THE SEELINGER FAMILY:  A REFLECTION GIVEN
BY DR. TOM DOTSON

Sitting down with Dr. Tom Dotson on September 9, 2021, he gives a brief reflection of the Seelinger Family and how they remain a big part of Summersville today…

Dr. Dotson narrative:

“I feel compelled to narrate the story of generosity and giving that is unique to Summersville, WV. It involves the Seelinger Family Foundation. I am the lone survivor of the original Seelinger Family Foundation Board of Directors, who is now serving on the Grant Committee of the Nicholas County Community Foundation since the transition of the Family Foundation to the NCCF. There are two generations now who probably have an idea who the Seelinger family was.

Terry Seelinger and Bob Kamm started Terry Eagle Coal Company in the early 1970’s and they were fortunate enough to be a part of the “Coal Boom”. Terry was an extremely hard-working individual who woke at 3 or 4 am and started ordering his supplies at 5am much to supplier’s dismay. He would decide which of 3 offices to visit that day to keep them on their toes.

Mr. Seelinger and I had a unique professional and personal relationship. I spent many days and weeks traveling as his guest hunting and fishing. I accompanied him on trips to western Canada, the Great Lakes and the Florida Keys. Unfortunately, he died very young in 1987.

His personal generosity is not known to many. Mr. Seelinger made a large donation to WVU to with which the School of Medicine was able to establish the Dr. Edmund B. Flink WVUSOM Library. Also, he started the funding of nine different scholarship grants at West Virginia University, which still exist today, including three in Medicine, three in Mining and Engineering and three in the School of Business.

I have been involved in the selection committee for the WVU School of Medicine since 1987 and continue to serve on that committee.

In 1988, Francis Seelinger called me to ask if I would serve on the Board of a Foundation she was starting. The original foundation board gathered at the Greenbrier hotel and hammered out the workings of a charitable foundation in the Seelinger Family name. The original individuals were Francis, daughter Kay Duvall, Accountant Doug Ellis from Charleston and Tom Freeman and Craig Kay who were attorneys involved in Seelinger business. That Sunday afternoon, the foundation was funded and continues today as a part of the NCCF.

A majority of the day was spent with Mrs. Seelinger, listening to her desires of how she wished the charitable donations to be distributed. After deliberation, a mission statement was developed under the direction of Mrs. Seelinger with priority given to education, entertainment and the arts, historical preservation and community beautification. Francis strongly indicated that since Terry made his money in the Summersville area that the primary beneficiaries should be in and around the Summersville area. The Foundation Board met annually at various locations. After reviewing grant applications, money was distributed under the guidance of the original mission statement. Historic preservation was directed primarily to Old Main, since this is the only historic building remaining in Summersville besides the Courthouse. However, sometimes the Brown House receives funding due to historical significance due to social activities directed by the town of Summersville.

Ivy and Stone was the recipient for many years for the portion of the funds to arts and entertainment with min of $10,000 each year. Unfortunately, Ivy and Stone is longer a functional group. This group, which brought theatre, music and entertainment to Summersville dissolved in 2017, leaving behind a scholarship fund within the NCCF.

Education funds were given as annual grant to NCHS, $18,000 given to Pat Matheney to distribute to her staff, then giving a report at end of year as to how money was spent. After Pat retired, this process stopped. Money is now distributed in other ways.

Community beautification is evident all over Summersville, streetlights, sidewalks, Memorial Park Veteran’s projects, swimming pool upgrades, basketball and tennis court updates, 4H buildings, baseball dugouts.

As Mrs. Seelinger approached her final years, the burden of the Seelinger Family Foundation became too much, so she had the Family Foundation money transferred to a public foundation. She heavily considered Greater Kanawha Valley Foundation. Through the efforts of myself and Bill and Patty Bright, Francis was convinced instead to use the NCCF as a repository for the Seelinger Family Foundation funds as a separate category. Francis asked me to represent her in the transfer. I have served since that time. My function is primarily to guide the foundation in the fund distributions according to the primary mission statement that Francis had originally outlined.

