Business leaders in Barbour County celebrated with a Mardi Gras-style theme Friday during the annual chamber banquet at Heiner Hall on the campus of Alderson-Broaddus College in Philippi. Bray Cary, president and Chief Executive Office of West Virginia Media Holdings, served as guest speaker for the event.
More than 200 people attended the dinner, which also included the presentation of annual awards, announcement of scholarship winners, election of chamber officers, a 50/50 drawing and plenty of door prizes distributed with the help of student volunteers from Philip Barbour High School. Chamber President Mike Cvechko served as master of ceremonies.
Dr. J. Michael Clyburn, president of A-B College, offered the invocation and presented a special award to Jack Funk, a former coach and athletic director at the college.
Live dinner music was performed by the A-B Jazz Band and evening entertainment featured a special a cappella concert by The West Virginians.
Cary addressed the chamber following dinner. He emphasized that legislators in West Virginia must make laws more "friendly" to businesses in order to create jobs for college graduates. According to Cary, 76 percent of West Virginia college graduates leave the state within four years after graduation.
"We have got to make this state friendly to business," Cary said. "We need jobs. Every time we chase a business out because the taxes are too high and we have a squirrelly court system, we lose jobs and we lose taxpayers. We say 'we've got to have more money because everybody's got to live off the state,' so we raise taxes and more people leave and we have to raise them again. That's the problem with socialism, you run out of money."
West Virginia has the best natural resources in the country, Cary said pointing out that 15 percent of all the known energy in the U.S. is below the state's surface. He said folks who live in Virginia, but reside along the West Virginia border, make about $8,000 more per year than the folks who live in West Virginia.
He said some of the problem could be attributed to taxes and environmental policies.
"I don't want to tear our families apart," Cary said. "That's why I get mad at the Legislature. It's not what they do, it's what they don't do. We have got to create an environment here that will keep families together."
Although creating laws and policies are left to legislators, Cary said the responsibility ultimately lies with the voters.
"All of us hold the most valuable thing and that is the right to vote," Cary said. "We hold the right to be smart about it. So if we can vote right, we'll get maybe a different result. So I would just urge everybody to get as many people as you can to vote and pay attention to what is going on and make sure that you vote for the things and people who stand for the values and things you want."
Cary founded West Virginia Media in 2001. He is a two-time graduate of West Virginia University and received an honorary doctor of public service degree from Alderson-Broaddus College in 2004. He was vice president of broadcasting and technology for NASCAR Inc., vice president for television and technology of the National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing and a consultant for ESPN.
West Virginia Media Holding incorporates WBOY-TV in Clarksburg-Morgantown; WOWK-TV in Huntington-Charleston; WTRF-TV, FOX Ohio Valley and ABC Ohio Valley in Wheeling-Steubenville; WVNS-TV and FOX West Virginia in Beckley-Bluefield; The State Journal; and Country Roads Journal.
Several awards were presented during the banquet including: Corporate Citizen of the year, Here and There Transit; Community Service Award, Junior Lions Club; Director's Special Award, Ronald Phillips and Patty Delauder; President's Award, Terri Kittle and Jack Funk. Philip Barbour High School student Allie Becker was also presented with a $500 scholarship.
