Preston County is open for business and the Preston County Chamber of Commerce stands ready to serve the business community in this place we all know, love and call home. We want to be your partner - by promoting your business and by establishing a collaborative business climate within our county that keeps Preston businesses on the rise. The Chamber offers increased visibility in the community, countless networking opportunities throughout the year, educational opportunities and so much more.
The mission of the Preston County Chamber of Commerce is to support and lead in the development, growth, and improvement of our members and our business community. Find out more about the many benefits of being part of the Preston County Chamber here.
The Preston County Chamber of Commerce is governed by a nine member board that includes civic-minded Preston natives and residents active in their communities and with a common goal of ensuring its future growth and stability. Executive Director Kristy Ash handles the day-to-day operation of the Chamber and is always ready to help your business in any way the Chamber can.
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After earning her Bachelors of Arts in History with a minor in Rural Community Development at West Virginia University in May 2019 and dual Masters degree in Public History and Public Administration in December 2021. Her graduate assistance position was with the William A. Neal Museum of the Health Sciences which allowed her to put into practice what she learned in the classroom by directly contributing to the creation of a new museum. Her career interests include community development and historic preservation, especially in rural or under-served regions such as Appalachia. Elizabeth now serve as the Curator and Director of Education at Arthurdale Heritage, Inc.–the nation’s first New Deal Homestead Community located in Preston County, WV.
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Steve spent 40 years with the Preston County Board of Education. Prior to his retirement in 2022, he served 7.5 years as the Superintendent and was chosen as the 2022 West Virginia Superintendent of the Year. Prior to that he served as the Curriculum Director for Grades K – 12, the PreKindergarten Director, and the Federal Programs Director. Additionally, he served as principal of three different Preston County Schools – Bruceton School, Terra Alta/East Preston School, and Rowlesburg School. Before entering administration, he taught math and science at Bruceton High School and Bruceton Middle School.
Currently, Steve serves as a senior pastor for Mission Take Back Ministries. He resides in Bruceton Mills with his wife, Lesa. He loves spending time outdoors and reading, but mostly enjoying time with his grandchildren.
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LaDeana Teets is happy to be one of the “newbies” on the Chamber Board! She and her husband, Mark, live on a 126-acre farm near Amboy on the Aurora Pike where they care for their flock of sheep that consists of 250 ewes. They are the parents of two sons, Thomas and Lindsey Teets.
Along with being shepherds on the farm, Mark and LaDeana are both ordained ministers where they pastor the Brookside Church in Aurora. They both have a love for missions here and with the Bolivian Mission Team in South America. LaDeana is the Director for Preston County Farmland Protection Board, an advisor for the FSA County Committee, an agriculture member on the EDA Board and the secretary/treasurer for the Hope, Love and Charity Foundation.
LaDeana has a love for history, travel, gardening and canning. But her favorite passed time is just being grandma to her seven grandsons and teaching them how to be the next generation of farmers to care the land.
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Dallas “DJ” Wolfe has been part of the Preston County community for over 30 years, and his family has been rooted in the county for over a hundred years. DJ has been a member of the West Virginia Army National Guard since 2004. He is currently serving as a Major at Camp Dawson for the WVARNG Department of Emergency Services. DJ is the proud owner of High Ground Brewing, located in Terra Alta, which has gained notoriety as one of the premier craft breweries within the state of West Virginia. DJ graduated from West Virginia University in 2007 with a Bachelor’s degree in Psychology, and has graduated from numerous military officer professional development schools. Over many years, DJ has gained robust experience in organizational leadership and development through serving in the military and entrepreneurship. DJ is happily married to Jana Wolfe, and is the proud father to his energetic 18 month old son Dallas Robert Wolfe V. In his free time DJ enjoys hiking, camping, white water rafting, and fishing.
Contact Information:
Maggie DeWeirdt, PHR, SHRM-CP
Human Resources Manager
Camp Dawson Event Center
WV On Trac Liaison for the Rowlesburg
Revitalization Commitee, Inc (RRC)
phone: 304-791-7024 (office)
website: rowlesburg.info
Maggie was an executive assistant at a Marketing and Advertising Agency in Belgium before moving to Miami, FL in 1996 where she helped set up a small manufacturing company and created an online retail store with worldwide shipping.
