Published: May 18, 2007 11:03 pm         

Incumbent wants to continue serving residents of Beckley

Since 1989, Robert Rappold has served Beckley as one of its two council members at-large.

Rappold was appointed by Mayor Emmett Pugh to fill his unexpired term as councilman at-large when Pugh was appointed mayor. That’s when Rappold, a longtime Beckley businessman, found another way to serve the community his family has called home for generations. He’s been elected to the position ever since and is hoping for re-election come Tuesday.

Rappold’s father, Walter Sr., was born in Beckley in 1911. He grew up in the South Oakwood area and passed his fondness for local hiking expeditions to Fitzpatrick and Piney Creek — among other things — to his four sons, Walt, Rusty, Tom and Robert. The boys grew up on Woodlawn Avenue, not far from where Robert currently lives with his wife of nearly 40 years, Barbara. She is a neonatal nurse at Raleigh General Hospital.

Like his own parents, Robert and Barbara also had four children, Melissa, Leigh Ann, Robert Jr., and Julie, all of whom graduated from West Virginia University — Julie just this month.

Rappold graduated from Woodrow Wilson High School in 1965 and went on to Beckley College, now Mountain State University, and Morris Harvey College, which is now the University of Charleston.

He’s currently a vice president with Wells Fargo Insurance Group, which was formerly Acordia.

“Beckley is home, and we love it,” he says, noting many positive aspects of the city, including Mountain State University, the city rail trail, a community of dynamic people, a well managed government and strong business leadership.

“In so many ways, this is the city of champions,” Rappold said of the town’s unofficial slogan, “and that’s true with or without the athletic connotation. ... We have so many good leaders here.”

Beckley, he notes, is one of the state’s best-managed municipalities. Its pension plan for police and firefighters is “one of the most solid in the state,” and it’s important it stays that way to continue providing citizens with those quality services.

But there is always room for improvement, and that’s what Rappold said he hopes to continue working toward should the people of Beckley return him to his council seat.

“When I talk to people from out of town, and I tell them I’m from Beckley, they say ‘Oh, we go through Beckley,’ or, ‘we go by Beckley.’ We need to find a way of getting these people going by Beckley to visit Beckley, to come downtown,” he said.

Already, Rappold said, things such as the new visitors center at the Beckley Exhibition Coal Mine and the Intermodal Gateway project are working to do just that. Rappold is hopeful those projects, once complete, might encourage a revitalization of downtown Beckley with the growth of businesses, such as boutiques and restaurants. He talks about seeing good examples of similar areas when he takes “weekend jaunts” with his wife to small towns.

“You look forward to experiencing the flavor of those downtown areas,” he said, “and right now, we’ve still got some work to do here. If we can get them off Exit 44, they’ll come downtown.”

It would be ideal, though, if they could drive there without experiencing any traffic problems, he added.

“To the extent possible, we’ve got to push this Z-way project,” Rappold said. “We’ve got to relieve traffic congestion and look at the timing of traffic signals.”

Rappold also said he supports the idea of metro government. From a business standpoint, it makes sense for a major corporation to buy two or three smaller ones and consolidate duplicated efforts, he said.

“I think we have to do it,” he said. “Otherwise, we’re spending so much money needlessly.”

The city has already taken steps to consolidate some efforts with the county, such as building inspection.

— E-mail:

bnaudrey@register-herald.com