HINTON -- Ken Allman could have built his Internet-related business most anywhere in America. He chose his hometown—Hinton.

PracticeLink.com is an online job bank that connects physicians with health care facilities.

"Our business is not geographically limited," said Allman. "We can be wherever we want to be. We have all the technology and all of the resources we need right here in Hinton. It made sense economically, logistically and with the quality of life. This is a great place to live."

After earning a degree in biology from Alderson-Broaddus College, Allman began his career as a management consultant in St. Louis, Mo. He spent the next two years crisscrossing America to provide electronics and technology advice to shipping, manufacturing and transportation-related businesses.

"It was 100 percent travel," Allman said of the job. "I was on the road constantly."

Looking for a change that would allow for a more stable lifestyle, he connected with a St. Louis-based physician recruiting service. As someone who had contemplated a career in the medical field, he was able to shift his career path to combine his interest in health care with his background in technology.

After two years, he decided in 1994 it was time to initiate his own enterprise. He described the early days of PracticeLink as a "bootstrap physician referral service" based in his one-bedroom apartment.

"We took an old, established industry and combined it with a new technology," he explained. "The need was there. The Internet changed a lot of industries and forced people to change the way they look at business. It was a good fit."

To the best of his knowledge, Allman said, connecting a critical care doctor from New York with a new job at a St. Cloud, Minn., hospital was the first successful Internet hiring in the field.

The business grew quickly as an increasing number of hospitals chose to post their physician needs and openings on the Web site. Likewise, it became increasingly popular with physicians who were able to visit the site to search for opportunities quickly and confidentially. Hospital administrators also use the site to search a data base of physicians who seek to relocate.

Allman moved his company headquarters from Missouri to West Virginia in 1996. The business was first located in a small, leased office.

As the business grew and more employees were hired, he acquired a larger building adjacent to the courthouse square that had been the local Moose Lodge. With a complete renovation of the 6,000-square-foot structure, it became the home of the company's administrative, accounting, customer service, call center and Web development departments.

With the 2009 acquisition of Unique Opportunities, a Louisville-based, physician recruitment publication, PracticeLink now has 50 employees in four cities, including a staff of 30 in Hinton. The company now partners with 1,000 hospitals across the country and beyond and has a job bank comprised of more than 18,000 physicians.

To be competitive, Allman said it was essential for him to build a staff that has a sound academic foundation. He accomplished that by hiring graduates from area colleges, such as Concord University in Athens and Mountain State University in Beckley, among others.

Noting that his business had outgrown his education, he is pursuing a master's degree in business administration at Washington University in St. Louis.

"It all comes down to people," he added. "You look for people who are humble, hungry to learn, happy and smart. That's been a key to our success."

Allman also has been a major player in an ongoing effort to revitalize downtown Hinton. Among other projects, his MountainPlex Properties LLC has developed a bed-and-breakfast and restaurant and has completed a major restoration of the town's landmark theater.

The 80-year-old Ritz Theater recently underwent a complete interior renovation. The 350-seat theater is now available for movies, concerts, plays and meetings.

MountainPlex offices are on the street level of the McCreery, a five-floor hotel that was built in 1907. Once considered among the grand lodging facilities along the Chesapeake & Ohio Railroad line, it had been vacant for several years. The West Virginia Preservation Alliance had considered the old hotel one of the state's top 10 endangered historical buildings when Allman's company acquired the structure.

Cleo Mathews, a former Hinton mayor, said Allman has made a significant impact on the community.

"Many people leave small West Virginia towns and become successful, but few choose to come back," she said. "Fewer put their heart and soul into their community when they come back. That is what Ken Allman is doing for Hinton."

Allman said it's exciting to be part of the transition in his hometown.

"Hinton was a railroad town from the early 1900s through the 1950s," he said. "Now we're reinventing ourselves. We have scenic beauty, history and we have great people. You can do a lot with that."