Latest News

ACCE Names New President

The American Coalition for Clean Coal Electricity (ACCCE) has named Robert M.“Mike” Duncan as president and CEO, effective September 10.

Mike brings wide experience in energy policy and business to ACCCE. Working with elected officials at every level and in all political parties, hehas served as board member and chairman of the Tennessee Valley Authority;assistant director of the Office of Public Liaison in The White House; chairmanof the American Crossroads 527 committee; and chairman of the RepublicanNational Committee, just to name a few of his roles.

Mike will succeed Stephen L. Miller, who is retiring after 17 years service toACCCE.

Worley Honored By The First Tee of WV

The First Tee of West Virginia, Raleigh and Fayette County Chapter held the“First Tee Coal Miners Hall of Fame Classic” last Friday &Saturday at the White Oak Country Club in Oak  Hill, WV.

WVCA Board member Robert Worley, President of Baylor Mining in Beckley was this year’s inductee intothe First Tee of West Virginia’s Coal Miners Hall of Fame.

The tournament was designed to recognize an individual who had dedicated mostof his or her life to promote and work in the coal industry in WV whilesimultaneously giving back to the community and exhibiting the core values ofthe First Tee.

Congratulations Bob, Great Job!

Coal Wins Another Court Decision

The coal industry and the people of West  Virginia won another in a series of court decisionslast Friday when the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of WestVirginia issued its ruling in the Ohio Valley Environmental Coalition v. UnitedStates Army Corps of Engineers case. The Court said in essence that it is thesole purview of the states, their elected policymakers (such as theLegislature) and state regulatory agencies determine water quality standardswhen granting mining permits.

This is the fourth court decision in recent months that has essentially knockedthe legs out from under the Obama Administration’s war on coal, allsharing the common finding that the EPA has breached the rule of law and the limitationsimposed on it by Congress and usurped the powers of Congress and the states.

New Radio Messages Begin

The new FACES radio message began airing this week in the counties bordering Ohio and Pennsylvaniaand three more of ours are in the production phase expected to begin airingnext week.

Pro-Coal Social Media Seeing Rapid Growth

Our social media web is seeing rapid growth and our linkages with otherorganizations are expanding quickly. For example, on a recent post, essentiallyan online ad entitled “Coal – It’s a Family Thing”featuring a miner walking up a road with his two young children, his smalldaughter carrying his dinner bucket, was viewed by more than 20,000 people in a24-hour period. 

In total, our social media presence provides exposure of our message toapproximately 500,000 people each and every week and this exposure level isbuilding with the addition of the other pages shown above and our developmentof linked messaging with them.

FOC Launches Facebook Pages for Three Key States

The Friends of Coal have launched three new Facebook pages -- Virginia,Pennsylvania and Ohio– to join existing pages for West Virginia,Kentucky and Wyoming.  The new pages are linked atpresent to the existing West Virginia and Kentucky pages. LaunchedAugust 15th, the pages have already drawn a significant amount of attention andare experiencing rapid growth. Please visit them at:

OHIO -- http://www.facebook.com/pages/Friends-of-Coal-Ohio/506676489346714?ref=hl

PENNSYLVANIA – http://www.facebook.com/pages/Friends-of-Coal-Pennsylvania/330247297069787?ref=hl

VIRGINIA – http://www.facebook.com/pages/Friends-of-Coal-Virginia/409523569106538?ref=hl

WEST VIRGINIA – http://www.facebook.com/friendsofcoal?ref=hl

KENTUCKY – http://www.facebook.com/friendsofcoal?ref=hl#!/friendsofcoalky

WYOMING – http://www.facebook.com/friendsofcoal?ref=hl#!/groups/121501981319765/

We are also assisting in the launch of a Friends of Coal – Virginia Tech,which has already attracted nearly 100 on-campus members. Our goal is now todevelop a single portal for both the Friends of Coal web pages and the socialmedia outlets.

Coalition For Romney Sees Successful Launch

More than 150 people – mostly coal miners and their families turned outthis past Monday evening in Madisonfor the launch of the COALition for Romney. The group is a grassrootsorganization composed of working coal miners, their families, business owners,school teachers and others  -- both Democrats and Republicans, union,non-union, labor and management – coming together to protect the state’svital coal industry from the Obama Administration’s on-going War on Coalby supporting the candidacy of the prospective GOP Presidential nominee MittRomney.

Monday’s meeting was essentially an organizational meeting. The group hassince launched a Facebook page at http://www.facebook.com/pages/The-COALition/265299486910146?ref=hl. Leaders from Citizens for Coal, the Logan Coal Vendors Association, theCoalition for Mountaintop Mining and other groups are assisting the group withits formation.

Media from WOWK-TV, The State Journal and WCHS TV were on hand to cover theevent.  The West Virginia Radio Network’s Talkline program withHoppy Kerchival featured stories about the event for three consecutive days,including interviews with Coalition Co-Chairs Chris Hamilton, Roger Horton and Jimmy Winkler.

6th Friends of Coal Bowl - Meeting Time Change

The 6th Friends of Coal Bowl is set for September 1stin Morgantown, WV – registration forms for theWaterfront Hotel and the official WVCA registration form have been distributedand responses are being returned.

The Waterfront Hotel in Morgantownwill be headquarters for the Friends of Coal Bowl.

Wewill be doing a few things a little differently at this year’s Coal Bowl.  TheTechnical Session that was scheduled for 10 a.m. on Friday has been changed toa Membership Meeting that will begin at 2 p.m. on Friday.  There will not be a golf outing, as originally indicated.  Fridayevening at 6 p.m. we will join Remember The Miners for a VIP reception and the2nd Annual Bob Huggins Fish Fry at the Waterfront.  This FishFry will feature Jerry West and will benefit Remember the Miners scholarshipprogram and the Norma Mae Huggins Cancer Research Fund.  This event shouldbe a lot of fun as it was last year.

Saturday will begin with a bus departing the main entrance of the hotel at 9a.m. with the pre-game tailgate tent opening at 9:30 a.m. with a brunch typemenu and all of our legislative, government and both Marshall & WVU friendsbeing invited to join us.  The game begins at 12 noon and tickets areavailable through the Association at $60.00 per ticket.  After return tothe hotel we will be having a post-game buffet dinner.

WVCA Chairman Laurita Names Committee Chairs

The following individuals have agreed to chair the designated primaryoperations committees:

Environmental & Technical:  JohnMcDaniel of Arch Coal

Health & Safety: Terry Hudson of PatriotCoal

Public Relations:  Sarah Smith of AlphaNatural Resources

Government Affairs:  Gary Whiteof James River Coal/International ResourcePartners
  1. Romney Ties Coal to National Strength
  2. Latest EPA Ruling a Win For State Sovereignty
  3. West Virgina Coal Association Issues Statement on Another Court Victory
  4. West Virginia Coal Association Takes Legislators on Surface Mine Tour
  5. WEST VIRGINIA COAL ASSOCIATION ISSUES STATEMENT ON TODAY’S COURT VICTORY AGAINST OBAMA WAR ON COAL

Page 96 of 212

Image

Join Friends of Coal

Be part of West Virginia's coal industry future. Together, we can continue building a stronger, more prosperous Mountain State by supporting our miners and communities.
Learn More About FOC