BUCKHANNON, West Virginia – From navigating the Covid-19 pandemic to being the impetus behind West Virginia Wesleyan College’s new Master’s in Clinical Mental Health Counseling program, Community Care of West Virginia has developed a strong partnership with the College.

During Saturday’s 133^rd Commencement, President Dr. James Moore presented CCWV CEO Trish Collett and retired CEO Rick Simon with the Presidential Medallion, reserved for individuals whose work has enriched, supported and strengthened the College in ways that are extraordinary.

“Rick Simon and Trish Collett have worked tirelessly as leaders at Community Care of West Virginia to make Upshur County and West Virginia a better, stronger and healthier place and they have done this work selflessly,” Moore said. “Community Care’s administration of our on-campus health center has been a wonderful partnership. Their work with us during the Covid-19 pandemic was a veritable lifeline for West Virginia Wesleyan College.”

In January, the College began the first cohort of a brand new Master’s in Clinical Mental Health Counseling Program led by director Dr. Jen Randall Reyes. The program is a collaboration with CCWV and Aetna Better Health of West Virginia.

“Their willingness to always devote their and their organization’s resources to our community’s needs time and time again is nothing short of inspirational,” Moore said.

Collett joined Community Care of West Virginia in 2000 as a physician assistant and became Director of Medical Services in 2008. Prior to serving as Chief Executive Officer, Collett was Chief Operations Officer and Deputy Chief Executive Officer for CCWV.

Simon retired in September 2023 after 30 years at the helm of Community Care of West Virginia. Under this tenure, CCWV grew from one location in Upshur County to its current status with 18 medical centers, eight CCWV-owned pharmacies, one dental clinic and 50 school-based health center sites.

Amazon (AMZN) is fulfilling its promise to spend billions of dollars on data centers in Virginia and has acquired another massive property in Manassas for more major development.

The tech and e-commerce giant paid $218 million for 91 acres approved for data center development, the Business Journals reported. That comes after Amazon bought 140 acres for data centers in Manassas for $152 million in January.

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The e-commerce and tech giant did not return a request for more details and comment. An entity run by Mike Garcia of Mike Garcia Construction sold the property at 14237 and 14209 Dumfries Road to Amazon.

In March, officials approved a rezoning amendment to allow the entire site to become a data center, and it’s also in the county’s Data Center Opportunity Zone Overlay District, per the Business Journals.

Amazon has other major data center projects in the area. And other premier tech companies are expanding their data center portfolios there. Microsoft recently bought 124 acres in Gainesville for $465.5 million.

Gregory Cornfield can be reached at gcornfield@commercialobserver.com.

ATLANTA – “What a dump!”

With those three words — spoken just a few lines into Edward Albee’s “Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?” — theatrical history was made.

Albee’s legendary play, which opened on Broadway in 1962 and won the Tony Award for Best Play, is considered one of the most important works in American theater history. It’s been repeatedly revived on stages around the world, was made into an Oscar-winning film, and is still frequently referenced in other film and television projects. And now, Atlanta’s own Theatrical Outfit is bringing “Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?” to the Balzer Theater at Herren’s, giving local audiences a chance to find out why the play remains so powerful and so influential.

Theatrical Outfit’s production of “Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?” opened last week and is scheduled to run through June 9, under the direction of the company’s artistic director Matt Torney. In a release announcing the production, Torney says he wanted to take a “bold new look” at the oft-staged play, which centers on two couples — the older George and Martha and the younger Nick and Honey — and the one very dysfunctional evening they spend together. As the night wears on, the cocktails flow and the insults fly — with Albee’s sharp dialogue as piercing as it gets. 

Acclaimed stage, film, and TV actors Tess Malis Kincaid and Steve Coulter step into the famed roles of Martha and George, with Devon Hales and Justin Walker taking on the characters of Honey and Nick. And this morning on Good Day Atlanta, we spent a little time with the talented stars on the Balzer Theater at Herren’s stage, learning more about the production and the cast’s thoughts on finding fresh life in the iconic work.

For more information on “Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?” and to check out showtimes and ticket prices, click here. And click the video player in this article to hear more from the stars of this not-to-be-missed production!