West Virginia – Almost Heaven, Open for Business, The Mountain State, or Wild & Wonderful. This is what we in West Virginia have been discussing for months now. The governor, when he took office, decided to change the slogan from “Wild & Wonderful” to “Open for Business” in hopes of attracting new and expanding companies. Needless to say, this did not go over very well, costing the state tax payers approximately $50,000 to change the 107 signs that adorn the roadways entering the state. The solution – let’s take time for the government to conduct an open poll and let West Virginians voice their opinions. The first poll “Should West Virginia welcome signs have a new slogan?” Results of the poll – yes. Second poll “What should the slogan be?” By the way, this will cost an additional $50,000 of the taxpayers’ money, not to mention the expense the government had in setting up the polls and in presenting the winning slogan to the legislature in 2008 to create the new law.
Let’s take a moment and review the four slogans. One -almost heaven- how do we know? Look, I love the state of West Virginia, but if this is almost heaven then I’ve got a bone to pick with Big Guy upstairs. Two - open for business - yeah…..so is every other state in the nation. States are constantly luring large companies to break ground within their boundaries. I don’t think the CEO of Little Pink Elephants, Inc. is going to have a V8 moment while crossing the Ohio River and seeing that slogan on a welcome sign. Three - the mountain state - I know that it is one of the state’s knick names, but what about Colorado, North Carolina or Tennessee. I guess when I think of mountains, I don’t think of West Virginia. Fourth - wild and wonderful - this was the original slogan that welcomed travelers. Wild? Certainly, especially if you find yourself in Morgantown during a couch lighting ceremony. Wonderful? Well, it is not the first adjective that comes to my mind when I think of West Virginia.
Like I said before, I love West Virginia, but it’s a state that only a native can love sort of thing. With all of the bad, there is a lot of good, but that is not the topic of this post. So as West Virginia schools continue to fall behind the national average, as the state’s highway system continues to deteriorate, as state workers continue to lose benefits , and as the landscape continues to get raped for coal, you should come and visit West Virginia late next year and check out our new signs. Perhaps the new state signs should read, “Welcome to West Virginia – We suck at everything, but we have these new signs.”
Let’s take a moment and review the four slogans. One -almost heaven- how do we know? Look, I love the state of West Virginia, but if this is almost heaven then I’ve got a bone to pick with Big Guy upstairs. Two - open for business - yeah…..so is every other state in the nation. States are constantly luring large companies to break ground within their boundaries. I don’t think the CEO of Little Pink Elephants, Inc. is going to have a V8 moment while crossing the Ohio River and seeing that slogan on a welcome sign. Three - the mountain state - I know that it is one of the state’s knick names, but what about Colorado, North Carolina or Tennessee. I guess when I think of mountains, I don’t think of West Virginia. Fourth - wild and wonderful - this was the original slogan that welcomed travelers. Wild? Certainly, especially if you find yourself in Morgantown during a couch lighting ceremony. Wonderful? Well, it is not the first adjective that comes to my mind when I think of West Virginia.
Like I said before, I love West Virginia, but it’s a state that only a native can love sort of thing. With all of the bad, there is a lot of good, but that is not the topic of this post. So as West Virginia schools continue to fall behind the national average, as the state’s highway system continues to deteriorate, as state workers continue to lose benefits , and as the landscape continues to get raped for coal, you should come and visit West Virginia late next year and check out our new signs. Perhaps the new state signs should read, “Welcome to West Virginia – We suck at everything, but we have these new signs.”
Update 11-1-07: Well, West Virginia is no longer "Open for Business." West Virginia is once again "Wild, Wonderful." That is, if the legislature will adopt the new slogan into law during the upcoming spring session. Reading through some of the early suggestions for the new slogan was my favorite "Welcome to West Virginia..........It's all relative."
2 comments:
I have to admit, the first time I returned home to WV and I crossed the PA/WV border, I was confused and disgusted when I saw the new "Open for Business" signs. So much so that I have been signing electronic petitions from TX to have the sign changed. It's just downright stupid.
My vote is for "Wild, Wonderful" - and while I agree with your feelings about the WV education system (and other things), when it comes down to it, despite it being one of the most economically depressed states I have ever been to, the beauty of WV (especially south of Marshall County) is really quite breathtaking - and is certainly wild and wonderful.
By the way, as far as state welcome signs not living up to their slogans, I still laugh (sometimes even aloud) when I cross back into Texas from Arkansas, Oklahoma, or New Mexico to see "Welcome to Texas - the Friendly State". In reality, when leaving any of those states, I think the Texas sign would be more realistic to say "Welcome to Texas - You are Now Leaving a Friendly State."
hmm... or maybe a combo of the two: "Welcome to Wild, Wonderful West Virginia"?
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