By Michelle James
Each year, Beckley Mayor Emmett Pugh presents a key to the city to the recipient of the Beckley-Raleigh County YMCA’s Spirit of Beckley award.
That won’t happen this year, however, as Pugh himself, who has also served as the emcee of the event, will be recognized as the 2009 Spirit recipient.
“As long as the key to my office still works, I guess I’m OK,” Pugh said with a laugh.
The Spirit of Beckley award, which Y CEO Jim Gilchrist says is among the most prestigious awards anyone from the area can receive, is presented annually to a person who has dedicated time, resources and energy to the betterment of the community.
“I think Emmett is most deserving,” Gilchrist said. “He’s got a heart of gold and does so much for folks that people don’t even realize.”
Pugh, who has served as Beckley’s mayor since 1988 and served on the city’s common council for nine years prior to that, said he was “surprised and humbled” by his selection for the prestigious award.
“When I look at the list of people who have been selected as previous Spirit of Beckley recipients, there are a lot of people I looked up to when growing up,” he said.
Mentioning past recipients like Leslie Gates, Bob Kiss and Congressman Nick Rahall, he added, “I am in very esteemed company because it’s a great group of people who have given an awful lot back to our community.”
The Spirit of Beckley banquet is scheduled for Dec. 7 at the Beckley-Raleigh County Convention Center.
Spirit co-chairs Nancy Kissinger, Bill File and Roy Shrewsbury say they can think of no better recipient of the award.
All three cite Pugh’s commitment to the betterment of Beckley and the YMCA as the main reasons he is deserving of the honor.
“No one has devoted more of his energy and talents to the City of Beckley than Emmett Pugh,” File said. “Under his leadership as mayor, the city is financially sound and still provides citizens with the best police, fire and board of public works services in the state ...
“He embodies the Spirit of Beckley.”
Shrewsbury, who calls Pugh his “best friend,” agreed.
“He’s just so dedicated to the City of Beckley and to making it grow and prosper and to be the best place it can be for people to live in, work in and be proud of,” Shrewsbury said. “He’s one of a kind, and whenever he decides to retire, the city will certainly have a hard time finding his replacement.”
As the recipient of the award, Pugh will lend his name to the Spirit award, which is annually the YMCA’s largest fundraiser. Money contributed in the name of the honoree funds scholarships for the less fortunate and helps the YMCA continue to offer its many youth-oriented programs.
Pugh said he is “more than happy” to lend his name to anything that benefits the Y.
“There’s no doubt the role the YMCA plays here,” he said. “They are a tremendous asset to the city and the county, too. It’s a great thing for the children and it provides them with a good influence and hopefully gives them some of the tools they need as they further their lifetime and ambitions.
“I think they do a tremendous job.”
That support of the Y, the co-chairs say, makes Pugh the perfect fit for the fundraiser.
“He’s been integral with the YMCA and the (Paul Cline Memorial Youth) soccer complex,” Kissinger said. “I’m sure there are a lot of people in the community who want to support him and the Y, so this will be a great event.”
Pugh is married to the former Linda Laney. He has three children, Emmett S. Pugh IV, 34, Julie, 33, and Michael, 27.
— E-mail: mjames@register-herald.com
