, it's the whole Maryland, Virginia area. People sound totally different when you get up north to the you know, like I've got a buddy that lives up in Hancock County, in a little town called Chester. And he is actually geographically north of Pittsburgh, he actually has to drive down to get to Pittsburgh, he's only about 40-45 minutes away. They all sound like Northern Ohio, you know, they got that whole accent going on. And then you get down here and everybody sounds like me and so it's all scattered. A lot of people, a lot of people outside looking in don't realize that they probably just think everybody sounds like I do. But not true. Not true.
Patrick In:It's really interesting to see just because like...so I'm from Northern Indiana. I grew up 30 minutes from Notre Dame and I sound like I'm from Northern Ohio. But if you drive like three hours south, it's I have some best friends who I went to school with who are from like Southern Indiana. And they have more of like that southern accent and it's it's interesting. Like, we're like right up that line and I feel like where it's just like a microcosm of like the whole United States. So it's really interesting to see and hear. Yeah, that my friend who actually lives in southern Indiana like moved to Texas. It's just gotten like, the accents just gotten thicker, which is pretty funny, but it suits him for sure.
Michael Rziha:So Ashley, Ashley, let me ask you this. Do you say you all or y'all because when I was in West Virginia I heard a lot of people say "you all" like pretty fast but there was a definite you and a definite all instead of like y'all.
Ashley Stinnett:So y'all has almost become like a Kentucky brand. I've got a lot of family in Kentucky and you know growing up in Huntington we're only two hours east of Lexington so lots of UK fans I mean I'll grew up you know, I'm a UK fan as well and love the area and they - oh, I see some thumbs down. Oh, so you know y'all is a big brand in Kentucky. Much like the beverage ale eight you guys have ever heard of ale eight it's a huge huge brandy from Kentucky. So y'all is definitely I think more bluegrass lingo. But you know, we've got - we've got our own. We have our own language here. So navigating that can be challenging at times. But if you stay here long enough, it will rub off on you.
Jack Huigens:Oh, yeah, I was in Texas for six years. I used to always say you all now it just y'all. Yeah, but y'all there, there isn't anything else. Yeah, some people are a little too long. They start changing me again. But...
Patrick In:I was gonna say Jack it started coming out of you throughout a week in West Virginia.
Jack Huigens:Oh, yeah, I was like, I was like, once I hit it, I was like, Oh, here it comes.
Kelly Rubey:You guys need to go experience Minnesota and Wisconsin, where I'm from. There's a lot of "Yous Guys". I know.
Ashley Stinnett:It's cool, though, right? I mean, it's just the diversity that like, it's, it's really awesome to hear that. And, you know, that's why I encourage people to travel. I mean, you know, just get out there and experience all these cool things. So you all, you all, y'all got when you got down here. And it was like, talk a bit about, you know, when you first get to West Virginia, like, was it just, the best way to do this is to take a dive off the end of the deep end of the pool? Or did you like start? Did you dip your toes in the water, kind of walk us through that process?
Patrick In:So we saw this course before we came to West Virginia, we started working with Chris Yura, about seven weeks beforehand. And so there was a lot of research on on our end. And then also just like, you know, apart from like all the research, academic research and data, there's a lot of logistics and event planning. Don't think the four of us are that capable. But it is interesting to see like, sort of it's one thing to just like, call up, email people put down meetings with different entrepreneurs throughout West Virginia. Like on paper, it looked pretty planned out. But I would say like, you know, once we got there sort of just like, go out, I feel like it's very different, like Google stuff, read stuff off of paper versus being their boots on the ground in person. So, you know, I think we sort of thought we had it all planned out. But Kelly says a lot too like, gear up for some serendipity and all that. Just because, you know, you sort of just gotta like roll with the punches.
Ashley Stinnett:When you start talking to folks, particularly in that entrepreneurial realm, what like, what did you learn right out the gate? Or what stood out? What challenges maybe even not so much challenges? Just how was that?
