Entries by Jacob McCarty

Miss West Virginia Courtney Bearer Brings “Connecting with Cardio” Platform to ALMBS Citizens

Miss West Virginia 2025, Courtney Bearer — the first competitor ever to perform a hula hoop routine on the Miss America stage — joined ALMBS Citizens this morning to share her “Connecting with Cardio” heart health platform and a message about working hard regardless of the obstacles. Her keynote reminded Citizens that 80% of heart disease cases are preventable, and that the things that make you different are often the things that make you memorable.

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Communications Director Brent Walker, ALMBS Class of 1981, Returns to Jackson’s Mill with Message on the Real Work of Governing

Brent Walker, Communications Director for the West Virginia Department of Transportation and the 1981 ALMBS Governor, returned to Jackson’s Mill on June 10 to deliver a breakfast keynote on what it actually takes to govern. Speaking directly to ALMBS’s newly elected leadership and bringing greetings from Governor Patrick Morrisey, Walker reminded Citizens that “winning the office is the clean part” — and that real leadership is “the brutal science of choosing between competing necessities.” Forty-five years after his own ALMBS year, Walker said the memory of Jackson’s Mill is still driving him.

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Unofficial results · Statewide general election

The Federalist Party ran the table. In the 2026 Mountaineer Boys State general election, Federalist nominees won all six statewide constitutional offices — a clean sweep, and one the primary turnout didn’t forecast, since Nationalists had cast more primary ballots than Federalists (157 to 131). A total of 286 ballots were cast Tuesday.

At the top of the ticket, Jaxson “Action” Rappold (Federalist) cruised to the Governor’s office with 205 votes (71.68%), defeating Coleman “Coalman” Nutter (Nationalist), who took 67 (23.43%). Write-ins drew 14 votes (4.90%) — the only race where they made a real dent.

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Nationalists Put “West Virginia First” in a Spirited Convention

Nationalist Convention
“West Virginia first.” The Nationalists laid out a four-pillar platform — industry, quality of life, opportunity, and education reform — backed by a slate from the Chocolate Thunder to the Coal Man. They closed in unity: nationalists and federalists, “all West Virginians.” Get the full convention recap inside.

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Panhandle Reports: Five of Six Counties Now In

Panhandle County (city of Ellwood City) is the fifth of six county groups to report, bringing the statewide count to 5 of 6 counties — about 83% reporting. Only Kanawha/Braxton (Charleston/Sutton) remains before the primary picture is complete. The Panhandle is a single county with no sub-district splits.

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