HUNTINGTON, W.Va. — “Make not little plans.” That was the mantra for Huntington Mayor Steve Williams going into the America’s Best Communities Summit, and it paid off.
Huntington was announced as one of eight communities that will advanced to final round of the America’s Best Communities competition Wednesday in Durham, North Carolina, and remains in the running for a chance to win $3 million.
“I am so proud of what we have accomplished,” Williams said in a call Wednesday to The Herald-Dispatch. “This affirms to people in Huntington just what their worth is and that they can compete against anybody in the nation. Even with all the of the nonsense of being the unhealthiest, or the level of the opioid addiction, to be able to say the we’re a finalist in the ABC competition is an affirmation to everyone in Huntington that we don’t ever have to hang our head around anyone.”
During the summit, Williams presented the city’s revitalization plan, also known as the Huntington Innovation Project, or HIP, which outlined four projects and ideas…