Bluefield, West Virginia

Years ago, I helped start a five-state alliance of incubator executive directors in the corners of North Carolina, Tennessee, Virginia, Kentucky and the tiniest tip of West Virginia. The MountainSouth Incubator Alliance (MSIA) has the same footprint at the MountainSouth World Trade Center, which I helped launch. MSIA rotates meetings between incubators and this month’s is in Bluefield, WV.

If you travel I-77 North from the Carolinas or Virginia, you’ll find the dual towns of Bluefield, VA and Bluefield, WV straddling the state line as you enter West Virginia.

There are two colleges in the Bluefields: Bluefield College is a Baptist-based four-year college in Viriginia, while Bluefield State College is a traditionally black college that sits across the railroad tracks from downtown Bluefield, WV.

Bluefield State College’s Research and Development Corporation has an incubator in the former AEP headquarters building on the edge of downtown Bluefield, WV. The incubator is a member of the MSIA and its executive director, Gerald “Jerry” James is president of MSIA this year. While I’ve not been an incubator exec for about two years, MSIA continues to grow, with each incubator focusing on their unique strength; I enjoy attending the meetings when I can.

The meeting this month is in Bluefield, WV, and Jerry mentioned that he had a second building that including rooms if we wanted to stay the night prior. Turns out it’s a former hotel that has been turned into a student residence.

I arrived in Bluefield around 6pm and checked in. While the room was spartan, as it’s designed to be furnished by the long-term stay student, it had the basics: dorm-sized fridge, microwave, couch, bed and computer desk.

I had to ask for a shower curtain, which the staff was very helpul in obtaining. Once that was in place, I took off to explore the Bluefields.

After dinner, when I got back to the hotel / student residence, I noticed a light on the walkway as I approached my room. I didn’t remember leaving on a light, let alone a powerful light, but then I got to the room and realized that I’d left the blinds open and the light on.

No problem, I thought, glad I’d not left my laptop in full view. When I went in, though, I realized that I couldn’t close the blinds, and I didn’t want to disturb the staff.

So, as I do from time to time if things don’t feel right, I rearranged the furniture to block the “view”.

The picture below is the pre-arranged view, before realizing the blinds wouldn’t close.