Carol Warren: Living the Dream of World Peace

	From left to right: Deacon Todd Garland (Carols husband), Carol Warren (OVEC staff) and Larry Starcher, former Justice of the WV Supreme Court and member on the West Virginia Martin Luther King, Jr., Holiday Commission, who presented the Living the Dream Award Advocate for Peace award on Jan. 16, 2010, at the WV Culture Center, Charleston, WV. We are so proud of Carol for her work for peace.

OVEC has some truly amazing people on staff; they are all winners in one way or another.

But we were delighted to learn during the Christmas break that Carol Warren, OVECs faith-based liaison and point person on election reform, would receive the Martin Luther King, Jr. Living the Dream award as an Advocate of Peace (one who has advocated for non-violent social change) in January.

This award is presented by the Martin Luther King, Jr. West Virginia Holiday Commission as part of the national Martin Luther King, Jr. Day observance.

OVECs executive director nominated Carol for her lifelong commitment to peace, which began for Carol during the Vietnam war.

Her efforts continued in the late 1980s and early 1990s, when Carol participated in two peaceful non-violent protests at the infamous School of Americas (now dubbed the "Western Hemisphere Institute for Security Cooperation") at Fort Benning, Georgia.

Additionally, Carols work for peace extended beyond U.S. boundaries. Her experience with Witness For Peace began with the 1989 Via Crucis (Way of the Cross) walk across Kentucky to call attention to the war in Nicaragua. Carol traveled twice to Nicaragua and Guatemala as part of a Witness For Peace delegation.

Her experiences speaking with Contras and Sandinistas after the war brought Carol to the realization that many issues experienced in the mountains of Nicaragua were similar to issues we face in Appalachia.

The news of Hurricane Katrinas destruction was wrenching to Carol. Twenty years earlier, she had spent a summer in the Gulf Coast as part of Walk Together Children, an anti-racism program. During the aftermath of Katrina, Carol returned to New Orleans, and in 2006, she helped Operation Helping Hands gut their 1,000th house.

Carol has taken countless groups of people of faith and others to witness the destruction of mountaintop removal and to speak with people who suffer from its effects. She works side-by-side with leaders of the United Mine Workers of America, advocating for their right to organize.

Her work on the Government Concerns Committee of the West Virginia Council of Churches resulted in a powerful statement that not only addressed concerns about the effects of mountaintop removal on the land, the communities and the people, but also the need for justice for miners and care for their families. We at OVEC are so fortunate to have Carol as a part of our team!