United States District Judge, Southern District of West Virginia By Kensie Westerfield Not many people can say that their passion for their career started in junior high and that it has stuck with them for 25 years, but that is precisely what happened to Thomas Johnston. The fascination with government and politics that he developed…
Owner, GADDIS Consulting Group By Dawn Nolan As a youngster growing up in Lincoln, Alabama, John Gaddis wanted to do what any young boy growing up in the birthplace of the Talladega 500 wanted to do—work for NASCAR. Unlike most other young men, though, he got his chance. As a teenager, Gaddis worked on a…
Chief Executive Officer, Mythology By Dawn Nolan For Jeff James, West Virginia is not just his home—it’s his passion. He has an emotional connection to the state through his family as well as his vision that West Virginia is capable of doing more than the world believes the Mountain State is capable of doing. This…
Marketing & Community Relations Specialist, City of Wheeling By Kensie Westerfield Marching to the beat of a different drum has served Joelle Ennis well over the years. Whether it was helping her grandmother deliver newspapers at 3 a.m. as a child or pretending to be Melissa Etheridge, she has always used her unique personality to…
Dealer Operator & Vice President, Cole Chevrolet – Cadillac, Inc. By Dawn Nolan Tom Cole always knew he would go into the family business. He worked in the reconditioning department of his father’s auto dealership while he was in junior high and high school. Cole attended Northwood University in Michigan, where he studied automotive marketing…
Director of Marketing & Development, Dixon Hughes By Jennifer Nugent “When I was a teenager and thought I wanted to be an actress, I bought a one-way Greyhound bus ticket from Charleston to New York City. I didn’t have a place to stay so I ended up at the Chelsea Hotel for a few days…