47

GALE GIVEN HEEDING AwAKE-UP CALL by Dave Wellman

he vividly remembers the conversation with her supervisor­ the annual "heart to heart," as she calls it. As well she should. SIt was painful. But it changed her life. It was 1980, and 22-year-old "She's good at keeping Gale Given, her boss said, was not people at ease. She living up to her potential on the job can have a good time at C&P Telephone of West Virginia getting something in Charleston, where she' d been working for about a year. She was accomplished." not giving 120 percent, nor had she set her standards high enough to reach the top. "He told me my standards were high enough to get by, but not high enough to excel," Gale says today. If Don Hall's purpose that day in his office was to motivate Gale, to convince her that she had the talent to achieve at a level that hadn't even crossed her mind, he succeeded. Gale left that meeting with a new outlook-and new, tougher, self-imposed standards. "I wasn 't going to get fired or anything like that. I wasn't slacking. But it did take me a year or so to figure out what I needed to be doing in the real world. After that conversation with my supervisor, I decided I was going to do everything as well as I could." And that's just what she's done. Gale's job title then with C&P was switching engineer. Today, she is state president-the first woman state president-of Verizon West Virginia, Inc. Gale's sudden quest for excellence, spuned by her boss's timely pep talk, changed her approach to employment. And, to life. "It did wake me up ," she says. "That supervisor really did make a difference along the way." PROFIL E S IN PROMINENCE PROFILES IN PROMINENCE 49

Gale was elected state president of Verizon on July 1, 2000, and position for such a large company as Verizon. "It was not in the game appointed as state president of Verizon Kentucky, Inc., on Dec. 15 of plan. It was not a lifelong goal to work for the telephone company," that same year. Before then she was Executive Director in the regulatory Gale says, laughing. "I expected to work two years and then stay home organization for Bell Atlantic-West Virginia, Inc. and have babies-four or five. Things don't always happen the way Gale earned a bachelor's degree in mathematics from Marshall you think they're going to happen." University in 1979, finishing a hectic 3-year stay with a 3.83 grade She'd enrolled at Marshall, expecting to earn a bachelor's degree point average. Twenty years later, after attending Marshall's Saturday in computer programming, but changed her focus after taking a few Executive MBA Program for about two years, she earned a master's programming courses. She switched majors, and earned her math degree in business administration. In graduate school, she made degree. virtually all A's. "She truly, truly is one of the best students we've ever Gale knew C&P tended to hire people with math or science had in our MBA program," says Dr. Calvin Kent, Dean of Marshall's degrees and then train them to fit its needs. In fact, C&P was Lewis College of Business. interviewing potential candidates on Marshall's campus, "looking for Naturally, she devoted herself to excelling in the classroom, just math majors," she says. Gale interviewed, got hired and "the rest is as she' d done during her undergraduate days. She sought perfection, history. I take on each job trying to do the best I can," Gale says. "I'm and fell just short. "I should have had a 4.0," she says in a suddenly recognized for having skills and determination." competitive tone. "I don't like getting less than an A" After all, A's Long before Gale worried about access lines or long distance came almost naturally to the former Gale Adkins, who graduated about fees or anything to do with telecommunications, she tossed and turned lO'h or ll'h in the 1976 class of some 300 students at Point Pleasant at night fretting over something even bigger-in an 8-year-old's mind, High School in Mason County. anyway-than life. "My mom and dad always expected me to do well," Gale says. "I The Mothman! didn't (have to) work very hard in high school. I started a strong work The mere mention lately of Gale's hometown of Point Pleasant ethic in college." She was born in Charleston, West Virginia, but her often leads to a conversation about The Mothman Prophecies, a movie family moved to New Haven, West Virginia, when she was about 14 released this past winter. The film is based upon the 1975 book of the months old. Six months later, they moved to nearby Point Pleasant. same title by John A. Keel, who investigated UFO reports of winged She describes her family as "blue