Kate Schnee
West Virginia’s newest Governor’s School concluded its first summer session with Mountain State University students during the last weekend in June at Cacapon State Park.
Students, teachers and coordinators from the Governor’s Tourism School met with Cacapon State Park staff and experts, bike trail leaders, park naturalists and tourism experts from West Virginia University to understand the importance of Cacapon State Park and its role in the state’s tourism industry.
Cacapon Park Superintendent Scott Fortney welcomed students to the Butt Pavilion area on a warm summer Saturday as mountain biking activity picked up in the area.
Students from the Governor’s School of Tourism listen to Danny Twilley, vice president for Economic, Community and Asset Development at West Virginia University, who talks about the development of Cacapon State Park’s expanding bike trail system.
Photo by Kate Schnee
“It’s great,” Fortney said of the stop on the tourist school tour. “The kids had no idea the state had so much to offer.”
Berkeley Springs High School student Cami Andrews was one of the students selected to attend the first-ever Governor’s School in West Virginia this summer, and she agreed that visiting the state’s tourist sites and landmarks was an eye-opening experience.
“I enjoyed sightseeing in the state capital. I thought it was really beautiful. I was lucky to have the opportunity to visit Lost World Caverns and tour the caves and learn about the history,” she said last week.
Dozens of students were selected for the 10-day summer academy, which took them on a chartered bus tour of the state’s regions and attractions, staying in parks and guesthouses along the way. They visited Wheeling, Morgantown, Parkersburg, Charleston, Logan, the New River Gorge area, Summersville, Beckley, Lewisburg, Seneca Locks, Blackwater Falls, Harpers Ferry and Cacapon State Park.
At each stop, students met with people working in outdoor recreation, arts and cultural facilities, hospitality and accommodation, and culinary arts, and learned about the state’s history, geology, natural features, and future areas of growth.
When asked if her studies at the Governor’s Tourism School had inspired her to consider a future career in West Virginia’s tourism industry, Andrews said the experience had given her a broader perspective.
“I don’t know what I want to do yet, but this experience has given me a deeper appreciation for the people who love our state and who dedicate their lives to helping others love it too,” Andrews said.
Allison Conroy, a West Virginia University professor, said she was thrilled that West Virginia University was selected as the host organization for the new Governor’s Tourism Academy. She said that in the process of organizing the academy and hiring instructors to accompany the students, she was overwhelmed by the passion and knowledge of the instructors, who know and love West Virginia and have the experience to share it with others.
Speaking at the closing of the academy in Cacapon, Conroy said he had seen the change the experience had made in the students by exposing them to new places, recreational opportunities and future possibilities.
Allen Miller, staff naturalist at Cacapon State Park, speaks about the geological history of Cacapon to students from the Governor’s Tourism School at Bat Pavilion.
Photo by Kate Schnee
“I’ve seen the incredible impact this program has had on students’ lives,” Conroy said. “They’ve stepped outside of their box.”
“We’re excited to see the impact this will have in their lives” as students consider new career paths they never knew existed, Conroy said.
The academy was established as a joint venture between the West Virginia Office of Tourism, West Virginia University and the Department of Education.
“This is run differently than the other Governor’s Schools,” Conroy noted. All of the other schools are held on college campuses around the state. The Governor’s Tourism School takes students on a 1,000-mile journey, touring all kinds of terrain.
At Cacapon State Park, students were introduced to the geology of the park and the Cacapon Mountain it sits on, and learned about the history of CCC campers who built the park’s original facilities, from the Bat Pavilion where they sat to the traditional cabins.
A demonstration of the park’s new bike pump track, mountain and BMX bike skills features and new mountain bike trails were highlights of the students’ visit to Cacapon.
Danny Twilley, West Virginia University vice president for Economic, Community and Asset Development, led the bike tour of the area with help from local bike riders and bike advocates Matt and Danielle Hovermale.
Local rider and bike advocate Matt Hovermale shows off his techniques on Cacapon’s new pump track.
Twilley told the students how Cacapon’s new mountain bike trail network was conceived, developed and funded, and how it fits into the area’s tourism industry. He walked the students along the bike trails, familiarizing them with the trail signage and facilities that have been installed for cyclists.
Students looked on with excitement as local bikers jumped, raced down hills and rounded turns in the park’s skills area.
Daniel Hovermale walks students through the skills features of Cacapon’s new bike course.
Despite the rigorous journey and tight schedule, Andrews said she would encourage other local students to seek out the academy experience just like her.
“I would wholeheartedly recommend the Governor’s Tourism School to anyone wanting to get out of their comfort zone and learn about tourism in West Virginia with great people,” she said.
Cacapon naturalist Valerie Chaney will speak to Tourism Academy students about the history of Cacapon State Park and the CCC on June 29 at the Butt Pavilion.
Photo by Kate Schnee
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