Talk of the Town October 23, 2025

Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:14):
This is the Talk of the Town from Morgantown to Klucksburg.
If it's happening, we're talking about it. Call the show
toll free at one eight hundred seven sixty five eight
two fivey five. Now Here is your host for the
Talk of the Town, Mike Nolting.

Speaker 2 (00:31):
Good Thursday morning.

Speaker 3 (00:32):
It is a nine oh six clouds and forty five
degrees in the University City, West Virginia. Five one one
gives us an incident free interstate system at this hour.
Welcome to Talk of the Town and happy Thursday. I'm
Mike Nolting. Now over on X you'll find me as
your news guy. Ethan Collins is our producer today. He's

(00:54):
at eight hundred seven six five eight two five five
and Texters, get your fingers ready. That number is three
four Talk three four. Coming up at nine point fifteen.
Got the director of the Chestnut Mountain Village, Greg Clutter.

Speaker 4 (01:10):
He'll join us.

Speaker 3 (01:11):
It's gonna be talking about his testimony about their facility
during legislative interim meetings earlier this month. We'll also get
an update about care Portal. That program is the system
where churches and nonprofits they can see needs in the
community in real time, and then they can just step

(01:32):
in and intervene before those needs even get to a
governmental agency. We'll talk with Greg about that. It's homecoming
week today. Got the pleasure to speak with Jackie Riggleman.
Many of you may recognize that name. She's the recipient
of the Margaret Buchanan Cole Young Alumni Award. Also back

(01:52):
in twenty eighteen, she was the recipient of the West
Virginia Living wonder Woman Award and also the recipient of
the New York Penn League's Female Executive of the Year.
She has been involved with the Black Bears and the
Pittsburgh Pirates. Her efforts have supported vets, survivors of domestic violence,

(02:13):
and youth athletes while promoting diversity and belonging in the
sport of baseball. We'll talk with Jackie coming up at
nine thirty. Then at nine we're going to break some
local news. I'm just gonna stay quiet for now, but
we're gonna be talking about a story that is embargoed

(02:36):
until ten am today. We're going to do that at
nine forty. They have agreed to come on and spill
the beans about twenty minutes early. It's a great story.
I think you'll you'll get a lot of a lot
of pleasure out of that. Coming up at nine forty,
a couple of headlines and we'll get things started. State
Division of Taxes says companies owned by the family of

(02:58):
US Senator Jim Justice the more than one point three
million dollars in sales taxes that were collected but not
forwarded to the state at the Greenbrier Resort and Greenbrier
Sporting Club. Those tax liens have been filed. This comes
on the heels of an announcement from the IRS that
eight million dollars in tax liens have also been filed

(03:19):
against the governor and his wife, Kathy. Metro News statewide
correspondent Brad McIlhaney has that full story over at Wvmetronews
dot com. Mond County commissioners they're continuing their efforts to
establish a human resources department. Commissioners say the interview process
for an HR director could be coming in the very

(03:42):
near future. I would say with two hundred and sixty
five employees, it's I think long overdue for the county
to have some sort of professional human resources representative. All
firefighters from multiple departments battle to structure blaze on Chestnut
Street and Enterprise late Wednesday afternoon.

Speaker 4 (04:04):
Fire was reported at about four thirty five.

Speaker 3 (04:06):
Departments from Bridgeport, Lumberport, Manonga, Shenston, Spelter, and Worthington responded.
Harrison County EMS and deputies from the Harrison County Sheriff's
Department assisted at the scene. Marion County School officials are
hopeful of professional cleaning team can clear out the mold
detected in part of the East Fairmunt High School. The

(04:30):
mold was found in the athletic trainer's room, weight room,
and a health classroom. It's been isolated to those spots.
Hopefully they'll have that rectified by next month. And last
thing I wanted to share with you is WVRC Media
Cares for Community. We're ramping up for a food drive

(04:54):
in early November. November the seventh, we're going to be
at the University Town Center Giant Eagle collecting food for
local families in need. Now, this is an operation that
will happen between six am and six pm. WAJR, WVAQ,
WKKW will all participate and we'll be doing Talk of

(05:15):
the Town that day live from the University Town Center.
We'll have more information as that event gets closer, But
if you were your nonprofit, we'd maybe like to be
a guest on that November seventh program. Shoot me an email,
give me a call, let me know. We'll certainly make
that happen, all right. Coming up next, we've got the

(05:37):
director of the Chestnut Mountain Village, Greg Klutter, coming up,
going to get an update on their facility care portal,
and we'll also be discussing foster care throughout the state
of West Virginia. We'll do that next Clouds forty five
degrees as we get the program started on Am fourteen

(05:58):
forty OZH four point five WAJR.

Speaker 5 (06:06):
Listen. I'm a West Virginian through and through. Grew up
in Bridgeport thirty five years in the Charleston area, rooted
for the Mountaineers. Since well, let's not talk ages. You
won't find a bigger fan of our teams, but they
get called out when they deserve it. Metro News Hotline
the same for everything, movies, music, local happenings, My inside
knowledge and occasional rants meet Coop's sharp humor, guaranteed to

(06:27):
spark good talk radio. Think you can keep up. We're
your afternoon anecdote to the ordinary on weekdays three to
six on Metro News, the Voice of West Virginia.

Speaker 6 (06:37):
HI.

Speaker 2 (06:37):
This is Dave Wilson along with TJ Meadows.

Speaker 7 (06:40):
Join us weekdays at ten oh six for Metro News
talk Line on this metro news radio station.

Speaker 2 (06:44):
TJ. The more things change, the more they stay the same.
That's right, Dave.

