Spence Discusses W.Va.’s ‘World Footprint’ At Rotary
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WHEELING - More than 1.7 million people live in West Virginia and about 360,000 have passports according to Steven Spence, president of the World Affairs Council of West Virginia.
He noted just 4% of the world's population resides within the United States, which means 96% of potential customers "are outside the United States."
Spence was speaker for the Wheeling Rotary meeting Tuesday at WesBanco Arena.
He explained the World Affairs Council in West Virginia is a relatively "new" organization that just started within the last year, and its role is to expand the state's global footprint.
Each year, West Virginia exports about $4.6 billion in products, according to Spence. The top products are chemicals, plastics, metals, automotive and aerospace parts.
Metallurgical coal isn't among the top products, but it’s something the state continues to promote, he added.
Spence said the top markets for West Virginia exports are Canada, China, Germany, Brazil and the Netherlands.
"Sometimes we think of West Virginia as a small inland state, but individuals have connections (throughout the word) with personal travel or business travel," Spence said.
He first started to grow and establish the state's presence in the world economy under then Gov. Jay Rockefeller during the 1970s when Spence was only in his 20s. Rockefeller had a background in dealing with business in Japan and wanted to start there, Spence noted.
Spence received a message from state officials that he needed to "go there," meaning Japan. He didn't have a passport then.
"That began a great career under many great governors and many great bosses to see that West Virginia succeeds in the global market place," he explained.
Spence served in the West Virginia Department of Commerce from June 1979 through November 2025, where he served as director of its international division. In that position, he organized and led West Virginia trade missions throughout six different continents.
In 1990, Spence was assigned to Nagoya, Japan where he established the state's first overseas office and assisted in opening similar offices in Europe and Taiwan.
Wheeling Rotary will meet at noon next Tuesday on Election Day - but not at WesBanco Arena, which will be closed.
The meeting will instead take place at the conference room at Wheeling Park's White Palace.