Patrick In:I can go? Unless someone else as everyone else, please jump in, too. For me, it's it was a very inspirational week. I you know, every entrepreneur we met was just like such an expert at their craft. And that's such a drive that made me think what the heck am I doing with my life, like, it was just so impressive to see, and it, there's a lot of like a hope there, especially after, you know, with a lot like the low workforce participation rate and the opioid crisis, you just saw, like a lot of light with these people. But as you mentioned, there were some challenges. And at the same time, I was also super fired up when I heard about the things some of these entrepreneurs had to go through, whether it was not being able to secure bank loans or anything like that, when, you know, just a lot of like things had to go through that they shouldn't have had had gone through. But yet still at the end, still seeing them so successful, still so happy, still wanting to do more whether it was for the company or for West Virginia. You know, that pride, you definitely felt a lot of West Virginia pride, not just with entrepreneurs, but with through everyone like that. But especially with that, you know, they loved what they do. And that was so awesome to see. I was very, very grateful for all that.
Michael Rziha:I mean, I think for me, I was amazed by the grittiness of the entrepreneurs. So myself and then an advisor who's not on this call, spent some time down in the Gilbert, Matewan area. And we kind of you know, we met with Caleb at high wall for a while and that was awesome, and he truly is awesome. But then we kind of went off script and just started visiting places and we visited a restaurant and we visited a beef jerky company and we visited this lodging place and and that each of them we talked to the people and in all three of them were fairly new starts but they all had, you know, pretty deep roots in the area. And yeah, a lot of pride, a lot of desire to really build what they were working at, whether it's the restaurant or the beef jerky company. And then also challenges I mean, each one of them outlined a different challenge, whether that's financing related or the need for more specialty, you know, talent such as, like graphic design, or marketing or stuff, that's, that's difficult to find, you know, in far southern West Virginia, and, but they were all extremely talented. Yeah, just just really gritty, you know, they had challenges in various ways. And they, you know, told story after story about how they were able to, to overcome some of them. And, but, but yet, I think there's also opportunity to provide some additional resources for people like that, just to make their lives both easier, and then allow them to grow and really be a positive force there.
Ashley Stinnett:And one cool thing, as you all are aware, you know, starting a business is extremely difficult. And especially in that first year, a lot of business, new businesses fail. And a lot of people will start, you know, they'll go through 1, 2, 3 businesses, I mean, it takes multiple ventures to really get something off the ground. And a lot of people struggle to get access for these resources. So maybe talk a little bit about, you know, when you're talking to folks in these communities, because some of these communities are pretty rural. I mean, even by our standards, I mean, they may not be in Huntington, whether it's or Charleston, the two largest cities where there are there's more resources for entrepreneurs, small businesses, so they're out their way, like, what's some of the challenges you all like? Talking about, you know, people telling stories and things like that, what are some of the challenges you all were hearing about?
Dylan Van Sky:We were told one story, by a guy who, you know, had resumed a business that it started in his family in the 1920s - his name was Trey at Greenbrier Dairy. And just the complete lack of willingness by a lot of people to even consider working with him. For you know, for various reasons he was in the town of Rainelle, which I think was about 800 people. So there's not a ton of access to resources in general, the labor force is a little bit, it's difficult, and that's something that was a central focus in our project. But even traditional institutions, you know, were were difficult in dealing with, you know, had a hard time getting money at all, you know, or at least getting money without some, you know, outright ridiculous stipulations like 300% collateral. I mean, you know, so it's, it's really, you know, people are faced with a decision between, you know, taking massive personal risk, to rely on traditional institutions, or, you know, just completely doing it themselves. I mean, we've, we've heard numerous stories from numerous people about saying, I'm not, you know, I don't have the money to pay somebody to build this building for me. So I'm gonna take as much time as I need to, and just do it myself. You know, so from that perspective, the landscape is really difficult, because you just don't have the support, whether that be financially or, you know, or personnel wise that people in a lot of different areas have.
Jack Huigens:We noticed that the individuals we talked to were very confident in themselves and their products or their brand. And they kept talking to us about risk. And we'd ask them, like, Oh, how'd you navigate the risks associated with this, and they were just really confident themselves, that they could do it. And what we've noticed is from talking with them, so a lot of people struggle with that, so that they don't have a fallback option, if they do this, and there's a lot that they can lose, if it doesn't pan out. So, a lot of these successful entrepreneurs kind of had to take that leap of faith and, and hope that was going to turn out well or be fine with with the consequences and know that failure is okay, and be able to build back from that. I think everyone we talked to had some hurdle they had to go through to get to where they are from Trey to Mountain Steer to others, it was just working hard and pushing through those hurdles and understanding the risk of being willing to navigate it when it arises.