Speaker 8 (06:48):
We'll continue to examine and discuss issues important to West Virginia,
hold elected officials accountable, and make certain you have a
forum to make your voice.

Speaker 7 (06:56):
Hearny new host, same talk line, going us week days
at ten zi on this metro news radio station and
Metro News TV app.

Speaker 9 (07:05):
It's the time of the year when Friday nights are special,
and that's because Friday nights are reserved for high school football.
This is Fred Pursinger inviting you will join Dame Jeckton
and me every Friday night through November twenty eighth for
year number twenty four of Game Night. Every Friday night,
we'll bring you all the stores and stories from around
the state US. We'll take your phone calls and talk

(07:25):
about your favorite team. It's Game Night, presented by match
a Mountain State assessment of trends and community health Survey.
Visit wvmatchsurvey dot org.

Speaker 1 (07:35):
Metro News Midday with thirteen News and Tonight live anchor
Amanda Barron and Metro News is Dave Allen.

Speaker 10 (07:42):
I'll deliver live, up to the minute news, spotlighting people
and communities and covering breaking news stories as they happen.

Speaker 11 (07:48):
Join us as we interview newsmakers from around the state
and world. Have provided a platform for your voice to
be heard statewide.

Speaker 1 (07:54):
Metro News Midday presented by Soulango Law from noon to
three on this metro news radio station.

Speaker 12 (08:04):
WV metronews dot com the only website you need to
stay informed in the Mountain State. Get the latest news
in sports, story information on the great outdoors, and never
miss an episode of your favorite Metro news programs and podcasts,
including Talkline, Hotline, sports Line, and Three Guys Before the Game.
Make a bookmark now and visit wv metronews dot com

(08:26):
first thing every morning to find out what's happening all
across the state. Wv metronews dot com.

Speaker 1 (08:33):
West Virginia Outdoors is the Mountain State's only hook and
bullet radio show dedicated to the more than quarter million
hunters and anglers across the State Award winning host Chris
Lawrence has been tracking down hunting and fishing stories for
more than twenty five years.

Speaker 13 (08:48):
I'll go out on a limb because people won't like
my answer.

Speaker 1 (08:50):
Probably.

Speaker 13 (08:51):
I think there's fewer coyotes than most people imagine.

Speaker 2 (08:55):
Really because when number.

Speaker 4 (08:56):
One, when you hear a family group of them.

Speaker 13 (08:59):
This time, the pups are very vocal. The coyotes are
getting They've been kind of shut mouthed during the spring
when they're young, and it's like a bunch of teenagers.
When they get to September, mom and dad can't keep
their mouths shut anymore.

Speaker 1 (09:13):
Whether it's hunting and fishing news or just compelling stories
about the enjoyment of the great outdoors. West Virginia Outdoors
covers it all Saturday mornings at seven oh six am
and for your daily fix, Outdoors Today brings you two
and a half minutes of news and notes from the
woods and water every weekday morning on Metro News, the
Voice of West Virginia.

Speaker 14 (09:33):
It's two hours of sports conversation to wrap up your weekend.
It's the City that Sunday Night Sports Line. Hey, this
is Travis Jowes, joined myself and Greg Hunter every Sunday
night from six oh six until eight o'clock as we
wrap up the sports weekend, we talk Mountaineers, high School,
Mountain East Conference, and the latest in the national scene.
The Sunday Sports Line is listener interactive. You could call
or text the show at three oh four Talk three

(09:56):
oh four. It's a perfect weekend sports wrap up on
your favorite Metro avilla. Watch the show at wb metronews
dot com.

Speaker 1 (10:18):
Join the conversation at one eight hundred and seven sixty
five eight two fivey five. This is the talk of
the town.

Speaker 3 (10:27):
Good Thursday morning, Clouds and forty five in the University City.

Speaker 4 (10:31):
Just about nine seventeen.

Speaker 3 (10:33):
On the phone, we've got the director of Chestnut Mountain Village,
Greg Clutter with us and Greg, good morning, sir, how
are you.

Speaker 15 (10:40):
Good morning, Mike. I'm doing great. Hope you're well on
this cool uh fall morning.

Speaker 3 (10:45):
Absolutely, we're doing good and it's really good to catch
up with you.

Speaker 4 (10:48):
Greg.

Speaker 15 (10:49):
Thank you, Thank you for having me. I really appreciate it,
my friend.

Speaker 3 (10:52):
Absolutely. Well, let's go back to the beginning of the month.
You provided some testimony to state lawmakers legislative interim meetings
and would like.

Speaker 4 (11:03):
To get an update on that.

Speaker 3 (11:04):
But before you do, wanted to let the audience know
that the reason that testimony from Greg is important is
because you know, he's not a political guy. He's a
political but he sees what is happening in the foster
care system with his own eyes, and his testimony is
a statement of fact for lawmakers.

Speaker 4 (11:26):
But I'll let you take it from there.

Speaker 15 (11:28):
Greg, absolutely, So, Mike's okay, I'd like to start out
just kind of level set in terms of what Chesnut
Mountain Village is, and that'll make more sense in terms
of the update that we that we gave to the
Joint Committee. So Chesnut Mountain Village, we are a statewide
initiative that's helping churches all across the state of West
Virginia care for vulnerable children and families. These are families

(11:51):
that are involved in foster care, kinship care, adoption, or
facing crisis. I think most of your listeners probably are
aware of the foster care and the child welfare situation
in West Virginia. At nearly six thousand kids in care,
we have a really high rate for capitive kids in care.
We also lead the nation and removal rates per one thousand.

