WEST VIRGINIA WONDER WOMEN
THE PRESERVER OF BEAUTY BARRIE KAUFMAN, CHARLESTON Artist and board member of Charleston Creativity Connections THE BEAUTY AROUND US “I grew up in Charleston and have lived here most of my life. When I was growing up, there was a lot of pollution in the state, and I wanted to find a way to preserve the beauty of West Virginia. I felt that, as an artist so influ- enced by the environment in which we live, I needed to tell that environmental story.” VISUAL STORYTELLING “I’ve always been an artist—it’s who I am—but I really think of myself as a storyteller. In 2013, I started to focus specifically on the environment. That is also when I began working in glass. For a display in the Czech Republic, I created a 5-foot-tall, four-sided glass column called Icy Burnings , telling the story of how global warming affects animals. These are the stories that need to be told and the ones I choose to focus my passion on.” THE THICK OF IT “One thing that fuels me is learning new things.There are a lot of failures in that. It’s not easy, but it keeps me moving forward as an artist.The ultimate goal is continuing to have a vibrant art career. I feel like I’m in the thick of it, and I don’t want to slow down.”DL THE SOARING EAGLE FRANNIE KITZMILLER, MORGANTOWN West Virginia’s first female Eagle Scout BIRDS OF A FEATHER “I was inspired by my brother,Wyatt, to become an Eagle Scout.Wyatt achieved Eagle at 15. I joined Boy Scouts of America in April 2019 at the age of 17, when Scouts first allowed females to join. I completed the requirements for the rank of Eagle in 20 months to become the first female Eagle Scout in West Virginia and part of the inaugural class of female Eagle Scouts in the nation.” NATURAL LEADERSHIP “Out at Chestnut Ridge Park, there is a nature center. My leadership project was working with them to replace, enlarge, and improve the back entrance and to design an outdoor classroom. Some groups have already used it, which is exciting to me. Now I’m in
college working on becoming a registered nurse. My grandmother was a nurse, and she inspired me. I plan to continue being involved with the BSA too.” RAMPING UP CAMPING “I love going camping now.This summer and last summer, I have been a part of staff at Camp Mountaineer, and I am handicraft director this year. It’s been a crazy but wonderful experience.The Scouts have a good time.”MY HELPING HANDS DR. DEBORAH SCHMIDT, LEWISBURG Professor and chair of the Osteopathic Principles & Practice Department at the West Virginia School of Osteopathic Medicine THE DRIVING FORCE “I was interested in being a physician ever since I contracted pneumonia when I was eight. A male, military doctor examined me, and I was fascinated with him drawing blood obtaining an X-ray. I looked at him and said,‘I think I’d like to be a doctor,’ and he said, ‘You can’t do that, you’re a girl,’ and I said to him, ‘I think I can—I’m as smart as you are.’” SATISFYING THE SOUL “After working as a heavy-equipment operator helping to build the West Virginia Turnpike in the early 1980s and was accepted into WVU Medical School. I was disillusioned with standard medical training and found an osteopathic medical school right in my hometown of Lewisburg. I found that I liked the philosophy. My husband, also a D.O., and I worked in community health centers for quite a long time until I was lucky enough to be trained in medical acupuncture at UCLA in 1997.We moved back to our hometown and have taken care of our community ever since.” MAKING AN IMPACT “I was fortunate to be put on the state Board of Acupuncture by Governor Jim Justice and helped to pass House Bill 2324, which allows for non- physician providers to perform Acudetox for treating addiction, PTSD, and anxiety. We used grant money to train 87 health care providers in an intensive 40-hour national course. It’s been a lot of work, but definitely empowering for southern West Virginia health care providers to be able to perform an inexpensive and gentle technique to help people through recovery.”MM
THE SMOKE ALARM LADY
CINDY MURPHY, CLARKSBURG Retired Clarksburg fire captain and founder of Operation “Not One More” THE FIRST AND ONLY “I am the first and only female career firefighter at the Clarksburg Fire Department. I was there for 27 years, and I always wanted another woman to join the team. Young girls need to see someone like them. When you can see yourself in literature and movies and then see real-life people doing it, that is representation.” NOT ONE MORE “After a back injury took me off field work, I became a safety and training officer, eventually starting Operation “Not One More.”The program is my mission to supply every first grade kid in the area with a free 10-year smoke alarm. There have been multiple confirmed cases of the fire alarms saving families after the kids took the lesson home.That’s the joy of the program—the kids can be the hero.” ONGOING DUTY “When I retired from the Clarksburg Fire Department, I didn’t stay retired long. I started working in threat preparation, focusing on COVID-19 response and vaccinations. It’s the same kind of life-saving thing, only in a different uniform—putting out a fire with a different extinguishing agent. I am lucky to be born in a state that I can make a difference in, that lets women like me be a part of something so important.” DL “Young girls need to see someone like them. When you can see yourself in literature and movies and then see real-life people doing it, that is representation.” CINDYMURPHY
newsouthmedia.com 85
Made with FlippingBook Annual report maker