Governor Earl Ray Tomblin welcomed the City of Kenova in Wayne County and the Town of Marlinton in Pocahontas County to the West Virginia Organization, Training, Revitalization and Capacity program (ON TRAC), marking the third expansion of the ON TRAC program since its inception in 2009.

“When our residents and leaders work together to restore and revitalize our hometowns, a new found sense of pride resonates, encouraging new business and neighborhood growth,” Gov. Tomblin said. “I’m happy the ON TRAC program is welcoming new members as it has a record of helping our cities and towns meet these goals while preserving historic districts.”

ON TRAC was developed by Main Street West Virginia to encourage economic growth within communities by providing resources for evaluation, education and networking. Main Street West Virginia is a program of the West Virginia Development Office that focuses on the economic development of historic downtown and neighborhood commercial districts.

To qualify for the ON TRAC program, communities must successfully complete an application process and complete a workshop. ON TRAC is the precursor to the Main Street program-participants must be an ON TRAC Community for at least two years before applying to become a Main Street Community. Potential ON TRAC communities must be located within an incorporated area, served by a commercial downtown infrastructure and resources in addition to having a sponsoring organization.

Communities selected for the ON TRAC program receive assessment, planning, design and grant assistance, as well as mentoring from certified Main Street Programs. Currently there are 18 ON TRAC Communities in West Virginia and 12 accredited Main Street Communities.

The state’s accredited Main Street communities are Charleston East End and Charleston West Side, both of Kanawha County; Fairmont and Mannington, both of Marion County; Kingwood, Preston County; Martinsburg, Berkeley County; Morgantown, Monongalia County; Philippi, Barbour County; Point Pleasant, Mason County; Ripley, Jackson County; and Ronceverte and White Sulphur Springs, both of Greenbrier County.

The West Virginia ON TRAC cities are Belington, Barbour County; Beverly and Elkins, both of Randolph County; Kenova, Wayne County; Madison, Boone County; Matewan, Mingo County; Marlinton, Pocahontas County; Mount Hope and Oak Hill both of Fayette County; Parkersburg, Wood County; Parsons, Tucker County; Charles Town, Jefferson County; Romney, Hampshire County; Rowlesburg, Preston County; Shinnston, Harrison County; Sistersville, Tyler County; Sutton, Braxton County; and Wheeling, Ohio County.