As I grow older, I do not believe that there is anyone to assume the role and responsibility as an advocate for Mrs. Seelinger and the Seelinger family in the future. I have certainly given it my best effort over the last many years.

I convinced Kay to donate her house to the Foundation when she moved to Cincinnati. We used these funds for the Seelinger Scholarship Fund. My hope for the future is that someone will take over my function and my role in this endeavor, to continue to represent the interest that the Seelinger Foundation and Mrs. Seelinger specifically outlined at the distribution meetings. I hope that all involved as beneficiaries of these funds appreciate the sacrifice and efforts of this wonderful family and their contributions to the Summersville community.”

On behalf of the Board of the Directors of the Nicholas County Community Foundation, I would like to thank Dr. Dotson for this historical reference, his time invested to the community through his efforts with the Seelinger Family Foundation and the Nicholas County Community Foundation. I also wish to give a special note of thanks to the Seelinger Family and Ms. Kay Duvall for the contributions and support that the family has brought to our community for all these years and for years to come. If you would like to learn more about the Nicholas County Community Foundation, please visit our website at www.nccfwv.com and follow us on Facebook. Tamara Mullins, Executive Director can be reached by email at [email protected] or telephone at (304)872-0202.

The Nicholas County Community Foundation is proud to announce a new member to our family of funds. Welcome, Jim and Jane Davis. The mission of the foundation is to connect charitable giving with a permanent source of funds to ease local needs while enriching the community for today and tomorrow.

From Jim and Jane, “We moved to Summersville in 1984 and have been blessed with great friends, neighbors and opportunities.  We established the Jim and Jane Davis Family Fund with the Nicholas County Community Foundation in 2020. Through the NCCF we will see our fund encourage and support people and projects in Nicholas County for many generations.” 

If you are interested in learning more about starting a fund, contributing to an established fund or volunteering for one of our committees, please contact Tamara Mullins, Executive Director at (304)872-0202, [email protected] or check out our website at www.nccfwv.com. You can also follow us on Facebook!

The Board of Directors for the Nicholas County Community Foundation is honored to welcome the MacKenzie Logan Gilbert Memorial Fund to our family of funds….

Dr. Lewis D. Gilbert, and his wife, Shella have lived in Summersville for nearly 25 years. Dr. Gilbert, the local Oral Surgeon, and his family established the Mackenzie Logan Gilbert Memorial Fund with the Nicholas County Community Foundation in the fondest memory of their daughter, Mackenzie, who was born in 1982 with a seizure disorder and was tragically taken from them at the tender age of 23 in 2005.

Mackenzie struggled with her affliction throughout her life and required oppressive anti-seizure medications to control her disorder. Yet she courageously managed to lead a fairly normal young life and did graduate from Greenbrier East HS in 2000. She also held jobs at her local Sheltered Workshop and happily volunteered at her local Animal Shelter, as she absolutely loved animals, big and small.

For those that got to know her as a child and young adult, Mackenzie was a trooper in life, a kind angelic soul, and loving daughter that we sadly miss daily. Thus, when we established our NCCF fund in her name and memory, we knew she would want us to help our County Adult Sheltered Workshop and of course the County Animal Shelter as well.

Dr. Lewis D. Gilbert

Mark Fleming, also known as “Coach Fleming” or “Flemdog” as many of his students affectionately called him, has built his legacy as a teacher and coach in Nicholas County Schools.

After graduating from Glenville State College in 1987, he began substituting and coaching voluntarily in Webster and Nicholas Counties.

A few years later, he began his teaching and coaching career at Summersville Junior High and Nicholas County High School where he taught, coached, mentored, and befriended thousands of students over 30 years.

During his coaching career, Mark has coached track, wrestling, and baseball.  Let’s not forget his all time favorite sprot… football!

The NCCF is honored to administer the Coach Mark Fleming Memorial Scholarship. This scholarship has been offered to all NCHS graduating seniors who play football and have a cumulative GPA of at least 3.0. The Foundation is accepting donations for this pass-through scholarship through April 30^th. Donations can be sent to NCCF PO Box 561 Summersville, WV 26651.

