Two decades at the helm of Leadership West Virginia have given Pam Farris many opportunities to witness a change in her fellow West Virginians. The change happens over the course of the program, through which participants are introduced to different locations, successes, strengths and challenges facing their home state, and through which they are given the knowledge and tools to be leaders who fight for positive change.
“I witness their transformation – I hear it and I feel it,” Farris said. “I’ve had people say to me that they’ve had a life-changing experience in the program, whether it was a friendship that they built, or whether it was learning about something that they had no idea about. Sometimes a graduate of the program will tell me they want to help make a difference in West Virginia. And when that happens, it’s just amazing.”
This is what has made more than 20 years as executive director of Leadership West Virginia such a rewarding experience, Farris said, and what will make it so difficult to walk away when she retires later this year. The past two decades have been a period of growth and success for the program, which has graduated more than 1,600 alumni since its founding in 1991 by the West Virginia Chamber of Commerce. Through it, participants travel across the state and learn from experts about different sectors of West Virginia’s economy. 
Farris said the program is a way to grow the Mountain State’s leadership base and impress upon them the responsibility to help move the state forward.
“We’re just giving the people that come through the program the opportunity, the tools, the experience and the exposure to make the state a better place to live, grow and raise a family,” she said.
According to West Virginia Chamber President Steve Roberts, Farris has been a tremendous leader in her own right.
“The West Virginia Chamber created Leadership West Virginia with high hopes for meaningful results, and Pam has been a key leader in fulfilling those aspirations,” Roberts said. “Her gentle and kind nature combined with a real vision for Leadership West Virginia have led to many years of success and growth. Pam makes friends wherever she goes, and her many friends join me in expressing deep appreciation for a job so well done.”
Farris grew up in western Pennsylvania as the middle sibling in a family with five children.
“My first experience in West Virginia was in high school, when our band got invited to participate at West Virginia University during one of the football games,” she recalled. “I got exposure to WVU and all the excitement and just fell in love with it.”
She went on to earn her marketing degree from WVU, where she also met her husband, and settled in Charleston. For 22 years, Farris worked for Herchiel “Herk” Sims at Employers Service Corporation, a third-party administrator that focused on worker’s compensation and unemployment claims. Sims was an amazing mentor, she said.
“What I took away was the importance of communicating with clients,” she said. “You really need to understand your clients’ needs. You need to focus on a long-term relationship built on trust. And to get your message across, you have to be confident in what you’re doing.”
In 1998, while working for Sims, Farris participated in Leadership West Virginia herself. Seven years later it was Sims who alerted her to the program’s job opening and encouraged her to apply.
“I thought, ‘I’ll get to meet 50 new people every year who go through this class,’” she recalled. “That’s what got me going. I said, ‘Yeah, I’m going to do it; I’ll step out of my comfort zone.’ So, after 22 years at Employers Service, I started working for Leadership West Virginia.”
Farris said the program has graduated countless remarkable individuals, far too many to name. Some of those who have served in statewide leadership capacities have included Supreme Court Justices Tim Armstead and Beth Walker; Roger Hanshaw, speaker of the House of Delegates; and Secretary of State Kris Warner and his brother, Mac Warner.
Charleston Mayor Amy Goodwin is a graduate, as well as Maj. Gen. James Hoyer, who guided the state through the COVID-19 pandemic, and attorney Evan Jenkins, a former U.S. congressman and chief justice of the Supreme Court of Appeals of West Virginia.
Many legislators, community leaders, lawyers, medical providers, business leaders and others have graduated from the program.
Farris expressed her gratitude for the numerous relationships she’s forged over the years and the many things she has learned about her adopted home state. The program has now trained residents from all 55 counties, an increase from the 45 counties represented 10 years ago.
“We have over 1,600 alumni who have been through the program,” she remarked. “If just half of those people have taken the passion from their experience and gone back to their communities and made a positive impact, then the program has paid major dividends. I believe many of our graduates have helped move West Virginia forward.” 
Farris said she’s proud that the program has established an annual fundraising campaign to ensure its continued progress and sustainability as a nonprofit organization, adding that she has truly enjoyed working alongside Roberts – who has always helped champion the program – and Kate Reed, the program’s communications and development manager.
“As I transition into this next chapter, I truly am filled with gratitude for the incredible colleagues and alumni who have made this journey so special – not just for me, but for everybody that goes through the program,” she reflected.
It’s going to be a difficult goodbye, but Farris said she looks forward to more memorable years in the Mountain State, where she plans to stay active in leadership and her community. Having raised two sons, Michael and Taylor, she now has three grandchildren and one more coming this summer.
“West Virginia has become my home,” she said. “It’s wonderful. It’s just been a wonderful place to raise a family and have a great career.”
Photos by Rick Lee and Perry Bennett