Submitted photo
From left, Woody Maglinger, Jill Scarbro, Marsha Waybright, Kiara Williams and Adam Moyer gather in front of West Virginia Senator Shelley Moore Capito’s office in Washington, D.C.

WASHINGTON, D.C. — Business owners from Randolph and Tucker counties were among the four individuals chosen to represent West Virginia during a special National Small Business Week event.

The four Mountain State people chosen were Marsha Waybright, representing Randolph and Tucker counties as a leader in agritourism through her three businesses, Laurel River Club Bed & Breakfast, Laurel Fork Farm, and the nonprofit West Virginia School of Traditional Skills; the award-winning, multi-genre instrumental duo Key to Adam (Kiara Williams and Adam Moyer), representing Upshur County; and Jill Scarbro, owner and CEO of Bright Futures Learning Services, representing Putnam County.

Meta, the company which owns Facebook and Instagram, recently selected small business leaders from across the United States to visit Washington, D.C. for National Small Business Week. Woody Maglinger served as the team coach, from Run Switch Public Relations of Louisville, Kentucky.

While in D.C., the group visited the office of West Virginia Senator Shelly Moore Capito, R-W.Va., and conveyed some of the challenges they face as small business owners in West Virginia.

“Sen. Capito’s staff was very interested in what we had to say and was very attentive,” Waybright said. “Marketing can be a real challenge for small businesses in West Virginia. The West Virginia Department of Tourism has been a huge help and has been very supportive, but there are some major challenges to be faced, especially when your business is in a location with no cell service and spotty internet.”

National Small Business Week was created in 1963 by the Small Business Administration as an annual celebration of the small businesses and innovative startups who drive our economy.

The West Virginia group attended an event in the White House’s Rose Garden, featureing President Joe Biden, Vice President Kamal Harris, and the Small Business Administration leader Isabella Casillas Guzman. Scarbro also was called on to speak at the event.

While in Washington, the group met with “business leaders from across the U.S., and it was an awesome experience to connect with them and discuss our passions that are our businesses. It was a real learning experience and I am so honored that I got to represent my fellow small businesses in West Virginia,” Waybright said.

To learn more about the Laurel River Club Bed & Breakfast, Laurel Fork Farm or the West Virginia School of Traditional Skills, please visit www.lrcbnb.com.

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