I caught up briefly with Senator Manchin today and he was on his way back home to West Virginia for the 150 birthday celebration.   He never knew I had won an election and I did tell him I learned so much from him when he was in the State Senate and I was a staffer in the WV legislature and was inpsired by his rise to the position of US Senator, after being Secretary of State and then, Governor.

Anyway, I do hope to keep up more with him over the next few years.

It is a wonderful celebration as West Virginia celebrates 150 years as a state, a state whose pioneers, who joined the Union to preserve the United States during the Civil War.

As a native of this state, I am always proud to be a Mountaineer and wish all of those in the Mountain State a Happy West Virginia Birthday!