(12:13):
That said, what we see across the entire state is
that churches and people in those churches really they want
to help, They want to be involved. They may not
all feel equipped or want to be Falster parents or
kinship parents, but they want to be involved. They just
don't know how. It's complex, and sometimes they don't even
feel like they have much to offer. So the village

(12:35):
we guide, equip and connect local churches so they can
be part of the solution. We give a very simple,
proven model to meet real needs, to strengthen families and
bring hope to these kids and children. So what we're
doing is we're taking kind of this larger community perspective
of pulling the church in to these conversations. So I
did as you mentioned, Mike recently had an opportunity to

(12:58):
speak to the Western Lat's Joint Committee on Children and
Families about how churches are stepping into foster care and
family support in very practical ways. We talked about Chestnut
Mountain Village and what we're doing, uh and the fact
that you know, our mission is around getting the church
more engaged. There are a lot of pastors and churches

(13:21):
that want to be engaged. They just don't know how
they don't even know where to start, so that is
our mission. We talked about why why the church. Why
are we having this conversation about pulling churches in more
in to this situation. Main reason this is, you know,
the trip Chaire was foster care. It was the care

(13:43):
for the orphans until nineteen twenty thirties, and then later
federal legislation even expanded government's role. Also, very recent studies
continue to show that Christians are more apt to foster
at a rate of about two times higher than the
normal population the rest of the population, and they'll adopt

(14:06):
at about three times the rate those same studies. Those
same studies show that the most trusted organizations in child welfare,
oddly enough, are churches and faith based organizations, and people
in those studies agree that about about two thirds of
them say they think that the church should be more

(14:27):
involved in this, and I think so. We talked a
lot about that. We also talked about our partnership with
the Department Human Services around care Portal, and we had
this discussion about, you know, government programs can provide resources
and respond to crisis, but real healing for these children
and families happen in relationships and that's where the church

(14:51):
excelf and you know what relationships.

Speaker 3 (14:54):
And Greg, as I hear you tell this story, I
can't help but think that you where six thousand kids,
it's kind of like eating an elephant.

Speaker 4 (15:04):
You have to go one by all the time.

Speaker 3 (15:07):
Yes, And I think that when you talk to some
of these smaller churches, you know they're looking at that
six thousand number and they're thinking, oh my gosh, you know,
I'm drowning in that. But I think that through maybe
the context, in the vision that you provide, you're able
to give them a lane in which they can make

(15:28):
a difference.

Speaker 15 (15:29):
Absolutely, And when we walk into communities, Mike, like when
we walk into going to mont Coounty, we're not talking
about six thousand kids in mont County, and we're not
talking about six thousand kids in north central West Virginia.
In mont County, we're talking around two hundred Montounty kids
that are in car and we're talking over one hundred

(15:50):
churches in the community. That if you think about the
number of kids in care, that means if you can
support one family, if you can support one out and cares,
it actually makes a measurable difference. And we think everyone
could do something when we go into churches, we're not talking.
We're not encouraging everyone to be foster parents. We think

(16:12):
a lot of people are called to do that, but
most of us aren't. Most of us shouldn't be falster parents.
But we do think everyone in every church can do
something that may be supporting those foster parents. That may
be giving them a night out, that may be taking
them a meal. It can be the most simple things,
meeting physical needs, spiritual social needs, or even just helping

(16:34):
them talk through navigating the child welfare system.

Speaker 3 (16:38):
You know, Greg, I think one of the things that
I'm wondering here as we have this conversation is, you know,
what about the contributions that they're making, And it might
not drop that number of six thousand, but it may
might be making life just a little bit better for
that six thousand.

Speaker 15 (16:59):
Absolutely, So, a few things that we see based upon
peer reviewed actual research, Mike, is that we all see
these signs foster parents needed. We know that there are
always needed more foster families. I'd encourage any listener that's
interested in it to take a step forward and learn more.

(17:20):
But what we often don't talk about is the fact
that when foster parents get into this system, it within
a year half of them stop fostering. So fifty percent
of them that are recruited this year will not be
fostering at the end of next year. In two years,
eighty percent of them won't be fostering. What we've seen

(17:42):
is that when the local church comes around a foster family.
This applies with a kinship family like a grandmother raising grandchildren.
When the local church comes around and does the most
simple things mike like just taking meals once a week,
calling and checking in and offered prayer and support and encouragement,

(18:02):
those numbers almost completely slip, so that in within one
year those families that have been supported by a local church,
ninety percent of them are still fallstering. Taking a meal
matters when it's done with a group of volunteers. You
don't have to do a lot for it to make
a huge difference that that foster family stays in the

(18:24):
fight and that child doesn't have to be placed again
with another foster family. It can matter tremendously, not just now,
but in the future for that child.

Speaker 3 (18:33):
You know, Greg, the last thing I wanted to cover
on this and then wanted to jump over to the
care Portal program is the fact that you know, we
value and we appreciate the work that our government agencies
do in our communities.

Speaker 4 (18:48):
Absolutely, you bet, you bet.

Speaker 3 (18:50):
But you know the fact is they're open from eight
to four Monday through Friday, maybe not available on the weekends,
and you know, sometimes quite frankly, when you're dealing with
the representative from the government, you might not get the
kind of human connection that you get when you deal
with somebody from a church.

Speaker 15 (19:08):
That is it you You've said it well, and that
is our frontline, folks. One of our core missions is
actually take the local church and decrease, decrease the distance,
the decrease the space and the relationship between local child
protective service workers and the local church. So the church
really starts to understand what are the needs of the kids.

