NRGRDA holds annual Awards Banquet, Greenbrier Environmental Group named ‘Redevelopment Partner of the Year’

By Matthew Young, RealWV

BECKLEY, W.Va. – The New River Gorge Regional Development Authority (NRGRDA), on Wednesday, held its annual Client Showcase and Awards Banquet at the historic Black Knight Club in Beckley.

“We’re very excited because this is when we get to share all of our impacts from the previous year,” NRGRDA Executive Director Jina Belcher said, while speaking with reporters during the event. “We’re in the trenches of this work all year long, and we feel like so many folks don’t get recognized”

“We really want to take this opportunity to celebrate what comes out of today, what happens all throughout the year, and how we can really just let the community know,” Belcher added. “There are so many people doing things in the background, and we really want to celebrate them and let them know that they’re recognized for their efforts.”

When evaluating successes, Belcher explained, the NRGRDA does not simply celebrate individual projects or counties, but rather considers the southern West Virginia-region as a whole. 

“We understand that the regional approach to this is really the most impactful,” Belcher noted. “In 2025, our ability to attract investment by preparing the region for opportunities literally strengthened over time. That work included marketing 118 available properties for new business location, assessing more than 22,700 site-ready acres, and readying nearly 200 acres for future development.”

“We secured $1.07 million in public investment that helped create nearly 90 new jobs in the regions,” Belcher added. “Through our partnerships across all four of our counties (Fayette, Nicholas, Raleigh, and Summers), we facilitated $8.65 million in infrastructure investment.”

One of her favorite aspects of her work, Belcher noted, is working with existing business owners, adding that, “We feel that it’s just as important to retain those jobs and those businesses as it is to attract new ones.” 

The awards-portion of the banquet began with the small-business presentations, at which time Belcher called upon NRGRDA Small Business Advisors Devon Fitzgerald and Matt Nichols to introduce the recipients.

“Our first award today is our Start-up of the Year Award, which celebrates new business that embodies innovation, resilience, and community impact,” Fitzgerald said. “This year’s honorees represent all of that, and then some.”

The 2025 Start-up of the Year Award was presented to Splatter & Sprout of White Sulphur Springs, for becoming what Fitzgerald called, “A joyful and inclusive creative space for families of the Greenbrier Valley.”

Explained as a “creative play and art studio for children,” Splatter & Sprout opened its doors on Aug. 5. On-hand to accept the award were the mother-daughter team of Brooke Kelley and Stephanie Braden, co-founders of Splatter & Sprout.

The next award to be presented was the Minority Business of the Year Award. 

As explained by Nichols, “Rent-A-Son LLC., founded and fully owned by Larry Wilkins, is a shining example of a business created not just to succeed, but to serve.”

“After years working as an EMT, Larry launched Rent-A-Son in 2024,” Nichols continued. “Offering flexible and dependable support services for seniors and church organizations; from meal-preparation and housekeeping, to medication reminders – Larry has built a model centered on community service and care.”

Wilkins was not on-hand to personally accept his award, prompting Nichols to add with a laugh, “I believe somebody had already rented a son prior to us extending an invitation for this, so we’ll be sure to get this to him.”

The Survivor Bee of the Year Award, also explained by Nichols, “honors entrepreneurs who embody extraordinary resilience, those who push forward – despite challenges – to continue to serve their communities, and determination for hiring.”

“This year’s recipients represent that spirit in the most powerful way,” Nichols added, before presenting the award to Alderson-based JarHead Farms. 

Owned by father-daughter team of Stan and Natasha Zoe, JarHead Farms is a veteran-operated farm which provides a variety of jams, jellies, apple butter, and fruit syrups throughout the rural food deserts of Summers, Greenbrier, Monroe, and Mercer Counties. On-hand to accept the award were both Stan and Natasha Zoe. 

The recipient of the Social Enterprise of the Year Award, presented by Fitzgerald, was Fayetteville-based Bud’s Recycling, for “reshaping the sustainability of life in Fayette County.”

The mission of Bud’s Recycling, Fitzgerald said, is, “To make recycling accessible, convenient, and community-driven.”

“By offering weekly pick-ups of unsorted recyclables from homes and businesses, they’ve made sustainable living easier for residents by reducing landfill waste, and increasing environmental awareness,” Fitzgerald added. 

On-hand to receive the Social Enterprise of the Year Award was the team from Bud’s Recycling. 

To conclude the banquet, three “Partner of the Year” awards were presented by Belcher. As she explained, “These awards really embody […] those who are consistent advocates and partners in this work.” 

“Our Community Partner of the Year Award recognizes someone whose expertise, generosity, and commitment strengthens the foundation of our small business ecosystem,” Belcher said. “Adam Wakefield is a trusted CPA (Certified Public Accountant) and longtime collaborator, and has supported our small businesses for years.”

The next award, Redevelopment Partner of the Year, was then presented to the Greenbrier Environmental Group.

“From the beginning, they have become one of the most trusted and strategic partners in our redevelopment work across the entire region of West Virginia,” Belcher noted. “They have supported countless clean-up and Brownfields projects, often the tough ones, the messy ones, and the ones where the path forward is not always clear.”

The day’s final award, Development Partner of the Year, was presented to Dudding Commercial Development.

As explained by Belcher, “In our field, having a development partner who is willing to put real skin in the game, to take a risk, and to invest early – to stand beside us through the unknown – is an incredibly rare gift to an economic development authority.”

“Dudding Commercial has become a partner that we can count on from idea to action, and from possibility to investment,” Belcher added.