CHARLESTON — Andrea Fleming said she was excited to be chosen as one of West Virginia’s most influential young professionals in the annual Generation Next: 40 Under 40 awards in Charleston on Friday.
“A lot of times, folks that work in the nonprofit world do a lot of work in the background,” said Fleming, 38, of Grant Town.
Fleming is executive director of the Fairmont Community Development Partnership, a nonprofit organization that owns 42 pieces of rental property in Marion County. Fleming is proud to be the first female director of the partnership following two generations of men in that role.
She is also the first person under 55 to helm the organization.
“It’s a man’s world,” Fleming said in her official “40 Under 40” biography. “I just have to keep my chin up and don’t let anyone manipulate me because I’m a woman.”
Fleming is also a grant writer who published a children’s book in 2012. She has served on Grant Town Council, the United Way of Marion County and is active with several community groups.
Fleming said it was good for someone in the nonprofit world to be recognized for community service.
She teaches business at Fairmont State University and management at Pierpont Community & Technical College as an adjunct professor.
Joshua Austin, 31, was also among the 40 up-and-coming community leaders to be honored Friday, but he was reluctant to take all the credit for the award.
Austin, from Bridgeport, works for the West Virginia University Health Sciences Center on a project called the West Virginia Partnership for Health Innovation. The project is intended to work with health-care providers, insurance providers, consumers and government to improve health care for all West Virginians.
“I’m able to help improve the health and well-being of West Virginians — people I grew up with, people I met along the way,” Austin said in his official “40 Under 40” biography. “We’re trying to make health care more nimble and less costly ….”
Austin believes the work of the Partnership for Health Innovation was the reason for his nomination to Generation Next.
“It’s not about me, it’s about the organization,” he said.
Generation Next was begun by publishers of The State Journal 13 years ago “to celebrate the state’s outstanding professional people who are making a difference at work and in their communities,” according to organizers of the event.
“Generation Next: 40 under 40 is a shining light each year that clears out the shadows cast over the state by negative rankings and stereotypes,” organizers said.
More than 100 people, including nearly all of the 40 community leaders recognized for their service, their friends and family members, attended Friday’s awards ceremony at the state Culture Center in Charleston.
Keynote speaker for the event was Rachael Peckham, an assistant professor who teaches creative writing at Marshall University.
Peckham, who holds a Ph.D. in creative writing from Ohio University, is working on a project about the history of the 1970 Marshall University plane crash at Tri-State Airport in Huntington that killed 75 people on a chartered flight, including 37 members of the Thundering Herd football team.
When she was first hired at Marshall, Peckham said she decided to learn about how the crash affected the university, the city of Huntington and surrounding community. She said she found it inspiring the way Marshall graduates and students still remember the crash.
Peckham said the 40 Under 40 honorees were also inspirational, and had the future in their hands.
The following is the complete list of Generation Next: 40 Under 40 winners:
Elizabeth Amandus, Member, Jackson Kelly PLLC, Charleston
Joshua Austin, Program Manager of Strategic Initiatives, WVU Health Sciences Center, Bridgeport
Vivian Basdekis, Member, Jackson Kelly PLLC, Charleston
James Clevenger, Assistant Lewis County Prosecuting Attorney, Weston
Catherine Wilkes Delligatti, Berkeley County Prosecuting Attorney, Berkeley, Martinsburg
Sally Deskins, Exhibits and Programs Coordinator, West Virginia University, Libraries, Morgantown
Adam Dyer, President, Dyer Insurance Group, Bridgeport
Cason Edwards, Owner, President of RKE Corp., St. Marys Galaxy Food Center
Andrea Salina Fleming, Executive Director, Fairmont Community Development Partnership,
Grant Town
Heath Frazier, Business Deposits Development Of cer, MVB Bank Stonewood
Micheal Fultz, Associate Professor, West Virginia State University, Hurricane
Crescent Gallagher, Communications Director & Legislative Liaison, WV Department of Agriculture, Charleston
Trella Greaser, Corporate Care Representative, WV Caring, Kingwood
Charlie Hanshaw, Partner, Dixon Hughes Goodman LLP, Charleston
Katrina Harmon, Executive Director, West Virginia Child Care Association, Winfield
Jennifer Hill, Member, Steptoe & Johnson PLLC, Charleston
Stacy Houser, CEO, Head Sports Fitness Trainer
Temple Challenge LLC, Parkersburg
V. Elizabeth King, Multi-disciplinary Investigative Team Coordinator, Lead forensic interviewer, Randolph/ Tucker Children’s Advocacy Center, Elkins
Hilary Kinney, Regional Coordinator, Inspire WV, Morgantown
Christy Laxton, Executive Director, Wyoming County Economic Development, Pineville
Tim Liebrecht, Deposit Specialist, First Exchange Bank, Morgantown
Krystian Leonard, President, Shining SCARS Inc., Morgantown
Justin Marlowe, President, Shining SCARS Inc., Morgantown
Cassidy McCoy, Owner, Hillbilly Proud Productions, Ravenswood
Whitney Oliverio, Program Coordinator for Josie’s Hope, United Summit Center, Fairmont
Eliot Parker, Professor of English, Mountwest Community & Technical College Huntington
Joshua Sanders, Patrol Sergeant, Wheeling Police Department, Wheeling
Carrie Staton, Associate Director, Brown elds Assistance Center and Director of WVU BAD Buildings, Mullens
Travis Stimeling, Associate Professor, Musicology, WVU, Morgantown
Lindsey Teets, Business Coach, Eastern West Virginia Community & Technical College/WV Small Business Development Center and Co-owner of Snowy Creek Dorsets, Aurora
Jessica Tice, Deputy State Director for Outreach, U.S. Sen. Joe Manchin, Charleston
Chasten Toler, Market Manager, The Wild Ramp, Founder of Grassroots Organics, Huntington
Stephanie Tyree, Executive Director, WV Community Development Hub, Charleston
Ally Walker, Lead, Global Environment, Health and Safety at Mylan, Fairmont
Christopher Weikle, Deputy Director, Government Relations & Advocacy, LGCR Government Solutions, Scott Depot
Christy Wenger, Associate Professor of English and Director of Writing & Rhetoric, Shepherd University, Martinsburg
Lindsay Williams, Broker/Owner, Touchdown Home Pros, Morgantown
Christopher Willis, Director, Human Resources & Marketing, SDI Gas, LLC, Morgantown
Donteako Wilson, Title Managing Member, Capital Insurance Group, Charleston
Amanda Workman, Director of Community Engagement, West Virginia Community Development Hub, Clarksburg
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