(19:30):
But what those local child protective service workers are able
to do, given their volume, is very often they're not
able to pour into those relationships. And the relationships are
what't matter. When when a car breaks down and a
family needs some help, calling the local church is going
to be a better option than trying to find help

(19:53):
through a government program. So and it takes both interestingly enough,
It takes both. It takes responding to the crises and
distributing benefits to those families, but it also takes the
support of the local community. And we're and we're increasingly
increasingly we're seeing in West Virginia amongst legislators, amongst amongst

(20:17):
Secretary mayor and his staff this idea. Very often government,
government and the local faith community are working down parallel
paths where they don't really cross. We see state seeking
compliance and capacity and the faith community offering compassion and connection.

(20:38):
But neither one of them was ever really meant to
do this alone. So we really need to build bridges
where the trust between the two builds increasingly and where
a shared mission, you know, replaces uh maybe sometimes animosity
towards one another. And and that's what it's going to take,
that whole community approach so that kids are find and

(21:00):
not just placements, but families and futures and hope.

Speaker 3 (21:03):
And you know what one of those bridges is the
care Portal program. Now that is yeah, yeah, absolutely, now
tell us about that because that's growing.

Speaker 15 (21:12):
It really is. So here at the village, we equip
churches in a variety of ways, and we give them
a lot of tools where they can go support families,
you know, either by just one on one supporting a
family within their church, or they can they can support
local child welfare workers, or they can give rest at
nights for families, just a lot of different ways. In
one of those activities in these volunteer led ministries is

(21:35):
care Portal, and care Portal connects the needs of It
connects the needs of local children and families with the
local church.

Speaker 16 (21:46):
Uh.

Speaker 15 (21:47):
It is a care sharing technology that drives action for
local children and families in need. It's a very simple
concept where the people that are sitting on the front lines,
child protective service workers, people in place agencies, those types
of organizations, they see these needs and very often they
don't have the resources to meet them. Cairportal gives them

(22:08):
the ability to just put those needs in in a
very generic way to say here's what we need. A
family might need a bed, a family might need a crib.
They put that in and then through churches that the
village team has recruited and enrolled, those needs go out
to all those churches and all their volunteers, and those

(22:29):
volunteers are able to just very simply click yes, I
can help and say here's how they can help, and
that connects the frontline child serving professional with the volunteer
and the volunteers able to go out and meet those needs.
This is a partnership that we have with our friends
at the Department Human Services, and they've been very supportive

(22:50):
of this. We did a pilot last year. I say
last year, it's this year. It went so fast. We
did a pilot in man in Preston County that we
launched in the spring, and we've seen about two hundred
and seventy four children served in the two county region.
We've seen about ninety percent of those posted needs have

(23:11):
been met. And the contribution, the financial contribution from the
local church and the local community has been around sixty
thousand dollars of community based support in terms of things
that are better being purchased and assistance than been given,
and the hours that are there. It has been a
very quick retard on investments.

Speaker 3 (23:34):
Most certainly, and I tell you what, Greg, we're running
close on time. A couple of comments I wanted to
leave you with is the fact that you know these
this is sixty thousand dollars in needs that just popped
up and people rushed to the front and said, hey,
you know what, sign me up. Let me do that.
Nobody had to go out and beg for this support, but.

Speaker 15 (23:55):
No one did.

Speaker 4 (23:56):
Hey, Greg, one did.

Speaker 3 (23:57):
Until we can do it again, buddy, I really do
appreciate your time today.

Speaker 4 (24:01):
Take care of yourself.

Speaker 15 (24:02):
Thank you so much. Appreciate your Mike.

Speaker 4 (24:04):
Absolutely.

Speaker 3 (24:05):
It's time now to find out what's happening across the
great state of West Virginia, and to do that, we'll
head to the Metro News anchor desk.

Speaker 17 (24:13):
Western Virginia Metro News sign Jeff Chenkin jus centater Sarla
Mark Capito has her weekly meeting with West Virginia reporter
sef for later today. The senator will face additional questions
about the federal government's shutdown. She says there's some hope
to get some federal workers paid.

Speaker 18 (24:26):
We are going to have a vote this week on
Thursday to pay a lot of the employees that are
working now during the shutdown, and I hope that passes
so we can at least pay some of our federal
employees like TSA Air Traffic Control.

Speaker 17 (24:40):
Capitol will be a guest on Metro News talk Line
with Davin tj at ten oh six This morning, workers
at the state's business airport are feeling the impact of
the shutdown. There are both TSA and air traffic controllers
West Virginia International Yeager Airport who are working without pay.
Airport marketing director Page with Roe set spite the shutdown,
the airport operations have continued.

Speaker 19 (24:59):
I SA often you'll hear that we have some of
the nicest TSA workers in the nation. We are very
fortunate that they are continuing to show up. Our your
traffic controllers are continuing to show up and keep our
passengers safe here at the airport now.

Speaker 17 (25:17):
Ruthrow says community members have been stepping up providing meals
for the workers. Read more this morning at WUV metronews
dot com. The schedule public sale of lots owned by
Justice Holdings at the Glade Springs Resort near Beckley won't happen.
The State Supreme Court has put a hold on the
case to allow more time for review. The homeowners Association
and Glade and the Justices have been fighting over assessment
fees for months. You're listening to Metro News for forty years,

(25:39):
the Voice of West Virginia.

Speaker 20 (25:41):
Help DEA keep our community safe and healthy. By participating
in National Prescription Drug Take Back Day Saturday, October twenty fifth.
Take action right in your own home by cleaning out
your medicine cabinet of unneeded medications, keep them safe, clean
them out, take them back. Find a collection site near
you at deatakeback dot Com. Do your part to lower

(26:03):
overdose deaths and prevent prescription drug misuse before it starts.
That's deatakeback dot Com.

