2025 WV Brownfield Award Winners

About the Awards

The WV Brownfield Awards recognize the hard work and achievements in brownfields redevelopment from across the state. These awards recognize individuals and communities who have made major contributions to the redevelopment of brownfields in West Virginia.  The West Virginia Brownfields Assistance Centers announce the award winners at the annual WV Brownfields & Main Street Conference.

Bucky Brownfield Award

The 2025 Bucky Brownfield Award recognizes a determined individual or community project that brings the eager spirit of Bucky Brownfield, the beloved beaver mascot of the Brownfields Assistance Centers, to a project, team, or community in West Virginia. This individual demonstrates the perseverance, grit, and determination to help make a project happen. This year’s recipient is Mayor Anne Cavalier of Smithers, West Virginia.

In addition to her speaking contributions at the 2023 National Brownfields Conference in Detroit and the 2025 National Brownfields Conference in Chicago, where she was a primary panel speaker and session speaker, respectively, Anne has become a crucial player in the brownfields realm in West Virginia over the course of the past few years. Anne has successfully led a funding drive for the redevelopment of the former Oakland School property into a community park with river access. Additionally, she served as a core driver of the repurposing of the former Smithers Elementary School site, which now houses City Hall offices.

Mayor Anne, as she is lovingly known by the Brownfields Assistance Centers staff, has participated in the West Virginia Brownfields Conference on numerous occasions. She has offered her insight on dealing with small town issues including frequent flooding and brownfield sites. Though a small town, Mayor Anne is leading the way for Smithers to be a catalyst for the redevelopment of brownfield properties in the region. Her skills in building camaraderie have resulted in a strong working relationship with the Town of Montgomery, situated across the Kanawha River, and has helped to transform a once complicated relationship into one where the municipalities work hand in hand to bring new opportunity to their neighbors, communities, and region.

Recently, Mayor Anne has led the charge on redevelopment of the Longacre Bottom property in Smithers, a former coal camp and coke oven site, that plays a significant role in the community’s culture, history, and sense of place. As a result of her efforts, this site was acquired by the City of Smithers and is now being assessed for potential commercial and recreational uses. Anne’s efforts to build community and drive redevelopment in Smithers are exemplary and channel the spirit of Bucky Brownfield’s eager-beaver attitude to redevelop brownfield properties in West Virginia.

Environmental Impact Award

The 2025 Environmental Impact Award recognizes a project or community partner that has demonstrated excellence in economic development on one or more brownfields sites in West Virginia. This individual plays a pivotal role in the redevelopment of these sites and has served a key role in project advancement on one or more occasion. This year’s recipient is Erin Brittain of the West Virginia Department of Environment Protection (DEP).

In her role at the West Virginia Department of Environmental Protection, Erin has served a pivotal role in and brought valuable knowledge and insight to economic redevelopment projects throughout the state. Specifically, her efforts in the City of Smithers, a coalfield community with a history of resource extraction and processing, have placed her at the center of these efforts. In addition to providing technical expertise, Erin’s selection of the Oakland site in Smithers as the recipient for the first$20K Technical Assistance Grant for Site Conceptualization served as the impetus for a successful federal grant of $1.4M from the U.S. Economic Development Administration to turn a dangerous, decaying former school into a park with river access for the community.

Additionally, Erin’s expertise and support at the Longacre site in Smithers resulted in a $4.68M grant for the City of Smithers to purchase twenty-five acres of the site and plan redevelopment. Her guidance with the Mountaineer Manufacturing site in Smithers, a long idle mine equipment repair site, led to the completion of environmental assessments on the site.

With her technical expertise and guidance, Erin is a driver of positive impact in redeveloping brownfields in West Virginia. The value of her guidance cannot be understated, as she has served as point of contact for communities contending with complicated redevelopment projects. Because of Erin’s efforts, brownfield redevelopment has reached new heights. Though Erin was nominated by the City of Smithers, this is but one community of many that have experienced positive impacts because of her efforts.

Economic Development Award

The 2025 WV Brownfield Award in Economic Development recognizes a project or community partner that has demonstrated excellence in economic development on one or more brownfield sites. This year’s recipient is Interwoven Mills.

As a multi-phase adaptive reuse of the former Interwoven Mill and the Perfection Fabric Mill, Interwoven Lofts contains four hundred thirty-two dwelling units and over 5000 square feet of commercial space.  The Interwoven Mill was formerly the manufacturing facility for Interwoven Socks, the largest men’s dress socks manufacturer in the world at the time. After the mill closed in the 1970s, it remained vacant for over fifty years before being targeted for redevelopment.

Utilizing state and federal historic rehabilitation tax credits, the buildings were preserved and renovated for modern living. Large scale windows were remade to match the originals, while wood and concrete structural systems were repaired and left exposed to accentuate the building’s history as a manufacturing facility. Exposed brick walls and hardwood floors were also restored.

