{"id":9088,"date":"2013-09-04T10:45:35","date_gmt":"2013-09-04T14:45:35","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.marshall.edu\/murc\/?p=9088"},"modified":"2013-09-04T10:54:11","modified_gmt":"2013-09-04T14:54:11","slug":"oct-3-gala-to-celebrate-west-virginias-coal-mining-people-and-communities","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.marshall.edu\/murc\/oct-3-gala-to-celebrate-west-virginias-coal-mining-people-and-communities\/","title":{"rendered":"Oct. 3 gala to celebrate West Virginia\u2019s coal mining people and communities"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><strong>Wednesday, Sept. 4,\u00a02013<\/strong>\u00a0[social_share\/]\n<hr \/>\n<p><strong><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignleft  wp-image-9091\" alt=\"Collage\" src=\"http:\/\/www.marshall.edu\/murc\/files\/2013\/09\/Collage-195x300.jpg\" width=\"176\" height=\"270\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.marshall.edu\/murc\/files\/2013\/09\/Collage-195x300.jpg 195w, https:\/\/www.marshall.edu\/murc\/files\/2013\/09\/Collage.jpg 436w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 176px) 100vw, 176px\" \/>HUNTINGTON, W.Va.\u00a0<\/strong>\u2013\u00a0On Thursday, Oct. 3, miners, industry leaders, community members and others will gather at Tamarack in Beckley for a gala reception, dinner and awards ceremony to celebrate the past, present and future of West Virginia\u2019s coal mining enterprise.<\/p>\n<p>According to organizers, the purpose of the annual \u201cMiners\u2019 Celebration\u201d is to recognize all those who play a role in the state\u2019s mining industry.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe West Virginia mining industry is very important to us, for example, as a destination for jobs for many graduates from our safety technology program,\u201d said Dr. Tony Szwilski, chairman of the event planning committee and director of Marshall University\u2019s Center for Environmental, Geotechnical and Applied Sciences. \u201cThe industry depends upon thousands of individuals in a number of different roles and every person\u2014whether they work as a safety engineer, miner, environmental professional or equipment supplier\u2014contributes to each ton of coal produced, as do countless community leaders, educators and mining families.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe mining industry owes its success to every one of them. This event is intended to honor and recognize the contributions of everyone involved. Last year\u2019s celebration was a rousing success and we look forward to this year\u2019s program being even bigger and better.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Szwilski said one of the highlights of the gala will be the \u201cBecause of You\u201d awards presented to several individuals for their significant contributions to West Virginia\u2019s coal-mining community. This year\u2019s honorees include:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><b>James H. \u201cBuck\u201d Harless<\/b> of Gilbert, whose success in the coal and timber industries and commitment to the people of southern West Virginia have inspired him to become one of the state\u2019s leading philanthropists (Community Investment Award);<\/li>\n<li><b>Geneva Steele <\/b>of Paynesville, who helped lead the effort to build the McDowell County Miners\u2019 Memorial in Bradshaw and has worked with the local historical society to preserve the area\u2019s coal mining heritage (Community Involvement Award);<\/li>\n<li><b>James Dean <\/b>of Morgantown, who heads West Virginia University\u2019s mining and industrial extension program and served as acting director of the state\u2019s Office of Miners\u2019 Health, Safety and Training following the Sago and Aracoma mine disasters (Safety Professional Award);<\/li>\n<li><b>Jennie Henthorn <\/b>of St. Albans,<b> <\/b>who is the<b> <\/b>owner of Henthorn Environmental Services and a recognized authority on state and federal water quality standards and environmental permitting (Environmental Professional Award);<\/li>\n<li><b>Roger Owensby <\/b>of Bluefield,<b> <\/b>who is the director of the mining engineering technology program at Bluefield State College and a certified mine foreman-fireboss<b> <\/b>(Educator of the Year Award); and<\/li>\n<li><b>Katharine Fredriksen <\/b>of Pittsburgh,<b> <\/b>who is the senior vice president of environmental strategy and regulatory affairs for CONSOL Energy Inc. (Women in Mining Award).