Speaker 1 (26:10):
Premiering October twenty third on Metro News Television Peak Health.
Your doctor's built it, your neighbors love it, and your
friends at Hope Gas. Chris had episode three of State
of Minds. Tony Coreedi visits with Paul of Fame coach
Don Neeland. Did you ever think you'd hit ninety?

Speaker 9 (26:26):
No, It's amazing?

Speaker 4 (26:27):
How fast to go?

Speaker 1 (26:28):
State of Minds Episode three coming to Metro News TV
October twenty third at seven thirty pm, presented by Hope
Gas and Peak Health with support from Greer Industries, Only
on the Metro News Television app.

Speaker 17 (26:40):
The WV Alumni Association has a Welcome Home events schedule
from noon until four today at the Ericson Alumni Center
in Morgantown. Part of WVU Homecoming week activities Tomorrow night's
at the homecoming parade down High Street in downtown Morgantown.
WV Alumni Association CEO Kevin Barry says it all culminates
Saturday WVU takes on TCU.

Speaker 9 (26:57):
We're not only celebrating West Virginia University with I'm coming,
but with with it being the Coal Rest game, we're
also uh celebrating the heritage of West of West Virginia.

Speaker 17 (27:06):
Kick call set for six Saturday evening for the Metro
News anchored Ask, I'm Jeff Jenkins.

Speaker 1 (28:22):
Now back to the talk of the town.

Speaker 4 (28:25):
Well, good Thursday morning.

Speaker 3 (28:26):
Jackie Riggleman is a two time WVU grad also the
recipient of the Margaret Buchanan Coal Young Alumni Award back
in twenty eighteen, recognized as a West Virginia Living wonder Woman,
and also a New York Penn League's Female Executive of
the Year. Now, professionally, she has made her mark in

(28:47):
professional sports with the West Virginia Black Bears and the
Pittsburgh Pirates. She is Jackie Riggleman, and she's on the
phone with us right now. Jackie, good morning, How are you?

Speaker 16 (28:59):
Good morning? Wonderful.

Speaker 14 (29:00):
How are you hey?

Speaker 4 (29:01):
Pretty good? Pretty good?

Speaker 3 (29:02):
So I guess give us the first person feeling of
how it feels to be a decorated alumni coming back
for homecoming.

Speaker 16 (29:11):
It is quite special. I have to tell you. When
Kevin Barry called to tell me I'd won the award,
I was completely shocked and just very honored to be
quite frank. And it is such a great feeling to
pool into Morgantown today. The leaves are at peak, which
is wonderful, and I think it's going to be a
really great weekend.

Speaker 3 (29:29):
Well, I guess tell us a little bit about your career,
and you know, what are some of the key things
that led to you earning this award.

Speaker 16 (29:38):
So my career, I feel like I've had a pretty
exciting and fun career so far. I started here in Morgantown,
West Virginia with the West Virginia Black Bears. That was
a part of their inaugural season. I went with them
for about four years, all the way up to be
their assistant general manager. And then from there I started
working with the Pittsburgh Pirates at spring training in Bradenton, Florida,

(29:59):
where I was assistant and manage our director of ticket
Sales for their spring training property and the brand into Marauders.
So did that about two years, spent COVID in Florida.
Then after those two years, I headed to Pittsburgh where
I eventually became the director of Facility Operations and Strategy
for the Pittsburgh Pirates at P and C Park. So
I've had a wonderful career thus far. Today I am

(30:23):
now the senior project manager for Canopy Team. Canopy Team
as a owner's representation, design and strategy firm, so I
have the opportunity to work with the Pirates still every day,
assisting them with long term strategy of their properties, and
also some other pretty amazing teams out there in the
sports industry.

Speaker 3 (30:42):
Now, what would your message be to that WVU sophomore
out there that is in a slog an academic slog
and they're just not really sure they can see the end.

Speaker 16 (30:54):
Don't give up because it's very much worth it. On
the other side, I've been saying lately, you know, some
people say the grass isn't always greener. On the other side,
I like to say, you know what, that grass can
be greener. It can be the nice fluffy grass, and
you want to roll around in and have a picnic
in And that is really where you can get to
when you love what you do. So keep going, keep climbing.

(31:17):
As they say, you're at WU, and you will get there,
and I guarantee you.

Speaker 15 (31:21):
It will all be worth it.

Speaker 3 (31:22):
Jackie Grigelman is with us. She is the winner of
the Margaret Buchannan Colt Young Alumni Award. On the field, No,
I guess it's no secret the Mountaineers have struggled this year.
But against TCU Saturday evening, do you have a prediction?

Speaker 16 (31:40):
You know, I always side with my Mountaineers, no matter
what that is, being a loyal, tried and true fans
to the end. So I'll be right there cheering on
the Mountaineers because they often surprise it. So don't count
the Mountaineers out for Saturday, because sometimes the toughest opponents
are the ones that they get their.

Speaker 6 (31:58):
Leg up on.

Speaker 4 (32:00):
Absolutely right. I couldn't have said it better myself.

Speaker 3 (32:02):
Hey, Jackie, enjoy your weekend here in Morgantown and really
do appreciate your time.

Speaker 16 (32:08):
Thank you so much.

Speaker 17 (32:09):
Mike.

Speaker 4 (32:09):
Have a wonderful day, Yes, ma'am, you take care.

