January 2023 Council Cast Narration

LINDSAY, JJN MULTIMEDIA:
Welcome to CouncilCast, a podcast from Coalfield Development, where we highlight moments from our monthly gathering, Coalfield Council Day. It's a time for reflection, team building, and celebrating the personal and professional developments of our Crew Members.

This is Season Two, Episode One, highlighting our Council Day on Friday, January 27, 2023.

For the first Council Day of 2023, the Coalfield Development crew gathered at our headquarters at West Edge Factory for a day full of team activities, thoughtful group discussions, and crew milestone celebrations. CEO Brandon Dennison kicked off the event with a welcome message and introductions for our new crew members. He took a moment to review our mission and share the symbolism behind our logo.

Coalfield’s logo is made of three simple, colorful triangles, but its meaning is far more complex. Each triangle is a delta symbol, which signifies change, and each is a different color: brown, blue, or red. All three colors symbolize a way Coalfield impacts the Appalachian economy. This is also extended to our crew hat color designations, where each color represents their roles in the organization. The brown, he said, represents the soil and grit in our efforts to build from the ground up. These hats are reserved for WRAPS trainees.

BRANDON DENNISON
A lot of the work we do, it's in old factories. It's on a former mountaintop removal site. It's out in the empty building. It's in a high tunnel with our hands in the dirt. Coalfield Development is not afraid to get our hands dirty. In fact, we love it, we celebrate it. It's very real. It's very tangible. It's from the ground up, it's in the trenches.

LINDSAY CRANCE
The blue, he said, represents the larger goals that drive us. Blue hats are reserved for staff.

BRANDON DENNISON
Big Sky Blue Sky vision. So although we do really hard work day in and day out, it's towards a greater vision for a new Appalachian economy. So if you didn't have the blue to balance the brown, you would get very discouraged very quickly. You are leading and innovating at the tip of the spear, and proving what new economy is possible. And it starts to inspire other people to come and join you towards that bigger vision. And it builds a movement, not just one organization, but a whole movement, that brings change.

LINDSAY CRANCE
The red, he concluded, unifies both brown and blue deltas. Red hats are reserved for crew.

BRANDON DENNISON
The red is where these two things come together, the day by day grid, but the big vision, it comes together for action, and we move it forward. And it's read, because we liked it to be bold action. It's innovative work, and it's bold work.

That's what the logo is all about, and that's what you represent. That's what you are a part of. You're not just an employee of some company. When you come to Coalfield Development, you become a leader in your community and you become the embodiment of that vision and of this logo. And so congratulations to everyone who's coming on board and we're happy to have you on the team.

LINDSAY CRANCE
For the first event of the day, we took turns sharing recent personal and professional highlights. Since we last met in December, Ethan Chandler earned his GED, Dreama Buck, Professional and Academic Development Coordinator, joined the West Edge Advisory Board, and several enterprises welcomed new faces.

The new hires included seven new WRAPS trainees: Nate Stevens, Zach Watts, William Cassady, Frank Collins, Brandon Bragg, Josh Maynard, and Tanner Kitchen; five returning crew: Joe Johnson, Joe Mitchell, Steven Spry, Jennifer Pudder, and Amanda Greene, and three new staff members: Adrian Sayles, Travis Edwards, and Jeremiah Devote.

We also celebrated the graduation of three WRAPS crew members: Kavon Treleven, James Cornett, and Braydon McFeely. Both James Cornett and Kavon Treleven will be returning to Coalfield as crew members. Kelli Crabtree, Chief Human Development Officer, presented the honors.

KELLI CRABTREE
So everyone understands what it means to be a WRAPS graduate: These these fellows have completed six months of paid on-the-job training, and have engaged in personal development or personal development curriculum or personal development journal, the third week activities they have earned, at least but in many cases, a lot more than four certificates and they have set and achieved numerous milestones just to be able to have successful employment currently and moving forward. So it's not a small task to be a WRAPS graduate and so we're just really proud of y'all.