collar. We were raised to work hard," creatures around Point Pleasant over the course of 13 months in 1966 she says. and 1967. Still, it took a motivational nudge from her boss at C&P to Gale remembers being in the third grade when the alleged persuade Gale that the road to the top of the corporate ladder is paved Mothman sightings were taking place. "It was not a fun time," she through a work ethic that requires going above and beyond the call of says. Especially for a child. duty not once in a while, but all the time. Now, she makes it mandatory "Basically, we were all very frightened, all the little kids in town," to give her all-and more-from day to day in everything she does. Gale says. For instance, when talking about her role as state president ofVerizon, Frightened might be a bit of an understatement. Gale says her first goal is "to master this job. I want to do this in an "We were absolutely terrified!" she says. optimum way." It didn't help, Gale remembers, that Randy Wedge, one of her During her undergraduate days at Marshall, Gale believed she'd classmates at Ordnance Elementary, began spreading tales during recess be successful in life, but never thought about holding such a high one day about how his father and uncle had gone to the area of the sightings and attempted to shoot the creature with rifles. so PROFILES IN PROMINENCE PROFILES IN PROMINENCE 51

" Randy Wedge told us when they shot, the bullets bounced off of "I got to New York the night of September 10. I'd visited it," she says. Starbucks, caught a cab to the meeting and called my husband. I told Did the men run? Of course not. him, 'It's really fun to be in New York again,' " she recalls. She and "He said they threw hand grenades at the Mothman, and the her husband, Joe-also a Marshall graduate-had spent time in New Mothman caught them and threw them back," Gale says. York during a three-year stay with Bell Communications Research in Frightening, indeed! neighboring New Jersey in the late 1980's. Soon after word spread of the youngster's stories, the school A great day to be alive instantly turned nightmarish. "About three principal confronted him and challenged him to tell the truth. It wasn't minutes after talking to Joe the first plane hit," Gale says. Without a long until he stood before Gale's class, head hanging down, eyes tall building blocking her view, Gale could clearly see the trade center focused on the floor in front of him, and without looking up admitted, from a conference room. "I lied." When she first heard that a plane had hit the building, she walked "We were quite relieved," Gale says. to the window to have a look. Gale thought she'd see a "little Cessna" Still, more Mothman rumors surfaced when the Silver Bridge, hanging out a window of one of the towers. What she saw was an eyebar suspension bridge which crossed the Ohio River between horrifying. Middlepmt, Ohio, and Point Pleasant, collapsed at rush hour on Dec. "The hole looked as big as a football field. It was absolutely 15, 1967, killing 46 people. The bridge was a major east-west link for enormous and right in the middle. I knew it wasn't an accident." West Virginia 35 connecting Charleston, West Virginia, and major cities She thought about leaving the building, even commenting out in Ohio. It was named the Silver Bridge because it was the first and loud, "Maybe we ought to get out ofhere." She paused, her eyes glued only bridge in the area painted with aluminum paint. to the burning building. Then, without warning, more terror. The Mothman sightings reportedly ended after the tragedy. "Suddenly the second plane hit," Gale says. "It was an absolute "The movie was a little creepy," Gale says, "with all the references shock. It was the most evil thing I've ever seen." to the bridge falling. It was hard to watch, considering that my mother She began to wonder if her life was in danger. She wondered missed being on the bridge by only minutes. It was hours after the silently, "How many more planes are coming?" Knowing the Empire collapse before we knew she was alive." State Building w~s just a block or two away, she wondered if it might So, Gale encountered her share of trauma as a child, with the be the next target. bridge collapse and the Mothman rumors. Perhaps they helped prepare Gale and many of her co-workers left the Verizon building and her for the challenges of adulthood-and even more trauma. gathered at the Roosevelt Hotel, from which they later were evacuated On Sept. 11, 2001, the day suicide terrorists killed nearly 3,000 after a bomb threat. From there, she walked many blocks-20, people by flying commercial