Speaker 3 (32:12):
Coming up next we're gonna take a have a conversation
with another WVU alumni. This one is actually going to
be making a big announcement in about twenty minutes, but
he'll share that with us. Coming up at nine forty
that's next on Talk of the Town AM fourteen forty
FM one oh four point five WAJR.

Speaker 1 (32:36):
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Lawrence has been tracking down hunting and fishing stories for
more than twenty five years.

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In a stream or a river, they really like to
have a mud bank and they like to have a
place where they can dig an underwater holes as a refuge.

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At you they have to evade predators. Now some prayers
will chase them. There a manker and author obviously, but
they can avoid they can avoid the coyries, the hawks's
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the ones that probably take the most.

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Of whether it's hunting and fishing news or just compelling
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Outdoors covers it all Saturday mornings at seven oh six am,
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Speaker 21 (33:37):
I'm Kyle Wiggs, I'm Greg Hunter, and I'm Brad Howe,
and we welcome you to join us each weeknight at
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Speaker 4 (33:45):
As always, will dive deep into mountaineer athletics.

Speaker 20 (33:47):
We'll cover the mountainease, we'll cover high school sports, and
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Talking about it.

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Speaker 1 (34:05):
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and drive. We're talking about your town. Now back to

(34:49):
the Talk of the town.

Speaker 3 (34:52):
Good Thursday morning, and welcome back to talk to the town.
Clouds and forty five degrees Now. Iconic Care is the
story of two self proclaimed hustlers from the Northern Panhandle,
Kyle Gillis and James Carnes.

Speaker 4 (35:06):
Now.

Speaker 3 (35:06):
Their entrepreneurial dreams started with an education system designed to
steer kids to stem education, and that was called Iconic Edu.
Now after entering the Vantage Ventures program at wvu AT
program it actually evolved into Iconic Air and Iconic Air.

(35:29):
They were able to take in more than a million
dollars in revenue back in twenty twenty one. Now, our
guest this morning is James Carnes.

Speaker 4 (35:38):
He is the project builder, the workhoorse.

Speaker 3 (35:41):
He's the nose to the grindstone part of the business.

Speaker 4 (35:45):
Good morning, James, How are you doing well?

Speaker 6 (35:49):
Good morning, Mike, how you doing?

Speaker 4 (35:50):
Hey? Pretty good? Pretty good?

Speaker 3 (35:51):
You know, I think it was about five years ago.
Let's say I ran into you and Kyle's at an
open house their Advantage Ventures at their facility and had
an opportunity to talk with you. Then a lot of
your work there was using drones for anything from surveying
to agricultural applications. But what is the announcement you guys

(36:16):
are prepared to make at ten o'clock this morning.

Speaker 6 (36:20):
Yeah, we're super excited for the announcement, and it's kind
of crazy to look back just on the journey, even
from you know, when we ran into you or kind
of back in the Vantage Ventures program. Since then, we've
really focused on building the best sustainability software within the
energy sector. So that means helping you know, energy companies,
only gas companies, utility companies, et cetera, better track their missions,

(36:43):
very similar to how companies have to track their financials.
And as part of that, we've been building you know,
we've brings a little over five million dollars to date
for the business and we're excited today to announce that
our company has actually been one hundred percent acquired by Assune,
which is the leading Asia stainability platform. So it's a
Tokyo based software company. In our entire team, company products

(37:06):
will be joining a Swayne, you know, post to the
acquisition to be leading their US North American efforts, strategy
and operations.

Speaker 3 (37:15):
Co founder and CEO of Iconic Air, James Carnes is
with us now. James, tell us what this means for
the Iconic Air brand.

Speaker 6 (37:25):
Yeah, it's you know, looking back on the journey Cal
and I actually started. It's such the typical come up,
you know, underdog story, which I think is very true
in common with with folks building something in West Virginia.
But we started the business out of a small, small garage,
out of the townhouse we lived in right after college,
graduating at WU, with the goal of building world class software,
you know, in the sustainability sector. And when we kind

(37:47):
of pivoted, as you mentioned earlier, away from the education
Jones stent kits and eventually found our way into the
energy sector, we knew we really wanted to build something
that would have a large impact on a global scale,
and so we really do this as a milestone to
achieve that.

Speaker 1 (38:00):
You know.

Speaker 6 (38:01):
So today almost all of our customers have been predominantly
US energy companies within the United States, and so now
by joining joining forces and becoming a part of the
broader swinging group of companies. We'll be able to, you know,
start selling our technology and services to energy companies across
the world.

Speaker 3 (38:17):
Now, back in twenty twenty one, your annual revenue I
think was a little bit over one million dollars. What
has that total done since then?

Speaker 6 (38:29):
Yeah, we're software companies, so we like to track annual
recurring revenue. Back at the time, that million dollars is
actually an Air Force contract, believe it or not, which
is shows kind of the ins and outs of the journey.
Today we're at a couple million of recurring revenue, which
just means that customers may us the same amount basically
every year for our software, and then we have additional

(38:49):
revenue that we pulled from from services as well with
our customers.

Speaker 4 (38:53):
James karn is with us.

Speaker 3 (38:54):
He is the co founder and CEO of Iconic Care,
who has been acquired by a Japanese firm.

Speaker 4 (39:01):
Now, help us understand how many people do you employ?
What does that part of the business look like.

Speaker 6 (39:09):
Yeah, we employed about ten people total. So we're it's
a common trend that a lot of Silicon based, you know,
Silicon Valley startups or technology companies are seeing today. We're
through a lot of the advancements in AI. You have
really small teams, you know, five, ten, fifteen, sometimes even
twenty five people, you know, building platforms and software that
are being used, you know, by millions of users or
lots of lots of companies around the world. So we're

(39:32):
we're small and nimbles. I think why we were such
an interesting target for a to purchase and make us
their leadership team, you know, for their US strategies, because
we've built a really great business but without you know,
some of the bloat that typically comes with with with startups,
and I think that was something that was very attractive
and that's what we built with the team and product
that we have now.