Michael Rziha:And I think to go off that a little bit. You know, one thing that we heard a lot is there's not always a lot of support from family or friends when when people are, you know, going after more risky endeavors or trying to start something, you know, I know a line someone said to me, I don't remember who it was, but it was in the Gilbert/Matewana area, when when people hear that a new business is starting, they just expect that it'll be gone in, in three months or something. And I think the number of people who are, you know, saying no, no, no, that won't work. That's a big hurdle. And, you know, Caleb at High Wall told me a big thing people need, it's just someone who's willing to say yes. And so, yeah, that that was that was really impactful for me. And, and yeah, yeah, you know, how can we help bring more yeses to these to these younger entrepreneurs.
Kelly Rubey:So what I love here that the students have all said, you know, two weeks ago, before they had been to West Virginia, they could tell you the difference in, you know, venture capital funding that West Virginia had gotten in comparison to Ohio and Kentucky and the national average, and all of the underlying economics that perhaps pose threats or opportunities to the entrepreneurship sector of West Virginia. And I love that the stories they're sharing here today, are those human stories. You know, one of the other partners we work alongside in our frontlines in America course, is Homeboy Industries. And Father Greg at Homeboy Industries says, you know, kinship is not serving the other, but being one with the other. And I think that these students clearly, during their time in West Virginia, were just accompanying the entrepreneurs to learn from them, to better understand the, you know, the, all of the challenges individual, human. economic, on top of all of the robust data gathering they had done before ever, you know, coming to meet Coalfield that first day.
Ashley Stinnett:That's all, that's really cool. I'm just, I'm soaking all this in. Because this is the first time I'm hearing this as well. So it's really fascinating. And we this conversation is coming shortly after we just wrapped up the Appalachian Social Enterprise Summit, here at Marshall and had some other universities involved, lots of entrepreneurs, practitioners. And it's really interesting when you when you talk about entrepreneurship and social entrepreneurship, a lot of you don't realize that many current practitioners, many people that have a business are engaged in the social entrepreneur side, and they just don't realize that in in some aspect. They're not they're not, maybe they don't even know what it means. So they're not calling themselves that. What's your experience? What you all what is some experience with that, like the social entrepreneurship side? And was there any moments where you were in talking to these folks? Was there any moments where you were like, hey, this person has a social entrepreneurship? Or maybe they're thinking that way? And they just maybe don't really know, the definition? Or was - did any of that come up? At any point?
Patrick In:I don't know if they came up. It definitely came up explicitly, when we first started partnering with Chris. And he talked about sort of demystifying what social enterprise is and we actually had a bunch of conversations throughout the week, like, what do we try in terms of like Coalfield and us doing this project on the Seed Fund? Like, what companies are you trying to sort of like target to support? And it goes back to that social enterprise, but then, you know, you have you have companies like Trey at Greenbrier Dairy, that, you know, he's, he's still about helping his community he wants, you know, he's employed folks who are in their second stage of recovery. And he's, you know, he's explicitly said, like, I'm, you know, I want my business to sort of like, help my community succeed. And then you have guys, we talked to a few other companies where it's, you know, all as well, like, we want to make some money, which is great. But, you know, when we asked sort of about, you know, empowering employees and things like that, you know, they talked about like, I want to provide health insurance, I want to provide like a healthy, like a healthy living wage. You know, I think those seem like basic standards, but a lot of times, especially within my that startup space, it's hard to even provide that. So even having that top of mind, I think has a social impact, especially when you're thinking about the workforce participation rate, or, you know, those in recovery, who have hard time who had those barriers to employment. No, I think it was, you know, never so explicit, but at the same time, like, it always came up, because, you know, as your company grows, you need to hire people. And I think that's been a large focus, and we'll continue to be in our project of sort of like What? What's that standard? What can we provide the employees? So not just give them a job? But have it be sustainable? Have it, have them come back every day have them, you know, enjoy their job, be proud of their work. I think like you said, I think for some people, some companies don't even realize they're doing it. But for me, personally, I think that, that does a lot, just like meeting sort of like, those people think as that basic those basic needs.
