Secretary of State Betty Ireland
to visit WVU April 11

Morgantown, WV, April 6, 2006: West Virginia Secretary of State Betty Ireland will speak about the importance of voting and voter registration at WVU on April 11.

“Power Up and Vote!” will be held Tuesday, April 11 at 7:30 p.m. in room 101 Clark Hall and is sponsored by the Center for Women’s Studies in the Eberly College of Arts and Sciences at West Virginia University. Voter registration forms will be available at the presentation.

In February 2005, Secretary of State Ireland started the new program “Voting is Powerful” (VIP) to increase voter registration in West Virginia. “I want to make sure that the citizens of West Virginia have ample opportunity to register to vote,” said Ireland at the program’s unveiling. “Our office will be proactive in voter registration and educating citizens on the voting process.”

A native of Charleston, Ireland is the first woman in the history of West Virginia to be elected to the state’s executive branch of government. After working as a teacher in the West Virginia public school system, she became the owner of Retirement Systems and Services. She also worked as vice president and head of the pension division in the Trust Department of the National Bank of Commerce in Charleston. She was the first female ever appointed to serve on the City of Charleston Board of Zoning Appeals, and she has also served on the Charleston City Council, the Public Safety Retirement Task Force of the Joint Legislative Committee on Pensions and Retirement, and as Executive Director of the West Virginia Consolidated Public Retirement Board. In 2002, she became President and CEO of Jackson and Kelly Solutions LLC. She was sworn in as Secretary of State on January 17, 2005.

For more information, please contact Dr. Barb Howe, director of the Center for Women’s Studies, at 304-293-2339, ext. 1155, or at Barbara.Howe@mail.wvu.edu.

W-V-U