ELKINS — The Elkins-Randolph County Chamber of Commerce will host a Legislative Luncheon Thursday afternoon at the Myles Center for the Arts, Senate Commons on the campus of Davis & Elkins College.

The pre-session event marks the second luncheon for the Chamber this year. A post-session lunch was held in April and featured Delegate Ty Nestor, R-District 66; Delegate Elias Coop-Gonzalez, R-District 67; state Sen. Robert Karnes, R-11th District; and state Sen. Bill Hamilton, R-11 District. 

All four representatives are scheduled to attend the event, which will begin with a lunch at 11:30 p.m. The program will get underway at noon and will be moderated by Emily Coffman, a 2018 graduate and salutatorian of Davis & Elkins College.

“This is actually our second luncheon in 2023, because we did one post-session in the spring,” Elkins-Randolph County Chamber Director Lisa Wood told The Inter-Mountain. “In conversation, both inside the chamber and with people who attended, there was kind of a consensus that maybe we should go back to having a pre-session legislative luncheon. So that’s what we have done.”

Coffman, who is a political science graduate, will focus her questions on business and workforce issues. 

“We are going to be specifically focusing on asking the delegates about legislation that will affect businesses as well as the workforce,” Wood said. “Emily is hoping to address components of 2023 legislative sessions that concern commerce, business and workforce growth. And thinking ahead to the same topics for the upcoming 2024 session, she will also be asking questions about economic development and tourism.”

The luncheon will be held in conjunction with the 2024 Leadership Randolph Class, who will be in attendance. The focus of that class is to develop and prepare local leaders to help move Randolph County forward. The class has once-a-month sessions and includes individuals from various organizations in the area. 

“It’s the government session for the class, so we do Leadership Randolph all day with them,” Wood said. 

The event is sponsored by Performance Chevrolet. All proceeds will benefit West Virginia Rhododendron Girls State. Registration is still open to attend the luncheon, and tickets can be purchased through the Chamber’s Facebook page.

“Rhododendron Girls State is held at Davis & Elkins College, so we are not only supporting a state-wide organization, but something that is held locally as well,” Wood said. “We currently have 50 people registered to attend and we are looking forward to a fantastic event.”