HINTON, W.V. (LOOTPRESS) – The Hinton that we know and love today will never forget its past- a past built on the railroad nearly 150 years ago and sustained by the hard work of its people. This doesn’t mean that city officials don’t want to hold that history with one hand while grabbing the future with the other.
Mayor of Hinton Jack Scott says that is exactly what the city plans to do. With quaint shops and restaurants, friendly neighbors, historical houses, family-friendly outdoor adventures and more, Scott says Hinton is one of West Virginia’s best-kept secrets.
The problem is the city doesn’t want to be a secret anymore.
“The city needs help,” the mayor said. “We need to market ourselves more aggressively. We have to recreate ourselves.”
In order to accomplish this long-desired goal, the City of Hinton has enlisted the help of Go Duck Media, a multimedia marketing company founded in southern West Virginia by two 24-year-olds: Brianna Duckworth and Kirsten Hylton.
According to Scott, Go Duck Media will be working to remarket Hinton in exchange for office space inside the city’s Technology Center.
Much like the City of Hinton, Go Duck Media has a unique history of its own. The company launched during the pandemic after Duckworth, who was pursuing traveling theater, and Hylton, a history major, found themselves without employment.
The two Shady Spring natives- who had been friends in high school but lost touch while attending separate colleges- reconnected over coffee and realized their community was missing something.
“We noticed there was a hole there,” Duckworth explained. “Things were missing, and there were businesses that didn’t necessarily know how to market themselves or get themselves on the map. They didn’t know how to market themselves for this new and growing tourism industry coming into the state. We found that hole, and now we are trying to build up those new and local businesses and help get them even more up with the 21st century.
“Knowing that there is this new tourism coming in and new people moving here or interested in moving here, the pandemic really created this vein of online opportunities that we didn’t necessarily have before,” she continued. “It kind of forced us to launch further into the future.”
As they tell it, this past spring, Duckworth and Hylton started their businesses sitting in a cozy corner of Harper Road’s The Chocolate Moose.
They had two computers and an iPad.
Today, they operate in three states, nearly every country in West Virginia and have more than 50 clients.
“If you had asked us a few years ago if we’d be doing this, we wouldn’t think so,” Hylton shared. “We had dreams of doing something more but didn’t think that it was possible. Coming back home to the town and city that has given us so much allows us to give back to this area.”
Scott says he ran into the women of Go Duck Media and immediately knew they were Hinton’s key to success.
“I was impressed with them,” he said. “That is our future. We need to bring young adults here to help our community. They are very sharp, talented ladies and are very passionate about what they do. I had three people in the city office…and they are not marketing people. We had a hole and needed that experience. We want to do it on a professional basis because we have a unique experience and a story to tell.”
On Wednesday, Go Duck Media celebrated its official first day in its Hinton office- located inside the Technology Center- with a ribbon-cutting ceremony.
The center was dedicated in 2006 and has sat empty since 2010. City officials say it’s because no business was interested in utilizing the space.
“We have this technology center that most small communities don’t have. We have 4,000 square feet available for small tech firms to move to. This is the first blow. This is the egg in the incubator, and, hopefully, it will attract more,” Scott shared.
Charles Saunders, President of the Summers County Commission, was raised in Hinton and says he can’t wait to see Go Duck Media help the area flourish.
“Anytime we have a business come into the county, we get excited. We appreciate people that have confidence in our country and want to come in. I was raised right here in town. I remember how it used to be…maybe we can get it back to that. I am excited about anything that can come in and help our county.”
“We are excited about working now in the City of Hinton and helping grow their tourism industry,” Duckworth exclaimed. “The potential the city has to be able to take this new wave and make it into a really, really fantastic thing, we think, that is just amazing. We are glad to be a part of putting Hinton on the map more than it already is.”
Hylton says, now that the pair has an office space, they plan to expand.
“That’s for 2022,” she laughed.
With one new employee coming on after the new year, and more to join in the future, Duckworth and Hylton want to show that any dream is possible.
“You can do it,” Duckworth said. “It’s totally possible. We are two very normal 24-year-old women. You just have to find that thing that you’re passionate about and that you love… I hope that what we are doing will spark a whole revival in young people to get started and to do it, and you can.”
As for the City of Hinton?
Well, as Go Duck Media works to rebrand the city, Scott and his staff are creating exciting incentives to bring other businesses to the area.
Additionally, the city, which wasn’t accepted into the Ascend WV remote worker program, is working to fix some issues that Scott believes led to their denial.
“We weren’t selected initially, probably with residential housing being our one Achilles’ heel, but we are working on that, and we think we have the other elements to be attractive.”
Scott says Hinton is working to create its own version of the Ascend program. This, coupled with Saunders’ statement that the city is looking to increase its broadband capabilities and Go Duck Media’s example, will make the city a more desirable place for new businesses, remote workers and more.
