Business Beat: FAME celebrates apprentices; City Holding appoints Hoyer to board

Students in the Kanawha Valley FAME chapter will learn advanced manufacturing maintenance skills such as repairing, troubleshooting and maintaining equipment, including automated control systems, process control systems, hydraulic and pneumatic systems, conveyors, robots and application-specific machinery, according to the release.

After selection, apprentices enter paid, part-time employment with Niterra North America, Nucor Steel West Virginia, Service Wire Company or Toyota West Virginia.

“West Virginia’s best day’s are ahead of it with opportunities in advanced manufacturing,� Jim Crenshaw, cold mill maintenance manager for Nucor Steel West Virginia, said during the program. “Nucor Steel’s motto is ‘be part of something bigger,’ and I hope you know — as the second cohort selected for the Kanawha Valley FAME Chapter — you’re a part of something bigger.�

Upon completion, the program participants will have two years of work experience, an opportunity for debt-free schooling through the WV Invest grant and BridgeValley’s grant-sponsored ASCEND program, officials said.

Hoyer appointed to City Holding board of directors

ÂÒÂ×ÄÚÉä-based City Holding Company, the parent company of City National Bank of West Virginia, has appointed James Hoyer to its board of directors.

Hoyer served as The Adjutant General for the State of West Virginia from 2011 until 2021, providing command guidance to the West Virginia Army and Air National Guard of more than 6,500 citizen soldiers and airmen. He also led the state’s Joint Interagency Task Force and response to multiple emergencies and major security events, including the 2016 flood and the COVID pandemic.

According to a news release from the company, Hoyer’s appointment is effective immediately and he will stand for election by the shareholders at the next annual meeting scheduled for April 2025. This increases the number of directors from 13 to 14. Hoyer’s term would end in 2028.

Hoyer received his undergraduate degree from the University of ÂÒÂ×ÄÚÉä. He has a master’s degree in management and public administration from the West Virginia Graduate College, a master’s in strategic studies from the US Army War College and a Certificate in Identity Management from the Naval Post Graduate School.

Hoyer currently serves as vice president for economic innovation for West Virginia University. He also serves as a senior advisor for the Civil Military Innovation Institute and is a member of the board of advisors for Fidelis New Energy LLC.

“His extensive leadership experience as well as his risk management experience will complement the expertise of City’s current Board,� Dallas Kayser, Chairman of the Board of City Holding Company, said in the release.

City Holding Company is a $6.3 billion bank holding company. City National operates 97 branches across West Virginia, Kentucky, Virginia and Ohio.