Michael Rziha:Yeah I think a lot of places we visited had components of social entrepreneurship in them. I mean, even places that like, you know, we visited some, some companies in Hinton and, and through that, we learned that because of their success, other companies are starting in Hinton, and other companies are bringing goods and other companies are revitalizing downtown and employing people there and bringing outside money into the community. And, and for somewhere, you know, like Hinton that I'm sure has historically had struggles. I mean, that's huge. That's so impactful for that community. And, and I think we saw a lot of that in a lot of the places we visited, where a company is coming in, and yeah, maybe their mission is, I want to build a successful company and make money but because of their success, other companies are starting or other people are able to be employed. And the community is improving as a result of the additional funds or the additional willpower, or just, you know, seeing that that guy succeeded. So I think I can succeed too.
Ashley Stinnett:That's interesting that you say that, because Caleb was my first guest today. And we talked about, you know, a rising tide lifts all ships. And how there is this economic diversification, economic rebuild, it's happening right now, here in the heart of Appalachia, and we're trying to move more options to the table. So we're not, you know, less one dimensional or two dimensional, more multi dimensional, in in in achieving that economic diversification goal. Is that something that when you guys, you know, when you all are out chatting with the folks, these entrepreneurial minded folks, and is that something that came up to is like, I know, there's a I know, there's sometimes a fear of failure. But you know, Michael, you said it sparked conversation, and other people want to do the same thing. Was that just I mean, did you see that in different areas? Like it was almost like, people were kind of getting pumped up, like, hey, I want to do that, too. And because, you know, you all touched on something earlier, there's not really been a lot of cheerleaders for that around here.
Michael Rziha:Yeah, I mean, I think we did see some of that. And obviously, there's still struggles. And, you know, there were still communities that we went to that, I don't know, that's necessarily the case. But I know, specifically in Hinton, when we visited there, that that was the case. I mean, I think in the Gilbert area, you know, this, this older gentleman who had purchased this school and fixed it up and started adding some lodging, and then he provided a space for the beef jerky company to open up and now they're kind of partnering together to see, you know, how big and how far that can go. And, you know, that school kind of has set up a, you know, a grounds basically, for these two different talented individuals to kind of meet and, and join forces in a way and, and they might not have ever connected, if it hadn't been for a, you've got this school that you've, you know, started to fix up here. I need some space for my company. Can I move here? And then oh, you know, both people have have their different talents and ambitions, how can how can they kind of come together? So I think that was that was really cool. And, and I think, you know, we heard that there are more ideas, and there's more talent and more people's in these communities. You know, so I think a big step is, you know, how can we support that? How can we help that talent emerge? And as more of it comes out, I think more will emerge from the woodwork.
Kelly Rubey:And I think that reflects one of the core capabilities of Coalfield Development. You know, last year our team spent almost their entire time immersed in Mingo County looking at ecotourism and just walking around the different towns and talking to folks, you know, people knew Coalfield Development because they had come in they had revitalized specific buildings, you know, made the Main Street and Matewan just look that much more inviting. And so I think in many ways, Coalfield Development becomes this catalyst for communities that makes it easier for people to come together and support each other in the way that Michael described.
Patrick In:I think going off that too, obviously, that we've met with a lot of entrepreneurs worked a lot with Coalfield, we were also able to meet with other supporting organization or other organizations that support small businesses, and sort of see the beginning of sort of like that ecosystem of like Michael was saying, there's all these great ideas and just like taking that next step, but you know, apart from seeing other businesses thrive, actually giving them the capital and the resources to do that. So is you know, with Coalfield, obviously, like such a big name and such a big presence throughout West Virginia, but I think Coalfield combined with like, the other organizations we saw as well. Again, I feel like, like, there's a lot coming. I feel like there's a lot coming and a lot of people sort of like getting on board than there have been in the past. So it's really, it was really exciting to see.
Dylan Van Sky:There were a lot of creative ways it was done to like we talked to Dr. Kerry White at West Virginia University launch lab. And she talked about a program that they they've started called My Hometown is Cool that they're pitching to high school students, middle school students, where they you know, where they're going to the schools, and they're telling the kids, what do you not like about your, about your hometown, whether this be, you know, maybe it could be Charleston, but a lot of the time, it's the more remote parts of West Virginia, the smaller towns that have a lot of struggles. And instead of encouraging people to complain about these problems, they're telling them, you have the opportunity to fix it. And we want to help you do that. So there's a lot of organizations who are going into places where there isn't necessarily a cheerleader, trying to be that cheerleader and helping people kind of like develop a stake in their town. So that becomes more of a more of a personal place to them than just a place to live.
