Elkins-Randolph County Chamber

06/20/2026

🎓❤️🖤 Leadership Ready 2026 – Entrepreneurship Day & Graduation! 🖤❤️🎓

What an incredible way to wrap up an amazing week of Leadership Ready! 🚀✨

A huge THANK YOU to our Day 5 sponsor, Elkins Auto - Fordland, Chrysler, Dodge, Jeep and Ram, for investing in the future leaders, innovators, and entrepreneurs of Randolph County!

👏 We are especially grateful to Kenna Barger, Lukestone Legacy, for planning and facilitating an outstanding Entrepreneurship Day that challenged students to think about their futures, explore career pathways, and discover what it takes to turn ideas into opportunities.

☕ ✨ A special thank you to The Crossing Coffee Bar for treating our students to a delicious specialty drink, and 🍔 thank you to Beander's Restaurant and Tavern for providing a fantastic lunch!

We loved visiting:

• 3rd Street Tattoo, Third Street Air, & Third Street Rentals
• Tygart Hotel | Oxley House Cocktail Bar & Restaurant
• The Delmonte Market, Tammy's Floral, & The Crossing Coffee Bar
• Studio MK - Inclusive Salon and Educational Facility
• Dreaming Tree Healing Arts
• Reckart Logistics
• Interact Children's Museum
• Mills Group, LLC
• Rovira Studio
• Davis Trust Company’s 125th Block Party

🎯 Students spent the day exploring local businesses, learning about career pathways, creating vision boards, and sharing presentations about their future goals and aspirations.

🎓 We ended our week with the Leadership Ready 2026 Graduation Ceremony, celebrating a remarkable group of young leaders who embraced every opportunity to learn, grow, serve, and lead throughout the week.

🫶🏼 Thank you Elkins First United Methodist Church for sharing your space with us and Pastor Tim Edin, Leadership Randolph Class of 2026 graduate for providing blessings.

🎉 Congratulations to each and every member of the Leadership Ready Class of 2026! We are so proud of your accomplishments and cannot wait to see the impact you make in your schools, communities, and beyond.

🍽️ A special thank you to Randolph County CLIMB for providing an incredible graduation meal and helping make this celebration so memorable for our students and their families.

🥤🤩 Thank you Phillips Kolsun | Kolsun Media for the students graduation gift - tumblers (pictured below)!

❤️ From healthcare and technology to manufacturing, entrepreneurship, and community leadership, these students have gained valuable experiences that will serve them for years to come.

🙌 Thank you to all of our sponsors, facilitators, businesses, volunteers, parents, and community partners who helped make Leadership Ready 2026 such a tremendous success! We have so many exciting clips to share, but for now enjoy a few photos from today!

✨🎥 Thank you Blaine Bishop, owner of Peak Media, for spending another FULL day with us! We are grateful for the continued footage of the program!

06/19/2026

🌟 Leadership Ready Inspiring Leadership Ready! 🌟

🫶🏼 We were thrilled to welcome back Leadership Ready Class of 2025 graduates, Emilia Tenney and Bella Shaffer, who joined the Leadership Ready 2026 class yesterday to share their experiences and leadership journeys.

✨🤩 Emilia and Bella spoke with our students about how the skills they developed through Leadership Ready have helped them pursue new opportunities, build confidence, and take on leadership roles in their schools and communities. They also shared their recent experiences attending American Legion Auxiliary West Virginia Rhododendron Girls State, where they represented our area and continued growing as young leaders.

Their stories were a powerful reminder that leadership is not just about titles—it’s about stepping up, serving others, and being willing to embrace new challenges and opportunities.

Thank you, Emilia and Bella, for taking the time to invest in the next generation of leaders. Your accomplishments make our community proud, and we can’t wait to see all that you continue to achieve!

06/18/2026

🌟❤️ Leadership Ready 2026 – Community Champion Day ❤️🌟

Today’s Leadership Ready students learned that some of the most impactful leaders are those who choose to serve others and strengthen their communities through action.

A special thank you to our Community Champion Day Sponsor, Kristie Vandevander | Vandevander & Nypl, CPAs, AC, for helping make today’s experiences possible.

