Compiled by Laura Burdette, Jennifer Jett, Dawn Nolan, April Plank and Kensie Westerfield It’s not impossible to imagine an outsider taking one step across the West Virginia border and being intimidated with the heights of the surrounding mountains, the tight turns of both the highways and back roads, the narrow valleys and the ever-changing four seasons. For centuries, men and…
By Kensie Westerfield Jeff Imel has always loved everything to do with flying and machines. Growing up, he was fascinated by aviation and spent his time at the airport and helping in his parents’ machine shop. A few years ago, he got to see a different side of the airline industry when he had the…
By Jim Estep Almost every morning before I go to work, I watch the local weather. It’s mostly out of habit, but it does help me decide if I should take an umbrella. When we were planning our beach vacation this year, I was very interested in the hurricane predictions. Of course, I had to schedule…
By Dr. Robert Rupp The Appalachian Mountains is one of the oldest mountain systems on the planet, and West Virginia, the only state located entirely in that mountain range, has had one of the most senior Congressional delegations in American history. While the Appalachian Mountains are under no threat of change, the same can not…
By Laura Burdette and Jennifer Jett When considering the average college student, one might envision a social butterfly who sleeps too late and barely makes deadlines on research papers. For four West Virginia students, however, social status has taken a backseat to the thrill ride of entrepreneurialism. These students—Karl Duval, Keri Fridley, Patrick Elswick and…
By Catherine Zacchi In 2009, West Virginia had cause for celebration when the Boy Scouts of America (BSA) announced that it would be setting up camp in the Mountain State. An economic and tourism industry achievement, the state announced that the BSA had chosen Fayette County as the location of its fourth national high-adventure base…