Support the Parkersburg Area Community Foundation and all of the good work it does in our community.

The Community Sponsors Campaign invests in the Foundation's vision of a vibrant region and provides ongoing support for the area's arts and culture, community improvement, education, health and wellness, human services, recreation, youth development, and so much more!

Your gift today enables the Foundation to do more to improve our region’s quality of life and to brighten the outlook for our area’s future.

• Partner in Philanthropy: $1,750 & Above
• Regional Sponsor: $1,250 - $1,749
• Area Champion: $750 - $1,249
• Community Builder: $500 - $749
• Benefactor: $250 - $499
• Associate: $100 - $249
• Friend: Up to $99

This fund was created by the Doddridge County Community Foundation affiliate to support charitable needs in the community. Grants from the fund are awarded annually to organizations serving Doddridge County residents through the Foundation's Community Action Grant Program.

The Little Kanawha Area Community Foundation affiliate created the Gilmer County Grantmaking Fund to support the charitable needs of Gilmer County. Grants from the fund are awarded through the Foundation's Community Action Grant program.

This fund was established by the Ritchie County Community Foundation to provide support for charitable projects that benefit the county.

This non-permanent fund is designed to support the Lion Club of Parkersburg’s work of providing assistance for children with low vision or vision impairment.

Parkersburg Bridge Partners recently made a $15,000 donation to the Parkersburg Area Community Foundation (PACF). The creation of a donor advised fund with PACF will allow Parkersburg Bridge Partners (PBP) to award grants to organizations and causes that are important to the company and community.

This is one of PBP’s first charitable investments in the Mid-Ohio Valley. With construction on the rehabilitation of Parkersburg Memorial Bridge scheduled to begin this month, the company is following through on its commitment to make long-term investments in the community.

“We are happy to partner with the Parkersburg Area Community Foundation on this charitable giving fund. We can make a larger impact on the area by working with the foundation and recommending grants through their process. We look forward to learning more about the area’s non-profit organizations, their needs and how we can support them moving forward,” said Ken Szeliga, Vice President of Construction and Operations for Parkersburg Bridge Partners.

Interested applicants can learn more about the donor advised grant process and apply for donations through the foundation’s website, www.pacfwv.com.

“We applaud Parkersburg Bridge Partners for its corporate commitment to strengthening our community’s critical infrastructure, both in the form of its work to rehabilitate the Memorial Bridge, as well as through its commitment to building a company donor advised fund with the Parkersburg Area Community Foundation. Since 1963, the PACF has worked to build lasting resources for the betterment of the Mid-Ohio Valley; we welcome this new partnership to support PBP’s charitable goals. With its support for the new advised fund, the PBP team clearly demonstrates its long-term dedication to our region’s benefit and its desire to be a good neighbor. An advised fund will enable PBP to easily and efficiently invest in the social good of our community,” said PACF’s Executive Director, Judy Sjostedt Ritchie.

About Parkersburg Bridge Partners

Parkersburg Bridge Partners (PBP) is the owner of Parkersburg Memorial Bridge. A subsidiary of United Bridge Partners, PBP will fund, design, build, operate and maintain Memorial Bridge. PBP has assembled a national-caliber design, engineering, construction and operations team with substantial experience successfully delivering bridge projects across the United States.

For more information about the Memorial Bridge project, residents are encouraged to visit www.parkersburgbridgepartners.com or follow PBP on Facebook and LinkedIn.

Irene Conaway and her husband, Bertram Conaway, created the A. Bertram and Irene J. Conaway Scholarship for Wood County Christian School to support graduating seniors from Wood County Christian School as they pursue post-secondary education.

Irene was born in Salem, West Virginia and graduated from Bridgeport High School. She went into nursing in 1944, when hospitals still ran the nursing education programs. However, she did not work as an RN following her first marriage to Harry Moats. She worked part-time jobs doing such things as administering TB tests.

Bert was born in Ritchie County and graduated from Harrisville High School. He served in Germany with the Army from 1945 - 1947. Following his military service, he worked in the oil fields for Pennzoil until his retirement. He now raises Black Angus cattle and is active in the VFW.

Irene and Bert met at St. Luke's United Methodist Church. She had been a friend of his wife but, she explains, did not know him very well until after his wife had passed away in 1996. The couple married in 1999.

Bert and Irene were "amazed that Wood County Christian had no scholarships at all to offer their students." Because of this, they were inspired to create the fund with the Foundation. The advantage of creating the fund at the PACF, they noted, was that it enables students to attend the post-secondary educational institution of their choice, depending on their particular interests and career plans.

The A.F. and Ethel Marple Scholarship was created through a bequest from Ethel Marple. Ethel Marple (maiden name Bell) was born in the early 1900s and grew up living on French Creek in Pleasants County. Before marrying her husband, Floyd, she taught school for a few years in a one-room country school. Ethel and her husband were active in the oil and gas industry in and round the St. Marys area for more than 60 years. Ethel enjoyed hunting, fishing, and traveling domestically.

According to her family, "Ethel's life began on the farm and it wasn't until sometime in the 1940's that she and Floyd moved into St. Marys - about two blocks from the high school. Ethel was very independent. After Floyd passed away, she continued to live by herself for more than 20 years until the age of 93. She was a joy to converse with as she had a sense of humor and a sharp mind."

Ethel had a love for numbers and believed that mathematics was a very important subject to understand and to be able to use. Ethel continued to do her own bookkeeping and accounting until she was into her nineties. She used to sit at her dining room table and work on her books for hours at a time. This scholarship, which honors Ethel and her husband Floyd, helps students who have that same love for mathematics to pursue their education in this subject. The fund provides support to graduating seniors from St. Marys High School who plan to pursue post-secondary education majoring or minoring in math or a math-related field.

Early in the 20th Century, a group of community minded individuals realized the town of Williamstown, West Virginia, was in need of a local bank. On October 1, 1919, these men met and incorporated a new bank. This bank would be known as the Farmers and Mechanics National Bank of Williamstown.

The newly organized bank opened for business in December of 1919. The first Board of Directors consisted of F.L. Fenton, J.J. Lorentz, E.E. Lane, George Pugh, M. Richter, Frank Lane, D. Reynolds, O.D. King, and B.F. Riggs. The bank's first officers were F.L. Fenton, President; E.E. Lane, Vice President; and J.J. Lorentz, Cashier.

In the year of 1960, controlling interest in the Bank was purchased by A.V. Criss and Douglas Adams. After operating together for several years, the interest of Douglas Adams was purchased by A.V. Criss, Jr. Mr. Criss, Jr. passed away in 1983 and his wife, L. Gay Criss, assumed the position of controlling shareholder of the Bank, until her death in May 2008. The Criss family remains heavily involved in the Bank.

To honor the Criss family, Williamstown Bank established this scholarship fund with the Parkersburg Area Community Foundation in 2008. This fund provides scholarship support to graduating seniors from Williamstown High School who have an interest in pursuing a career in finance, accounting, banking, business or a related field.