Rich Heffelfinger

The Board of Directors for the 45th annual West Virginia Oil and Gas Festival has named Rich Heffelfinger as the “2013 West Virginia Oil and Gas man of the Year”, for outstanding achievements and leadership in the West Virginia Oil and Gas Industry.

Mr. Heffelfinger will be honored at a special luncheon to be held at the Presbyterian Church, on Sept. 14. Following the luncheon he will serve as Parade Marshall for the Grand Oil and Gas Trophy Parade.

He was born in Troy, Ohio, graduated from high school and then made West Virginia his home. Heffelfinger attended Glenville State College where he played football and graduated with honors in 1980 with a degree in Education. He was introduced to the Oil and Gas Industry during college in the form of summer employment opportunities, which then led to a lifetime career.

His first Oil and Gas summer job was with I.L. Morris Well Service in Glenville where he was first introduced to some of the many wonderful, hardworking people in this industry. The next summer, he worked for Easter American Energy, also in Glenville, which led to an almost 20 year career with the company. Heffelfinger held many titles throughout his career with Eastern American, finally serving as President in Charleston, WV. He left Eastern American Energy in 2000 to join Rubin Resources in Charleston as an owner and Executive Vice President and is still there today.

Service to the industry and community have been an important part of Heffelfinger’s career. He has been elected and served four terms on the IOGAWV Board of Directors, twice serving as President. He was honored by IOGAWV in 2006 with the Gunslinger Award for his Distinguished Service to the association and industry. He has also served on the Board of Directors for WVOGA, Energize WV, Capital State Bank, The Great Kanawha Valley YMCA – serving two years as Chairman, Glenville State College Foundation Board and Glenville State College Board of Governors, currently serving as Chairman.

He and his wife Twila reside in Charleston and have been blessed with three children, a daughter Heather and two sons, Brock and Blake, and one grandson, Casset Earl.

The WV Oil and Gas Parade is scheduled to begin at 1 p.m. on Saturday.