Janet’s Retiring, So OVEC is Hiring
OVEC’s long-time Executive Director Janet Keating will retire this fall. So, we are hiring a new ED. We’re taking applications until June 1. Click here for all the info you need to apply, or to share this info with a potential candidate for the job.

Above, that’s Janet with a tufted titmouse harvesting some of Janet’s hair for the bird’s nest. A story of this bird’s spring visit to Janet’s hair (which happened several years in a row) is told in this 2006 column by Dave Peyton in the Charleston Daily Mail. Dave even works in a mention of Don Blankenship.

Note that applicants for Janet’s position do not necessarily have to have that cozy of a relationship with the natural world, nor would we consider anyone with that cozy of a relationship to be a bird-brain!

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Help Us Win the Challenge Grant
Help us make certain the new ED comes in knowing that OVEC has strong grassroots support: donate to our matching grant challenge!

The reason foundations set up challenge grants is so groups like OVEC can show we have lots of people who value our work enough to support it with donations.

We started raising funds for this challenge grant in April. If we raise $20,000 by June 1, then the Mary Reynolds Babcock Foundation will match that amount, that is we will receive another $20,000. As this action alert goes out, we have raised $12,797.

We are almost two-thirds of the way there! Will you please help us win this challenge grant? Please donate today, via our secure server, via PayPal Giving Fund or by mailing a check to OVEC, PO Box 6753, Huntington, WV 25773-6753. (Note that to use the PayPal Giving Fund, which gives 100 percent of your donation to us, you have to type in “OVEC” or “Ohio Valley Environmental Coalition” to find us. You do not have to have a PayPal account.)

We are a 501-c-3 organization, so donations to OVEC are tax deductible.

Thanks loads to everyone who has donated so far!

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Come Out to the Huntington Sustainability Fair May 21
In April, OVEC volunteers and staff tabled at Earth Day events at Marshall University (photo below), WVU Parkersburg, and WV State University, as well as the Holistic Health and Wellness Fair held at the Unitarian Universalist Congregation in Charleston. We also co-sponsored two candidates forums, which were held by the Cabell-Huntington Branch of the NAACP.

This month, we’ll have another educational outreach event that we hope you will attend: the Second Annual Huntington Sustainability Fair on Saturday, May 21. The event takes place at the Wild Ramp, 555 14th St. W. (Old Central City), just down the street from our headquarters.

By hosting a fair centered around building a more sustainable community, with local musicians, artisans, farmers, restaurants, businesses, organizations, and government, the fair’s partners, contributors, supporters, and sponsors (OVEC is a sponsor) aim to inspire people everywhere to live a more sustainable, locally based lifestyle.

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Movement May: Upcoming Events
May is #BreakFree2016! Keep fossil fuels in the ground!

Right Now: Hey West Virginians, Vote on the Issues that Matter to You.

Now – May 7: Early Voting in WV is on during regular business hours at each county courthouse or courthouse annex. Early Voting is also available Saturday from 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. Contact your County Clerk to confirm Early Voting hours and locations.

May 10: 6:30 a.m. to 7:30 p.m. Vote! West Virginia Primary. Find your polling place here.

May 12: Don Blankenship is scheduled to report for a year in prison.

May 15: 1 p.m. Washington, D.C. Break Free from Fossil Fuels demonstration in front of the White House.

May 15 – 22: Beyond Extreme Energy’s Rubber Stamp Rebellion in Washington, D.C. Fight FERC! No New Pipelines! Two OVEC volunteers are heading to the rebellion from central WV and the have room for a couple more folks. E-mail info@ohvec.org right away in you are interested in joining the crew or if you have questions about accommodations and meals, or other details.

May 20 and 21: The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) has opened a new “scoping period” to collect comments from the public and agencies, including state historic preservation offices, on the new route proposed for the proposed Atlantic Coast Pipeline. See this news report. FERC has scheduled daylong public hearings on May 20 in Marlinton, WV and May 21 in Hot Springs, VA. We will post more details on our calendar page under these dates. See also: Some of the Serious Risks of N.G. Pipelines in Appalachia

May 21: As noted, it is the Second Annual Huntington Sustainability Fair.

May 29: May 29: Deadline to comment: Bureau of Land Management Seeks Comment on Draft Environmental Assessment for Oil and Gas Leasing on Wayne National Forest. Details here.

June 3: Time to Choose comes to U.S. theaters (but not in WV, so far).

Check out more upcoming events on our calendar page.

July 23: Save the date! OVEC’s annual member and supporter picnic. More details coming.

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