The first phase of the Interwoven project was completed in the Fall of 2024 and contained one hundred ninety-two apartments. The second phase is on track to be completed in January of 2026 and will contain an additional one hundred ten apartments. Work on the final phase of the project is slated to begin in November 2025.

Community Engagement Award

The 2025 Community Engagement Award recognizes partners or communities that have demonstrated an exceptional commitment to community engagement by working closely with communities to identify and implement redevelopment priorities. This year’s recipients are Adam Stollings and Kent Walker with the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Rural Development. Together, Adam and Kent have demonstrated the value of having dedicated and engaged resources across the rural landscape of West Virginia as they have worked to locate funding and assist projects that are of great benefit to small, rural communities.

Adam Stallings

In his work, Adam has assisted with a variety of community engagement components across Southern West Virginia. Adam has provided ongoing technical assistance to the Logan Medical Education Housing complex and assisted with Opportunity Appalachia and Logan Healthcare Foundation Grants. He has also assisted with technical support to the Lincoln Economic Development Authority in their pursuit of grant resources available through the U.S. Economic Development Administration.

Adam’s technical expertise has also helped many small communities in Southern West Virginia, including Gilbert, Madison, Chapmanville, and Kermit. Specifically, Adam assisted with Gilbert’s application for a READY Local Government application and post-award process. In Madison, he provided insight on recreation and streetscape planning efforts. In Chapmanville, he worked alongside Downtown Appalachia to assist the reuse plan for Workman’s IGA. In Kermit, Adam helped to source funding and resources for a community kitchen and boat ramp planning project. Adam’s efforts have also led to the initiation of planning and zoning in multiple communities.

Through his continued technical expertise, Adam has proven a crucial catalyst to community engagement and redevelopment projects across West Virginia, and his work has directly contributed to numerous positive impacts in communities.

Kent Walker

Kent joined USDA Rural Development after nearly two decades of community and economic development work ranging from AmeriCorps to positions of leadership. In his work with USDA Rural Development, Kent regularly engages with communities to refer them to additional federal and state resources to build capacity for redevelopment projects. Recently, Kent facilitated the planning and execution of a grant writing workshop in McDowell County, WV, which drew nearly forty attendees from four counties. This event is part of a larger phased project to increase community capacity and access broader sets of resources.

Kent has become a crucial partner to the Brownfields Assistance Centers and regularly engages with and refers to communities to the Centers for work on properties that may be classified as brownfields. To date, Kent has referred projects including a dilapidated footbridge, a historic train depo and post office space, and even a local doctor’s office being targeted for remediation and reuse as a community museum. He also works to schedule and host listening sessions in his multi-county region to develop and implement project plans, facilitate discussions on community challenges, and help support branding and rebranding initiatives.

Kent is a native of Poca, WV, an Eagle Scout with the Boy Scouts of America, and a Vigil Honor member of the Order of the Arrow, Scouting’s National Honor Society. In his free time, Kent enjoys spending time with his children, traveling around West Virginia, photography, and historic research and writing.

Local Leadership Award

The 2025 Local Leadership Award recognizes a neighborhood, city, or county leader with a strong commitment to brownfield redevelopment. This year’s recipient is Victor Farmer of Boone Memorial Health’s Foundation for Community Health.

After thirty years working in the legal field for attorneys in private practice and specializing in real estate and civil litigation, Victor now serves as the Director of the Boone Memorial Hospital Foundation for Community Health. The Foundation worked to take underutilized properties in downtown Madison and transformed the site into a state-of-the-art farmer’s market and greenhouse, which was targeted as a sustainable living initiative to improve health and social outcomes while also increasing economic activity and addressing food insecurity and access challenges.

Under Victor’s leadership, the Foundation for Community Health is committed to investing in Madison and the surrounding area, with representatives for the Foundation currently serving on Madison’s Accelerate Team, a local group participating in the Community and Business Resiliency Initiative (CBRI), program within the EDA-Funded ACT NOW Coalition. Additionally, the Foundation is serving as partner on projects that target vacant or underutilized spaces and structures in the community.

Victor is a native of Onslow County, NC and is married to Janet Farmet. The couple resides in Madison with their three dogs and one cat. In his spare time, Victor enjoys gardening, history, and most things Star Trek. In addition to his work with the Foundation and in the legal field, Victor served as President of the West Virginia Junior Chamber of Commerce, Master of Harman Lodge No. 222 of Bluefield, VA, and Noble Grand of Kanawha County Lodge No. 25 in Charleston, West Virginia. He is also a current Madison City Councilman and an active member of Boone Lodge No. 170, of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows.

Redevelopment Partner Award

The 2025 Redevelopment Partner Award recognizes an individual, organization, agency, or other institution that has demonstrated a strong commitment to brownfield redevelopment and worked closely with the Brownfields Assistance Centers to facilitate redevelopment across the state. This year’s recipient is Greenbrier Valley Economic Development Corporation. 

