WILLIAMSON – This weekend, people of Coal Country are invited to join a “Celebration of our miners, our communities and our energy future,” courtesy of the JOBS project.

The JOBS project is a Southern West Virginia organization working toward diversifying the local energy based economy. The organization works with property owners to explore wind and solar energy, works to bring new technologies to the area as well as educating students and educational professionals about careers in renewable energy.

Eric Mathis, Smart-Tech Director at JOBS, said the country’s economy points to the need for diversification.

“The recent layoffs associated with America's current recession are a stark example of the economic realities of the modern-day coal town where communities no longer pay in currency scrip, but pay in dependence scrip,” Mathis said. “For those familiar with the region, the economic reality becomes abundantly clear: If coal goes, jobs go. We ask you to join us and pay tribute to the American coal miner by supporting the economic diversification, social wellbeing, and ecological sustainability of all coal communities in Central Appalachia.”

Energy Independence Day will be held at the Williamson campus of Southern West Virginia Community and Technical College in West Williamson.

The event will last all day, beginning with the opening of a silent auction at 10 a.m. Items included in the auction include crafts, martial arts lessons and books, with proceeds benefiting local energy projects.

There will be workshops throughout the day to about weatherization of homes and solar energy, an energy independent home tour and a panel discussion of sustainable communities.

For parents who want to attend workshops, a supervised art station will be provided for children.

Other displays of interest include a mining exhibition, with mining artifacts and the “Faces of Miners” by local photographer Nathan Ward.

A free cookout is scheduled for noon, with music from the band Hard Luck Child from Davis and the local Easy Street Band.

Williamson Mayor Darrin McCormick will be part of the Keynote Panel, along with Mike McArthur, Director of the Oregon Association of Counties, Tomoko Tamagawa of the West Virginia Community Development Hub.

Mayor McCormick invites everyone to the event.

“I'd like to invite everyone to stop by the Energy Independence Day Celebration,” the mayor said. “Stop by enjoy some refreshments and learn about some exciting opportunities on tap for the sustainability of life in Williamson as we know it now and looking forward in the 21st Century.”