Patrick In:About that cheerleader thing, too. I do not want to play favorites. But we've brought Hinton a couple times. I've got to shout them out. I had, I had the greatest afternoon there. We had lunch at Lucky Rivers Restaurant was founded by Sarah and I went and bought a plant from Botany Tropical from Jordan, his group support again, everything. We've talked about being gritty and all that but as I left Hinton like wanting to go back. Ashley I don't know if you've been down there...
Ashley Stinnett:Oh, yeah, yeah, please tell me, please tell me that you all have had a pepperoni roll from this state. I'm seeing some nodding. So what's a pepperoni roll...
Kelly Rubey:I asked them this exact question earlier!
Ashley Stinnett:Not a roll you get at Walmart or Kroger not that. No, that's trash. .
Patrick In:So Dylan a lot of time in Pittsburgh, he's like guys's gas station called Sheetz. We must have gone to like 10 Sheetz and I feel like that was half my meals. So anything if you can blame Dylan to why I didn't have a pepperoni roll. I did have..what did you give me Dylan?
Dylan Van Sky:I made everybody have a fried Oreo. I don't know. I don't know if that counts as a cultural experience or not. Every everything deep fried.
Ashley Stinnett:Yeah. Okay, so the other thing too speaking of food, hot dogs, sauce, or chili on the dog, sauce or chili? What do you say I want sauce on it or I want chili on it?
Jack Huigens:I want chili on it.
Michael Rziha:I won't vote.
Ashley Stinnett:So what you needed to do is go to Hillbilly Hot Dogs. You get any kind of a hot dog. You can imagine pizza dogs are amazing. They don't sponsor this show, but they should. Because I'm getting them, I'm giving them huge props. But yeah, when you're, you know, the hot dogs, pepperoni rolls are our cuisine here.
Kelly Rubey:So you know our first year working with Coalfield Development, which was actually the year that we launched the Front Lines in America course. It was 2020 You know, what a time to launch an experiential learning course. So we could not even go to West Virginia because of the COVID protocol. But we did find a way to safely bring Chris Yura back to campus. And so he wanted to bring a taste of West Virginia with him to Notre Dame for that team who couldn't experience West Virginia. So he had all kinds of pepperoni rolls and snacks and, you know, West Virginia brewed beer for the team to sample. So I don't know I guess there was more pepperoni rolls on the first team that didn't even make it to West Virginia then on this team.
Ashley Stinnett:There's some good eatin. I'm a foodie guy. There's some good eating all over this country but I don't know.
Patrick In:I was it was awesome to see it. Are you based out of Huntington? Ashley are you like...
Ashley Stinnett:I live, so I live right in between Huntington and Charleston. I'm in like the suburbia capital of West Virginia. Okay, um, where I live is pretty much it's a little bit boring. It's kind of "milk toast". So I'm in...but you got Huntington and you got Charleston I'm right in the middle. Either area a good time is to be had.
Patrick In:You guys, you definitely you definitely had us on football. We're walking out like downtown Huntington stuff and like Man, why can't, South Bend needs to...no offense to South Bend. I love Notre Dame, but South Bend needs to get their act together in terms of like the bar and restaurant scene because you guys had options. And it was amazing. Like, all around Huntington and on throughout West Virginia too. There's a lot of...everyone's always like, did you try this? Yeah. Did you try this? Many, many options. And I don't think anything really disappointed.
Ashley Stinnett:Huntington is turning into a foodie town. Huntington has made a lot of strides to, to kind of rebranding itself as a foodie town, which is awesome. Because we desperately needed that. And it is it isn't, you know, and Huntington obviously is a college town. So there's a lot more, you know, kind of drawn in younger folks than you would find in other parts of the state. But glad...duly noted, that when we hear about bars, it's usually Morgantown. WVU. It's usually more, you know, those folks up there that burn couches. That yeah, those those folks up to the north of here. So but we do love our WVU neighbors.
Patrick In:Well, Jack was scared of him. You know, he Jack's a big, big Baylor fan. So he was a little nervous wearing his Baylor gear around Morgantown.
Jack Huigens:West Virginia has my number. And this year for football. I just can't I don't know what to do. Marshall. Now WVU. It was a sad Thursday. I'll just say, it was a sad Thursday.
Ashley Stinnett:And we're sitting over here in the Sunbelt Conference. And in one weekend, the weekend that Marshall beat Notre Dame I mean, the Sunbelt Conference looked like ballers for some reason. But it was it was pretty nuts. But I have not been to South Bend. And I desperately want to go.
