capital campaign in our history,” says Wood. “As so many other
colleges struggle with finances, we are honored to be making the
grade as we continue to provide a high-quality, transformative
educational experience to our students. This national recogni-
tion is a tribute to all who have sacrificed and supported our
commitment to distinction and excellence.”
New River Gorge Convention & Visitors Bureau
Rings in 2020 with New Staff
The New River Gorge Convention & Visitors Bureau (CVB)
started 2020 with two new staff members—Executive Director
Becky Sullivan and Membership and Events Coordinator
Kelsey Regan.
“It was an honor to have been selected as the New River
Gorge CVB’s new executive director, and I have already learned
a lot in the few months that I have been here,” says Sullivan.
“I am excited to welcome Kelsey to the team and work to-
gether to promote the gorge and share all that it has to offer
with others.”
Sullivan and Regan also serve as president and membership
and events coordinator for the Fayette County Chamber of
Commerce respectively.
AHF Products Cuts Ribbon for New Distribution Center
Emery, AHF plant manager. “The partnership of all of those
involved shows how much we are committed to staying in
Randolph County and West Virginia.”
Bumgarner Named President-Elect of
Association of Legal Administrators
Flaherty Sensabaugh Bonasso
CEO Michael Bumgarner, CPA,
CLM, CGMA, has been named
president-elect of the Association
of Legal Administrators’ (ALA)
board of directors. He is one of
only 475 certified legal managers
(CLM) worldwide and was
the first CLM in West Virgin-
ia. He has been a member of
Michael Bumgarner,
ALA for 17 years and current-
CPA, CLM, CGMA.
ly serves as the chair of the fi-
nance committee for the board
of directors and compliance officer for the ALA. He will
serve as president-elect for one year beginning at the ALA
Annual Conference in May 2020 before stepping into his role
as president at the close of the 2021 ALA Annual Conference
in Chicago.
Bumgarner will be the first West Virginia resident to serve
as president of ALA, which includes 9,000 members worldwide
who are involved in the management of law firms, corporate
legal departments and government legal agencies.
WVU Researcher to Help Target Victims
of Rural Sex Trafficking Through New Mobile App
The ribbon cutting for AHF Products’ Beverly plant expansion.
AHF Products’ Beverly plant, formerly Armstrong Flooring,
recently celebrated the completion of its new 85,000-square-
foot distribution center and expanded facility, a project that
will potentially anchor the company in Randolph County and
West Virginia for at least the next two decades. AHF Products
manufactures solid and engineered hardwood flooring products.
The company acquired Armstrong Flooring at the end of 2018,
and the additional space will allow for future expansion of the
manufacturing capacity and has the potential to create 50 new
jobs over the next 10 years.
The expansion project was the result of a collaborative effort
between AHF Products, the Randolph County Development
Authority, U.S. Economic Development Administration and
West Virginia Economic Development Authority. The Beverly
plant is already the largest pre-finished solid hardwood flooring
plant in the nation and employs 600 people.
“We are an anchor for the hardwood industry here in West
Virginia, as well as the entire Appalachian region,” says Blaine
94
WEST VIRGINIA EXECUTIVE
A West Virginia University (WVU) School of Medicine
researcher is developing an app to train key personnel in rural
areas on how to identify and report one of the lesser known
elements of the opioid epidemic—child sex trafficking. While
training efforts to date have largely focused on West Virginia
law enforcement, the prototype of the desktop and mobile
app—SexEx Rural—will focus on training for public school
personnel and county health department staff in its first phase.
These individuals were targeted for training because they’re
most likely to encounter a child who has been trafficked.
Content for the educational modules will be created with
input from trafficking survivors, educators, health care providers
and members of the West Virginia Human Trafficking Task
Force. The prototype will include audio narration, video clips,
real-world examples of trafficking, learning exercises and
interactive quizzes. Video content for the app will be created in
collaboration with the WVU LaunchLab, and student actors,
directors and videographers will create interactive scenes rep-
resenting potential trafficking scenarios for school and health
department personnel using the app to practice their identi-
fication skills.
The app will also connect trainees with a searchable resource
center that includes available resources for reporting and sup-
porting victims, such as local phone numbers for rape and
domestic violence crisis centers, first responders and crisis
hotlines. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s
National Center for Injury Prevention and Control is funding the
development and testing of the prototype app through a Small