Leadership Wheeling 2008 Kicks Off

By SHELLEY HANSON
WHEELING — Zachary Shutler isn’t moving away like many of his peers have over the years.

He plans to stay and be a leader — at least that’s what he and 21 others expect to learn how to do during the Leadership Wheeling program. The class of 2008 gathered Thursday at an Ohio Valley Medical Center conference room to kick off the program held annually by the Wheeling Area Chamber of Commerce. On 14 days through May, business people, educators, health care officials and nonprofit workers will learn the ins and outs of working in the Wheeling region and Mountain State.

Along with seminars on topics such as team building, government affairs, the legal system, economic development and media, the class also will tour Consol Energy Inc.’s McElroy Mine near Moundsville and DeNoon Lumber Co. in Bergholz, Ohio. A trip to Charleston also is slated for a meeting with legislators and Supreme Court justices, said Terry Sterling, president of the chamber of commerce.

Shutler is an assistant principal at Triadelphia Middle School in the Ohio County Schools system.

‘‘This is a great opportunity that I couldn’t pass up,’’ Shutler said. ‘‘The more I know, the more I can help.’’

Originally from Colerain, Shutler said he first taught at River High School in Hannibal and then at Warwood School before becoming an assistant principal at Triadelphia. His father, Ed, has operated Shutler grocery in Martins Ferry for decades, he noted.

‘‘I don’t want to leave the area. I want to stay and raise a family here,’’ Shutler said.

Sterling noted since the program’s inception in 1987, 500 people have graduated and 70 percent of those graduates have stayed in the Ohio Valley.

Participant Daniel Kostrub said he recently moved from Grundy, Va., to Wheeling to work with the law firm Steptoe and Johnson.

‘‘I want to meet new people and learn about the Ohio Valley and Wheeling area,’’ Kostrub said.