The Positively West Virginia Podcast

Jeremy Harris is the CEO of IT Mind Share. Located in Morgantown, WV.  Jeremy was just named the SBA West Virginia Veteran owned small business of the year by the US small business administration. IT Mindshare was started as a technology consulting firm and as grown into one of the most trusted and recognized technology firms in West Virginia and surrounding states.  IT Mind Share provides technol...

Gat Caperton is president of Gat Creek, located in Berkeley Springs, West Virginia. Gat Creek is a West Virginia manufacturer of solid wood home furniture. Gat Caperton acquired Gat Creek from its founder in 1996. Originally named Tom Seely Furniture, the 50 plus year old business now employs more than 150 artisans in Berkeley Springs. The company sells its branded products via 200 plus retail sto...

Rebecca McPhail is the president of the West Virginia Manufacturers Association located in Charleston, West Virginia. Rebecca joined the WVMA as its president in 2013. The West Virginia Manufacturers Association membership represents manufacturers across the state. Rebecca previously served as president of the State Economic Development Organization, Vision Shared. Prior to work at Vision Shared,...

David Miller is the founder of geotees, located in Charleston, West Virginia. The brand concept for geotees was inspired by what David calls the experience tee. When he was traveling around the state of California in the spring of 2018, he wanted a high quality t-shirt without the loud message on the front – a t-shirt with a simple city name and design. He never found a simple destination t-shirt...

Heather Henderson is the owner of Batch Pro Solutions, located in Bridgeport, West Virginia, in Harrison County. Batch Pro Solutions has spent the last decade serving the electronic payment needs of West Virginia with unwavering dedication. No matter the size or industry, Batch Pro Solutions personalizes electronic payment solutions to fulfill each clients payment needs. Knowledge, integrity, accu...

Todd Turner is with Appalachian Glass which is located in Weston, West Virginia. He is a third generation glass blower. Back in 1982 Todd's father, Chip Turner, found his passion for glass during a vocational glass blowing course at Lewis County high school. After graduation he began working at the West Virginia Glass Specialty Company and eventually worked his way up to becoming the furnace and f...

Jesica Temple is the CEO of Innovation Abounds and her brand of products called SHAKE It OUT located in Meadow Bridge, West Virginia in Greenbrier County. Jesica's goal is to empower and inspire men and women to embrace a healthy lifestyle and to reform the way people consume powdered supplements. She does this with her patented innovation, the SHAKE It OUT shaker. Jesica is an accomplished fitnes...

Jeff Giosi is the owner of CrossFit Morgantown along with his wife, Sarah. Their CrossFit gym is located in Morgantown. Their mission is using fitness as a catalyst to support their community, not only in Morgantown but North Central West Virginia, and help others recognize their full potential through friendship, love and loyalty. Jeff is highly regarded as an expert in fitness. He was an athlete...

Parween Mascari, a native of Parkersburg, West Virginia, is an entrepreneur, attorney, adjunct professor at West Virginia University and is an administrative law judge for the state of West Virginia board of review for unemployment compensation appeals. During her time as a lobbyist, she worked closely with the legislature to help shape policy for the state of West Virginia. She also owns three re...

Lincoln Kinkade is a physical therapist and he is also a consummate entrepreneur. He is also the founding owner of Dynamic Therapy which is now doing business as Fyzical Therapy and Balance Centers. Having been self-self-employed since the age of 11, Lincoln has been in the business of improving the lives of West Virginia residents; from lawn care services, to quality student rentals, housing deve...

Roger and Crista Johnson are the owners of Screech Owl Brewing. Screech Owl is located not far from the Maryland and Pennsylvania borders in Preston County. Roger and Crista have been transforming their farm into a thriving, award-winning small-batch brewery, Screech Owl Brewing, and their associated tap room, Spent Grain Cafe. Roger and Crista began this adventure several years ago as a means for...

Each week for the past 52 weeks, I've interview West Virginia business leaders and shared their success stories with listeners all across America on our podcast. In 2018, we reached tens of thousands of listeners and readers through our podcast, and print stories. Our analytics indicate that our audience was more than 1.8 million, including, social media, website viewers, iTunes and Google Play an...

