Marsha Waybright is an entrepreneur, nonprofit founder, and catalyst for rural economic growth in West Virginia’s emerging agritourism sector. As the creator of Laurel Fork Farm and Laurel River Club Bed & Breakfast, she has created an award-winning destination successfully bridging agriculture, tourism, hospitality, and education into a sustainable economic model that strengthens both family and community.

She is the founder and executive director of the West Virginia School of Traditional Skills, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit dedicated to equipping families with heritage skills and hands on knowledge that foster resilience, confidence, and self reliance. Through workshops, retreats, internships, youth programming, and private instruction, the organization has become a regional resource for experiential learning and skill preservation. Marsha’s work helps redefine what rural opportunity looks like proving that farms can be not only productive, but innovative hubs of education, entrepreneurship, and community impact.

As a homeschool mother of three exceptional children. two of which are now adults and entrepreneurs of the their own, Marsha has lived out the principles she teaches: learning through doing, leading with purpose, and building a legacy that reaches beyond a single property or generation. Her leadership style blends vision with practicality strategically leveraging local resources, partnerships, and tourism to create experiences that draw visitors nationwide while reinvesting value back into West Virginia’s rural economy.

With a mission rooted in service and sustainability, Marsha continues to expand agritourism’s role in West Virginia, opening doors for aspiring homesteaders, families seeking deeper connection, and communities looking to build a stronger, more resilient future.