Speaker 3 (39:53):
James, if you could, I'd like for you to maybe
provide a description or maybe some details about the software program.
You alluded to the effect to the fact that this
will track energy usage much like a company manages their
balance sheet, and you know, you take a look at
businesses and they've got anything from you know, gas, electric

(40:15):
and different kinds of energy options.

Speaker 4 (40:18):
How does this work?

Speaker 6 (40:21):
Yeah, it's it's a great question, Mike, and it's it's
something that I always love explaining because unless you really
work in energy. A lot of people just because it's
not really common, don't really understand kind of energy sector
how it works. So if you think of an oil
and gas company in West Virginia's economy obviously is a
big energy economy. There's a lot of you know, oil
and gas wells or physical facilities that exist across the

(40:43):
United States. That's actually like producing and extracting energy and
transferring that energy that actually you know, eventually gets to
our homes, our businesses, and what actually powers everything we
do and obviously powers now the big big trend in AI.
Our software basically acts as a system of record for
all of their equipment, of the facilities, everything they basically
have and need to operate their business. So we store,

(41:05):
you know, information from the actual production that they have,
which is the product that they sell, the locations of
their facilities, basically anything similar to a balance sheet. How
you need, you know, all of the high level aspects
of the business to be able to tell how you're
performing from a financial perspective. We do the same thing
just from a sustainability perspective, So we track a lot
of their equipment and things in the field that help

(41:27):
them better understand where they're at from an emissions and
operations perspective, and oftentimes they need that information either from
regulatory perspective for you know, state or federal compliance. But
more importantly, a bigger trend has been for investor reports
and market pressures. So there's a lot of trends right
now that are happening where companies and investors are asking

(41:48):
them to actually submit what their emissions are and communicate
what that is, whether you're a large public company all
the way down to small private companies that operate you
know in Texas or West Virginia.

Speaker 3 (41:57):
And you know, James, there's something else work here too,
because right here in the city of Morgantown over at WVU,
they have a sustainability plan in order to.

Speaker 4 (42:10):
Be more green.

Speaker 3 (42:12):
I guess coming in the future, would this be something
that they could look at and say, well, you know what,
maybe we could infuse maybe something green into this particular operation.

Speaker 6 (42:27):
Yeah, it's it's definitely something we could work all with university.
I mean, we're absolutely focused on the energy sectors, so
I like to we like to focus. We're very pragmatic
and realistic. We like to refer ourselves as like pro operators.
So you know, any any energy company that is looking
to better tracks information. That's kind of where we got started.
But I think over time, you know, the business and products,

(42:47):
especially with the acquisition and we have a lot more
resources and a bigger scale, will be something that you know,
branch out. And so maybe that that could be something,
you know, partnering with the university or some of the
energy systems that they have on campus as well.

Speaker 4 (42:58):
You know, something kind of funny that you've just said.

Speaker 3 (43:01):
And I'm sure maybe I might have been the only
one that picked up on it, but you know, you
went through school at WVU and obviously you had to
pay your tuition and things and and uh and then
you know, you just said, through your company, hey, you
know what, we could give the university a price for that.

Speaker 4 (43:17):
I thought that was pretty cool.

Speaker 6 (43:20):
Yeah, absolutely, o, Katie, I'll go to be selling.

Speaker 4 (43:25):
There you go, There you go. James Carns is with us.

Speaker 3 (43:28):
He's the founder, co founder and CEO of Iconic Care.

Speaker 4 (43:33):
Your partner, Kyle Gillis.

Speaker 3 (43:35):
He's referred to as maybe the point guard, the quarterback,
the guy looking down the field for you know, maybe
that fifty yard completion. What's in the future for Iconic Care.

Speaker 6 (43:47):
Yeah, we're excited to take what we've been doing over
the last five years and really just continue to scale
it and grow it on an international level. So, you know,
our entire team, Kyle, myself, our team or product, all
of us are going to become you know, have become
officially a part of the Suena and so we now
have basically the same team they mission, just just really
a larger scale. And you know, we wouldn't be don't

(44:10):
to get to this point if it wasn't for all
of our awesome investors and customers and team along the way,
one of those being you know, Country Roads Angel Network,
you know, who were one of our earliest believers and
really kind of helped us navigate someother early stage, uh
you know parts of the business. And I think that's
something in addition to obviously the company side. You know,
both Cal and I are very passionate about working and
mentoring you know, other young founders and builders in West Virginia,

(44:32):
and so I think that's something that you know, in
addition to continuing to build and operate Iconic Are at
an international level, we also want to you know, continue
to be involved and give back to the community. Of
a entrepreneurship and founders in West Virginia as well.

Speaker 4 (44:44):
What will you keep your name Iconic Air?

Speaker 6 (44:48):
Yeah, yep, the brand will continue on. We're, you know,
just now a part of this larger group. We've built
a really strong brand within the energy sector and I
think that was another reason why they were attracted to us.
And so, you know, keeping that brand and continue to
work with our customers and build and add value to
them the way you have is something that we intend
to keep doing.

Speaker 4 (45:08):
Now.

Speaker 3 (45:08):
You briefly touched on mentoring, and this is the last
thing that I wanted to cover with you. But you know,
years ago when I was up there and talked to
you and Kyle at that open house Advantage Ventures, you
know Sarah Biller, she was in charge of that particular
operation at that time, and she pulled together a lot
of tech and just a lot of students with great ideas.