LINDSAY CRANCE
Kelli invited each graduate’s crew chiefs and colleagues to discuss their journeys. The first graduate, Braydon McFeely, has spent the last six months working in maintenance. Braydon will soon be joining Marshall University’s Bill Noe Flight School.

BRAYDON MCFEELY
The experience I got here was useful and something I can use every day in my life, and it's just nice. The people I worked with are fun to be around.

LINDSAY CRANCE
Casey McCann, Chief Real Estate Officer, said was excited to see Braydon excel in his next chapter at the flight school.

CASEY MCCANN
The competition to be able to get into this flight school alone is something that should just be celebrated to the highest extent, so I just think that is just an outstanding accomplishment.

(cheers)

LINDSAY CRANCE
Josiah Hannah, Personal Development Coordinator, praised Braydon’s leadership and skills.

JOSIAH HANNAH
This is the type of person that is a leader already automatically. That combination of traits really says something about you. To me, you're really a unique person, you're really somebody that I have a lot of confidence in moving forward.

LINDSAY CRANCE
The second WRAPS graduate, James Cornett, has been with the construction crew at West Edge since he started at Coalfield. James said he looks forward to broadening his education and labor skills over the next few years. Eventually, he hopes to open his own business.

JAMES CORNETT
I get to come here and enjoy my job. I get to do what I'm good at, while I'm training to do what I want to do later in life. Because I actually have plans to eventually open up my own business for networking, computer repair, and I get to go to school for that.

LINDSAY CRANCE
Though he has learned many valuable skills as a WRAPS trainee, James said his favorite part of the journey has been the relationships he’s formed during his time at Coalfield.

JAMES CORNETT
The connections that I've formed here, because before I came here, you know, I didn't like being around people. I had complete social anxiety, and I just did not want to be around anyone. But coming here, I was forced to work in a crew. Now, I'm not forced to work in that crew, I get to work with my crew every day. I get to basically just have fun with family, and that's basically what we are.

LINDSAY CRANCE
Jennifer Pudder, a fellow WRAPS graduate and James’ partner, said she was so proud of James’ commitment to his goals and recovery.

JENNIFER PUDDER
Well, babe, I remember when we met in April, we met at a meeting. I was very impressed by your commitment to your recovery. And just like your commitment to recovery, you've been committed to going to school, to working here and becoming a crew member. You tackle everything with the same intensity that you tackle your recovery, and I'm very proud of you. And I'm proud to call you mine.

LINDSAY CRANCE
Joe Mitchell, from Mountain Mindful, said he knew James was on the brink of great things.

JOE MITCHELL
I knew you had the determination to be where you are right now, and as I always keep encouraging you like, 'Just stay doing what you're doing, stay doing what you're doing, you're gonna, you're gonna be prosperous.' But when I see how serious you was with your recovery and all the negative, like anything negative around, you make sure you get away from it. For that, you're a better man now and gonna be a better man in the future. And I have nothing but love for you and I want you to grow and never stop growing.

LINDSAY CRANCE
Zach Durban, Crew Chief of Revitalize Appalachia, said James had overcome so much during his time at Coalfield.

ZACH DURBAN
In six months, I'm pretty proud of all the things that you've accomplished since then. You had a lot of obstacles and a lot of hurdles and you've gotten yourself established, and I think that's something to celebrate.

LINDSAY CRANCE
Josiah Hannah added that he was always amazed by James’ unique methods of working and problem solving.

JOSIAH HANNAH
My favorite part of being in my position, what I get to do is I get to kind of hear these little idiosyncrasies and things that make somebody special. And it's just been a real pleasure working with you. It really has, it's been a joy.

LINDSAY CRANCE
The third graduate, Kavon Treleven, a WRAPS trainee on the Revitalize Highwall crew, will also continue as a Highwall crew member. Kavon is currently enrolled in Southern Community and Technical College, where he plans to study cybersecurity. Kavon said one of his key takeaways from the WRAPS trainee program was the exposure to new experiences he may not have otherwise tried.

