Growing up on a large cattle farm in Friendly, WV, Joe Eddy learned the value of a great work ethic from his father, an engineer at Union Carbide, and the importance of having strong compassion for life from his mother. He admired his father’s hands-on abilities, and while working summers at his grandfather’s farm, he was fascinated by the wells where they pumped their own oil. This interest led to a degree in petroleum engineering from Marietta College in 1983.
Tricia Clark, an equity member and tax partner at Suttle & Stalnaker PLLC, is a lifelong native of Charleston, WV, who wants to do her part in helping her hometown thrive as a bustling community for professionals and families alike. Whether it’s serving on boards for local organizations like the YMCA of Kanawha Valley, Highland Hospital Foundation or MVB Bank or providing leadership to the West Virginia Land and Mineral Owners Association as treasurer, Clark is always looking for ways to move Charleston—and the state—forward.
Dave Arnold, senior vice president of public relations and strategic partnerships at Adventures on the Gorge, has had a great appreciation for the outdoors since he was a child. “Growing up in Cincinnati, I spent a lot of time on our family farm in Fayetteville, Ohio,” he says. “It’s an area known as the edge of Appalachia, so my entire life I feel I have had one foot in Appalachia and one foot out. This has had a lot to do with who I have become.”
Tammie Clark Alexander remembers thinking at an early age that being a lawyer might be a good fit for her, but it also seemed far-fetched given that there were no lawyers in her hometown of Cameron, WV. The legal path was long, but she persevered, and today she is a member at Steptoe & Johnson PLLC, where she leads the firm’s Banking, Real Estate and Financial Services Practice Group.