WEST VIRGINIA WONDER WOMEN
DEBRINA WILLIAMS Genuine Hospitality
As head of the Hatfield McCoy CVB and the Logan County Chamber of Commerce, Debrina Williams is a mover and shaker who connects people in her community. Networking drives business, she says, and her initiatives include the Logan Leadership Program, an eight-month mentorship program connecting business professionals. Williams aims to help and serve in all parts of her life. From her family business, Mountain Brook & Company Lodging, which caters to Hatfield-McCoy Trail riders, to the boards she contributes time to, including the National Coal Heritage Authority & WSAZ Children’s Charities, helping others is what motivates her. The art of listening is often forgotten in our fast-paced world, says Williams, who loves an engaging conversation. “If you are willing to take the time to engage in a conversation with a highly imaginative 3-year- old or hear the memories of an 87-year-old, you can glean great insight into life.” She remembers her mom, a wise woman, often repeating the observation that people will not always remember what you had to say, but they will remember how you made them feel. “I always want others to recognize that people in West Virginia offer genuine hospitality to those who visit our state. It is an incredible place to live and visit.” BM
CINDY ROBESON Brewing People Together After tending to all the paperwork and lending a hand at her husband’s law firm by day, Cindy Robeson works the front of the house serving beer by night at their brewery, Stumptown Ales in Davis. Robeson’s nights, beyond slinging beer, are also full of marketing efforts and working as the sole sales force for the brewery—not to mention making beer labels, hand labeling every can, and caring for five kids. Although her days might be unpredictable, she says Stumptown is her happy place. Stumptown Ales is not only a community staple, but it’s also a tourist attraction. “It’s a great place for tourists to come and sample what West Virginia has to offer, but it also has become a nice local hangout.” The brewery provides a laid-back atmosphere specializing in IPAs, pale ales, and heartier beers—brewed in-house—that leave a lasting impression on anyone who visits. In addition to Robeson’s day and night jobs, she serves on the town council, belongs to the chamber of commerce, and helps with town beautification efforts. She makes community-wide donations and sponsors local sports teams, too. “We try our best to give back to the community as much as we can.” MM
RHONDA McCOY Feeding the Children
Rhonda McCoy feeds all children in Cabell County just like they’re her very own. She is a food service director for the county school system, where she aims to serve the healthiest meals possible with many ingredients sourced from local farmers and agriculture students. She has put salad bars in schools and implemented grab and go meals that have improved student meal participation by double digits, and she teaches students everything she can about eating healthy. She works year ’round to make sure no child goes hungry and maintains after-school eating programs and summer
feeding sites to ensure every student has a meal no matter what time of year it might be. She has become a champion of the Cabell County Schools Summer Food Service Program, which likely will have served 30,000 meals this year to children at 40 sites around the county. McCoy is also working with the Office of Child Nutrition to run a cooking school that trains school cooks from around the state in from-scratch cooking methods in hopes they will go back to their schools and share the knowledge and healthier food that is the result. No child in Cabell County should go hungry with a woman like McCoy in charge. MM
MONICA HASSIF HADDAD Madam President
Monica Hassif Haddad fell in love with Morgantown when she arrived from Alexandria, Virginia, in 1984 to study political science at West Virginia University. In 1991, she went on to receive her J.D. fromWVU’s College of Law, and she has practiced law in Morgantown ever since. For the past 10 years, Haddad has worked as a full-time mediator of civil litigation cases, spending each day working with those involved in disputes and lawsuits in order to reach mutually agreeable resolutions. As a middle child of five, she has been meditating for as long as she can remember.
This year, Haddad took office as the president of the West Virginia State Bar, an association that serves more than 7,000 licensed West Virginia attorneys. She has a commitment to serving others and operates with a Maya Angelou quote in mind: “People will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel.” Despite her professional success, Haddad views her family as her greatest accomplishment. “While my work has always been important to me,” she says, “time with my family has trumped anything I could ever do professionally.” JC
74 wvl • fall 2020
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