RCBI launches new, more interactive website |
|
---RCBI has launched a new website that offers visitors a new look at the services, equipment and expertise offered by the technology organization and its experienced staff.
---The new site is easy to navigate and highlights upcoming events and the latest news. It showcases equipment available for lease by manufacturers, design and rapid prototyping capabilities and services and opportunities available through RCBI's Maker Vault and Center for Innovation.
---"We are very proud of our new, professional and user-friendly site," said Charlotte Weber, RCBI director and CEO.
---"We think clients and visitors will find what they
|
|
are seeking more easily and have plenty of opportunities to engage with our staff." RCBI's team worked with Huntington-based Bullseye Total Media to upgrade the site. Visit rcbi.org here
|
|
Alumnus donates plane to new aviation maintenance program |
---Marshall University’s new Aviation Maintenance & Technology (AMT) Program has landed its first aircraft, thanks to the generosity of a local alumnus.
---Daniel Ward of Barboursville, a private pilot and retired manager at Marathon Petroleum, flew his Dakota Hawk one last time last month, from Ona Airpark to Huntington Tri-State Airport to deliver the single-engine plane to the new AMT Program, a joint venture of Marshall, Mountwest Community & Technical College and RBI. Ward built the plane 20 years ago and spent more than 800 hours piloting the two-seat aircraft.
---“Marshall has been a big part of my life,” said Ward, a 2003 graduate of the university who began taking classes in 1971. “It just seemed like a good idea to give back to the university by promoting the
|
|
endeavor they’ve undertaken with the maintenance school. I think it’s great. This airplane will continue to teach others as it has taught me.”
---Ward’s donation will be used as a physical teaching aid during general introduction to aviation classes, according to Jim Smith, interim director of the AMT Program.
|
|
Keyser High freshman named
Ag Innovation Challenge champ
|
---Keyser High School swept the top Student Agriculture Innovation Challenge Awards during the statewide West Virginia Agriculture Innovation Showcase presented Feb. 24 during a live online broadcast. The Challenge and Showcase are sponsored yearly by RCBI, Eastern West Virginia Community & Technical College, and the West Virginia Departments of Agriculture and Education.
---Drew Matlick, a freshman at Keyser High, captured the grand champion award for his creative idea to development a software app to assist livestock producers with vaccination timing to improve efficacy. The app also would provide booster shot details and withdrawal dates to prevent meat or milk contamination. Matlick will receive $500 in cash and a $1,000 technical assistance package from RCBI to
|
|
help develop his innovative concept into a commercially viable product.
--The other finalists were Elijah Bryant, Kaylin Walton, Avery Starkey and Keldon Shiftlett of Buckhannon-Upshur High School; and Kooper Riggleman of Moorefield High School, who was runner-up to the grand champion. Each finalist will receive $100 and a package of maker tools that includes a desktop 3D printer.
|
|
Vanguard Competition to reward
innovation in state agriculture
|
---Agricultural innovators across West Virginia will have the opportunity to compete for a business assistance package valued in excess of $5,000 as part of a contest sponsored by RCBI.
---The 6th Annual West Virginia Vanguard Agriculture Competition will honor innovation and ingenuity in agriculture, recognizing an entrepreneur whose idea has the greatest potential to solve logistical challenges in the local food supply chain and bring a new product to market.
---The winner will receive assistance with product design and development including prototyping, marketing and business development planning.
|
|
---West Virginia residents and out-of-state students enrolled in West Virginia colleges and universities are eligible to compete. Innovators must apply online at www.rcbi.org/vanguard2021. Entries must be received by April 16 at 4 p.m. The winner will be announced in late April.
|
|
Meet the Investors webinar
rescheduled for March 24
|
---RCBI is joining with the Appalachian Investors Alliance to present “Meet the Investors,” a free webinar March 24 at 2 p.m. to help entrepreneurs and small business owners better understand how to attract investment in their ideas or businesses.
---Originally slated for earlier in February, the event had to be rescheduled because of widespread power outages follow a series of ice storms.
---Representatives from AIA will explain where to find potential investors and offer advice on how to develop a bulletproof plan that attracts the attention of investors. They also will share information about what investors want from you and what control they have over your idea and the direction of your business. Finally, they will explain why investors are
|
|
not out to steal your idea and ways you can protect yourself from intellectual property theft. Participants will get the chance to ask questions.
---For more information, contact Tyler Brandstetter, RCBI's coordinator of entrepreneur services, at brandstetter@rcbi.org or 304.781.1688.
|
|
Free seminar focuses on how
to raise funds, attract investors
|
---Join entrepreneurs from across West Virginia and the region during the virtual 3 Steps to StartUp Venture Fair March 9-10 from 9:30 a.m. to noon each day.
---The event, which will feature experienced investors, assistance providers and innovators that have “been there and done that," aims to provide West Virginia tech-focused, research-driven entrepreneurs an opportunity to learn strategies for raising funds and how to make an effective pitch to investors.
---The free event is open to all entrepreneurs,
|
|
assistance providers, small business owners, funders, economic developers and other interested parties. To register, click here.
---3 Steps to Startup is a venture of the INNOVA Commercialization Group, TechConnect West Virginia and the West Virginia Jobs Investment Trust with funding from the Appalachian Regional Commission and the Claude Worthington Benedum Foundation.
|
|
Women & Girls in Aviation events set for March 11-13 |
---Women in Aviation International is hosting two virtual events in March designed to foster connection among women working in the aviation industry and introduce middle- and high-school age girls to the career and lifestyle possibilities available in aviation.
---The Virtual WAI2021 Conference will take place March 11 and 12 and will feature professional development seminars, educational sessions, a virtual exhibit hall and keynote speakers from all over the world.
|
|
---A free virtual Girls in Aviation Day will take place Saturday, March 13, from 1 p.m. to 3 p.m. and will feature leaders from the U.S. Air Force Thunderbirds and a female NASA astronaut who will share stories about their experiences in aviation.
|
|
U P C O M I N G-- E V E N T S
Mar. 10: Opportunities for Veteran-Owned Small Businesses webinar, 10-11 a.m. More information
Mar. 24: Is This a Good Idea? What to Do Before You Start Your Business webinar, noon-1 p.m.
|
|
Robert C. Byrd Institute | 304.781.1625 | 1050 Fourth Ave., Huntington, WV | www.rcbi.org |
|
|
|
|
|
|