jetliners into the World Trade Center, perhaps-to another hotel, which "was actually closer to Ground Zero Gale was in New York City on business. Verizon has a major call- and than our (Verizon) building," she says. data-switching center at 140 West Street in lower Manhattan, directly "When we were going towards our hotel, we could see the plume across the street from Ground Zero where the two towers fell, and next of smoke. You could look down the street and see it." door to 7 World Trade Center, which also collapsed. But Verizon has As she was leaving the Roosevelt, Gale heard screams of "Get its headquarters building about two miles from there, which is where out, get out, get out" all around. She grabbed her briefcase, but decided Gale was when the attacks occurred. to leave her suitcase behind. Then, more panic. The 200 or so people 52 PROFILES IN PROMINENCE PROFILES IN PROMINENCE 53 trying to exit the building were forced to leave through one small door debris. Two Verizon technicians died in the World Trade Center and because the revolving door was locked. another at the Pentagon, which also was struck by a jetliner hijacked They all made it. But, Gale recalls literally running through the by a terrorist. streets of New York. All those blocks away, she found the hotel where Through it all, Gale stood strong, which hardly surprises one of Verizon had reserved her a room, and she'd spend the rest of the day her two older brothers, Doug Adkins. Sure, Adkins worried, knowing and night, except for a time when she made the long haul back to the she was in New York. "We were scared to death," he says. "She was Roosevelt to retrieve her suitcase. She hardly expected her belongings able to get some calls out. But, just not knowing ... it was a mess." to still be where she left them, but they were. Gale says she never really feared for her own life. She didn't When Gale phoned Joe later in the day, she complained that her think, ''I'm going to die." And, she strongly believed her family back chest was hurting. She thought she might be having a heart attack, in West Virginia and Ohio was OK. But, she did worry. Her concern then realized that she was hurting for an obvious reason-lugging a was that her family might think she had been killed, and she had no full suitcase some 20 blocks is painful. She left New York by train the way to tell them otherwise. The phone call to Joe, however, eased her next morning, and 14 hours later she was back home in Teays Valley. mind. She says she'll never forget the eeriness of the evening of Sept. Her mother, Patsy, had called Verizon in Charleston that day, to 11. It was New York, for sure, but then again it seemed so different. make sure Gale was all right. "I'm just calling to make sure Gale isn't Because it was. in New York," Patsy Adkins said. The news that Gale was in New "That night, a group of us went to dinner. We were all stranded. York shook her mother teiTibly. It was odd," she says. "There were a number of restaurants open. A lot "She was very worried," Gale says. of people were going in the stores that were open, trying to buy a clean Doug Adkins is Director of Nursing at the Holzer Medical Center shirt, or deodorant, just making runs on overnight types of things. in Gallipolis, Ohio, which is across the Ohio River from Point Pleasant. Things were somewhat normal, but subdued. The typical New York His sister is the youngest of three children born to Charles and Patsy attitude was not there, and I don't mean that in a bad way. There was Adkins. The oldest son, 48-year-old Chuck Adkins, is a postal worker a hush over everything. No traffic. No cars at all. You could walk up in Huntington. Doug is 47, barely 10 months younger than Chuck. the center of Sth Avenue in the middle of the afternoon." Naturally, the two brothers were close growing up on Franklin Gale certainly expected to have trouble getting horne quickly. Avenue in the Bellerneade section of Point Pleasant in the 1960's. She thought the train she boarded would be crowded, but for some Perhaps, Doug says, they might have been a tad wilder than their reason it wasn't. And home she went, without a hitch. younger, more mature sister. Although she was safe and relieved to be back in West Virginia, "She wasn't intimidated by us," Doug says of his sister. "I think Gale couldn'thelp but think of the historic events she'djust witnessed­ she was an old soul when she was born. She was probably the more in person. grown up of any of us. And, that continues today." "It was just wrong," she says. Her parents are retired, Charles from Kaiser Aluminum-now Verizon suffered enormously. Century Aluminum, Patsy from Holzer Medical Center where she was The company's building near the World Trade Center was severely an administrative assistant. In daughter Gale, they raised a person who damaged. Girders ripped through the building's walls and water from was always very conscientious, Charles says. broken mains and fire hoses flooded the basement vaults. Cables were Brother Doug says he knew back in the early 1970's that his cut by the falling steel and the ducts outside were covered by hills of little sister had a lot of common sense. He's trusted her judgment since. PROFILES IN PROMINENCE 54 PROFILES IN PROMINENCE 55

