Events

Crews named Chamber's 2011 Volunteer of the Year

     Buck Crews was named the Huntington Regional Chamber of Commerce's Volunteer of the Year for 2011. The award was announced at the Chamber's recent Annual Volunteer Awards Luncheon presented by Chesapeake Energy. A native of Huntington, Crews has been an attorney with the law firm of Campbell Woods since 1971 and is highly respected in the legal community for his work in the practice areas of Estate Planning, Probate and Trust administration, and federal and state taxation. Our local community has been well served by his sincere desire to give back. Crews has served as a board member of the Make-A-Wish Foundation of Southern West Virginia, Huntington Area Tennis Association, Foundation for the Tri-State Community, Help for Animals and the Huntington Regional Chamber of Commerce. Most recently, he played a major role in the procurement of the Huntington Pet Safe Dog Park to be located at Ritter Park.

     The Annual Volunteer Awards Luncheon provides an opportunity for the Chamber to recognize some of the many individuals that support the organization and its efforts to strengthen the business community and improve the economic climate throughout the region.

     STAR awards were presented to the following committee members for dedicating a large amount of time assisting the Chamber with its projects, events, and mission. Ambassadors Committee: Larry McClung of Benefit Plans Services; Lisa La Fon of Alcon Research; and Chris Bugher of Mountwest Community & Technical College Cooking & Culinary Institute. Women 2 Women Steering Committee: Cassey Bowden of Coventry Health Care (formerly of United Way of the River Cities). Downtown Live Committee: Steve Zoeller of Huntington Area Development Council.

     The Chamber's Young Professionals Committee presented  the newly created Generation Huntington Awards recognizing young professionals throughout the tri-state that are making a difference in their communities. The 2011 recipients were: Amy Browning of St. Mary's Medical Center; Patrick Farrell of Guyan International; Nathan Myers of Pita Pit; Cindy McCarty of Huddleston Bolen LLP; and Sarah Walling of Jenkins Fenstermaker, PLLC.

Chamber and Mountwest Community & Technical College partner to create Workforce Development Institute   

     The Workforce Development Institute is offered by Mountwest Community & Technical College and sponsored by the Huntington Regional Chamber of Commerce.
     The Institute, along with the support of the Chamber, was created to enhance the training efforts of local business and industry by offering a service to convert specialized training into college credit for the employee.
     When an employer expresses interest in offering these incentives to their employees, MCTC qualified representatives evaluate the training and if it meets the required standards, award college credit to employees who have earned it and want to participate.
     The two degrees these earned credits can be used toward are the Board of Governors Associate in Applied Science and Associate of Applied Science in Technical Studies. Both degrees are designed to assist adult learners in establishing professional credentials and meeting their occupational, professional, and personal goals. With the blending of the Workforce Development Institute and these specific degree programs, MCTC has in place a mechanism to deliver educational programs to nontraditional students desiring to complete their post-secondary education conveniently.
     The WFDI also benefits the employer with fewer requests for course reimbursements, a more highly-trained and degreed staff, and it’s free! There is no cost to the employer to evaluate and possibly award these credits.
     The employers use their own instructors and materials; MCTC just has to make sure that the courses offered meet the required learning outcomes and assessment.
     The best advantage though is for the employee, the applications fee and tuition costs for any credits received through this program are waived.
     To learn more about this program and how your business can become involved, contact Erika Bailey at (304) 525-1466. Information is available at www.mctc.edu.