Charles T. Jones, Chairman of Port Amherst, LTD and President of Amherst Industries, Inc. and Royce J. Watts, long time educator and Secretary-Treasurer of the West Virginia Coal Mining Institute will be inducted into the West Virginia Coal Hall of Fame during a ceremony on Friday, May 2 at the Embassy Suites Hotel in Charleston.
Andrew Jordon, Chairman of the West Virginia Coal Association Board of Directors, said, “The Coal Hall of Fame was created to honor and celebrate the careers and accomplishments of individuals who have had a significant impact on the West Virginia mining industry. Charlie and Royce have been pillars of the coal community for decades and we are very pleased to see them inducted.”
Jones, a Kanawha Valley native and veteran of World War II, owns and operates Madison Coal & Supply Company and Amherst Industries. His companies operate 35 river towboats and 10 floating cranes and haul coal and other commodities on the Ohio River and its tributaries. Amherst Coal was a well known southern West Virginia coal producer.
Watts, a native of Randolph County, served in the U.S. Army following World War II as part of the force occupying Italy and later served in Korea. A graduate of West Virginia University, he has been a well known economics and statistics professor for nearly 50 years at his alma mater. He has also served in a variety of leadership positions throughout the University. He currently serves as Associate Dean – Administration with the College of Engineering and Mineral Resources.
The West Virginia Coal Association, the West Virginia Coal Mining Institute and the West Virginia Mining and Reclamation Association established the Coal Hall of Fame in 1998. Candidates must have spent at least five years in the West Virginia coal industry and served as an owner, operator, manager, engineer, educator or in some other capacity in which they contributed to the growth of coal mining in West Virginia.
The Mineral Resources Building of the WVU College of Engineering and Mineral Resources is home to the Coal Hall of Fame. Individual plaques bearing the names of each of the inductees are on permanent display in the building's atrium. In addition, a photograph of each member hangs in the first-floor hallway of the facility.
For additional information, contact Bill Raney at (304) 342-4153.