Mike Green serves as the chairman of the West Virginia Growth Investment Fund and managing director of Mountain State Capital. In these roles, Mike provides mentorship and funding to entrepreneurs and early stage companies. He began serving on the West Virginia Board of Education in 2009 and served as the board president for a time. He is also on the West Virginia High Tech Consortium Foundation b...

Ryan Lemley is the owner of Ridge Roasters Coffee. Ridge Roasters Coffee is a roasting company that locally roasts the finest coffees from Honduras, Ethiopia, Guatemala and other countries in small batches to the most exacting standards. The result is an exceptional coffee roast that has won the hearts and pallets of coffee lovers across the mountain state. Ryan and his wife Carley are coffee love...

Dwayne Freeman is the owner of Appalachian Distillery. Appalachian Distillery is a family owned business that makes premium sour mash moonshine, whiskey, and bourbon, owned by Dwayne and his wife Sandy Freeman. They are a growing company that plans to employ up to eight people in the near future. They have the capacity to produce 12,000 gallons of moonshine per year. With only a handful of reputab...

Heather Cyphert is the Managing Director of four companies that she and her husband own, based in Westover, West Virginia. Those companies include: Precision Tool, Performance Hydraulics, Progressive Industries, and Phoenix Trucking. Heather grew up in a family that knows the joys and the challenges of a family owned enterprise. After earning her BS degree in Journalism at West Virginia University...

Danny Fink is the president of Premier Tax Consulting LLC. Premier Tax Consulting specializes in working with small to midsize businesses primarily in North Central West Virginia. Danny noticed that most accounting firms spend most of their time focused on recording past history by preparing financial statements and tax returns. Of course Premier provides those services as well because they must b...

Tony Figaretti is the owner of Figaretti Manufacturing and Distribution Incorporated. In the early 1940s, Tony's grandparents and their five sons began packaging and selling their delicious pasta sauce to local grocery stores in the Wheeling area. The sauce became so popular they decided to open a restaurant. In 1949, Figaretti Brothers Restaurant opened in Wheeling. The restaurant has remained in...

Sierra Cox is the co-owner of Wonder Valley Farm, a veteran-owned agritourism business in Gandeeville, West Virginia that concentrates on lavender, bees, and forest botanicals. Sierra and her business partner traded in their uniforms for overalls when they separated from the US Navy and created Wonder Valley Farm. They envisioned bringing some of the West Coast flare they experienced while station...

Ruston Seaman is the managing partner of New Vision Renewable Energy, a non-profit social enterprise. He also founded GLOgames Basketball, a company that designs and builds LED basketball rims. New Vision is a Christian community development organization working to re-energize communities. It evolved from a rich history of ministry and development in rural communities in Appalachia and around the...

James L. Estep has served as President and Chief Executive Officer of the High Technology Foundation in Fairmont, West Virginia, since June of 2000. The High Technology Foundation's mission is to facilitate economic diversification. Through the High Technology Foundation Jim has positioned the I-79 Technology Park as the premiere economic diversification effort in the state. It has […]

Brian Joseph is president and CEO of Touchstone Research Laboratories, in Triadelphia, West Virginia. The company was founded by Brian in the 1980s right out of college. The company develops patents and products and is one of the most innovative and successful commercial research and development organizations in the U.S. Based on their inventions Touchstone is establishing three new high-tech busi...

Chad Remp is operations manager of Wheeling Truck Center incorporated, a family owned business in Wheeling, West Virginia. The company was founded in 1933 and is an authorized Volvo truck dealership. The company also sells trucks and truck parts around the US and to multiple countries around the world. The international sales division was started by Chad himself in 2010. Chad is also the chair of...

Logan Hartle is the president of  Warwood Tool Company in Wheeling, West Virginia. For 164 years the Warwood Tool Company has forged world class, 100% U.S.A. made hand tools of the highest quality right here in West Virginia. Logan studied industrial engineering at West Virginia University, where he received a bachelor of science degree in industrial engineering. He launched a decorative concrete...

Chad Daniel is the co-owner of Daniel Vineyards in Crab Orchard, West Virginia. Daniel Vineyards, founded in 1990, is a family owned and operated conservation grape farm and estate winery. Their 192 acre property boasts 30 acres of perfectly manicured West Virginia grown grapes. Chad is 25 years old and was born and raised in Beckley, West Virginia. After graduating from Culinary school, his twin...