Conrad F. Cooper, President
Cooper is a lifetime resident of Raleigh County.  He is a graduate of The Hill School and North Carolina State University, he owns a local insurance company.  He has served as past president of the Beckley Rotary Club and Black Knight Country Club, and is a former board member of United Way of Southern West Virginia and the Women’s Resource Center. Conrad was a member of the Beckley Area Foundation Board in its formative years, bringing significant institutional knowledge to the current board.  He served as secretary of the foundation board and has long been a willing volunteer helping BAF with scholarship presentations, distribution committees and special events.   He and his wife Carol Cooper have two sons.

Emmett Pugh, Vice-President 
A lifelong resident of Beckley and Woodrow Wilson High School graduate, he earned a bachelor’s degree in political science from the University of Alabama.  He served as president of Bowl-Wick (1974-87) and then as a broker with Wheat First Securities.  He was elected as a Beckley council-man-at-large in 1979 and served as mayor of the City of Beckley from 1988 to 2013.  He is a three-time past president of the WV Municipal League and past president of 4-C Economic Development Authority.  As an active member of the Beckley Rotary club, he is a past president, Paul Harris Fellow and long-serving program chairman. Additionally, he served as 2011 United Way of Southern West Virginia chair. He currently serves on the Raleigh County Airport Authority, Beckley Little League Board, chairs the Pinecrest Development Corporation, Appalachian Regional Healthcare Board, Beckley Renaissance and the Region I Planning and Development Council.  He has received the WV Mayor of the Year, the Spirit of Beckley and the MSU Living Leadership awards.  He has five children and is married to Linda Moran Pugh.  He is an active member of the Family Worship Center.

Cynthia W. Turner, Secretary – A graduate of Woodrow Wilson High School and West Virginia University, she earned a BSBA in Finance.  She owns and operates Chain Supply with her husband William “Bill” Turner.  Her past and current civic and community activities are numerous and include Girl Scout and Cub Scout leader, Scouting Committee, United Methodist Temple Alter Guild, Phymosia Garden Club and the Read Aloud Program.  She is also a mother of two children, Jennifer and William.

Robert N. File, Treasurer
Mr. File has lived and served the Beckley and Raleigh County area his entire life except while attaining his B. A. from University of Virginia and returned to attend the WVU College of Law and attained his J.D.  He is a partner in the File, Payne & Scherer law firm. Robert has long supported BAF with legal expertise. Civic and community activities include member United Methodist Temple and serves as chair of the Board of Trustee, Member of Board of Directors of Zoning Appeals, and is a former board member of United Way of Southern West Virginia.  He is married to Rev. Ellen Lilly File.  They are parents of three grown daughters Sarah Lineberger, Lindsay C. File and Laura Long.

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Kevin Heath Bailey - More info coming soon!

Beth Jarrell - Ms. Jarrell is a graduate of Woodrow Wilson High School and grew up in Raleigh County.  After leaving in 1992, she returned in 2006 with her husband, Richard Jarrell.  They are the owners of the Chick-fil-A franchises here in Beckley, have a daughter named Laura, and have been married for 22 years.  Working as a local entrepreneur has provided her with many opportunities to assist our schools, churches, and various community organizations throughout the county. This past year alone, she has worked with the United Way in their reading program at Mabscott Elementary, helped in the FOLK (Feed Our Local Kids) Ministry at the United Methodist Temple, and volunteered at the Rock-a-Thon for Alzheimer's this past spring.

Patty Johnston Frail – Ms. Johnston is a life-long resident of Beckley, WV and a Woodrow Wilson High School graduate.  She earned a B.S. Pharmacy from West Virginia University and returned to work with her father and later assume ownership of their Colony Drugstore.  Continuing her education, she has acquired a number of certifications and served on variety of professional boards.  These include WVU School of Pharmacy Visiting Committee, Board of Advisors WVU School of Pharmacy, WV Medicaid Retro Drug Utilization Review Committee, Member of the International Academy of Compounding Pharmacists, Fellow of the American College of Apothecaries, Preceptor, WVU School of Pharmacy.  Additionally, she is a member of the United Methodist Temple and volunteer her services as a pharmacist, locally and on a statewide level.  Married to Larry Frail she has one daughter, Caitlin.

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Forest Lynch – Mr. Lynch is a life-long resident of Raleigh County.  He has a BSBA degree from West Virginia University and is a certified public accountant with Lynch & Company.  He served on the BAF Audit Committee and Investment Committee prior to being elected to serve on the Foundation’s board. His financial expertise is valuable in the work of our community foundation.