<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Internationally recognized musician and songwriter<b> John Ellison<\/b>, who grew up in the mining community of Landgraff in McDowell County, will be on hand at the event to accept a special \u201cSpirit of the Coalfields\u201d award. A member of the 1960s group the Soul Brothers Six, Ellison is best known for writing the song \u201cSome Kind of Wonderful\u201d\u2014one of the most-recorded songs in history. He is dedicating his award to the memory of his father, who worked in the mines in McDowell County.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cRocket Boys\u201d author Homer Hickam, the recipient of last year\u2019s \u201cSpirit of the Coalfields\u201d award, will present a new award, the \u201cHomer Hickam Collier Award,\u201d to a working coal miner who epitomizes the spirit, dedication and skills of the mining profession. The recipient, <b>Scott Lancianese<\/b> of Mount Hope, is a third-generation West Virginia miner who has worked in the industry for 36 years, including the last 16 as a superintendent for Alpha Natural Resources.<\/p>\n<p>Szwilski added that representatives of the Coal Heritage Highway Authority\/National Coal Heritage Area also will be on hand to present the Nick Joe Rahall Award for Outstanding Achievements in Coal Heritage Preservation, the Coal Heritage Award for Excellence in the Arts, the Coal Heritage Marketing Award and the Coal Heritage Research and Documentation Award.<\/p>\n<p>The free reception will begin at 5 p.m. in the Tamarack atrium. Entertainment will be provided by singer-songwriter Reagan Boggs, who wrote \u201cThank You \u2013 Miner\u2019s Song\u201d as a tribute to the men and women who work in the mines. A native of the mining community Pound, Va., Boggs is currently playing shows with Nashville-based group The Coal Men.<\/p>\n<p>Dinner and the awards ceremony, which require a ticket, will begin at 6 p.m. in the ballroom. Tickets are $50\/person. To purchase tickets or inquire about sponsorship opportunities, call 304-696-4029.<\/p>\n<p>For more information about the Miners\u2019 Celebration, visit <a href=\"https:\/\/www.marshall.edu\/cegas\/events\/mcc\" target=\"_blank\">www.marshall.edu\/cegas\/events\/mcc<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>The Miners\u2019 Celebration is a cooperative project of the Center for Environmental, Geotechnical and Applied Sciences at Marshall University; the National Coal Heritage Area; the United Mine Workers of America; the West Virginia Coal Association; Strategic Solutions LLC; and the West Virginia Division of Energy, Office of Coalfield Community Development.<\/p>\n<p>Sponsors include Brickstreet Insurance, Marshall University, State Electric Supply Company and the West Virginia Division of Energy.<\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<p>Contact:\u00a0\u00a0<a href=\"mailto:jarvis7@marshall.edu\" target=\"_blank\">Dennis Jarvis<\/a>, Marshall University Center for Environmental, Geotechnical and Applied Sciences, 304-696-3506; or\u00a0<a href=\"mailto:carico@marshall.edu\"><\/a><a href=\"mailto:ginny.painter@marshall.edu\">Ginny Painter<\/a>, Communications Director, Marshall University Research Corporation, 304.746.1964<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Wednesday, Sept. 4,\u00a02013\u00a0[social_share\/] HUNTINGTON, W.Va.\u00a0\u2013\u00a0On Thursday, Oct. 3, miners, industry leaders, community members and others will gather at Tamarack in Beckley for a gala reception, dinner and awards ceremony to celebrate the past, present and future of West Virginia\u2019s coal mining enterprise. According to organizers, the purpose of the annual \u201cMiners\u2019 Celebration\u201d is to recognize<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":15,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-9088","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-news"],"acf":[],"fimg_url":false,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.marshall.edu\/murc\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9088","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.marshall.edu\/murc\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.marshall.edu\/murc\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.marshall.edu\/murc\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/15"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.marshall.edu\/murc\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=9088"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.marshall.edu\/murc\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9088\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.marshall.edu\/murc\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=9088"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.marshall.edu\/murc\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=9088"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.marshall.edu\/murc\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=9088"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}