August 10, 2024 - The Bluefield Coal Symposium, a gathering of national coal industry representatives and industry exhibitors, is now less than a week away.

The symposium gets underway on Monday, August. 12 and continues through Wednesday, August 14 at the Chuck Mathena Center in Princeton. The three-day event will provide a significant economic boost to the region as visitors from multiple states will be staying in local hotels and motels, eating at local restaurants and filling up at local convenience stations.

The symposium is being sponsored by the Chamber of Commerce of the Two Virginias and CoalZoom.com. The theme of this year’s event is “Using U.S. Coal for a Better America.”

Jeff Disibbio, the chamber’s president and CEO, said registrations for the coal symposium have picked up considerably over the past two weeks. He is anticipating a large crowd at the Chuck Mathena Center for the three-day event that will bring together leaders of the coal industry with coal industry exhibitors for opportunities to share knowledge while also enjoying some recreational time.

While past symposiums and coal shows have been held at the National Gaurd Armory in Brushfork, this year’s event is being held at the Chuck Mathena Center in Princeton, a venue featuring a 930-seat theater with state-of-the-art audio and visual capabilities.

“Our Symposium Chair, Bill Reid, has brought together a very distinguished group of industry decision makers to address the current issues in the coal industry and dig into the challenges and opportunities of coal so we can all see what the future of the industry looks like and how it affects us,” Disibbio said last week.

According to the chamber, there will be a number of exhibitors on hand at next week’s event displaying their latest products and services. The complete program may be seen at www.CoalZoom.com.

Among those already confirmed to speak during this year’s symposium are four coal operator CEOs, six coal association leaders and ten industry experts.

But it won’t be all business. Those attending the event also will participate in a number of recreational activities, including golf on Monday, August 12, at the Fincastle in Bluefield, Va. And the symposium itself will feature live entertainment, including performances by “Twitty and Lynn: A Salute to Conway & Loretta”, as well as an appearance by the country music band Exile, who will perform many of their hit records.

Individuals can still register for the coal symposium by visiting www.CoalZoom.com, but they do need to act fast. As the three-day event is fast approaching.

The good news is that Mercer County, and the city of Princeton in particular, can expect to see a big increase in visitors during the week of August 12.

This will be new revenue coming into Mercer County from the national visitors.

The same can be expected for the 25th biennial Bluefield Coal and Mining Show in 2025, an event which draws an even larger crowd as industry professionals across the world gather in Bluefield to celebrate the mining industry and to provide connectivity between the buyers and sellers.