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Gumm
ELKINS -- Due to his lifelong contribution to agriculture in the Mountain State, Gilman resident Joe Gumm was selected to be enshrined into the West Virginia Agriculture and Forestry Hall of Fame.
The special honor is reserved for those whose life's work has been deemed to have made a significant contribution to agriculture, forestry and family life in West Virginia.
"It was a big honor to be inducted into the West Virginia Agriculture and Forestry Hall of Fame," Gumm told The Inter-Mountain. "I've been involved with soil and water for a lot of years now. I've been a part of many projects that are related to agriculture over the years."
Gumm, a semi-retired dairy and beef cattle farmer, is a lifetime resident of Randolph County. He has spent the past 25 plus as the Randolph County Conservation District Supervisor.
As the county's district supervisor, Gumm said he will continue to work hard to make sure land owners' needs are met, not only in Randolph County, but the entire state.
"I'm at the core a conservationist and an educator, diligently working to ensure that conservationists and conservation districts have the tools needed to get conservation on the ground," Gumm said. "I will continue to work with state and federal agencies, the network of supervisors across the state, and legislators at both levels that result in substantive projects and proposals that meet the conservation needs of land users in West Virginia."
Gumm is also a lifetime member of the Farm Bureau, is chairman of the Appalachian Grazing Conference, chairman of West Virginia Association of Conservation Districts History Archives Committee, was a member of the Randolph County Solid Waste Authority as a board member from 1989 to 2008, and served two terms as president of the West Virginia Association of Conservation Districts.
Gumm's efforts over the years include work on the Elkfork Municipal Water Supply Dam, State Lime Program, Multiflora Rose Control Program and the Allegheny Highlands Project, which was funded by the Rockefeller Foundation and was designed to help farmers improve grassland management.
He has been a big supporter of the 4H Camp Pioneer and helped with the purchase of playground equipment for Third Ward Elementary and Harman schools. He also worked on the West Virginia Envirothon.
In 2009 Gumm became the owner, operator and founder of the Randolph County Recycling Center, where he can still be found today. He is also currently an independent contractor with the Federal Aviation Administration at the Randolph County Airport. He managed that same airport for 11 years (1970 to 1981).
Gumm and his wife Vonda live on their farm in Gilman and have one daughter, Deborah "Debbie" Stevens of Parsons. They have one granddaughter, Leslie "Dee" Stevens, who is a student at Marshall University.