West Virginia Manufacturers Association

Forbes magazine recently called Charleston a "dying" city, citing primarily a loss of population and loss of manufacturing jobs.

It may come as surprise to some, but we believe Forbes was right.

Here in Charleston, we are "dying" - dying to announce hundreds of new jobs coming to the region, dying to continue to recruit international businesses to Charleston, and dying to advance innovative community development projects like Gateway Greenspace and EcoDwell. We are dying to welcome the 700th member to our emerging leaders group, Generation Charleston, and dying to expand the East End Main Street improvements such as free wireless Internet access and Eco East End sustainability initiatives.

We're dying, all right. Forbes just got the semantics wrong.

If Charleston is on the decline, why are more than 50 representatives from the Richmond, Ky., Chamber of Commerce traveling to the Kanawha Valley to learn more about Charleston's growth? The group is scheduled to visit Charleston in October to tour the city, discuss the region's development and learn about the consolidation of economic and community development organizations that created the Charleston Area Alliance.

Their visit means others are noticing what Charleston is doing and like what they see. We have so much to offer - the Clay Center for the Arts and Sciences, Appalachian Power Park, Capitol Market, new businesses and expansions of existing businesses. It's good to know word is getting out.

Other sources dispute the Forbes claim, too.  

Last year, for example, Expansion Management magazine named Charleston the eighth "Best in New Recruitment of Businesses."

Southern Business & Development magazine, meanwhile, listed Charleston as one of the best mid-market spots in which to locate a business in the South. The publication cited Charleston's $30,760 per capita income, its $135,100 median home price and low cost of living.

Concrete growth is another indication Charleston is improving.

If a business wants to find the right place to interface and grow with other players in our nation's energy economy, the Charleston area is the place to be today and in the future.

Ask any of the many businesses that have located or expanded in the area in the past few years. If they didn't expect to grow here, they wouldn't be here.

State and local leaders regularly announce new and expanding businesses, including the recent ground-breaking for a $100 million polymer manufacturing plant by the Japanese chemical powerhouse Kureha. Companies such as NGK have decided to locate in the Charleston area, too, as have Italian firms such as New Finishing Line, DPR and B&W Creative.

Events such as the annual FestivALL, a 10-day cultural festival, attract thousands to the city.

These successes are a testament to our government leaders, businesses and people throughout the community who are working to build a more vibrant community and prosperous economy.

Charleston is the heart of the region's energy industry, with many coal and national gas companies headquartered here. It is the transportation, retail, cultural and telecommunications hub of the state. The Charleston MSA has a population of more than 300,000 and offers one-day shipping proximity to nearly two-thirds of the United States population and more than a third of the Canadian population. The cost of living and doing business in Charleston is low, while the quality of life of high.

We don't deny the significant challenges before us. Along with a declining population, we face problems in education, health care, obesity, drug use and smoking addiction. But we are coming up with solutions, too. We believe metro government could be a boon for the Kanawha Valley and are continually encouraged by the many efforts designed to improve the quality of life in West Virginia.

It's a shame Forbes cast a negative light on a city using little empirical data. The statistics it used to label Charleston as "dying" were somewhat fickle. We invite the magazine's writers and editors to Charleston so they can see firsthand why Charleston is on the way up.

Those who live and work in Charleston already know what the region has to offer and how well it is progressing. Those on the outside might not be able to see that, but they will.

(Stay tuned.)

Ballard is the president and CEO of the Charleston Area Alliance, a multi-faceted economic, business and community development organization, as well as the largest regional Chamber of Commerce in West Virginia. Rossi is the chairman of the Charleston Area Alliance, which has 700 members representing 40,000 employees