In honor of our 15th year in publication, we have created some fun lists of 15. For this list, we thought it would be an interesting change to give you a closer look at the talented (and sometimes wacky) people who work to bring you the state’s premier business publication: Kensie Hamilton, Jennifer Jett, Lisa Affolter, Maggie Matsko, Amy Arnett, Mark Lamborn and Longfellow.
Kensie with the horse in Washington, D.C.
1. Can you say hypochondriac? Kensie has had her share of bizarre health problems, including losing part of her middle finger and shredding a ligament in her foot while playing softball, but additionally diagnoses herself with a rare disorder on a near-hourly basis. Thanks, WebMD!
2. Kensie lives just outside of Charleston and has several horses and dogs. Once, on a trip to Washington D.C., Kensie threw some horse manure at Jenn, who proceeded to freak out.
3. Jenn has written an award-winning young adult novel called “Scars,” about a paranormal romance, but is still afraid of the dark and thinks there are zombies living on the sixth floor of our building.
4. LinkedIn has threatened to terminate Jenn’s account and ban her for friending too many people.
5. Lisa appeared on the MTV show “I Bet you Will” while in college at Marshall University. She had to bounce around a fountain on a bouncy ball. She didn’t win the money, but she won our hearts!
6. Lisa is also discount savvy. Although she’s not an extreme couponer, she still uses her skills to buy goods like cashews, which are her favorite.
7. Maggie hates butterflies, and says, “They are just caterpillars with wings who can get to you faster. They’re creepy.”
8. Originally from Dover, Delaware, Maggie grew up on a 40 acre farm, and her family has 12 dogs and breeds Chesapeake Bay Retrievers.
9. If Amy enjoys a movie that she sees in theaters, she will stay in the theater until the end of the credits in order to “show appreciation for the people who made it.”
10. Amy also has a collection of flattened pennies, which started as a joke, but has grown into a modest set of eleven pennies from all over the U.S.
Amy’s Penny Collection
11. Mark sword fights and has three full suits of armor, and his wife, Amie, has sewn all of his medieval garb.
12. Mark does a great impression of a Southern belle, which comes in handy when he needs to charm someone into doing something for him.
13. Longfellow is a jack of all trades: he can sew, he invents and is very handy, he’s a serial entrepreneur and splits his own firewood, among other talents.
14. Longfellow wears the same sized pants that he did in high school, which is one of the reasons his name suits him.
15. Over the course of the years, we have owned three hampsters, a guinea pig and a white rat. We are currently a pet-free office, although we do have a window plant named Ted.
