Judy Moore

Photo by JJN Multimedia

By Ellis Willard

For Judy Moore, deputy director at the New River Gorge Regional Development Authority (NRGRDA) and executive director of the WV Hive Network, destiny has always led her life’s path and career, bringing her back home to where she was born and raised—Craigsville, WV—to empower entrepreneurs throughout the Mountain State.

“I am 100% certain there is not another career path that would make me happier,” she says.

Before co-leading operations for NRGRDA—including human resources, finance and marketing—and running all functions for the WV Hive entrepreneurship program, including fundraising and development of new projects and programs, Moore acquired valuable skills she still utilizes today.

Moore’s first job was working at the Sears and Roebuck catalog center, where she learned the importance of taking care of customers, taking that mentality with her to her next role at Bright of America in Summersville, WV. After five years, she was promoted to executive assistant to the CEO of Bright Enterprises. In this role, she helped the CEO lead not only Bright of America but Land Use Corporation, Winter Place Ski Resort, The Resort at Glade Springs and multiple other companies.

“This position helped prepare me for my current role at the WV Hive, providing experience working within multiple types of businesses and carrying a load of responsibility, including my first supervisory role,” she says.

After moving to Florida and working for a global concrete producer, Moore and her family moved back to West Virginia where, as an adult learner and first-generation college graduate, she earned a bachelor’s degree in visual communication from American Intercontinental University and a master’s degree in integrated marketing communications from WVU. Concurrently, she served as an assistant director for a WVU research corporation program.

By 2017, she and her family moved once more, settling back down in her hometown where she started at NRGRDA as a business advisor for WV Hive. Before the end of the year, she was promoted to executive director of the entrepreneurship program and was tasked with providing local visionaries and small business owners the tools they needed to flourish. Additionally, under her leadership, the Country Roads Angel Network was created.

Moore’s immersion into the environment of Southern West Virginia’s entrepreneurs provided her the alignment she sought between her career and helping the community she loves.

“I took the position of business advisor with WV Hive not only as a career move but also as an opportunity to return to my roots where my heart remained,” she says. “The Hive has always been a very important program because it is something that I built and will last long after I’m gone.”

Throughout her childhood, Moore’s parents taught her the importance of community service. Her mother, a homemaker, and her father, a coal miner, worked hard to provide for their family but made time to be pillars of their church.

Not only has Moore given back to her community through her nearly 20 years of not-for-profit and nonprofit work, but she sought opportunities to mentor students throughout their careers, build leaders among her staff and volunteer for church functions.

Her service includes preparing food for the Fairmont Soup Opera and organizing church events such as The Power Team and activities like vacation Bible school.

Currently, Moore leads the women’s group at her church, which includes Bible studies, nursing home ministries and Christmas outreach activities. She also serves on three boards: Tamarack for the Arts, West Virginia Women’s Business Center and the West Virginia Community Development Hub and serves as a partner in the Communities of Healing recovery to work program.

“I was raised in a Christian home and believe in the spiritual discipline of service,” she says. “I believe we all have a responsibility to make our home a better place for future generations, and that belief charts my path. West Virginia is home, and I love it.”