We are incredibly grateful to Hannah Fincham for serving as our facilitator and guiding students through a day focused on leadership, community involvement, and service. Thank you for investing your time and energy into helping shape the next generation of leaders.

A huge thank you to the Mountaineer Chapter IWLA for introducing our students to archery and teaching them the fundamentals of safely and properly shooting a bow and arrow. It was a fun, hands-on experience that challenged students to focus, learn new skills, and build confidence.

🍦✨And of course, no summer day is complete without a sweet treat! Thank you to Hoots Market for treating our students to delicious hand-dipped ice cream. It was the perfect way to cool off and wrap up a fantastic day.

Today was a wonderful reminder that leadership is about more than titles—it’s about service, learning, teamwork, and making a positive impact in the world around us.

📸 Check out some of our favorite moments from Community Champion Day!

Randolph County CLIMB

06/17/2026

🪵🔨 Leadership Ready 2026 – Day 3: Manufacturing & Trades Day 🔨🪵

Today our Leadership Ready students traded classrooms for workshops as they explored the world of manufacturing, skilled trades, and hands-on careers!

A special thank you to our Day 3 sponsor, Huntington National Bank, for helping provide this incredible opportunity for students to learn about career pathways that build our communities and keep our economy moving.

We are especially grateful to Kris Wilmoth, Deputy Director of the Randolph County Development Authority, for facilitating today’s program and helping connect our students with the many career and training opportunities available throughout our region. Your passion for workforce development and dedication to our community made a lasting impact on these future leaders.

Students spent the day at the WV Wood Technology Center, where they learned about apprenticeship programs, technical education opportunities, and careers in the trades. They also toured Greenfield Cabinetry, heard from professionals working in a variety of fields, and gained valuable insight into the many roads that can lead to a successful future.

One of the highlights of the day was creating their own woodworking projects under the guidance of Bryce Manolidis. There’s something special about working with your hands, learning to use tools safely, and turning a simple piece of wood into something you can proudly take home.

Thank you to:
🔹 Robbie Morris Executive Director of the RCDA and the entire WV Wood Technology Center team
🔹 Kris Wilmoth Deputy Director of the RCDA
🔹 Randolph Technical Center
🔹 Fred Eberle Technical Center
🔹 Youthbuild North Central WV/ Strive WV- Randolph County Housing Authority
🔹 Greenfield Cabinetry | Brian Romero
🔹 Bryce Manolidis
🔹 Brenda Kaubisch
🔹 Beth Cooper | Randolph County CLIMB
🔹 Dr. Phil Chua
🔹 Brad Schumacher - Branch Manager at Huntington Bank

💦☀️ The day wrapped up with an afternoon adventure at Stuart Park, where students enjoyed swimming and time outdoors.

Today’s experiences showed our students that success comes in many forms—and that some of the most rewarding careers are built with skill, determination, hard work, and a willingness to learn.

🎥✨ Another great day with Blaine Bishop, owner of Peak Media, spending the day with us! Reels & photos from his professional grade content coming soon!

06/17/2026

🚀⚙️ Leadership Ready 2026 – Day 2: Emerging Technology Day ⚙️🚀

What an incredible day of learning, exploration, and hands-on experiences!

🫶🏼 A huge thank you to Mountain Valley Bank, N.A. for sponsoring our Emerging Technology Day and helping make these opportunities possible for our students.

📲💻 We are especially grateful to Lukas Barger and his mother, Kenna Barger, for facilitating today’s sessions and guiding students through the ever-changing world of emerging technology. Thank you also to AJ for sharing his drone with the group and providing a firsthand look at how technology is being used in exciting and innovative ways.

🍽️✨ A special thank you goes to Chef Matt Tyre and the culinary team for an absolutely delicious five-course meal prepared and sponsored by Graceland Inn. The experience was made even more meaningful by Lyla Grandstaff’s outstanding etiquette lesson, which taught our students valuable life skills and dining etiquette that will serve them well for years to come. It was informative, engaging, and truly memorable.

🤑 A special thank you to Michelle Pratt from Mountain Valley Bank for sharing financial literacy with the class, as well!

Students enjoyed a wonderful tour of Davis & Elkins College, gaining insight into campus life and future educational opportunities.

