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Pennsylvania Wilds Center for Entrepreneurship

Floor Speech

Date: Sept. 8, 2016
Location: Washington, DC
Issues: Business and Consumers

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Mr. THOMPSON of Pennsylvania. Mr. Speaker, in August, I was proud to announce a grant of $500,000 from the Appalachian Regional Commission to the Pennsylvania Wilds Center for Entrepreneurship, located in Warren County in Pennsylvania's Fifth Congressional District.

The Pennsylvania Wilds region includes 2 million acres of land in the north central and northwestern portion of Pennsylvania and includes 12 counties. Tourism in that area has increased dramatically in recent decades, with plenty of opportunities for fishing, hunting, kayaking, and canoeing, not to mention plenty of forestland for hiking.

This grant will be dedicated to the Center's Nature Tourism Cluster Development in the Pennsylvania Wilds, which is intended to develop a network of small businesses to support the increased need for products and services in the Pennsylvania Wilds region.

The Pennsylvania Wilds Center for Entrepreneurship currently offers two business development programs, assisting prospective businessowners one on one to connect them with lenders, technical assistance providers, marketers, public lands managers, and other resources needed to start a business.

Mr. Speaker, tourism is one of Pennsylvania's largest and most vibrant industries. I look forward to seeing what this initiative can do to help grow the industry in the communities of the Pennsylvania Wilds.

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