Virginia has been a resident of the Charleston area for 45 years.  She grew up in Hickory, NC and attended NC State University, where she received her accounting degree.  After graduation, she found her first job in Raleigh and, as Virginia likes to say, she met this “West Virginia guy.”  Marriage followed, but country roads were calling him back home, so the move to West Virginia was made in 1978. 

   

Virginia earned her CPA license at the age of 25, so she found employment with the firm of Arnett and Foster in Charleston.  In 1984, after the birth of their first daughter, Virginia decided to form her own sole-practitioner accounting practice and work from her home – a move that was quite novel at the time since it was before the internet, powerful computers and accounting or tax software. This decision was based on a strong desire to continue to work in the accounting profession and serve her clients with their accounting needs all while taking on the role of being a new mother. 

  

With the arrival of two more daughters, Virginia was determined to be involved in their lives and activities by volunteering for parent organizations, classroom activities, girl scout meetings, etc. All this time she balanced her thriving accounting practice of over 100 individual and business clients with personal and professional attention. 

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As her daughters grew older, Virginia started to participate in more professional activities, taking on active roles with the West Virginia Society of CPAs.  Their programs had provided much support for her accounting practice, such as a roundtable meeting in Charleston that benefited the needs of small practitioners.  These were so helpful that she joined the Small Practitioner Committee and in 2010 was named its chairperson.  In this position, she decided the meeting in Charleston needed to be expanded to be offered for the benefit of all small practitioners around the state. Thus, she developed regional meetings to be held annually in Wheeling, Parkersburg, Lewisburg and Charleston. 

     

In 2011 Virgnia was named to the WV Society of CPAs Board of Directors.  She progressed through officer positions and in 2016 was named the 98th President of the Society, the 5th woman to hold that position.   During her tenure, she emphasized the representation of small practitioners around the state and advocated the accounting profession as a great career for college students - especially women.  

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After her term, Virginia continued to serve on the Small Practitioner Committee to keep planning the annual roundtable meetings.  In 2022, Virginia was appointed by Governor Jim Justice to serve on the West Virginia Board of Accountancy, which oversees the licensing of CPAs in the state. In June 2023, she was honored by the Society with a Life Membership award for her dedication over the years to the Society and the accounting profession.    

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Virginia has now maintained her accounting practice for 40 years.  She has also volunteered over the years for many treasurer and board positions for her church, schools and non-profits, most recently   with Faith in Action of the Greater Kanawha Valley.  However, if she was to count her proudest achievements, they would be her 43-year marriage, her three amazing daughters, stepson, and eight wonderful grandchildren.