Kelly Rubey:Consider yourself invited.
Ashley Stinnett:I just want to experience mass as a Catholic, for the record, really want to get up there and experience that part of what what there is to offer up there.
Patrick In:Part of our last session in class we went to, I don't know if you're if you know, Father Hesburgh is the president of Notre Dame for a long time. And Kelly arranged for all of us to go to his office, which is still there and everything's still in place. And, you know, being on the Notre Dam campus is definitely like feel sort of, I don't know what it is, an aura or vibe, but it was like next level going to Father Hesburgh's office, and just hearing the stories from Father Doyle who sort of was like our guide throughout. It was I don't tell you I don't know if that's like available to the public or you have to plan ahead but it's definitely it really is such like a spiritual experience. And I something like I didn't expect coming Notre Dame, I thought just gonna come get my MBA, and then it's been, I don't know, it's been it's been amazing in that sense.
Kelly Rubey:But it's not not open to the public, but we can make special arrangements and actually, we can get you there. You know, Father Hesburgh was president of our university for decades and really took us from a you know, regional college to the international stage, and bringing Father Soren our founders vision to life of Notre Dame being a, you know, a place for good in this country and in the world. So we lost Father Hesburgh, he passed away in 2015. So, but we have preserved his office and it really is a spiritual place. You would love the Basilica and the Grotto. We find so much meaning and connection to our purpose in life and to our university and its purpose in some of these places on campus.
Ashley Stinnett:That's fantastic. I've always wondered, I mean, I know you don't have to be a Catholic to go to Notre Dame. But for me personally, I feel like I'm a convert from Protestantism and going through the whole RECI process confirmation at Easter that that I just there's nothing like that. I mean, the experience is unbelievable. Sorry for cradle Catholics who did not get experience that. But it's super remarkable. So I'm always curious if like, you know, being at Notre Dame, you know, Patrick, you were talking about like this. It's very spiritual experience. I've often wondered if people go there and maybe they're like, not Catholic, or maybe they're agnostic. Maybe they're atheist. Maybe they just check the "I don't really, I don't even know" box. And I wonder if like being there. There's a pull. Um, I feel like there would have to be and I've never been.
Kelly Rubey:Yeah, I mean, inclusion is so important in our mission, right, we want an inclusive campus and a diverse campus. And so you know, we not only have theologists and people who are, you know, becoming priests, but it within theology, we have a lot of specialty on all the religions of the world. And so it is a place for people who have an interest in faith and what unites us to really come together and pursue the greater good. So I do think there is this pull on a spiritual and a faith filled level, regardless of religion. But, you know, I'd love to hear some of the students experiences as well.
Dylan Van Sky:Yeah, I'm actually I'm actually reading Father Hesburgh's biography after we, after we went visited his office, it was kind of an inspirational moment. And as part of that, there's a big, there was a major emphasis during his tenure, on academic freedom, but as part of academic freedom, and bracing Notre Dame's reputation and its existence as a Catholic University. So though, you can really see those two lines of thought going together, where, you know, the the university is what it is, but it really wants to embrace everybody, and all perspectives and really be open to debate on different on different issues. So it's, you know, it's, it's a good thing, and that it opens more conversation than it closes for sure. So, you know, it's really, it's really good for everybody from a lot of different perspectives. And I think it really contributes to Notre Dame being a great school.
Michael Rziha:I do think the Catholic identity is is an important part of the campus, I mean, the congregation of the Holy Cross, who kind of who runs Notre Dame, and, you know, they, they initially started it, and they're still very present. They're everywhere. I mean, there's Holy Cross priests walking around all the time. I know, every dorm has a has a mass at 10pm on Sundays, and, my friends who went to undergrad here said that, you know, pretty much everyone went to that, regardless of whether they were Catholic or not just because, you know, this is Notre Dame, and that's what you do, and you go with your friends. And so yeah, I mean, it's an extremely important part of Notre Dame, and, you know, it, it was a draw for, for myself, you know, trying, wanting to continue my education and, and all that and, you know, to come be a part of this culture.
