The Mine Safety Technology Consortium will dedicate a new training center, Regional Technology Resource Center, and unveil their new branding and marketing campaign in conjunction with the Upper Kanawha Valley Chamber of Commerce Christmas Business after Business on Thursday December 11, 2008 at Davis Hall on the campus of the Community and Technical College at WVU Tech. The event will take place on Thursday December 11, 2008 from 5:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m.

The Regional Technology Resource Center is located in Davis Hall of the Community and Technical College at WVU Tech. The facility offers a twenty-two (22) seat auditorium style training center. The RTRC provides the necessary capabilities to deliver training programs to promote entrepreneurship and mine safety training. Additionally the facility offers capabilities to deliver training via long distance learning centers throughout the state of West Virginia.

“The Community and Technical College @WVU Tech is preparing the next generation of coal miner to meet the needs and demands of the market place”, commented Dennis Jarvis II; Director of MSTC. The addition of the RTRC allows MSTC to promote innovation and enhancement for safety in the mining industry.”

The event is being hosted in conjunction with the Upper Kanawha Valley Chamber of Commerce Business after Business. Pauline Price, Executive Assistant for the Upper Kanawha Valley Chamber of Commerce, feels events like these offer value to the community, “The Upper Kanawha Valley Chamber of Commerce welcomes the Mine Safety and Training Consortium (MSTC) and is pleased that they are hosting the December Business after Business. These events have been a delightful way to introduce the various industries and businesses to their communities.”

Invitations have been extended to Governor Joe Manchin and Congressmen Nick Rahall. The event is open to the public.

The Mine Safety Technology Consortium is a public private partnership involving business owners, industry, government leaders, and educational professionals. MSTC is a principal component of a parent project currently under way at Marshall University’s Center for Environmental, Geotechnical, and Applied Sciences and is supported by a $2 million grant for the federal Economic Development Administration and the assistance of Congressman Nick J Rahall, II. MSTC was created to support three main objectives: address mine safety and health, economic development and job creation in West Virginia. The MSTC steering committee is chaired jointly by Dr. Beverly Jo Harris, president, the CTC @ WVU Tech, and Dr. Tony Szwilski, director of CEGAS at Marshall University. Other members of the consortium include: Department of Mining Engineers at West Virginia University; Arch Coal; West Virginia Coal Association; Consol Energy; West Virginia Development Office; International Coal Group; Robert C. Byrd Institute for Advanced Flexible Manufacturing; West Virginia Manufacturers Association; ISR Inc.; United Mine Workers of America; Office of Miner’s Health, Safety and Training.