Tom Lemke - Tom graduated from Tremont H. S. in Pennsylvania and then earned a BS in chemistry from Wake Forest University. While studying for his masters in chemistry at Marshall University, he met and married Sally McNeill who was completing her undergraduate degree in chemistry.  They moved to Lehigh University where Tom earned a PhD.
   Tom served as a US Army Captain Biochemist from 1968-1970.  The Lemkes then returned to Huntington where he was an Assistant Professor of Chemistry at Marshall. In 1972, Tom accepted a position with Huntington Alloys and worked in several capacities.  He was Director of International Marketing when he retired in 2003.  In 2005, they moved and built their retirement home in Raleigh County.
   A life-long member of the American Chemical Society, Tom has also served on various boards including the WV American Lung Association; Daido Inco Alloys, a joint venture company in Japan; Valinco, a joint venture company with Valinox of France; and currently serves on the Special Metals Salaried Retirees VEBA. He has been a member of the WV Experimental Program to Stimulate Competitive Research. He is currently a member of the Piney Creek Watershed Association, the New River Gorge Community Involvement Initiative; a docent at the Beckley Art Gallery; and a volunteer at the New River Gorge National River Archeology Section. He and his wife help maintain the gardens at the Bowers Hospice House and our YMCA. Tom was co-chair of BAF’s Household Hazardous Waste Collection project. 

Lee Milam - Robert “Lee” Milam is president and CEO of Whitesville State Bank.  He is a graduate of Sherman High School, West Virginia University and the Graduate School of Banking, Madison, WI.  He has completed additional course work at the West Virginia School of Banking and various continuing education programs.  He became a Certified Residential Real Estate Appraiser in 1993 and is a licensed insurance agent.
   Living in Raleigh County for over 34 years, Lee has been involved in his community as a Sunday School teacher, Rotarian, member of the Lions Club, and founding member of the Raleigh West Midget League.  He is a former member of the Lillian James Learning Center Board of Directors and the Glen White/Trap Hill PSD.  He has been a board member and Legislative Committee Chairman of the WV Bankers Association.  His first involvement with BAF was as a member of the Foundation’s Advisory Committee, representing the interests of residents in the western parts of Raleigh County.  Lee is particularly proud of his three children, Jacob, Kaleb and Hannah.

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Ray Morton - More info coming soon!

Margaret Njoku - After graduating from WWHS, Mrs. Njoku went on to study at WVU Tech and WVU Parkersburg, before graduating from The Realtor Institute.  She then began her career as a realtor with Old Colony Realtors where she has been for the last 14 years.  During that time she has enjoyed giving back through organizations such as Habitat for Humanity and the United Way of Southern WV.
    Margaret and her husband, Martin Njoku, have two daughters, Syreeta and Moriah.  They are also the owners of Oak Hill Hometown Pharmacy and love serving our community!

William F. Richmond III - A graduate of Woodrow Wilson High School and Marshall University, he earned a law degree from the University of Tennessee and has a private law practice in Beckley and serves as the assistant prosecuting attorney for Raleigh County.  His civic activities include serving as president of the WWHS Alumni Association, Inc. since 1981, acting as general counsel for the WV Home Builders Association and the Southern Home Builders Association; past president of Black Knight County Club and the City of Beckley Civil Rights Committee; present member of the City of Beckley Historic Landmark Committee; past Mental Hygiene Commissioner; Ballot Commissioner for Raleigh County and current member of the Beckley Presbyterian Church Property Committee. Bill served on the BAF Distributions Committee and chaired the Campaign for the 21st Century Committee.  He is married to Jeannie Wheatley Richmond and they have two children.

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Amanda Sauchuck   - A lifelong resident of Raleigh County and graduate of Woodrow Wilson High School, Amanda Sue Sauchuck earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Business Administration with an emphasis in Management from Concord University.  She went on to earn a Master of Business Administration with a concentration in Human Resources from Liberty University.  She is currently working on her doctoral dissertation toward a Doctor of Business Administration degree in Human Resource Management from Capella University. 
    Amanda is employed at Concord University as an Assistant Professor of Management.  She and her husband Frank are the parents of one daughter, Piper Lynn.
    Having served on the BAF Distributions Committee, Amanda is now working on a special Foundation project to create an organization that will enable Raleigh County students to learn about and practice community philanthropy. 

Christopher R. Vaught - Mr. Vaught is a proud product of Raleigh County and is committed to its future.  Born and raised in Beckley, Chris returned to his hometown after graduating from West Virginia University.  Leveraging his clinical and administrative health care experiences, he founded Vaught, Inc. in 2008.  Since its inception, Vaught, Inc. has launched four successful subsidiary companies (NightWatch, MedMatrix Solutions, V23 and Indigo Health) and has been recognized on Inc. magazine’s 500|5000 roster of fastest-growing private companies.  Chris is involved with numerous community organizations and supports entrepreneurship, education and wellness initiatives.  Some of these have included YMCA of Southern West Virginia, Active SWV, Beckley Health Right, WVRx, The Eureka! Project, Shine, youth sports and Beckley First Baptist Church.  He and his wife Debbie, another Raleigh County native, are the parents of Ryan and Cooper.