Over thirty years ago you, your parents, and perhaps some of your grandparents sent me to Congress to work on enriching the spirit of southern West Virginia.

Throughout those three decades, I have put together the top three life's lessons I have learned while serving the good people of our state.

First, nothing comes before family; second, hard work always pays off; and third, never-NEVER-forget where you came from. All the shiny buildings and glowing personalities you meet out in the world can not outshine the hearts of the many neighbors, teachers, friends, and family who raised you.

As a Congressman, I have found that no matter the issue, there will always be good, hard-working people who do not agree with various votes I cast. But over the years, I have also found that West Virginians are more than willing to put aside these differences and join forces to better our state.

The world has grown much more compact in the last couple of generations. Instead of worrying about competition between our sister cities, the push now is to ally all of West Virginia to defend our markets against the rest of the world.

West Virginia is becoming an enticing oasis as hard-working American families seek out quiet communities with friendly neighbors all within an easy distance of the East Coast.

Mark my words, our scenic vistas, mountain ridges, river valleys, forest lands, and parks will continue to entice development for generations to come. And as more people are drawn to our state by our well-advertised vacation and recreation destinations, they will come to discover the special secrets of southern West Virginia and development will follow.

How our communities prepare, plan, and optimize our opportunities for that eventuality can make the difference between night and day for southern West Virginia. And most of my initiatives for economic development in the area begin and end with community input, involvement, and benefit.

We have the beginnings of a roadmap in place. At the request of local county commissions, the Rahall Transportation Institute has studied most of our southern counties to define areas of opportunity, where we can focus our resources.

Another tool we are using to chart our future, the Connected Technologies Corridors (CTC) Program, is bringing broadband and high-tech bases of operation to southern West Virginia's communities. Increasing broadband access is a precise goal of the CTC Program, but it also aims to create an environment warm to sustaining tech business.

Broadband access breeds new life into a community-new jobs in new and old businesses. But now, growing generations also consider access a quality of life necessity. As a new grandparent, even I understand the need to be emailed new photos every week-no matter where I am traveling in West Virginia.

Such planning for our communities' development strengthens our goals for richer lives and economic opportunities.

Let me also say that no discussion of the spirit of West Virginia would be complete without the mentioning of coal. As long as the wind blows and the sun shines, coal-West Virginia coal-will be an integral part of our economy.

I believe the key to having the federal government buy into coal development is that significant leadership in the U.S. Department of the Air Force, the largest fuel consumer in the federal service, is PUSHING-note pushing-coal-to-liquids research and development.

My efforts will be to push the Air Force's agenda in the Congress through every means possible. Having at the ready an available, dependable fuel source for our military, is, after all, one of the most important national security and defense issues of our time.

Again, all these initiatives begin and end with community involvement, community commitment, and community benefits. Our state is blessed with good people, armed with good intentions for the common good and the good of our communities. This is the true spirit of West Virginia.