By Kensie Hamilton
There’s a reason the phrase “Wild and Wonderful” is used to describe the Mountain State. West Virginia is full of magnificent views, inspiring success stories and phenomenal people. At West Virginia Executive, it’s more than just a slogan or a description, though. It’s a mission. In every publication we produce, our goal is to help show not only the state’s beautiful, action-packed attributes but also its success stories—our wildly entrepreneurial and wonderfully talented people.
One element of the magazine, in particular, assists us in reaching that goal: our annual Young Guns issue.
The individuals we feature in each Young Guns issue are leaders from different industries across the state. They appreciate the hard work it takes to achieve success, are actively involved in their communities and are, in their own individual ways, completely wild and wonderful.
Selecting individuals to recognize in the Young Guns issue is something we take very seriously. We receive nominations from around the state by the hundreds and spend countless hours poring over each nomination to narrow the class down to 10. Certain criteria must be met to be eligible for consideration of this honor. Each Young Gun must be 43 years of age or younger at the time they are selected, must live and work in West Virginia and must be very community minded. During the selection process, both career achievements and community service of each nominee are considered before a decision is made.
This year, we made an exception to our limit of 10 members per class and selected 12. Check out page 95 to meet the Contraguerro brothers who helped us break the mold with the 2014 class. This year’s class also includes our youngest Young Gun to date. Learn more about Katherine Bomkamp on page 93.
The Class of 2014 was photographed on location at Smith Company Motor Cars in Charleston. The dealership, which served as the backdrop for the photo shoot, is home to four of the top luxury brands: Jaguar, with the exhilarating new Jaguar F-Type; Mercedes-Benz offering the new CLA; Land Rovers and Range Rovers with go-anywhere performance and Volvos, including the completely redesigned 2014 XC60 and S60.
Our Young Guns exemplify focus, determination and hard work, and we believe it is leaders like these who will guide West Virginia into a brighter future. If you know someone who meets the criteria and would make a great member for next year’s class, you can visit www.wvexecutive.com and complete a nomination form.
Meet the 2014 class of Young Guns.
Photography by Tracy Toler on location at Smith Company Motor Cars
