People

Staff

Rachelle Thorne, Executive Director

Rachelle started with us in January 2020 as our new Executive Director and since then she's hit the ground running- launching community recreation initiatives throughout the county, such as Wellness in the Park and the PCPaRC Trail Crew. She has a gazillion more ideas and loves working towards enhancing the quality of life for Prestonians, as well as promoting Preston County as a recreationally rich destination for all. She brings with her a wealth of experience and knowledge in parks and recreation management, as well as public land preservation and environmental protection. She has extensively studied mine pools throughout Preston County and finds them, as well as the county's coal mining history, fascinating. When she's not plugging away at grant writing and planning for Preston County's recreational future, she loves to mountain bike, ride gravel roads and rail-trails, and adventure with her daughter and pups outside.

prestoncountyparks@gmail.com

Lauren Griffin, Development Coordinator

Originally from Wheeling, Lauren graduated from WVU in 2019 with degrees in History and International Studies. While serving as an AmeriCorps at Arthurdale Heritage, Lauren got to know Preston County and decided to stick around and join PCPaRC as our Development Coordinator! In normal times, Lauren enjoys traveling, cross-stitching, and finding geocaches around Preston. Recently she's been helping us out with fundraising and planning the 2021 Dirty Double Gravel Bike Race (more info on that coming soon!).

pcparc.coordinator@gmail.com

Michael Bradley, AmeriCorps VISTA, Recreation Engagement Coordinator

A resident of Kingwood, Mike was drawn to PCPaRC because of his love for the county's rail-trails. As our Recreation Engagement Coordinator, Mike works largely towards growing the capacity and sustainability of our Trail Crew and Wellness in the Park program. He has experience as a personal trainer at Camp Dawson Event Center, in addition to years of experience in management. Mike loves PCPaRC and will tell you his three sons empower him to work towards making Preston County the best county for his family and yours. In his free time he enjoys getting outside with his family as much as possible. His determination to give back to his community is inspiring and we are delighted to have him on board!

pcparc.recreation@gmail.com

Aubrey Bartman, Intern

Aubrey is a student in the WVU Parks and Recreation Program. She learned about PCPaRC through a course project she worked on where she developed a conceptual plan for the WV Northern Rail-Trail Trail Center that is planned for the trail Gateway across from the Civic Center. She loved the projects we are working on and we are honored she accepted an internship with us. She is working on an interpretive signage design plan for the WV Northern Rail-Trail, as well as other fun projects. Once implemented, her interpretive signage design plan will greatly enhance the trail experience for residents and visitors alike with interesting facts on the coal, railroad, and environmental history along the former rail corridor.

pcparc.intern@gmail.com