CHARLESTON, W. Va., — On Wednesday May 25th, 2022, the inaugural meeting of the West Virginia First Responder Honor Board was held via Google Meet. At 10:00 a.m., Deputy Cabinet Secretary of West Virginia Homeland Security, Rob Cunningham, called the meeting to order and was joined by more than 30 attendees in welcoming honorary attendee, Mr. Hershel "Woody" Williams, the highly decorated Congressional Medal of Honor recipient, who was instrumental in the creation of the Board.
The purpose of the inaugural meeting of the West Virginia First Responder Honor Board was to introduce the logistics of the board and explain procedures, to nominate and vote on a chairperson, to accept nominations for the Medal of Valor recipients, to vote on the Medal of Valor recipients, and to establish a tentative date for the next Honor Board meeting.
Lieutenant T.J. Dillion of the Hurricane Police Department was voted as Chairperson of the Honor Board, and presided over the remainder of the meeting. During the meeting, five nominees were presented to the Board, evaluated, and voted upon. The five confirmed nominees will be referred to the President of the Senate and the Speaker of the House so that each respective body can confirm the awards during the 2023 legislative session. Once the bodies vote, the names will be sent to the Governor for approval. At the conclusion of the meeting, the Board voted to allow Mr. Woody Williams to present the Medals of Valor at the inaugural presentation ceremony, which will occur following the 2023 legislative session.