Owner & Vice President, Mining Repair Specialists, Inc., and Owner & Managing Member, Holy Smoke Coal LLC and MRS Manufacturing, LLC
By Jennifer Jett Prezkop
While Diana Barnette refers to herself as an accidental entrepreneur, the spunk and determination she has exhibited from an early age are evidence that her success has been anything but accidental.
Growing up in Logan, WV, Barnette was the stubborn, independent middle child of a single mother. When asked what she wanted to be when she grew up, the only thing she knew for certain was that she wanted to be in charge. At the age of 16, that same independence pushed Barnette into the working world. As soon as she got her driver’s license, she started looking for employment because she wanted to make her own money. Her first job was at Kentucky Fried Chicken, and her first professional job was in the bookkeeping department at Logan Bank & Trust. Both taught her important lessons about business she still falls back on today.
“At Kentucky Fried Chicken, I learned to work hard and enjoy my coworkers and customers,” she remembers. “At Logan Bank & Trust, I learned a lot about banking in general, which has been very helpful in my entrepreneurial endeavors. It also opened my eyes to the real world and taught me about accountability.”
Stubbornness gave this entrepreneur wings, and when she and her husband purchased their first company—Mining Repair Specialists—in 1987, she learned to fly. Mining Repair was a failing business when they decided to buy it, but she was certain they could turn it around. Today, as the owner and vice president, Barnette ensures the business remains on strong footing by handling the accounting, human resources and general office management on a day-to-day basis.
A serial entrepreneur, Barnette now starts new businesses where she sees a need. As such, she is the owner of Holy Smoke Coal, owner and managing member of MRS Manufacturing LLC and owner of Lewisburg Cinema 8, Fountain Place Cinema 8 and Gatti’s Pizza. Her newest venture, Appalachian Outpost and Rock Fort Cabins, is currently under construction and will turn an old strip mall in the heart of the Hatfield-McCoy Trail System into cabins and retail space to support the local ATV tourism industry.
“Everything we set out to do is because there is a need,” says Barnette. “The
Appalachian Outpost and Rock Fort Cabins will fill a void that exists for the many ATV tourists who come to Southern West Virginia to enjoy our trails. By diversifying into the tourism industry, we are excited to help change the economic outlook for our county and state.”
Barnette believes that being able to provide jobs to her community has been her greatest professional achievement, and her motivation comes from being able to help her community and her state. Beyond creating businesses to meet local needs and employ her neighbors, she also actively participates with organizations that share her desire to make the Mountain State—and Logan County—a better place to live.
Barnette is a member of the Women’s Club of Logan, the West Virginia Hospitality and Tourism Association board and Holden Freewill Baptist Church, where she has served as Sunday school teacher and Ladies Aid president. She is also a member and past president of the Kiwanis Club of Logan and member and treasurer of the Hatfield-McCoy Convention & Visitors Bureau board and Logan County Chamber of Commerce board.
Barnette has a particular passion for the Children’s Home Society of West
Virginia’s WeCan Program, where she has worked as a camp counselor and served as a past board member and where she continues to contribute to fundraising events.
“As a counselor, I tried to instill a sense of value and high self-esteem in the children,” she says. “I want them to know they are valued and that they should set the bar high.”
Her inspiration for giving back comes from her favorite Bible verse, Luke 12:48, which reads, “For unto whomsoever much is given, of him shall be much required.” She believes the people of West Virginia are the best in the world, and she has a heart for serving them.
“I believe giving back is why we are put on this earth,” she says. “Rising tides lift all ships.”
1984 Began working at Mining Repair Specialists, Inc.
1987 Married Ronnie Barnette
1987 Purchased Mining Repair Specialists, Inc.
1997 Graduated from Southern WV Community and Technical College
2006 Opened Fountain Place Cinema 8
2008 Elected to the Logan County Chamber of Commerce board of directors
2008 Opened Gatti’s Pizza
2011 Named the Women’s Leadership Institute’s Woman of the Year
2015 Received the 2015 Miner’s Celebration Community Investment Award
2018 Began construction on Appalachian Outpost and Rock Fort Cabins
