2019 Alumni of the Year recipient for the College of Business, Humanities and Social Sciences Rebecca McPhail is president of the West Virginia Manufacturers Association, the largest business and trade organization representing the manufacturing industry in the Mountain State. As president, McPhail is the voice for manufacturers with state and federal regulators and elected leaders, advocating for policies and partnerships that encourage economic investment and manufacturing growth in West Virginia. Before joining the WVMA in 2013, McPhail was [...]

Editor's Note:  This is from Joan Garry Consulting (because nonprofits are messy) You know those pharmaceutical commercials that tell you the drug is going to save your life but that side effects include everything from loss of all motor control in from your waist down to brain aneurisms to a you-know-what lasting longer than four hours? That’s kinda like being a nonprofit Executive Director, the person in charge. Here you are trying to save a teeny-weeny part of the [...]

The American Society of Association Executives (ASAE) has announced that Beth A. White, executive director of the West Virginia Association for Justice, has earned the Certified Association Executive (CAE) designation. White is the first new CAE in West Virginia in more than 10 years. Just eight additional West Virginians hold the credential. The CAE is the highest professional credential in the association industry. To be eligible, an applicant must have a minimum of three years experience with nonprofit [...]

"The demand for wireless is rising, and the race is on to the 5G platform and the use of 'small cells' to augment traditional cell towers," according to AT&T's Andy Feeny, WVSAE's February speaker. Feeny said 38% of West Virginia households are currently wireless only, and network capacity must be upgraded.  Both fiber and power attach from the tower to the landline network.  He anticipates $50 million of infrastructure investment in the next five years and that it [...]

  The successful individual will provide a wide range of high-level administrative support to senior executive(s) by handling a wide variety of situations involving the administrative functions of the office.  This includes coordinating communications, scheduling meetings, managing itineraries, etc. The individual should be highly self-motivated, professional, and capable of managing their work load and prioritizing tasks in a fast-paced corporate environment. Please contact me with any interest. Patty Barnhart patty@wvma.com

The December 11 WVSAE holiday party brought out the best in our members!  A great group of members and guests joined for an evening of good food and great company, as well as "reindeer games" and door prizes.  The best part of the evening was the outpouring of generosity for teens at the Children's Home Society of West Virginia.  The gifts were delivered to the Davis Child Shelter in Charleston following the meeting, and were well-received by the [...]

I have officially notified my board that I will retire on June 30, 2019.  That will round out my time as their Executive Director at 23 years!  It has been an amazing ride and I have gathered some amazing friends along the way.  WVSAE has been a wonderful resource for me over the years and I wish the organization much continued success!  We will start to post my job position on Nov 1st and you can find details [...]

The 2018 HOPE Conference, WVSAE's annual meeting at The Homestead, was a great success with outstanding speakers, food, networking and more!  We began with a lovely reception Sunday night. Tina Cobb of Associated Systems Professionals, taught us how to work smarter and more efficiently with database integration.  She provided tips on working with Excel, Access and more, and mentioned Tech Soup may provide free email accounts for nonprofits. Frank Hartman shared his insights on opening doors to get [...]

Our first meeting in the new Charleston Coliseum and Convention Center was amazing. It started with Peruvian purple potatoes!  The scrumptious lunch was followed by this incredibly rich pie or chocolate lava cake.       WVU’s Rochelle Goodwin, WV Forward research scholar Priscila Santos and Marshall University’s Sara Payne Scarbro shared the process and progress of the program.  They also showed described the sectors and environments they are targeting and the human capital issues they’re facing.  

In a first for WVSAE, our speaker appeared via technology!  Dr. Brian Anderson of the WVU Energy Institute shared the benefits of the Appalachian Storage and Trading Hub with our members and their guests at the Holiday Inn Express Civic Center in Charleston. Anderson said the WVU Energy Institute is working on clean coal, plus natural gas and oil, finding ways to take our energy resources and move them up the value chain. "We're seeing a production shift [...]