When a female West Virginian is recognized for success,
all of the women in the Mountain State stand a little taller.
And when that recognition takes place on a national stage, the
satisfaction is even sweeter. This is why we knew Dr. Patrice
Harris would be featured in our annual health care issue as
soon as we heard last summer about her most recent success.
Harris, a native of Southern West Virginia, has been named
the first African-American female president of the American
Medical Association. In a woman-owned small business like
ours, it’s easy for us to see the importance women play in lead-
ership roles in every industry, and we’re excited to see where
this new role leads Harris.
Until recently, our own staff was 100 percent female. In
January, we welcomed Dustin Clay as our marketing and
advertising associate. Dustin is a military veteran and a recent
graduate of BridgeValley Community & Technical College.
Born and raised here, he is a proud advocate of West Virginia
and, as such, a big supporter of our mission at the magazine.
He’s also a passionate marketer who loves assisting businesses
of all sizes in getting their message out to the public through
print because he understands what the rest of our staff knows
all too well: despite the misinformation circling out there,
print is not dead.
This is why we launched our Print is Not Dead campaign
last summer, information for which can be found on page
31. Magazines are flourishing because readers see them as a
go-to source for reliable content. This is, in part, why our staff
feels such a great responsibility when it comes to choosing the
content for each issue. There is a need for stories like that of
Harris—stories of West Virginians doing remarkable things.
Some of those West Virginians weren’t born here, but they
love it like they were, which is why we introduced a profile
series called “Talent Transplant” in 2018. This series highlights
those who have moved here, embraced our state and gotten
involved. In this issue, “Talent Transplant” focuses on Donald
Hitchcock and Paul Yandura, the owners of Lost River Trading
Post. What began as a weekend getaway destination in War-
densville, WV, quickly became this D.C. couple’s adopted
hometown, and they have been growing the local economy,
creating jobs and making a difference ever since.
West Virginia Executive is known for printing stories like
this because they serve a purpose: they are ammunition in the
battle to eliminate burdensome stereotypes while encouraging
others to keep fighting. At times, we also print stories that are
hard to read but must be told, like the piece on human traf-
ficking in West Virginia that can be found on page 44. Human
trafficking is severely underreported in the Mountain State,
which shows the need for all of us to be more educated about
what this crime is, who it targets and how we can help.
Over the past few years, our annual health care issue has also
looked at different elements of the drug epidemic. In a positive
turn of events, this year we are proud to share a feature on the
city of Huntington and all the good things happening there.
It was really important to us to be able to tell Huntington’s
story because, despite reports from the national media,
Huntington is so much more than pills, needles, Narcan and
death. Like a phoenix, Huntington is rising, and the city you
experience when you visit is nothing like what the national
media has portrayed. Economic development is on the rise,
new businesses are moving in, and the people are energized.
Our readers play a vital role in helping us keep tabs on the
important things happening around the state, and we could
not do what we do without you. Please continue to share your
ideas and observations with us and help us continue to be a
resource for the business community. Without working together,
our challenges will be difficult to tackle and our opportunities
will be harder to embrace.
Editor in Chief
“Redefining Huntington,” page 81.
“Leading Lady,”
8
page 48.
WEST VIRGINIA EXECUTIVE
“Talent Trans
pla
nt,” page 32
.