West Liberty University alumnus and benefactor Gary E. West has been named “Light of the Valley” for 2011 by the Wheeling YMCA. He is the fifth recipient of this prestigious award, which is given annually to a local resident who provides outstanding examples of caring, honesty, respect and responsibility – the key values exhibited by the programs offered at the YMCA.
He is to be honored at a banquet at Wheeling Park’s White Palace on Aug. 17.
Mr. West earned a business administration degree from West Liberty State College in 1958. After several years as a regional manager for Goodyear Tire and Rubber Co, he purchased Valley Welding Supply Co. in Wheeling. During his tenure as president, chief executive officer and chairman of the company, Valley Welding – later Valley National Gases, Inc. – grew to have annual sales in excess of $85 million, with 29 locations in six states. He sold the company in 2007.
Mr. West has invested considerable personal and financial assets in his alma mater. In recognition of his generosity, WLU’s Board of Governors approved renaming the business school the Gary E. West College of Business. He and his wife, “Flip,” also established the Guy H. and Mary Ann West School of Business Scholarship Endowment and he was chair of the college’s capital campaign. He also contributed the funds for the purchase and installation of the Mondo Turf at the College’s stadium.
A Light of the Valley recipient receives The Dr. Edmund Lee Jones “Patron of Youth” Award. The late Jones was a leader in the community and at the YMCA where he led the facility through its expansion and renovation project in 2003 and also served as a board member. Jones espoused the positive role that the YMCA plays in the lives of children.
Past recipients include G. Randolph “Randy” Worls of the Oglebay Foundation; the late Most Rev. Bernard Schmitt, bishop emeritus of the Catholic Diocese of Wheeling-Charleston; Wheeling businessman and coach Bob Robinson; and Robert Nutting, president and chief executive officer of the Ogden Newspapers Inc. and chairman of the Pittsburgh Pirates and Pirates Charities.