NCCF in 2020… it was a year of sailing through rough waters. The year started out with a bang, but shortly lost its footing with many headlines slowing the momentum. Then, the pandemic hit. Things quickly took a sharp turn and our normal way of life came to a screeching halt. The business of the NCCF continued in an online way. Scholarship applications were taken and interviews were done on line. Awards announcements came, but not in our usual gatherings at the schools for awards days. We were able to provide over $23,000 in scholarships to students in Nicholas County.

 The stock market looked dismal. How would the future look for us now? The philanthropic community quickly adjusted and began emergency statewide Zoom meetings. We looked at immediate needs specific to our communities. Philanthropy WV in conjunction with several businesses announced a program that would match our dollars raised for Emergency COVID relief in a “Take 5 to Give 5” Giving Tuesday early in May. From this rally, Nicholas County would raise over $6,500 that was granted to the New Beginnings Resource Center, to assist with the start up of their USDA food program. The New Beginnings Resource Center not only offered food to those in need, but multiple items, from clothing and hygiene products to furniture and supplies to furnish an apartment or home, as well as other resources and ways to refer individual with other needs. This program continues monthly for ALL in Nicholas County and the surrounding areas.

 As the stock market began to recover, so did our Fund, much to the relief of all of us at NCCF. The grant season went on, providing over $160,000 to our local non-profit organizations. Much praise and applause are deserved for the non-profit organizations in Nicholas County. While they already normally help those in their worst of times, these organizations were also going through the worst of times themselves, but somehow managed to maintain their course.

Our final push for the year came as a Giving Tuesday after Thanksgiving, in which we were able to quickly raise $670, which was sent by our Board of Directors to a Coat Drive that was concurrently being held by the Summersville Rotary Club. This project provided coats to any school age child in Nicholas County that did not have one.

Neighborhood Investment Credits won through the State of WV NIP Program were a trigger for growth for NCCF. In addition, the Fund for Nicholas County within the NCCF funds were used as matching incentive funds to start new funds in the NCCF. These incentives brought several new funds for the year, including the Donna Mazzei Fund for Animals, Rodney and Barbara LeRose Community Fund, Mackenzie Logan Gilbert Memorial Fund, Leslie Equipment Company Fund, Jim and Jane Davis Family Fund, Young Family Fund and the Rod LeRose Family Fund. Earlier in the year, we welcomed a new Non-Endowed Craigsville Cemetery Fund. As the stock market outperformed our expectations, the year ended on a high note for the NCCF. We provided over $190,000 in support to Nicholas County during a Pandemic.

The year 2020 will not be one soon forgotten, with many lessons learned along the way. We here at NCCF would like to extend our deepest condolences for all the lives lost due to the Pandemic and otherwise. We want you to know that the NCCF will continue to be here to support this community, throughout the storms and sunny days alike. Our mission is to connect charitable giving with a permanent source of funds to ease local needs while enriching the community for today and tomorrow.

Our Board of Directors are an amazing group of people with many talents, who offer much volunteer time to making our Foundation work for you. The Board of Directors for the NCCF include President Jay Borrell, Vice President Kelly Blake, Treasurer Steve Ferguson and Secretary Jim Davis and Directors Anita Groves, Mary Igo, Barbara LeRose, Michael Perilli, Benjean Rapp, Robert Shafer, Bruce Tallamy and John Mark Walkup. On behalf of our Board of Directors, we have many support partners to thank in our endeavors: Our Fund Holders, BB&T (now Truist) Bank and Foundation, Community Trust Bank, United Bank, City of Summersville, First Energy Foundation, Milan Puskar Foundation, Philanthropy WV, WVNPA, Ferguson Accounting Services, Adkins and Young Accounting Services, Greg Sproles Law Offices, Council on Foundations, Summersville Arena and Conference Center, Gad Dam Brewery and all those who volunteer and those who have donated in 2020 to support our cause.

Donations were given in Memory of Bob Rader by Robert and Shauna Shafer and Robert E. Craig by Kathy Heller.

To learn more about how you can play a role in the Nicholas County Community Foundation, from volunteering on a committee to donating regularly or starting a Fund, please check out our website at nccfwv.com, follow us on Facebook and contact Tamara Mullins, Executive Director at [email protected].