West Virginia Executive Winter 2026 | Page 132

The agency was built on research, curiosity and a deep understanding of clients’ businesses, customers and markets. Over time, BTA has carved out a niche by developing expertise in assisting health care organizations. The agency helps organizations explain services, differentiate in crowded markets and ensure marketing messages apply health literacy best practices, making information understandable and actionable.
Led by Sarah Rogers, BTA president and CEO, the agency continues to evolve while staying true to its values.
“ Reaching 40 years is an important milestone for our agency, but what excites me most is what comes next,” says Rogers.“ We’ ve built our success by staying curious, asking better questions and remaining agile as our clients’ needs evolve. This helps us grow alongside existing clients and form meaningful partnerships with new ones.”
First United Bank & Trust Opens WestRidge Location
First United Bank & Trust’ s WestRidge office, located at 46 Red Dog Way in Westover, WV, marks a milestone as the bank grows alongside the vibrant Morgantown community.
“ This ribbon-cutting is more than a celebration of a new building,” says Carissa Rodeheaver, CEO and
First United Bank & Trust’ s WestRidge grand opening.
president of First United Bank & Trust.“ It’ s a celebration of our commitment to Morgantown. We’ ve listened to our customers and invested in a location that meets their needs today and positions us for growth tomorrow.”
Cody Sustakoski, regional market president, shares his enthusiasm for the move.
“ Our new WestRidge office reflects the energy and growth happening in this area,” he says.“ It’ s a prime location that allows us to stay connected to our customers and continue delivering the personalized service they expect from First United.”
HandCraft Linen Services Adds Fifth Laundry Facility
HandCraft Linen Services marked a major milestone on December 9, 2025, with the official opening of its fifth laundry facility in Martinsburg, WV. The new acute-care plant, paired with a connected non-acute facility planned to open in early 2027, spans a combined 152,000 square feet. Once fully operational, the site will be able to process up to 65 million pounds of acute health care linen and an additional 20 million pounds of non-acute textiles each year.
The Martinsburg facilities are expected to employ more than 200 team members and will boost Hand- Craft’ s overall processing capacity by nearly 60 %.
“ When we opened our first modern plant in 2008, we were processing roughly 23 million pounds of linen annually for about 30 hospitals, with only a small non-acute presence,” says Curtis Nichols, CEO of HandCraft Linen Services.“ Today, we process more than 105 million pounds for 140 hospitals, along with another 25 million pounds through our non-acute operations across 42 routes.”
COO Joe McKeown notes that Martinsburg’ s strategic location played a key role in the expansion.
“ This site allows us to better support a large portion of our existing customers while also positioning us to serve larger health care systems throughout West Virginia and Maryland,” McKeown says.“ The new facilities deliver the capacity, routing improvements and operational flexibility we were looking for.”
Launch of Bridging Innovation Institute, Inc.
The EdVenture Group, Inc. is proud to announce the launch of Bridging Innovation Institute, Inc., an independent nonprofit organization dedicated to advancing ecosystem building and entrepreneurship-led economic development across West Virginia.
“ We are proud of Director of Innovation Amber Ravenscroft and look forward to supporting her in this endeavor to go beyond K-12 and expand the meaningful work of the ecosystem,” says Lydotta Taylor, president and founder of The EdVenture Group.
Ravenscroft’ s time at The EdVenture Group was marked by significant achievement, particularly in the realm of entrepreneurship education and ecosystem growth.
“ I am deeply grateful for my time with EdVenture. The opportunities working with this organization have allowed me to learn, grow and contribute to a mission bigger than myself,” says Ravenscroft.
Bridging Innovation Institute, Inc. will focus on designing and implementing strategies that connect resources, talent and support to foster robust entrepreneurial environments. The organization aims to be a national leader in translating the principles of ecosystem building into actionable economic development outcomes.
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