WEST VIRGINIA WONDER WOMEN
AMANDA EASTER Blessed to Be
Amanda Easter graduated from Marshall University with a degree in graphic design. When she began her career in marketing, she kept her parents’ advice in mind: “Do it like it’s your name on the door.” And she did, and then it was. In 2007, Easter founded Inside Out Creative, an advertising agency dedicated to helping businesses achieve their branding goals. Creating materials that are used internally and externally to creatively showcase one’s business is the thought behind the name Inside Out Creative but, as Easter explains, her faith played a huge part in it as well. “Jesus can transform a person from the inside out, as He works on me daily to bring the best out of me.” Volunteering and service have been an integral part of Easter’s life. She spent 10 years serving as a lead chair and providing marketing support for Girls Night Out. In 2018, her faith took her to Thailand with Women at Risk International. And last year, she was recognized as one of five Women on a Mission by Union Mission Ministries for her work with the Women’s Ministry Lead Team at Bible Center Church in Charleston. JC
AMY PANZARELLA A Volunteer Heart An Air Force kid who grew up all over, Amy Panzarella finished high school in Ohio. Without the means to go straight to college, she went straight to work, at a credit union in Dayton. She saw how much the people who hired and trained her enjoyed their work, so she set her sights on human resources, working toward it at the credit union and earning a challenging HR certification—
MARY ANNE KETELSEN Mrs. Bee
Mary Anne Ketelsen made a spontaneous decision when she agreed to purchase the Mister Bee Potato Chip Company. After working for over
30 years in factories and holding various positions, Ketelsen felt that she was perfectly equipped to run a potato chip company. “When
I came in here, I decided that it
needed a lot of work. I actually went ahead and did every job in the plant so that I could figure out what the plant actually needed to succeed.” She was determined to turn the company around, and she did just that. “When I look back at my past, I was one of the first females
and along the way developing a passion for the profession. When her husband, also in the Air Force, was assigned to the Pentagon in 2002, they and their two young sons moved near Panzarella’s father in Charles Town. She took a position at American Public University System and took advantage of the paid tuition benefit to finally earn the college degrees she’d always wanted. One might think everyone who goes into HR is a “people person.” Panzarella, now senior vice president of Human Resources at APUS parent company APEI, says that is surprisingly not the case—but it seems she’s the genuine article. “I have a natural curiosity about what makes people tick.” Exercising that same curiosity in her extensive volunteer efforts—including longtime service with the Jefferson County Chamber of Commerce and Jefferson County Schools—has made her a go-to networking resource. Panzarella describes herself as having a volunteer heart and encourages everyone to be more involved. “If you’re going to live in a community, you have to have an active role,” she says. “Get in there and understand how you can support things and make them better.” PK
that went inside a production area,” she says—and that experience has meant huge impacts on her community. She is a part of the United Service Organizations, supports the Sheltered Workshop, and donates to multiple charities, including the Boys & Girls Clubs of America and Girls Night Out with the YWCA. Ultimately, Ketelsen is a team player and brainstormed a partnership with WVU Parkersburg to grow 10 acres of potatoes that will be used to produce Mister Bee chips: West Virginians supporting West Virginians, she says. MM
76 wvl • fall 2020
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