When the business moved to Preston County in 1999, she became a part of the Rowlesburg community. In 2008 Maggie had the opportunity to move to Dallas, TX but she preferred to stay in Preston County where she worked for Clear Mountain Bank and the City of Kingwood before accepting a position at the Camp Dawson Event Center in 2013. Maggie obtained her Human Resources certifications (SHRM-CP and PHR) via WVU and is dedicated to her work as the HR Manager at CDEC. Because of her experience she understands the challenges of running a small business as well as matters involving employment.
Maggie volunteered to create and maintain the Rowlesburg.info website, she is co-founder of the WWII museum and organized the WWII reenactment days for 10 years. as well as the US Military & Veterans Commemoration Day.
She is also involved in other Rowlesburg events and heads up the European Style Christmas Market.
Maggie has a son Kirian and grandson Devin.
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Kari Moreno is a Realtor with Houses & More Real Estate and a member of the Morgantown
Board of Realtors®. She has earned her Accredited Buyer’s Representative designation and is
C2EX endorsed by the National Association of Realtors®. Kari received her bachelor’s degree
in Business Administration from Colorado Technical University.
Kari is a member of the Rotary Club of Kingwood and the Kingwood Blueprints Communities
team. As a member of The Daughters of the American Revolution she also enjoys volunteering
with local schools and veterans.
With her past experience as co-owner and founder of Brew Ha Ha in Kingwood, Kari
understands the hard work and dedication it takes to be a small business owner. She is excited
to help other local businesses while serving on the Preston County Chamber of Commerce
board.
Kari resides in Kingwood with her husband Tony and their children Kaitlyn, Grace, Lily, and
Antonio. In her spare time she enjoys reading, doing puzzles, and volunteering in the community with her family.
Contact Information:
Jason S. Schnopp is a native of Preston County and currently resides in Bruceton Mills, WV with his wife, Marijke Schnopp and their 4 children, Easton (13), Paisley (10), Fisher (8) and Sawyer (6). He is currently the Business Development Banking Center Manager for WesBanco Bank located in Kingwood and Masontown locations. Jason graduated from Fairmont State University with a Bachelor of Science in Psychology and a Minor in Sociology.
Throughout Jason’s banking career, he brings more than 20 years of experience within the community and corporate banking industry and more than 16 years in management experience overall. Jason currently serves on the United Way Family Resource Network of Monongalia and Preston Counties, the West Virginia University John Chambers College of Business & Economics Professional Sales Advisory Council, a board member for The Preston County Youth Center and is also very passionate about supporting the local military veterans by serving on the Operation Welcome Home financial committee directed towards the Morgantown shootout.
Jason’s true passion is being able to dedicate his time to the local youths of Preston, Monongalia and Marion County as the founder and coach of the Anchor Point Archery team. In 2021, Jason created the youth based organization known as the Anchor Point Archery Team as a way to introduce an alternative for our local youth to fulfil their competitive desires in a way that is different than traditional sports like baseball, basketball, football, etc. Through Jason’s passion, he coaches 41 youth ranging from 5-18 years old on a weekly basis to compete on a local, national and world stage level.
In his spare time, Jason enjoys the great outdoors, mountain biking, woodworking, spending time with his wife and kids while also being with his archery students traveling to competitions nationwide.
Jason S. Schnopp
WesBanco Bank
203 Morgantown St.
Kingwood, WV 26537
(304) 905-7074 (O)
Jason.schnopp@wesbanco.com
Contact Information:
Bo Burnside
Clear Mountain Bank
330 East Main Street
Kingwood, WV 26537
304-329-7404
bburnside@clearmountainbank.com
Bo is a native of Kingwood, and is proud to call Preston County home. He joined the Clear Mountain Bank team in 2012 and has more than 10 years of experience in the financial industry. He’s a graduate of West Virginia University with a Bachelor’s Degree in Finance.
Bo is an avid golfer and enjoys fishing. He is on the board of the Trout for Cheat organization. He resides in Kingwood with his wife Ashley son Beckett and daughter Hadlee.
Contact Information:
Kerry Gnik, Executive Director
Camp Dawson Event Center
WVARNG Military Support Services
304-791-4480 (Office)
kgnik@cdec.org
https://campdawsoneventcenter.org
Kerry Gnik is the Executive Director of the Camp Dawson Event Center in Kingwood, WV and a 20 year Veteran of the WV Army National Guard. She received her MBA from West Virginia University.
