Toms

ELKINS — After 37 years of serving the Randolph County community at Tyrand Cooperative Ministries, longtime Executive Director Belinda Toms is set to retire at the end of 2023.

Toms has been helping provide assistance to less fortunate families since her first day on the job back in 1986. She was named director of the organization in 1998,

“I’m retiring from a job that never seemed like a job to me,” Toms told The Inter-Mountain. “Working with all the volunteers and the tremendous staff we’ve always had at Tyrand Ministries helped make my time here really special. And all the people we served over the years are also special to me.”

Even though Toms admits she will miss being a part of Tyrand Ministries, she feels the time is right for her to do many of the things she has been wanting to do. 

“I will still volunteer with the organization, but not for a while because my husband Mike and I are leaving town on New Year’s and probably won’t be back for a couple weeks,” Toms said. “There’s a lot of things we want to do that we haven’t gotten to do because Tyrand is very consuming. I have a daughter in Elkins, and I have a daughter and grandchild in South Carolina, so we plan to travel more and do some things we have always wanted to do.”

Before hitting the road in January, Toms will have one more big event to attend on Dec. 9, when the organization holds a retirement party for her at 4-H Camp Pioneer.

Many people throughout the community wanted to be a part of saying farewell to Toms, so the maximum amount of reservations for the event have already been claimed.

The retirement celebration will be just one of many memorable moments for Toms during her time at Tyrand. Toms said one of the moments that stands out to her was in 2012 when Hurricane Sandy hit the East Coast.

“Hurricane Sandy was a wow moment for me,” said Toms. “We were open 13 days during that time with people staying and feeding. We would have our meeting in the mornings with staff and the cooks would always say they were out of something. And before I could get my keys and my purse to go to the store, somebody was walking in with that very item. Just watching how God and all the volunteers take care of their neighbors was just amazing.”

Toms said around 40 people stayed in the organization’s bunk house during the storm. 

“We did 2,600 meals during those 13 days,” Toms said. “But it went smoothly and it was very rewarding to be able to do that for the community.”

Toms said she knows Tyrand Ministries will be in good hands moving forward, with Makayla Mayle taking over for her full-time in January. 

“I’m at peace about retiring because Makayla has worked with me since August,” Toms said. “She’s really doing an excellent job and she knows she can always call me if she gets in a spot and has questions.”

Tyrand Cooperative Ministries began operation in 1962, when the Methodist Churches in the upper Tygart Valley became a cooperating parish. Its mission is to provide essential services to meet the emergency needs of the less fortunate individuals and families in Randolph County; to advocate for social changes which will better address the needs of the local communities; and to provide opportunities for ecumenical nurture, growth and worship activities among the participating churches.

For more information about Tyrand Ministries, visit the organization’s website at tyrandcoop.org.