HUNTINGTON, W.Va. — The city of Huntington won first place and the $3 million dollar prize on Wednesday when the city was named as America’s Best Community among eight semi-finalists. Mayor Steve Williams and a contingent of Huntington leaders made the trip to Denver, Colorado, for the award presentations on Wednesday evening, an event streamed live back to the city and a party that watched at Trifecta Productions at the Kindred-Capital Building at 555 Fifth Avenue.
Huntington is poised to become a gateway for revitalization in the Appalachian region, as it executes its Huntington Innovation Project (HIP) Plan, which aims to transform distressed neighborhoods, where the old manufacturing and coal-sector economy has declined, into hip hubs for advanced manufacturing, innovative maker spaces and entrepreneurial incubators, healthcare businesses and green community improvements.