First Lady Cathy Justice will likely soon join the state school board following an appointment this week from her husband, Gov. Jim Justice.

Cathy Justice’s appointment will still need to be confirmed by the state Senate. If approved, she will serve a nine-year term as she fills the seat recently vacated by Dr. Daniel Snavely, whose term expired this month.

Jim Justice announced his wife’s appointment during his weekly news briefing on Thursday. The story was first reported by The Real WV, a Greenbrier County-based news site, on Wednesday. 

During Thursday’s briefing, the governor said Cathy Justice once worked as a substitute teacher in Raleigh County “a long, long, long time ago.” He said it took some convincing for her to accept his appointment to the state school board. 

“In the beginning, I couldn’t get Cathy across the finish line on this, but I think she’ll do an amazing job and so she’s fired up now and ready to go and do the job,” Jim Justice said. 

Charleston Gazette-Mail reporter Sierra Marling asked the governor during his briefing what he would say to any “inevitable accusations of nepotism” regarding him appointing his wife to the state school board. 

Jim Justice said he had trouble hearing the question and C.J. Harvey, his director of communications, said there may have been technical difficulties. 

The governor then, however, did seem to offer a response.

“All I can say is Cathy is super qualified. And for crying out loud, you know, there’s no point in beating up Cathy. She’s given everything she could possibly give,” Jim Justice said. “Like I said, I had to really, really work hard to talk her into this.”

Cathy Justice is a lifelong West Virginia resident and a 1975 graduate of Marshall University, where she studied secondary education. Professionally, she previously served as the president of Comer Electric, Inc., a company founded by her parents, according to her official biography.

“I am honored to take on this role and to continue working to support our wonderful students, teachers, and families,” Cathy Justice said in a Thursday news release. “Every child in West Virginia deserves a safe, welcoming environment where they can thrive. I look forward to contributing to the Board and helping our education system grow stronger for everyone.”

The first lady currently serves as the president of the state advisory council for Communities In Schools, a national nonprofit program focused on drop-out prevention that provides students in schools with resources they need to be successful. Through Communities In Schools, Cathy Justice helps head the Friends With Paws program, which has so far placed more than 40 therapy dogs in schools throughout the state.

CHARLESTON, W.Va. (AP) — West Virginia Gov. Jim Justice appointed his wife to the state school board about a day after a decisive victory in a U.S. Senate race against his Democratic opponent.

The 73-year-old Republican governor announced First Lady Cathy Justice’s appointment to the West Virginia State Board of Education during a press briefing on Thursday, after submitting a letter notifying the Secretary of State’s office Wednesday.

“She’ll do an amazing job,” Justice said. “And really, truly, Cathy loves kids beyond good sense.”

Cathy Justice, 71, will serve a nine-year term on the board, taking over the seat of Dr. Daniel Snavely, a Huntington cardiologist whose term expired this week. Justice said his wife wasn’t initially sure about the position but that after some convincing, “she’s fired up now and ready to go and do the job.”

When asked by a reporter about whether nepotism played a role in the appointment, Justice insisted Cathy Justice is more than qualified.

“How could you possibly think that Cathy is not just covered up with qualifications?” he asked.

Justice cited the work of his wife, who earned a degree in secondary education at Marshall University, within the state’s Communities In Schools program. As first lady, Cathy Justice helped the nonprofit school dropout prevention program launch in 2018 and expand to 285 schools in all of the state’s 55 counties.

According to the governor’s office, West Virginia is the only state in the nation to have the program operating in every county.

Cathy Justice also spearheaded the Friends With Paws program, which puts certified therapy dogs in schools to provide comfort and companionship to students. More than 40 such dogs have been placed throughout the state.

“There’s no way that I could find someone — no matter where they are — that’s more qualified than Cathy Justice for this job,” Justice told reporters.

Cathy Justice has taught as a substitute teacher in Raleigh County schools and is involved in a elementary school program affiliated with a local church. She previously served as president of Comer Electric, Inc., a business started by her father and mother. She also served on the board of directors for First National Bank in Ronceverte for five years.

In 2007, former Democratic Gov. Joe Manchin — whose seat Justice is taking over in the Senate — appointed his wife Gayle Manchin to the state school board. Gayle Manchin, a former Marion County public school teacher, was later elected the board’s president for a two-year term.

In January, Justice will be going to Washington, D.C., to start a six-year term as a U.S. senator after easily besting Democrat Glenn Elliott.

A businessman whose family owns dozens of companies and the historic resort The Greenbrier, Justice has in the past donated his $150,000 a year salary as governor to the Communities In Schools program.

West Virginia starting quarterback Garrett Greene is doubtful to play against Cincinnati which means that redshirt sophomore Nicco Marchiol would draw yet another start.

Marchiol played well in the road win at Arizona completing 18-22 passes for 198 yards with 2 touchdowns and zero turnovers which didn’t come as a surprise to his teammates.

Sophomore wide receiver Traylon Ray hauled in a pair of catches for 78 yards, including a 54-yard touchdown against the Wildcats, and expressed complete confidence in either of the signal callers. Marchiol is a little bit bigger than Greene and is a lefty which makes things a little different, but the chemistry is there with either.

“We’ve worked with both of them for so long and so much so there’s not really much of a difference for me and our receivers,” Ray said. “You see No. 6 back there, as a receiver, your job’s to go and catch it. You see No. 8 back there, got the same job.”

This stems back to when Marchiol first arrived in the program and the focus has been to develop a connection with him on top of what was already in place with Greene. So anytime that the Mountaineers were throwing with Greene, they also did the same with Marchiol.

“We knew if we put No. 8 in he’s going to be able to make the same throws Garrett makes. He’s going to be able to get out of the pocket like Garrett does because Nicco’s a pretty big guy,” Ray said. “So, it was relief just because, yeah, we don’t want to see No. 6 go down. But at the same time, we know No. 8 can back them up.”

Throughout his time with the program, Marchiol has shown a knack for making throws in the quick game such as slant routes and working off run-pass-options, which works well with Ray’s overall skill set.

But he also was the target on a deep ball and Ray also hasn’t noticed a major difference in that aspect between the two signal callers either. That was on display against the Wildcats and is something that Marchiol is going to need to continue to improve if he is called upon against the Bearcats.

“Both of them have amazing arms, strong arms,” he said.

Teams have continued to play man coverage against the Mountaineers and Ray has prided himself on being able to get off that and create separation which wasn’t always the case last year. A big reason for that hasn’t been when it comes to getting off the line, but instead having the strength when in phase to absorb contact.

“But now, I got a little bit more muscle on me, got a little bit more weight on me. So, once I get down the field, I can just get them off of me and then use my speed to just create more separation,” Ray said.