In
Letter from the
Publishers
This past June, Kensie Hamilton Fauber
Two-Way
Radios
Video
Surveillance
& Access
Control Systems
911
Centers
Emergency
Vehicle
Lighting
Information
Systems
One Wireless Way, Suite 100
Parkersburg, WV 26101
304-863-8595
www.millercomm.com
8
west virginia executive
and I attended New Story: Changing the
Narrative in West Virginia, an event designed to bring media and communications
professionals together to discuss their roles
and responsibilities in molding the national conversation about West Virginia. We
spent the day with a variety of journalists,
filmmakers, media producers, researchers,
educators and students, and we attended
panel discussions about how media is being
used to tell West Virginia’s story.
The New Story movement had only just
begun when West Virginia found itself
on the national media stage. The flooding on June 23-24 forced all West Virginians into the role of storyteller, and man,
did they show the world what Mountaineers are made of. I don’t think we could
have written a more accurate depiction
of the Mountaineer spirit than the one
that played out naturally.
As the stories of rescue and cleanup
began to surface, so did the stories of loss:
homes, cars, businesses and, most tragically, lives. And as the waters receded,
West Virginians all over the state began to
rise. They stood up and lifted their neighbors and communities on their shoulders.
They sacrificed for people they had never
met. The muddy, water-logged West Virginia that emerged from the great flood
of 2016 held a tortured beauty: the devastation inspired a sense of oneness and a
form of humanity that on most days seems
impossible in today’s world.
As roads were cleared, media members
set out to document this historic disaster
through interviews, images and videos. In
the heat and mud, they worked to tell West
Virginia’s story to the world. And when
Duracell Batteries posted on social media,
“West Virginia, we’re on the way,” it was
evident the nation was listening.
Help came from within first, from neighbors, community leaders and the West Virginia National Guard. The American Red
Cross and the Salvation Army arrived, with
volunteers answering the call for help from
all over the country. Americans everywhere
prayed for West Virginia and sent donations.
The Samaritan’s Purse, God’s Pit Crew, Hearts
with Hands and Churches of Christ Disaster Relief Effort showed up in force, some
bringing semi-trucks of supplies. Famous
West Virginia natives—Brad Paisley, Jennifer Garner, Florida State University Head
Coach Jimbo Fisher, Florida State Assistant
Head Coach Rick Trickett and University of
Alabama Head Coach Nick Saban—came
together to support the schools affected by
the flood. Before our very eyes, thanks to the
Mountaineer spirit and the help of strangers
from across the country, a state brought to
its knees by flooding began to rise like the
waters that had devastated it.
This Mountaineer spirit—this philosophy
of getting knocked down nine times and getting back up 10—this is the real West Virginia story. This is what we at West Virginia
Executive cherish about our home, and these
are the characteristics we want the world to
think of when they hear about the Mountain
State. We dedicate every day to sharing the
state’s success stories because, as members
of the media, our responsibility is simple:
we are here to tell West Virginia’s story. And
what an amazing story it is.
If you would like to contribute to continued flood relief efforts, which will be an
ongoing project, visit www.volunteerwv.
org or wvflood.com.
Scan here to
purchase.
Show your
WV pride with
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Use the code
WVFLOOD,
and $5 from
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benefit flood
relief efforts.