Senator, West Virginia Legislature and Managing Member, R.N. Walters & Associates and Structured Financial Associates
Twitter: @chriswalters_wv
Facebook: Chris Walters
LinkedIn: Chris Walters
Website: rnwalters.com
Written by Samantha Cart
An entrepreneurial spirit has been serving Chris Walters in meeting the needs of his community since his days as a student at West Virginia University (WVU).
When The Daily Athenaeum, WVU’s official student newspaper, covered the 2008 Democratic National Convention but gave little attention to the Republican equivalent, Walters saw a need that had to be met. With a $500 grant and no journalism experience, he launched his own newspaper, The Mountaineer Jeffersonian. During Walters’ college career, his paper was the only full-color weekly newspaper in Monongalia County. By the time he sold it in 2010, he had 30 staff writers, a management and sales team and a distribution of 10,000 papers every week to more than 250 locations countywide.
This same spirit continued to serve him as he built his professional career, first becoming a managing member in his family’s insurance business and eventually being elected to the West Virginia Senate. “I think a strong work ethic is the most important skill set anyone can have, and the greatest influence on my success is the drive to work and work hard,” says Walters. “I think everyone has gifts, but if you have the drive to go and work hard and continue to learn, you can achieve anything in any industry.”
Walters is a Mountaineer through and through. His favorite childhood memory is going to WVU football games with his family—something he continues to do today with his parents, wife, son and daughter. Between managing his business and serving the Mountain State as a senator, time management is Walters’ biggest challenge. “I truly value the time I have with my family. I love being a dad and being with my kids,” he says. “Having to go to work to be able to provide for them is an overwhelming task in a sense. I have a lot of events I have to attend as a business owner and a senator. Time management and doing my best to have that time and relationship with my kids is the most important thing to me. This career is secondary; being a dad is the greatest, best thing in my life.”
Amid his chaotic schedule, Walters works to contribute to the sense of community he feels is characteristic of West Virginia. He is a volunteer and sponsor of the Girls Night Out and Guys Night Out annual events in Charleston, both of which support the YWCA’s domestic violence shelter, and he is especially passionate about West Virginia Health Right, Inc. Walters is a champion of expanding the Health Right to aid the thousands of West Virginians who are without access to dental care, something he says he is approaching as both a volunteer and from a law perspective.
Walters has made the most of his time as a senator by working on and sponsoring important bills like the Child’s Right to Nurse Law and Erin’s Law, a preventative measure against sexual assault and abuse against children. He was also integral to passing a craft beer growler law that has created growth opportunities for the state’s craft beer industry. As a thank you, Black Sheep Burritos and Brews named a new craft beer after him: Walters Wheat.
When it comes to making the Mountain State a better place to live, Walters is inspired by his fellow West Virginians. “Giving to those in need and being there for our neighbors—it’s just the West Virginia way,” says Walters. “You can always find that old-time sense of community here, and I can’t think of a better place to have a family, to raise my children or to just be. There are so many great opportunities here, and I really want to be part of the solution that makes West Virginia the thriving, amazing state everyone wants to come home to.”
What is your favorite . . . ?
Color – Blue
Food – Steak
Cartoon character – Perry the platypus
Ice cream – Rocky Road
Animal – Dogs
Book – “7 Habits of Highly Effective People” by Stephen Covey
App – Twitter
Midnight snack – Chocolate chip cookies
Super hero – Batman
Video game – NCAA Football for Xbox 360
Movie – Snatch
Smell – Grilling out
Sport team – West Virginia Mountaineers
Car – The Jaguar XF
Pet – No pets, I’m allergic
Place – Disney
Small local restaurant –Dhiel’s in Nitro
Season – Fall
Era – 1950s
1 Comment
Chris Walters is a senator we can be proud of. He loves his state and family, and not in that order necessarily, and he votes his conscience. He stands up for what he believes in.