KAVON TRELEVEN
I was supposed to be on the construction side at Highwall, but there wasn't a lot of things to do yet. So I got to really get my hands in the farming side. So, learning about, like, the whole ecosystem of the, from the grass to the animals, and we feed the animals and everything was very eye opening. And just watching how things grow has been just awesome to watch. And learning how to process those things in this whole circle of life kind of deal was very cool to take part in and experience, because that's a life skill.

LINDSAY CRANCE
Eventually, Kavon said the Highwall crew had opportunities to do construction on the site. Now, he feels confident in the skills he’s picked up.

KAVON TRELEVEN
As time progressed, we were able to insulate an office building for ourselves so that we can get out of the cold and everything. So, being able to just insulate and put up drywall, things like that, those are things that I haven't done before. That's something I can do now if I need to or need to help somebody. I have that skill in my arsenal to go help.

LINDSAY CRANCE
Kavon said he’s looking forward to continuing his Coalfield journey as a crew member, where he’ll learn valuable skills and, in the process, learn more about himself, too.

KAVON TRELEVEN
I feel like it’s gonna challenge me in ways that I'm not sure I'm ready for, but I'm gonna tackle it head first.

LINDSAY CRANCE
Christian Jones, Crew Chief of Revitalize Highwall, said he was thrilled to continue working with his friend.

CHRISTIAN JONES
We could not wait to offer you this position. I've known you for a while. You're just a stable stand up guy. You've got a solid work ethic. I know that comes from how you're raised. I love your family. I love you, man. I honestly can't wait to see what you do with this opportunity because I know you're grateful for it, and I know you want it and I know you're going after it. And looking forward to you being a pillar for our crew. It's really great to have you, especially knowing you're gonna be with us for at least a couple more years.

LINDSAY CRANCE
Casey McCann said Kavon’s leadership skills will make him an excellent mentor for incoming crew members as they expand Revitalize’s projects.

CASEY MCCANN
You have really strong leadership qualities in you that I feel, that's what gives a lot of confidence to that, I'll see that this project will go forward and get done and done correctly. I was very thankful that you know that you're sticking with this, and that this is going to give us a platform to be able to jump from and you know, Christian, you're gonna need all the help you're gonna get here. So I'm so glad Kavon is here to help to support that.

LINDSAY CRANCE
To conclude the WRAPS graduation, Brandon Dennision read the graduates a heartfelt message of gratitude.

BRANDON DENNISON
Congratulations on this significant achievement. You have learned how to be a reliable, productive, committed part of the Appalachian workforce. You have proven you are ready for professional success. This is your accomplishment. You have made this happen for yourself. All Coalfield Development has done is to create space to provide support. So, as you move forward in your next chapter, we hope you will do so with confidence in your ability to set goals, meet goals and exceed goals.

The projects you have advanced during your six months are examples of serving others, and they are examples of how we rebuild the Appalachian economy from the ground up. Congratulations again on becoming a Coalfield Development raps graduate. In addition to the success of this graduation, we look forward to celebrating many successes to come. Great job.

LINDSAY CRANCE
Marilyn Wrenn, Chief Development Officer, also passed a significant milestone of her own as she marked her seven year anniversary with Coalfield Development. Prior to joining Coalfield, Marilyn had spent much of her career in community and economic development. Through her work with the Center for Economic Options, she crossed paths with Brandon around the time he was conceptualizing his vision for Coalfield.

MARILYN WRENN
There's such a dynamic quality to the work that we do. And it feels new, all the time, that the year slipped by very quickly. There's both a beauty in that, and then also a need for you to constantly remind myself that these are, these are the years of our life. And, you know, as you get older, as I find myself in hitting the the mid 50s, you know, you start taking an assessment of you know, where you are and whether or not you know, is this what you want to do, quite possibly for the rest of your career for the rest of my career. 

And it's often on that anniversary date that I asked myself that. And the answer is consistently Yes. Because it's exciting to be part of, you know, this adventure and adventure that's doing the community and economic development work that I've been involved in for a collection of closer to 32 years with various organizations. So there's really no place else I'd rather be and no other work I'd rather be doing.

