LEWIS COUNTY COMMUNITY GUIDE
Wednesday, March 11, 2020
Page 7
AREA NEWS
Minutemen Collaborate to revitalize Lewis County
By Tara Kennedy Editor
WESTON — If you haven’t been following the Minutemen Collaborate movement, it’s time to catch up and join in. What started out as a small group of community minded folks creating an entry for the HGTV Small Town Takeover Contest, has grown into a crusade for county-wide change. All you have to do is drive through Weston and you can’t help but notice the many beautification projects underway, which have been spearheaded by Ashley Montgomery and Jena Whiston. Following suggestions to take pride in our small town, groups and individuals began gathering for clean-up efforts,
picking up trash and sweeping the streets. Giovanni’s even offered to sponsor a pizza party for the group that accumulated the most bags of garbage. LC First won with a whopping 77 bags of trash removed from town. The owners of Ember Arts, Weston’s quaint art studio, followed suit and opened their doors to the community for a poster making party on February 27. The signs were then distributed for display in local businesses, inviting guests and hopefully contest scouts to feel welcome in Weston, the heart of West Virginia. The Oil Spot and even bigger businesses like GoMart and Hardee’s jumped on board, adding welcoming messages to their signs. The large welcome signs as you enter town are even being revamped and
some replaced thanks to Adam Burkhammer of Mountaineer Welding and Construction and Jennifer and Eddie Watson of Watson Signs and Tees. Next thing you know, Minnich’s Florist volunteered to make beautiful floral arrangements for the empty flower boxes around town. Multiple sponsors joined the effort to add yellow spring flowers in the “Boxes of Sunshine” all over Weston. A project to spruce up Bank Alley with colorful pavers on the ground where flowers used to be is also underway. A “Paint the Brick Party” for local schools, sports and youth groups to be represented on the bricks is set for Saturday, March 21 to further help renovate the town. Mayor Kim Harrison also quickly jumped on board, seeking grant funding to pro-
vide much needed lighting in Bank Alley. A banner made by Custom Signs and Graphics was hung across East Third Street on Monday night, further welcoming guests to the center of the city. The spirit of coming together as a community doesn’t just end in Lewis County though. When Minutemen Collaborate organizers learned of the devasting tornadoes that ravaged Tennessee in the early morning hours of March 3, they knew that they had to help. The people of Weston wanted to “show the love to Tennessee” tornado victims and a donation drive was immediately organized. Mountaineer RV and Outdoor Center opened their doors to accept donations and a tractor trailer full of supplies shipped off to Tennessee over
the weekend. Harman Trucking donated use of their truck and David McConnell offered his time, while another local business contributed $500 for the fuel to deliver the supplies to Tennessee. Whiston said she never intended for these efforts to be shared beyond our community, but is amazed to see how it’s spreading, especially by Mountaineers who live in Tennessee. The group even planned a Minutemen Gathering “PopUp Shopping Day” to coincide with National Mom & Pop Small Business Day on March 29, but it will unfortunately be postponed in accordance with CDC recommendations to cease large gatherings in the wake of the Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19). However, Montgomery assures that not even the spreading virus
can damper their momentum, and the event will be rescheduled for a later date. If you are interested in finding out how you or your organization can help revitalize Weston and Lewis County, please join the Minutemen Collaborate movement on Facebook, visit MinutemenCollaborate.org online or email minutementcollaborate@ gmail.com. The next organizational meeting of Minutemen Collaborate will take place Monday, March 23 at 6:30 p.m. in The Coffeehouse on Main Street in Weston. An overwhelming sense of pride in our hometown is sure to follow when we collaborate as Minutemen, and make no mistake that big things are most definitely happening in our small town.