Created in 1994 through legislative action to balance the facilitation of economic growth and natural preservation, Greenbrier Valley Economic Development Corporation serves a three-county region that includes Greenbrier, Pocahontas, and Monroe Counties. Greenbrier Valley Economic Corporation has developed a strong working relationship with the Brownfields Assistance Centers and has assisted with several projects that support the remediation and return to productive reuse of properties across their service region.

Since 2023, the Corporation has supported the Pocahontas County Commission in navigating a cleanup project at the Howe’s Tannery property, located in Frank, West Virginia. This property was once home to the largest shoe sole manufacturer in the world at the time of its operation. While supporting the goals of remediating the property to return it to productive reuse, Greenbrier Valley Economic Corporation is leveraging redevelopment to support the creation of much needed jobs for area residents.

In addition to the assistance with the Tannery property, Greenbrier Valley Economic Development Corporation is assisting with an EPA Cleanup grant to remove asbestos containing materials at the former Greenville School located in Monroe County. This assistance is the first step in redeveloping the property to create needed senior housing for residents in the area. In addition to working closely with Brownfields Assistance Centers, the Corporation has also worked with Region 1 Planning and Development Council, the Environmental Protection Agency, and the Monroe County Council on Aging.

New Professional Award

The 2025 New Professional Award recognizes an impressive new professional who has worked less than five years in the field of brownfield redevelopment. This individual has demonstrated and contributed to vision and creativity in the field and made remarkable contributions to projects or programs within West Virginia. This year’s recipient is Miranda Basconi, GIT, with Stantec.  

Since 2020, Miranda has worked to make impactful contributions to communities throughout West Virginia as they navigate brownfields assessments, cleanup, and redevelopment initiatives. Based in Stantec’s Bluefield, Virginia office, Miranda regularly demonstrates her ability to relay technical information to clients and remains committed to ensuring that communities receive the support they need to assist with redevelopment. In less than five years, she has advanced from supporting field work to becoming an expert in Phase I Environmental Site Assessments (ESAs), developing work plans, and leading teams for Phase II ESAs.

Miranda has assisted with the completion of numerous environmental site assessments under a West Virginia Department of Environmental Protection contract. Additionally, she played a pivotal role in brownfield projects in downtown Bluefield, West Virginia and the Harrison County Economic Development Corporation. In Bluefield, Miranda supported cleanup of the award-winning Hawley Building, which was transformed into a local health clinic. She also supported assessment and abatement for the 400-block of Federal Street, where dilapidated structures were demolished to make way for a park, amphitheater, and event space in the heart of downtown Bluefield.

On a personal level, Miranda is always challenging herself. She passed the Fundamentals of Geology exam in October 2024 and is now sitting for the Professional Geologist exam this Fall. Additionally, she is seeking the Licensed Remediation Specialist exam in 2026. Miranda is a native of West Virginia and graduated from Concord University in Athens with a double major in Environmental Geoscience and Psychology. In her free time, Miranda loves to crochet and conspired with the Virginia Department of Environmental Quality to crochet a mascot to represent their brownfields program. The unofficial Mascot of Environmental Assessment and Design Excellence (MEADE), goes by the name of Andy and now serves as the friendly-rival mascot to Bucky Brownfield of the Brownfields Assistance Centers. Thanks to Miranda, Andy now has a full-time job promoting the work of Virginia Department of Environmental Quality’s brownfields program.

Outstanding Career Service Award

The 2025 Outstanding Career Service Award recognizes a professional who has made significant contributions to the field of brownfield redevelopment and to individual projects over the course of the year. This year’s recipient is Dave Long with the West Virginia Department of Environmental Protection.

Dave has worked as public servant for nearly 39 years of his career. Originally, Dave worked with the West Virginia Division of Natural Resources and then the Division of Environmental Protection before the WVDEP became the state’s environmental agency in 2001. Dave has worked in the Office of Environmental Remediation (OER) as a Brownfields Project Manager since its inception in 1996. Having worked on too many brownfield sites to count, Dave’s positive impact and contribution to remediation and redevelopment across West Virginia cannot be understated.

Dave has worked directly or assisted with at least eighty Voluntary Remediation Program (VRP) sites and hundreds of brownfields and Leaking Underground Storage Tank (LUST) sites during his 39-year tenure. In his time with OER, Dave has issued eighteen VRP certificates of completion to sites such as ACF Industries in Huntington and Freedom Industries in Charleston. Dave has also issued dozens of no further action closure letters for LUST sites across the state.

In addition to working tirelessly on his own projects, Dave has regularly loaned his skill and expertise to assist other project managers, stakeholders, and applicants, and licensed remediation specialists on brownfield projects throughout West Virginia, Dave has been a brownfield superstar during his 39-year stint and has always met his work with a smile. Any organization that has had the honor to work with Dave during this time agrees that he is truly deserving and embodies the spirit of the award for Outstanding Career Service.

See past recipients of the WV Brownfield Awards.

2025 WV Brownfield Award Winners Booklet

September 16, 2025

6.7 MB

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