June 2023

People First Conference

The 30th Annual People First of West Virginia Self-Advocacy Conference will be held in person at Jackson’s Mill 4-H Camp from September 6 through 8th, 2023. The keynote speaker will be Julian Wang a self-advocate and Peer Advocate for The Arc of Lorimar County in Fort Collins, Colorado.

Classes as chosen by the People First Advisory Board will include First Aid, Depression, Anxiety and Self-Care, What if you have been hacked?, Growing Your Self Advocacy Skills, Future Planning, Independence, Fire Safety, Health and Fitness, Improvisation, Cooking, Photography & Videos, Sign Language, Art Class, Going to a counselor, The differences people have.

For a flyer with all of the information, Click Here.

Please register online by clicking HERE. A paper registration form can be obtained if need be. To get a paper form, please contact Alexis Ullmann at: alexis.ullmann@thearcmov.org

Legislative Matters Now! with M&M!

The May episode of Legislative Matters NOW! with M&M premiered on May 31st. In this episode, Melissa Southall and Morgan Spicer talk to Seth DiStefano with the WV Center on Budget and Policy and returning to the Advocate in Action Segment to talk about new things happening in her life is Becky Spaulding. You can watch this episode or any past episode on the People First Youtube Page. Just Click Here to watch!

If you would like to be a guest on the show for either segment, contact Melissa and Morgan at: 304-422-3151 or email melissa.southall@peoplefirstwv.org or morgan.spicer@thearcmov.org

Wild and Wonderful

West Virginia June

Although people across the country still refer to West Virginia was “Western Virginia”, West Virginia was officially admitted as its own U.S. state on June 20, 1863. The area that comprises West Virginia was originally part of the British Virginia Colony (1607–1776) and the western part of the U.S. Commonwealth of Virginia (1776-1788), and state of Virginia (1788–1863). Western Virginia became sharply divided over the issue of secession from the Union, leading to the separation from Virginia, and formalized by West Virginia’s admittance to the Union as a new state in 1863. West Virginia was one of five Civil War border states.

West Virginia’s nickname is known as the “Mountain State” due to its landscape being largely covered by the Appalachian Mountains. On March 7, 2014, the West Virginia Legislature approved a resolution to make “Take Me Home, Country Roads” an official state song of West Virginia, alongside three other pieces. The rights to the song was purchased by the WV State Tourism office in 2017.