Kerry is a member of the Rotary Club of Kingwood, the Preston Memorial Hospital Foundation Board of Directors, and the Visit Mountaineer Country Convention and Visitors Bureau Board of Directors.
A native Prestonian, she resides in Kingwood with her husband Mark and their two children.
Contact Information:
Kristy Ash, Executive Director
Preston County Chamber of Commerce
info@prestonchamber.com
200 W Main St, Kingwood WV 26537
304.329.0576
As executive director of the Preston County Chamber of Commerce, Kristy Ash brings experience, enthusiasm and community dedication to her position. She holds her 2-Year Business Certificate from the Preston County Educational Center and, as a former owner/operator of a small local business, understands the challenges facing local entrepreneurs. This experience gives her a passion for giving her all to help local businesses succeed. Her love of event planning ensures that the Preston County Chamber of Commerce is continually offering new and exciting events for its members.
In addition to having owned and operated local business Mountaineer Monumental Works, Kristy is also a licensed insurance provider. She worked in training and development for WVU and community relations at Preston Memorial Hospital before beginning her career at the Preston County Chamber of Commerce.
Kristy is a lifelong resident of Preston County and is an active member of her community. She serves on the Executive Board for Food for Preston and the Preston County Economic Development Authority. She is also a member of the Kingwood Blueprint Communities Team.
Married to her husband Michael for 32 years, Kristy has three daughters, Samantha Shaffer (Trevor), Savanna Bolyard (Isaac) and Siera Ash and four granddaughters, Laurel, Willow, Ember and Clay all of whom live locally in Preston County. In her spare time, she enjoys camping, antiquing and spending time with her family.
Contact Information:
Tim Wotring
Prodigi
452 Casteel Road
Bruceton Mills, WV 26525
(304) 777-4444
email: timw@digitalconnections.net
Tim Wotring is a native of Bruceton Mills and is proud to call Preston County home. Tim is a devout Christian and a devoted family man having been happily married to his wife, Amy, for 23 years. Tim and Amy have two daughters: Brooke (husband Cameron), and Gracie. In 2016, Tim and Amy took in his nephew, Austin, and love him as if he was their own son.
Tim is the co-owner and President of PRODIGI and has over 20 years of experience in the telecommunications industry. Based in Hazelton, WV; PRODIGI provides Voice, Internet, and TV services to customers in West Virginia and western Maryland. In 2015, PRODIGI modified their business plan and focused on deploying a Fiber to the Home (FTTH) network in Preston County. Currently, the company has over 300 miles of fiber network active in Preston County and serving over 2,000 Preston County customers; with that number increasing daily. Wotring’s vision for PRODIGI is to continue expanding their FTTH network throughout the county and provide Preston County with a true, reliable Broadband service.
In addition to his responsibilities with PRODIGI, Tim is a pastor in the Bruceton Mills area where he has been serving two churches since 2007. During his tenure as pastor, Tim has led four mission trips to San Juan La Laguna, Guatemala.
Contact Information:
Michael McGovern
Mon Health Medical Center
1200 JD Anderson Drive
Morgantown, WV 26505
mcgovernm@monhealthsys.org
Having grown up in Essex County, New Jersey about 11 miles outside of New York City, Michael brings a varied, if not cosmopolitan, sensibility to Preston county. He has chosen our lovely state and county as his home for his family and himself. Having been raised in an Italian and Irish Catholic family and schooling at Sacred Heart and Queen of Peace schools, his respect for his country, Christ and his traditional family values supersedes everything he does. He comes from a background in medical sciences, having been first a procurement technician in Pathology, an Intake Coordinator and a Patient Program Manager at St. Josephs and St. Barnabas in northern New Jersey respectively. From this experience, he parlayed his medical and patient experience into working with a renowned 501c3 company that provides care for families and patients dealing with a myriad of pediatric hematologic and oncological illnesses at the Valerie Fund. Michael moved here with his family to Alpine Lake in November of 2016. He is currently employed as the Community Health Coordinator at Mon Health Medical Center. Michael is proud to call West Virginia his home and looks forward to contributing his talents and passion to its success
Everywhere you look in Preston County, you'll see another thriving business, proudly serving our residents with the Preston County Chamber of Commerce behind them. Read more about what the Chamber does for their members, and when you're ready, click here to become one of them!
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