CHARLESTON, W.Va. – Gov. Jim Justice addressed State of West Virginia employees last week during a ceremony at the Culture Center in Charleston, commending them on careers of service as part of Public Service Recognition Week.

“Today we recognize you, we recognize your great service,” Justice said. “I truly mean it when I say how great you really are.

“I can never thank you enough because, in your own way, you’re patriots,” Justice said. “You have served us and you have served us for an incredible amount of time.”

The annual ceremony recognizes employees, across all state agencies, who have put in at least 30 years of working for West Virginia, specifically honoring those celebrating milestone anniversaries of service, ranging from 30 years and up in 5-year increments.

This year, a total of 607 employees cerebrated one of these milestone anniversaries. The breakdown of that total is as follows:
• 30-year employees: 310
• 35-year employees: 153
• 40-year employees: 114
• 45-year employees: 24
• 50-year employees: 6

Honorees with 30 or more years under their belt will receive a lapel pin from the governor. Anyone with at least 20 years of service across state government will receive a certificate.

“I’ll bet you that most of you, in many ways, have opted for a career in government because you care about the betterment of West Virginia,” Justice said. “It’s what we do in West Virginia so often that gets unnoticed: we love our state, we love our people and we love what we stand for and so today is your day.”