Cabinet Secretary, West Virginia Department of Commerce
by Jennifer Nugent
The first time Kelley Goes visited the state capitol in Charleston, she arrived in a new dress to be knighted a Lady of the Golden Horseshoe. “I was very excited. The Capitol was big and beautiful and my footsteps echoed when I walked.” If someone had told her at that young age that she would someday work in that impressive building, she says she would have been skeptical. “I thought big in terms of the future, but not that big.”
From an early age, Goes showed an interest in a variety of different subjects. “When I considered a career,” she says of her childhood, “I wanted to be one of everything.” Her natural curiosity and desire to learn continued through her college education at Vanderbilt University where she graduated, cum laude, with a degree in English, finding time for extra math and Latin courses. Goes graduated magna cum laude from the Kentucky College of Law and headed to Dallas, Texas to practice law as an associate with Akin, Gump, Strauss, Hauer & Feld, primarily in the field of intellectual property litigation. Ultimately, she returned to West Virginia for good in 2002, taking a job with the Attorney General’s office, representing three state agencies: the Division of Natural Resources, the Division of Forestry and the Division of Tourism.
Goes was able to accomplish these and many other dreams with the help of her father as a role model because of his work ethic and commitment to excellence in all that he does. That model served her well at her first job as a waitress at John Skidmore’s Truck Stop after graduating as the valedictorian from Braxton County High School. “It was a great first job,” she says of the experience. “There was one waitress, 15 tables and no busboy. I learned that you have to earn your money, and I learned a lot about customer service.”
Her father is not the only influential person she’s had the pleasure of learning from on the long road from Golden Horseshoe recipient to cabinet secretary. “I’ve been blessed with the support and influence of many people along the way. There are times when you need a little encouragement, when you need someone to believe in you, and that person has always been there for me, whether it was my grandmother or a special teacher or a mentor on the job.”
When Goes wants to relax and escape the pressures of her government position, she plays with her two children, ages two and four. Goes and her children enjoy gardening. “I used to plant the flowers, and the girls would pick them. This year they both planted their own seeds, which they loved.” She enjoys vacationing at the beach and in West Virginia’s mountains. Her favorite childhood memory comes from making yeast rolls with her grandmother at holiday celebrations. “I loved spending time with my grandmother, and everyone loved her rolls,” she says. “Out of all the grandchildren, I was the only one that learned to make them.” One thing that many people may not know about her is that when she’s alone in her minivan, she can’t resist the urge to crank up some Iron Maiden.
Goes’ motivations for working for the state are the possibilities that exist and the opportunities to make a difference in the lives of West Virginia’s people. She says, “I am in a unique position to hear from people from all over the state and to see what people are accomplishing in economic development. I see it as my job to communicate how the state can help people achieve their goals. I also get to broadcast our successes both to the people who live here and to the rest of the country through the marketing and communications group in Commerce.”
Photography by Tracy Toler
