Thumbs up ... to Jeanne Lancaster, secretary-treasurer of the Veterans of Foreign Wars Women’s Auxiliary Post 7695 of Ansted. Lancaster has been donating wigs and hair pieces since May 2007 to The Wig Closet at Raleigh General Hospital for free distribution to women suffering from hair loss due to medical reasons. She recently donated her 1,120th wig.
Thumbs down ... to age, physically demanding jobs and bad habits from smoking to lack of exercise contributing to the state’s ranking first in percentage of residents with disabilities. The U.S. Census annual American Community Survey shows roughly 19 percent of West Virginians report having a disability, more than any other state. The national average is 12 percent.
Thumbs up ... to Beckley disc jockey legend Rod O’Dell, inducted into the West Virginia Broadcasting Hall of Fame at its museum in Huntington. O’Dell is well known for his work, including some 18 summers of WWNR-AMs Little Beaver Record Hop.
Thumbs up ... to Mountain State University’s five new members of its Hall of Fame. The honorees, who join 41 previous inductees, include: Tracy Warren Hylton II, a graduate of the class of 1969, who received the Career Achievement Award. Raleigh County native Bill W. Bowman received the Distinguished Service Award. Fayette County native Cana Omer Coleman was presented with the Distinguished Friend Award. John William “Bill” Dillon was presented the Community Service Award. Michael Ann Dulcie received the Amanda Marcella Adkins Spirit Award.
Thumbs up ... to five regional leaders honored at Mountain State University’s second annual Living Leadership Awards ceremony. The awards recognize individuals who are viewed as modeling, inspiring, challenging, enabling and/or encouraging in the community. The honorees were Joe Long, president of the MSU Alumni Association; Gary Bowling, owner of The House of Art in Bluefield; Beckley Newspapers Publisher Frank Wood; Wayne Richmond, advancement chairman of the Seneca District Buckskin Council Eagle Board of the Boy Scouts; and Richard Jarrell, owner of Chick-fil-A at Beckley Galleria.
Thumbs up ... to the state Municipal League’s honoring Beckley city leaders for their hard work, innovation and partnering with nongovernment agencies which turned a major eyesore into a park. The city earned one of the league’s highest honors — the Municipal All-Star Community Award — for its work in developing Thornhill Courts on dilapidated property that once housed the old vocational and technical building at the Woodlawn Avenue and Second Street intersection.
Thumbs up ... to Raleigh County Relay for Life’s recent fundraising event. The American Cancer Society’s 13th annual relay raised $139,250.54 gross and $137,210.72 net. That beat the record set in 2007 by more than $33,000.
Thumbs up ... to Cindy Staton, honored as the Wyoming County teacher of the year. Staton is an educator at Huff Consolidated Elementary and Middle School.
Thumbs up ... to the Southern Coalfields Tobacco Prevention Coalition Network. The group won the country’s top award for smokeless tobacco prevention education, the Amy Hertz Award, during the National Smokeless & Spit Tobacco summit in Madison, Wis.
Thumbs up ... to the West Virginia Oil Marketers and Grocers Association, in conjunction with the Make-A-Wish Foundation, for making life better for kids. The group raised $190,650 to help grant the wishes of kids diagnosed with life-threatening conditions.
