President, Mountain Leverage Facebook: Mountain Leverage Twitter: @MtnLeverage LinkedIn: Alex Reneman Website: www.mountainleverage.com What once began as a simple idea has turned into a policy—and a globally renowned business: the leveraging of the people of the mountains. A Grafton native, Alex Reneman got his first taste of entrepreneurship as a teenager when he started a…
Jason Pizatella is in the business of improving West Virginia.
As the cabinet secretary of the West Virginia Department of Administration and former deputy chief of staff for Governor Earl Ray Tomblin, Pizatella has transitioned his career in law to one of politics and public service.
PJ Orsini was raised to never be afraid of hard work.
As one of the owners of Orsini’s Appliances in his hometown of Martinsburg, WV, Orsini has spent his life pursuing dreams propelled by his entrepreneurial spirit. “I asked my parents what I wanted to be when I grew up, and they both came up with the same answer: rich,” he says. “I’m not sure how I intended to get there, but I was always geared toward being an entrepreneur. My family has always owned their own businesses, so I followed their lead.”
You might know Chris Miller. He stars in Dutch Miller Kia’s infamous commercials that have been generating conversation in Southern West Virginia since they started. But it’s time you really met Chris Miller.
Growing up in the small town of Paden City, WV, Laura Miller McCall was a born fundraiser. From Girl Scout cookies to wrapping paper, community events to telethons, she always strived to raise the most money or sell the most items. “I could ask anyone for anything,” she says, “and I learned at an early age not to take rejection personally or let it stand in my way.”
Kurt Dettinger has traveled a unique career path, and it was his long-time barber, Joe Panzera, who unwittingly steered him toward becoming a lawyer. Fresh out of undergrad, Dettinger entered the banking industry as an internal auditor, became a CPA and later transitioned to being a corporate lender. When visiting the Drive In Barber Shop in Kanawha City, near Charleston, he talked about banking and his decision to leave the industry. Panzera introduced him to a CPA-turned-lawyer, and the rest is history.