Glades Building Supply Named Business Of The Year

Marlinton, WV – Glades Building Supply is the winner of the 2011 Pocahontas County Chamber of Commerce Business Community Involvement Award. In business for 44 years, Glades was honored during the Chamber of Commerce annual dinner last week in Marlinton. Glades has survived at least three floods and provides a dozen full time jobs. Jerry Ramos, emcee for the Chamber dinner, says Glades also provides a lot of help to the community.

“They donate a lot of time and money to their local schools and clubs which include Green Bank Elementary Middle Washington, DC trip, the high school year book, FBLA, VICA trip, the high school band boosters and high school athletics” says Ramos.

He says they also support a wide variety of community organizations with donations or time such as the Greenbrier River Race, Pocahontas County Sheriffs’ Department, WVMR, the Pocahontas County Food Pantry, and the FFA Ham and Bacon sale among others. Spokesman Randy Sharp thanked the Chamber for the award and credits their success to Robert and Ruth Sharp.

“We’d like to thank everybody for their support in the nomination for the award” says Sharp. “We are involved in the community; we appreciate it because where else would we be. We really appreciate the support we get from this community and the surrounding communities. We’re just glad to be here. It’s Robert’s legacy, he built everything. He built the backbone of the store and the building aspect; the woman that I had to drag out tonight, Ruth, she’s the brains of the operation.”

The recipient of the Chambers Community Involvement individual award for this year is Pocahontas County Parks and Recreation Director Lauren Bennett. She graciously accepted the award by thanking those in attendance for providing her support and mentoring over the years.

Nikki Bowman, editor of West Virginia Living and West Virginia Weddings magazines, was the speaker for the evening. Bowman says she grew up somewhat sheltered in Clay and Kanawha counties, and left the state shortly after getting her undergraduate degree from WVU. From there she went to Chicago for a Masters degree in magazine publishing.

After Chicago, she traveled to Washington, DC, and then found herself as editor of a state oriented magazine in Mississippi. It was that experience that led her to think about a similar magazine focused on the culture and heritage of her native state. She launched West Virginia Living magazine in late 2008, despite a downturn in the publishing market. She says her friends warned her that such a publication might not work in West Virginia.

“But you know what, they were wrong” says Bowman. “West Virginians are engaged; we are proud. We’re proud of our communities and we do want to know what’s going on around our state.”

The success of the magazine has reached beyond the state borders. It’s now sold across the county in at least 30 states and Canada. She says there’s a simple reason behind that success.

“Just like what I found in Mississippi, you are determined against seemingly insurmountable odds, to rejuvenate your towns, to improve the quality of life and to help others achieve their dreams” says Bowman. “And not all of you are native West Virginians – some have chosen to make the mountain state their home. But you, everyone in this room, you’re the life blood of our communities; and it’s your stories that we tell. So without you, we would not exist, because we wouldn’t have any stories to tell.”

The spring issue of West Virginia Living magazine is now on sale.

Story By

Heather Niday

Heather is our Program Director and Traffic Manager. She started with Allegheny Mountain Radio as a volunteer deejay. She then joined the AMR staff in February of 2007. Heather grew up in the Richmond, Virginia, area and now lives in Arbovale, West Virginia with her husband Chuck. Heather is a wonderful flute player, and choir director for Arbovale UMC. You can hear Heather along with Chuck on Tuesday nights from 6 to 8pm as they host two hours of jazz on Something Different.

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