LINDSAY CRANCE
Marilyn said she feels fortunate to be involved with Coalfield’s consistent growth and endless potential.

MARILYN WRENN
I don't think that too many people have the privilege of watching either their idea or another person's idea pretty much from the moment of inception through fruition. I think that it's a privilege to be able to experience that. And I think that that's what we've seen here at Coalfield because of the vision that Brandon carries and is able to articulate so well, and is able to get people to rally around. And it's exceptional.

LINDSAY CRANCE
Through her role, Marilyn said she has been able to see firsthand Coalfield’s impact in our lives, as well as our communities.

MARILYN WRENN
Being able to spend my time and my career, helping to build that and helping to, you know, in my own way, articulate that vision to different groups of people, different stakeholders, has been definitely a highlight of what I've done. And I think that it's taken me places I would not have gone naturally the, the deep work with individuals with people is, you know, I work primarily on the level of community, not so much the level of individual.

I don't know if I would have gained such insight into how people approach deep transitions on an individual level. I've not, I've not had to experience that personally, in a lot of ways. But it's given me insights that have helped me to make connections to, you know, outside stakeholders and funders to connect the through line between an individual's transformation and a community's transformation to a broader economic transformation.

LINDSAY CRANCE
She added that she was proud of Coalfield for many reasons, especially our commitment to not only reaching our goals, but exceeding them.

MARILYN WRENN
I'm proud of Coalfields's adherence to its culture and vision. I am really proud of the fact that it's been able to achieve what it's achieved. In an unwavering and in some cases, uncompromising way.  It's unblinking in the mission that we want to accomplish, and I'm really proud of that, even with different folks that arne’t from around here that might be skeptical of our approaches or might be curious about why we make the choices we do. We’ve always been able to explain it, and I’m really proud of that because it's a testament to the thoughtfulness and the energy that's been poured into making sure that the strategies are sound, which is what you have to do to have any type of longevity in this sector.

Some nonprofits never make it this far, in the fact that we have just been becoming stronger and stronger. And, you know, of course, the build back better award has put an exclamation point on a lot of our approaches in terms of recognition that they that people are interested in, and they want to see how far we can take it. I'm proud to have been a part of that.

LINDSAY CRANCE
Marilyn said she and her colleagues have many exciting developments on the horizon. Specifically, they hope to translate our data analysis metrics into comprehensive, quantitative information.

MARILYN WRENN
It's become more and more crucial for us to be able  to, in qualitative terms, in quantitative terms, explain what we're doing. Right now we're working with Ohio University on a project to help expand our ability to articulate what our social return on investment is. So working with OU on that project is something that I think in the next couple of years, we'll have good proxies to determine the value of our different interventions. And I'm very excited about that.

LINDSAY CRANCE
Following WRAPS graduation, Brandon expanded our discussion on Coalfield’s 2023 workplace theme: LISTENING, an acronym for Leaning Into Sustainable Transformations Energizing New Innovation and New Growth. Several crew and staff members shared their interpretations of the theme and its significance.

Dreama Buck said listening is all about making the intentional effort to hear someone, not just listen to react.

DREAMA BUCK
One thing that always stands out to me about the word listening, is that it's different than hearing. You can hear what someone says. But if you aren't listening, you'll miss what's really going on. For me, it's intention. Especially folks like me and everybody in my family who have ADHD, ADHD. You have to intentionally focus, you have to intentionally be present, you have to put forth a bigger effort than you would if you're just hearing what someone is saying.

LINDSAY CRANCE
Ryan Stoner, Chief Operating Officer, said the theme felt appropriate given Coalfield’s origins and emphasis on involving and listening to communities and people we work with.

RYAN STONER
The approach that caught my attention coming to Coalfield as an employee early on, was that listening was the first thing we did when we entered a community. And I say we now but like that was what, again, as I was observing from the outside coming into the organization, like that approach is what creates trust.