🧊🚣🏽We wrapped up the day with an adventure at 4-H Camp Pioneer, where students enjoyed canoeing and paddleboarding before cooling off with a delicious treat from Jamaica Jay's Shaved Ice.

Thank you to everyone who invested their time, talents, and resources to make today’s experiences possible. Days like these are exactly what Leadership Ready is all about—helping students explore opportunities, develop confidence, and discover new possibilities for their future!

🎥✨ Blaine Bishop, owner of Peak Media, also joined us for footage today! We can’t wait to see what he creates this week!

06/16/2026

🎪 What an incredible morning with our Leadership Ready students!

A huge thank you to Aubrey Neumann and Andrew Jones from Davis & Elkins College for leading an engaging and memorable leadership session centered around the concept of the clown nose—often called “the world’s smallest mask.”

Through laughter, participation, and a few clown noses, students explored powerful lessons about leadership, communication, and self-awareness. One of the key takeaways was learning not to put your “clown nose” in front of people. In other words, effective leaders don’t allow their assumptions, egos, distractions, or personal perspectives to get in the way of truly listening to and understanding others.

🔴 It’s amazing how such a small object can represent such a big leadership lesson. The clown nose reminds us that we all wear masks at times, but the best leaders recognize them, set them aside, and lead with authenticity, empathy, and connection.

Thank you, Aubrey and Andrew, for helping our students learn, grow, and have a blast while doing it! 🎪✨

Today’s Emerging Technology session is sponsored by Mountain Valley Bank, N.A.! Stayed tuned for additional photos from our exciting day planned!

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06/16/2026

🎥✨ Thank you WBOY 12News for covering Leadership Ready today! We greatly appreciate it! Randolph County CLIMB is such an outstanding partner of ours for this program!

A popular question for students in high school: What’s next? And a Randolph County program is hoping to help local kids answer that question.

06/15/2026

🌟 Day 1 of Leadership Ready 2026 is Complete! 🌟

Today, our students kicked off an incredible week focused on Healthcare & Healthy Living, and what a hands-on experience it was!

A special thank you to our outstanding partners at Elkins Corridor Medical Center – WVU Medicine, for providing students with an engaging look into the healthcare field and the many career opportunities available within it.

We are especially grateful to Abby Haddix, who facilitated an exceptional interactive experience that gave students the opportunity to learn real-world healthcare skills. Throughout the day, participants learned about:

🩺 Starting IVs
🩸 PICC lines
❤️ Taking blood pressure
🚑 Proper patient placement on a backboard for transport
🦴 Applying a splint

These hands-on activities allowed students to step into the shoes of healthcare professionals and gain a deeper understanding of the knowledge, precision, and teamwork required in the medical field.

🫶🏼 Thank you D&E Nursing Staff & Faculty for sharing the SIM Lab and all the education with the students! It was fantastic!

🍊✨ A huge thank you as well to Clementine’s Cantina for providing a delicious lunch. We are also grateful to Ceramics with Class for welcoming our group and providing a fun, creative experience that allowed students to paint while learning the value of creativity and community engagement.

We would also like to extend a special thank you to Davis & Elkins College for allowing our students to enjoy time at the pool this afternoon. It was the perfect way to wrap up a full day of learning, team building, and fun.

🍦🤩 Today’s afternoon snack: Dairy Queen Grill & Chill!

Leadership Ready is all about exposing students to career pathways, developing leadership skills, and helping them discover possibilities for their future. Day 1 certainly set the bar high!

Thank you to everyone who invested their time and talents into making today a success. We can’t wait to see what our students learn during Emerging Technology Day tomorrow!

06/14/2026

✂️🎉 Yesterday, we had the pleasure of celebrating the Grand Re-Opening of EATS Restaurant with an official ribbon cutting! What an exciting day for Mill Creek and the surrounding community.

Owned and operated by Victor Taylor, this family-focused restaurant is powered by the dedication of family members and friends working together to provide great food and hospitality. Their commitment to serving the community is evident, and we are grateful to have them as part of our local business community.

Restaurants like this are more than just places to eat—they are gathering places that help strengthen and enrich our communities. We encourage everyone to stop by, show your support, and follow EATS on social media to stay up to date on their daily specials, events, and announcements.

Congratulations to Victor and the entire team on this exciting new chapter! ❤️