Thanks to Larry Marshall of Alpha Natural Resources, State Senators Art Kirkendoll (Logan) and Ron Stollings (Boone) as well as Delegates “Rupie” Phillips (Logan) and Ted Tomblin (Logan) for presenting the State Championship trophies and individual plaques to the winning and runner-up girls basketball teams last Saturday in Charleston.  The team trophies and plaques for each player who participates on the winning and runner-up team in each of the three classes are sponsored by the Association and have the Friends of Coal logo permanently displayed on each.   It is always appreciated when our members can participate in these memorable presentations.

In a similar vein, for the Boys Basketball Championship this weekend, our reliable standby, Larry Marshall of Alpha Natural Resources will be joined by House Finance Chairman Harry Keith White (Mingo) and Delegate Justin Marcum (Mingo) as well as U.S. Senator Manchin’s Southern Representative, Mike Browning, for the presentation of the Class A Championship trophies and individual plaques.  For the Class AA championship, Delegate Marty Gearheart (Mercer) will join Larry for the presentations.  We are most appreciative of these members and officials who take time to present the Friends of Coal trophies and plaques to these young West Virginians.

With over 800 attendees, the 40^th Annual WV Mining Symposium was another success story for the books.  Guests speakers were well received and their presentations will be available on our web site -- www.wvcoal.com – no later than next week.  Photos of the following award winners will also be available on the same web site.

According to the Energy Information Administration (EIA), U. S. metallurgical exports were down approximately 1.2 million tons (-12.2%) in January of this year as compared to January last year, although steam coal exports for the U.S. were up by more than one million tons (+38.9%) for the same periods.  Through the first week of March, West Virginia production was down by approximately 7% this year as compared to 2012.

Chris Hamilton, WVCA’s Senior Vice President spoke to the South Charleston Rotary Club.

If you have a local civic organization that would like to have a member of the Association come to their function and speak, please let us know.

Gov. Earl Ray Tomblin today announced for the third consecutive year West Virginia exports reached a record level, in 2012. Statistics from the U.S. Department of Commerce show the state’s exports grew from $9 billion in 2011 to $11.3 billion in 2012. West Virginia companies exported to 136 countries in 2012.

“Last year, West Virginia’s exports grew by 25 percent, surpassing the national growth rate of 4.6 percent,” said Gov. Tomblin. “Exports are a valuable contributor to our state’s economic growth and stability. While coal continues to be our traditional strength, our top exports also included manufactured products such as plastics, chemicals, machinery and components for medical, automotive and aerospace applications.”