Lisa Messinger Wood, Davis & Elkins College First Lady and Executive Director of the Elkins-Randolph County Chamber of Commerce, has been named to the 2022 class of Leadership West Virginia. Wood and 51 other leaders from across the state have accepted invitations to participate in this year’s class.
Class participants were selected from a list of well-qualified applicants and were chosen because they demonstrate outstanding leadership skills and experiences in their professional careers and civic and community activities.
As interest in the program grows, the competition does, too, according to Pam Farris, Leadership West Virginia Executive Director.
“We continue to see a large number of diverse applicants each year, all with various professional and civic experiences, making our selection process a challenging but rewarding one,” Farris said.
The 2022 class will travel to various communities across West Virginia to provide a broad-based education and learning experience on critical topics and industry issues facing the state, its employers, and others.
Classmates will have unique opportunities to improve upon their leadership skills during the class, officials said. They also will benefit from the connections they make in the class and from the impressive network of leaders, officials said. The program now has nearly 1,500 alumni from 54 of 55 counties in West Virginia.
“Leadership West Virginia provides graduates with the skills and knowledge to support them in making sound, informed business decisions,” Farris said. “It is our hope that they will apply what they’ll learn in their communities and in support of Leadership West Virginia’s mission to grow, engage and mobilize others to ignite a lifelong passion to move West Virginia forward.”
“I’m humbled and honored to have been chosen for the 2022 Leadership West Virginia. I’m following in the footsteps of many Randolph County leaders who have taken this journey before me,” Wood stated. “I look forward to experiencing different parts of West Virginia, learning from outstanding West Virginia leaders, and bringing that back to the Chamber, Davis & Elkins College and our community.”
Leadership West Virginia has been in operation for 31 years as a statewide education and leadership development not-for-profit program in West Virginia. The seven-month program cultivates leaders from a variety of industries and regions across West Virginia aimed at enhancing their knowledge not only of the challenges facing the state, but also its unique attributes and diversity. Leadership West Virginia is affiliated with the West Virginia Chamber of Commerce.
Lisa Wood
