Banking is in Chad Mildren’s blood. The regional president for United Bank decided to become a banker after being influenced by four paternal generations in banking. “My great-grandfather, my grandfather and my father, Bill Mildren, were all in the banking business,” says Mildren. “My grandfather and father ran Commercial Bank in Parkersburg for more than 50 years.”
Mike Green has always had the drive and determination to succeed—he just had to find the best outlets for achieving that success. The path to his career as an entrepreneur, business owner and state senator was revealed to him while he was exploring his true passions: entrepreneurialism and politics. Today, Green is the president and CEO of Custom Business Solutions LLC and president of Premier Construction Inc., as well as a West Virginia state senator.
Coming from a long line of pioneers in the oil and gas industry, Scott Freshwater always knew he would end up carrying on his family’s legacy. “My Grandfather Rogers used to say I was born with a pipe wrench in my hand,” says Freshwater. “He always had a desire to see me in the oil and gas business like him.”
Paul Daugherty has established himself as a leader in the philanthropic sector in West Virginia simply by focusing on his personal mission of a better future for the Mountain State. Growing up in a large family where the focus was on serving others, his civic entrepreneur-centered career should come as no surprise. “Being actively involved in the community through service is how I was raised,” says Daugherty. “Some of my best childhood memories are rooted in the hours spent working alongside family and friends, developing programs to create opportunities for Doddridge County and its citizens while enhancing community pride.”
While younger brothers Tom and Josh initially had other goals—Tom wanted to be an astronaut and Josh wanted to play for the Pittsburgh Steelers—a day never passed that Bob Contraguerro, Jr. doubted his future with their father’s company. Despite varying interests, it was a passion for the business their parents built that brought the three brothers back together in their hometown of Wheeling to run Panhandle Cleaning & Restoration.
Katherine Bomkamp is proof that age doesn’t define what a person can accomplish. At 22 years old, Bomkamp is the president and CEO of her own company, a highly-involved advocate for nonprofits and a full-time student at West Virginia University (WVU). She has proven herself as a force in the business world with her outlook. “I never thought I was too young to do something important,” says Bomkamp.