Patrick In:Yeah, just to go off that too. I, I personally, have had a chance to revisit my faith. I'm not Catholic. I probably say I'm more agnostic, but I think, yeah, Notre Dame as a place definitely sort of provides those open doors to conversations. But I think a big part of it, too, is the community it creates. Michael and I had to drive back together for seven hours in West Virginia, we definitely talked about it for a couple hours. And it's great that like, I can feel that comfortable even though, like, you know, we're both at different places, in terms, you know, of faith and all that. And so, it's, it's really cool to know, it's comforting, to sort of like be in that place. I know, wherever I end up. However, I feel like, I still feel I guess, I don't know if accepted the right word, but just in a place where I'll be sort of supported, regardless of where I end up, where I'm at.
Ashley Stinnett:That's great. I appreciate those stories. That's that's really cool. And yeah, now I definitely got to get get up there. So definitely, definitely want to check that box on things to do soon.
Patrick In:Come on over. We're happy to have people - actuall Ben who works out of there we were thinking about making a trip up soon - caravan up here at the same time.
Ashley Stinnett:We're gonna do. Yep. I'm going to talk to Ben. And so before we, before we close it out, what's your plans? You know, moving forward, like what are the goals, hopes on your all's for our neck of the woods down here, and what's kind of the what's the plans moving forward?
Dylan Van Sky:So we'll be issuing a final recommendation based on all the information we've covered I did both and our prior research and everything that we learned while we're down in West Virginia. But in terms of our goals, they really are, you know, we want to be able to help Coalfield effectuate its goals. And primarily when we were talking to Brandon, on Monday, it was about increasing labor participation and primarily, you know, creating more desirable jobs, you know, as a as a redeeming as a redeeming activity for West Virginians as, as the state and really as the as the country in the world as a whole participate in a transitioning economy. So, you know, all that to say we want, we want to be able to help Coalfield do what Coalfield wants to do.
Michael Rziha:I think Brandon's you know, in our first meeting said he wants to meet West Virginians where they are. And so, you know, I think our recommendations, you know, really are going to be centered around that statement, you know, how can Coalfield Development and other groups and people within West Virginia, meet West Virginians where they are and, you know, when we were there, we found that, that West Virginians are a have a lot of pride for their states, there's a lot of resilience. They know that, you know, there's a daunting task to kind of bring West Virginia to where it should and could be. But, you know, they didn't really shy away from that, you know, they believe they can get there and they're willing to put put the work in. And so how can we assist those people, no matter where they are in their journey, you know, personally or entrepreneurially? How can we meet them where they are and, and assist them moving forward so that, you know, they can continue to build West Virginia into an even greater state.
Kelly Rubey:And I hope that you know, through as we finish the recommendations here this year, it will set us up for continued collaboration with Coalfield Development. Each year, we've learned so much from Coalfield and from West Virginians to advance our own understanding of the role that business plays in society and to kind of use the moral imagination of seeing the world for its possibilities. So we hope that, you know, we'll be back collaborating together well into the future.
Ashley Stinnett:Well, I certainly hope the partnership continues for the foreseeable future. And Michael, Dylan, Patrick, Kelly, Jack, I can't thank you enough for being guests on the show. I've learned a lot. It's been some, it's been great. It's been very, very good for me. And just appreciate the invaluable work that you all are doing for Coalfield. And for the folks here in West Virginia. Certainly, certainly excited to see the future, what that holds for this partnership. So thank you all so much for being on the show today.
Patrick In:Thank you so much for having us. It's really, it was really exciting. When I first heard about this, we were like "are you sure you want to talk to us?" So hopefully, hopefully, it was worth your time, too. Because, you know, we've just been grateful to have any, you know, interaction experience with you all just because it has been, it's been very meaningful for us as well.
Michael Rziha:Yeah, just echo what Pat said. Thank you so much. And thanks for letting us visit your beautiful state. I mean, I think we picked the perfect time of year to visit. Everything was in full bloom. It was awesome.
Dylan Van Sky:Next visit we'll definitely be coming down and grabbing some pepperoni rolls because there will be a next visit and there will be pepperoni rolls.
Ashley Stinnett:Please do. So you all take care.
Brandon Dennison:Change in the Coalfields is a podcast created by Coalfield Development in the hills and hollers of West Virginia, become a part of our mission to rebuild the Appalachian economy by going to our website Coalfield-Development.org. To make a donation, you can email us anytime at info@Coalfield-Development.org and subscribe to our newsletter for more information on the podcast. You can follow us on Instagram, Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn by searching Coalfield Development. Check back soon for more episodes.