The Adjutant GeneralState of West Virginia By Jennifer Jett Prezkop Major General Jim Hoyer’s uniform may be his most recognizable attribute, but those who have talked to him one on one know him more for his unwavering love for West Virginia and his self-appointed mission to make the Mountain State the center of the universe.…
President & CEO, MATRIC, Inc., and Chairman & CEO, Appalachia Development Group, LLC By Jennifer Jett Prezkop Steve Hedrick’s first job was that of a soldier, serving as a commissioned officer and scout platoon leader in the U.S. Army. Embracing a lifelong calling to be a professional soldier, he had just graduated from West Point…
When Cody Thrasher opened Cody’s Restaurant in 2016, he had one goal in mind: to modify the way people think about Appalachian cuisine. “I think the best way to describe my mindset is to use this example: what is the difference between an egg roll, burrito or the West Virginia pepperoni roll? The answer is that all are starch with meat, cheese or vegetable filling,” he says.
PresidentWest Virginia University By Samantha Cart “If you don’t like change, you are going to like irrelevance even less.” This quote by retired U.S. Army General Eric Shinseki is a driving force for Dr. Gordon Gee, president of West Virginia University (WVU). Over the course of his 50-year career, he has experienced countless changes in…
Executive DirectorLeadership West Virginia By Maggie Matsko “The true measure of leadership is not how much you achieve. It is how much you inspire others to achieve.” This quote by John Maxwell inspires Pam Farris every day in her role as executive director of Leadership West Virginia (LWV). The Pennsylvania native’s passion for the Mountain…
Owner & Vice President, Mining Repair Specialists, Inc., and Owner & Managing Member, Holy Smoke Coal LLC and MRS Manufacturing, LLC By Jennifer Jett Prezkop While Diana Barnette refers to herself as an accidental entrepreneur, the spunk and determination she has exhibited from an early age are evidence that her success has been anything but…