The West Virginia Coal Association and Friends of Coal expanded their outreach efforts through the weeks leading up to the election, hosting two Coal “Town Hall” meetings, one in Beckley and another in Morgantown, last week, along with appearances at several other events in conjunction with our endorsed candidates.
Both Town Hall meetings were well attended. The meeting in Beckley, held at the Tamarack Conference Center on Oct. 27, drew a standing room only crowd. It was well covered by the local media and featured a summary of the current state of the industry along with introductions of our endorsed candidates who were in attendance. The second Town Hall, in Morgantown on Oct. 31, was held in conjunction with the Association’s fall meeting and drew a large crowd to the Waterfront Hotel Conference Center. The crowd of more than 100 again heard an overview of the current industry status and was introduced to our list of endorsed candidates.
In addition to these two events, WVCA Senior Vice President Chris Hamilton attended several events in conjunction with endorsed candidates. The association also produced several radio spots in support of candidates.
Hamilton was also a guest on the pre-election edition of WOWK-TV’s Decision Makers program. You can watch the episode at http://www.statejournal.com/story/27184684/decision-makers-guests-include-karen-weiss-maj-gen-james-hoyer-steve-roberts-chris-hamilton-sen-bill-cole-jessica-cross-ben-spurlock-and-mason.
“This election was vital to the future of the industry, not just here in West Virginia, but also across the country,” said WVCA President Bill Raney.