Learning the Language of Place
Completing Another Step in my West Virginia Backyard Journey
Last week, I completed the West Virginia Tourism Office’s Certified Destination Specialist program through Blue Ridge Community and Technical College. It wasn’t just another course to check off. It felt like being handed a set of keys — keys to unlock a deeper understanding of the state I now call home.
West Virginia is often branded by outsiders as wild, beautiful, and almost mythic, but what I took away from the program was more grounded: tourism isn’t just about trails, rivers, and overlooks. It’s about people. It’s about small businesses, family-owned shops, roadside cafés, artists, and makers who turn a visit into a memory.
As a Gen Xer, I grew up in a world where we were told to entertain ourselves—the latchkey kids, raised on microwaves, mixtapes, and the art of independence. That spirit is what I carry into my company, Latchkey Connect, LLC. We know how to bridge worlds, how to connect dots that don’t seem to line up at first glance. We’ve been doing it since we were left alone after school with MTV and Tang.
The course gave me something new to bring to the table when I sit down with small business owners in southern West Virginia. It sharpened the lens on what I already believed: that local businesses can and should tap into the tourism market, because travelers aren’t just buying coffee or renting a bike—they’re buying a piece of West Virginia’s story.
Branding, marketing, advertising—these aren’t abstract strategies. They’re storytelling tools. And when used well, they help an innkeeper in Mercer County, a bike shop in Princeton, or a craftsperson in Bluefield not just sell a product, but invite someone into the experience of Appalachia.
Tourism is no longer something that just “happens” around us. It’s something we can actively shape. And with this certification in hand, I feel more equipped to help local businesses write themselves into that story.
It’s the same Gen X lesson I’ve carried all along: no one is going to hand you the script. You make your own. And in doing so, you help others see the value that’s always been here, waiting to be noticed.