Jim Pennington has announced his plans to step down as President and CEO of The Health Plan upon the expiration of his current employment agreement at the end of the year. “We greatly appreciate the contributions that Jim has made to The Health Plan and thank him for his excellent leadership and service,” John Wright,…
West Virginia University at Parkersburg’s Workforce & Economic Development Division is rolling out a welding lab on wheels to meet a growing need for area businesses to provide on-site training and testing to welders. The mobile welding lab will be unveiled at a ribbon cutting ceremony conducted by the Chamber of Commerce of the Mid-Ohio…
By Audrey Pitonak-Goff As the Appalachian Children’s Chorus (ACC) approaches its 30th anniversary, the organization’s leadership has been reflecting on not only where the nonprofit music education organization has been but where it is going. The ACC’s mission is to provide artistic excellence, a quality music education and extraordinary opportunities while creating a positive effect…
By Traci Phillips Kayla Lewis, an 11-year-old girl from Charleston, WV, spent 12 hours baking cookies and sweets for the first annual West Virginia Kids Business Expo. The morning of the event, she arose at 6 a.m. and began baking more than 200 of her Sweet Day Cookies to be showcased at the expo in the TransCanada Building…
By Randi Weingarten When most of the coal companies pulled up stakes and abandoned McDowell County, WV, decades ago, they didn’t leave much behind except pain and poverty. Pride, however, remained. The good people of this part of rural America went from enjoying middle-class livelihoods to enduring sky-high unemployment, some of the nation’s worst health…
By Elizabeth Riffle It’s not often you see bison or buffalo on a menu in Appalachia. It’s even more rare to dine with the beasts surrounding your table. Riffle Farms in Terra Alta, WV, is the proud purveyor of some of the highest quality grass-fed and finished bison in the region. In September, owners Jimmie…