So you're going into an Appalachian community that has probably had ups and downs of experiences where people have offered great things and then not followed through on it. Luke reminds people here — Luke and Gina do — all the time as they give tours here, like, Luke will say, 'This is the first thing that they said they were going to do eight years ago when I went to the Woman's Club, and like eight years later, here it is.' Right.

But it started with listening to the community to say, this is what we think we need here. This is what we think would add value to Westmoreland. And what we all get to live and experience and see take shape all the time is now a product of that initial listening. But that's just like this community now there's dozens of communities but they've all started with listening.

LINDSAY CRANCE
Ethan Chandler said listening was a critical part of collaboration, especially in the workplace.

ETHAN CHANDLER
When I think of the word listening, I think of communication like, if we don't communicate, then how can we accomplish what we do here as a team and as a company in Coalfield? And I think listening plays a big part of that, because if we don't listen to the people that are above us and to each other, then how can we accomplish you know what we're really striving for? And so that's what it means to me.

LINDSAY CRANCE
Joe Mitchell added that listening also shows others that they’re valued and that they’re not alone in whatever they’re facing.

JOE MITCHELL
You got to always take time to listen to a person's problem without talking. See, that's another thing: When you're talking, you're not listening. If the person comes to you with a problem, which at Coalfield is good, because you're always been listeners. That feels like a security blanket to a person, because they're hearing you.

You're small person, but you have a big organization listening to every problem that you have and trying to help you fix it. It gives you a strong feeling like, I got a company that I'm gonna go all in for, because they listen to my smallest problem and they give me the biggest solution ever.

LINDSAY CRANCE
Baleigh Epperly mentioned the importance of hearing what isn’t said.

BALEIGH EPPERLY
We have a big awareness of mental health here. I think when you hear listening, you think of words, like, what is someone saying to you? But there's also a way to listen to things that are unsaid. So like, I think something I do a lot is push myself. I say yes to more things that I should. Take on more work than I should. I think we're all guilty of that, because we want to see so much change.

So, listening to your mind, listening to your body. And sometimes the loudest person in the room or the person that's talking the most doesn't necessarily have the best things to say. I think even things that are unsaid you can listen to as well. So it's not just words that we're listening to.

LINDSAY CRANCE
Brandon agreed, adding that listening has paved the way for many of the opportunities each of us have had and continue to take.

BRANDON DENNISON
That was really good. Gets a lot of gears charted for me. What I love with the WRAPS graduation is the celebrations, all of us are different, all of us are unique. We're starting out. Our Coalfield story begins in very different places for each of us. And what we celebrate more than the outcome is the growth. It's the effort that you put in. It's the gumption and the grit that you live with. It's the not quitting, and it's the persisting. That's what we celebrate.

LINDSAY CRANCE
For the new crew, Brandon elaborated on the Build Back Better Regional Challenge grant and how it has enabled us to reach our sustainability goals and expand clean energy and economic development throughout southern West Virginia.

BRANDON DENNISON
Yes, we've been the coalfields for a long time, and we know that energy markets are changing and coal is not as dominant as it was. But we think we can stay an energy state if we can adapt and not be afraid of solar, wind, and hydro. There's jobs to be had there, and we want to lead the way and this coalition's about doing that, and we want to lead the way and this coalition's about doing that. It represents one of the largest investments in environmentally sustainable job creation in the history of the state of West Virginia, and you all made that possible.

LINDSAY CRANCE
As part of our group theme reflection, Brandon suggested that listening, like any other skill, requires time investments and practice.

BRANDON DENNISON
It's a skill, just like being a carpenter. Just like being a woodworker. Just like being a farmer. It's a skill that we have to learn and practice at home. But it's an internal skill, it's not so much with our hands. It's really with our mind and with our heart, with our spirit, learning how to lean in learning how to cut out the distractions, and really focus on who we're with and focus on what's being said or not said, and body language. It's a skill set.

I think asking really good questions is a key tool to be a good listener. What's a really good follow up question to go a little deeper, keep that conversation going, understand some of the nuances that might be in play. So really leaning into conversations, not just getting through them, you know, but really leaning into it.