(45:32):
And now one of those ideas is coming to fruition.
And I know that this isn't the only one, but
I guess what would you say to maybe a kid
sitting in a dorm that thinks that they have an
idea that might go but you know, maybe they're just
not sure.

Speaker 6 (45:48):
I think it comes down to just taking taking the
risk and taking the shot. And it's something that I've
talked a lot with them founders on. You know, West
Virginia's culture isn't necessarily a pro risk taking culture, especially
for young students coming through university. It's just not something
that's a common story that people eating. My co founder
on A Kyle, growing up, we didn't really know what

(46:09):
it meant to kind of start a business, to be
an entrepreneur. We just kind of learned it and figured
it out and kind of found out about it and
do the help with people like Sarah continued to grow
and evolved. So I would I would encourage him to
just take the risk, you know, bet on yourself and
find people like myself or other founders who have been
through the journey and want to help, because it always
is good to have someone who's you know, been where

(46:32):
you're trying to go. And so I think, just take
the risk and really, you know, believe in yourself.

Speaker 4 (46:36):
How do you use your experience to end the West
Virginia brain dream?

Speaker 6 (46:44):
I think personally, I spend a lot of time on
this mike, a lot of time talking to students, a
lot of times. I've started even an organization called Beacon,
which is of organization by founders for founders. It's essentially
a free community nonprofit for founders that have started you
know in West Virginia. And all the time I spent
you know, with with that and with talking with founders,
it just has to be truly at bottoms up change,

(47:07):
it has to be you know, other founders. I mean,
I have a list of twenty people in the head
right now I can think of immediately that are working
with me on the concept that Beacon, and they need
to be other people who are actually in the arena.
That's like one of my favorite quotes is be in
the arena. And so by taking that risk and being
in the arena, you're facing the challenges on a day
to day basis as an entrepreneur. And so we need

(47:28):
to just one at a time, you know, through really
just bottoms up penetrate the schools, penetrate the colleges working
with you know, groups like vantaged Ventures or now Marshall
has their you know, g Beta program and accelerator that
they have. So there's a lot of these groups in
the state that are trying to you know, lift up entrepreneurs,
and we just need to keep finding them one by
one and then eventually, you know, years we'll go by

(47:51):
and we'll have a much much larger group of people
who want to take risks and build businesses within the state.

Speaker 3 (47:55):
James Carrn is the co founder and CEO of Iconic Care.
Congratulations on your achievement, James. It just couldn't be any
happier for you. On the way out, though, I would
like for you to address maybe the negotiations with the
Japanese Swayne people. Did you have any help? How did

(48:17):
that go?

Speaker 6 (48:20):
Yeah, that was something that we actually ran our own
entire process and negotiation, so it was it was a
great experience as first time founders, you know, selling your business.
We obviously worked closely with our gisting investors to get
their approval and feedback. But you know, being the first time,
I've talked to several exited founders, you know, just kind
of during the journey and even now that we've officially

(48:40):
closed the transaction, and everyone always says the first one
is the hardest, and I can say that that is
definitely true. So, you know, learned a lot, got a
lot of good valuable lessons. You know, but excited to
share those and be able to, you know, pay those
forward with other entrepreneurs based in West Virginia as they
look to sell or exit their business in the future.

Speaker 3 (49:00):
James, congratulations, couldn't be more happier for you. And homecoming weekend.
You're going to be in town going to the game.

Speaker 6 (49:09):
I will, yes, I'll be there with my wife and
some of some of more families. So okay to see
a mountaineer win.

Speaker 3 (49:15):
Oh well, that's where I was headed next. I believe
we'll get a win this weekend.

Speaker 6 (49:22):
I'm right there with you, Mike. I think it's I
think it's it's their due and it's homecoming. We got
the Cole Rush. I think I think all the ingredients
are right for a mountain Net win this weekend.

Speaker 3 (49:30):
There you go, There you go. Okay, James, Hey really
do appreciate your time. Hopefully we'll catch up again soon.

Speaker 4 (49:35):
Thank you, absolutely, Thanks Mike doo well, you bet, you bet.
Take care of yourself.

Speaker 3 (49:41):
James carn He and Kyle Gillis the founders of Iconic Air,
purchased by Japanese company Sway Nay. They offer a audit
software that takes a look at energy usage for companies
and handles it a lot like a balance sheet in
their financial matters. Congratulations to them, very very good work.

(50:01):
And of course Vantage Ventures there on the WVU campus
kind of the the brainchild of John Chambers, and they
mentioned the angel network that does provide some of the
capital for these projects. And of course it couldn't have
gotten this far without somebody like Sarah Biller, who certainly

(50:24):
has done a great job of haunt showing the Vantage
Ventures operation there on the campus of West Virginia University.

Speaker 4 (50:34):
Coming up, we'll wrap things up real quick.

Speaker 3 (50:37):
Clouds and forty five degrees in the University city metro news.

Speaker 4 (50:41):
Aci Weather says today.

Speaker 3 (50:43):
Do you have a chance for possibly maybe a sprinkle
other than that?

Speaker 4 (50:48):
Clouds in the mid fifties.

Speaker 3 (50:50):
We'll be back to wrap things up, coming up right
after this on Talk of the Town AM fourteen forty
FM oneh four point five WAJR.

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You won't find a bigger fan of our teams, but
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Well good Thursday morning.

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The federal government shut down now lumbering into week number
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(53:45):
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Next on the Voice of Morgantown, W A. J R.