LINDSAY CRANCE
Travis Edwards, one of the new staff additions, joined in on the conversation with some personal anecdotes.

TRAVIS EDWARDS
Anyone who has had any sort of friendship, relationship interaction with somebody for very long at all, you know, what it's like, when you're trying to speak to someone and let them know something, maybe it's something you're opening up or being vulnerable about. And then that person comes back with, ‘Okay, so let's do this.’ It's just going to fix it, right? So there's listening to respond, it’s almost like playing chess, right? You're you're just, you're just seeing what they're doing so that you can come up with a rebuttal, but instead of listening to respond, I think the thing that we have to be intentional about is listening to respect; listening to love.

LINDSAY CRANCE
James Cornett added that we should all be afforded the privilege of being listened to without judgment.

JAMES CORNETT
Seems to me at the end of the day listening just boils down to respect. When you sit down and talk to somebody, you look them in the eye, you don't talk, you listen, it's showing the person that you respect them enough to look them in the eye and just hear what they have to say.

LINDSAY CRANCE
He shared a helpful bit of advice he’d picked up during his recovery journey.

JAMES CORNETT
I learned a concept in recovery, it's: 'Focus on the message, not the messenger.' Because even if you don't like somebody, or if you don't like somebody, you're going to write them off and be like, 'Alright, I don't want to listen to them, whatever.' Just because you don't like somebody doesn't mean that they don't have something that you need to hear. When you focus on that message and not the person, you never know. They might say something that'll get you through another day.

LINDSAY CRANCE
Brandon said in order to truly listen, we must have a degree of interior stability. He cited a quote from Henri Nouwen, author of Bread for the Journey. “To listen is very hard, because it asks of us so much interior stability that we no longer need to provide ourselves by speeches, arguments, statements, or declarations. True listeners no longer have an inner need to make their presence known. They are free to receive, to welcome, to accept.”

Elice Hunley, Refresh Crew Chief, emphasized the importance and role of interior stability in listening to others and ourselves.

ELICE HUNLEY
There have definitely been times in my life where I have not had that at all. And I haven't been a good listener during those times, to others, to myself, to my body, to my needs. You can't have that interior stability without a mindfulness, without a self awareness. Like, you can't be worrying about the future or the past, you kind of have to be in the present to be listening.

LINDSAY CRANCE
Following lunch, we discussed employee handbook updates and collected ideas for improving and expanding our recycling efforts. For our final event, Council Hour, we broke into groups based on our roles to address ways to make operations more efficient and work through challenges together.

As the event concluded, Joe Johnson, who will soon be continuing his Coalfield journey as a full-time crew member, took a moment to share some of his excitement about receiving a red hat. He said he was eager to get back to Mountain Mindful in a new capacity.

JOE JOHNSON
What's next for me is to do better for myself and for other people around me. If they need help with anything, work, outside of work, I'm always here you know. I like to help here and there and influence other people's lives, because each and every day counts.

LINDSAY CRANCE
Joe said he has several goals for this new chapter, including helping and encouraging others and newcomers at Mountain Mindful. Learning a new skill can be tough, but having support from fellow crew and crew chiefs can make a difference, just like it did for Joe. 

JOE JOHNSON
There'll be times like, I might have a bad day, or anything like that. I've always actually supervised something that I don't know about. Or it might be a mistake that I might’ve made that I needed help fixing. That's why I said that, because I see them help people. Why not me? No, it put me in this position. Why not do the same for others?

LINDSAY CRANCE
Thanks for listening to CouncilCast, a monthly podcast from Coalfield  Development. This series is hosted and produced by JJN Multimedia. Subscribe to CouncilCast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts. If you like what you’re hearing, be sure to leave us a review. To support or learn more about our work creating resilient Appalachian communities and helping people unlock their full potential, power, and purpose, find us on social media or visit www dot coalfield hyphen development dot O R G. Thanks for joining us today. We’ll see you next month.