In fact, he says, Gale was his "fashion advisor" when she was still a going to class. Her big concern? Getting out in the "real world" and young teenager. Doug remembers one particular time when he dressed making money. fashionably-or so he thought-for a night out. He wore a bright pink Perhaps it was her experience driving a "tealish, greenish," oil­ shirt with puffy sleeves, green crushed velvet pants and platform shoes. burning, window-leaking 1971 Chevy Vega during her undergraduate The Brady Bunch would have been proud. "I was groovy," he recalls. days that made her feel that way. She drove the car every day to campus Not so, Gale said. "She told me I looked like an idiot," Doug laughs. from Marshall's Married Student Housing near Norway Avenue. "She was exactly right." Driving the car was easy-except for those sharp right turns when The arrival of baby Gale in the Adkins household in 1958 was a the driver's side door would fly open. Starting it was another story. "I welcome change, her mom says. After two "rowdy" boys, as Patsy used to have to start it with a screwdriver," Gale says. describes Chuck and Doug, it was nice to have a mild-mannered female The winters of 1977 and 1978 were among the worst in in the house. Huntington's history. Heavy snow fell often and bitter cold kept the Gale stayed that way throughout her childhood, never causing ground covered for weeks. One day in early 1978, the Vega failed to any trouble. As she grew older, she helped out more and more at home, start after Gale parked it in the Student Housing parking lot. And, of preparing dinner on occasion while her mom worked. Gale also earned course, the snow piled up. her parents' trust, so much so that she went to work for Patsy at Holzer "It had snowed about 26 inches and the car wasn't running at the when she was just 16 years old. time," she says. "They asked us to move our cars off the lot so they Gale helped with the nursing payroll, working evenings after could clean, but I couldn't move it. They plowed all the snow on top school. of it. I didn't see that car again until April." "She had no supervision whatsoever and she did a very good The young married couple "didn't have a lot of extras" during job," her mom says. those early years. Joe is two years older than Gale, but they'd dated Gale was an A student throughout elementary, junior high and for three years in high school and, on June 5, 1976, were married. high school. She won the spelling bee, her mom remembers proudly, They didn't feel the need to explain to anyone. "Because we wanted and maintained an easygoing attitude. She turned 18 in May 1976, to," Gale says, justifying the decision to get married. "It seemed like graduated from Point Pleasant and married Joe Given a week later. the thing to do." Naturally, her mom thought she was too young to get married, Although they were not flush with funds, things certainly weren't but 26 years and three children-18-year-old Brad, 15-year-old Erica all bad. Sure, they had the not-so-dependable Vega to drive, but they and 9-year-old Drew-later, it's clear Gale and Joe knew what they also had another car-a 1970 AMC Hornet. It was Gale's before she were doing. and Joe were married. "Our needs were simple," Gale says. "It really Gale entered Marshall and, just three years later, graduated with wasn't that bad. It seems like it must have been hard, but at the time her bachelor's degree in math. we didn't have anything, but neither did anybody else." "It took some doing," she says. "The professors were For fun, or entertainment, as Gale remembers it, she and Joe accommodating to me. Once I had classes that overlapped. I'd go for played Yahtzee and shared popcorn with friends. "We didn't need a the first half of one class and the last half of another class." lot," she says. To this day, Gale regrets somewhat that she didn't have time to Gale worked a number of jobs during her undergraduate days. enjoy the social side of college life. She was too busy studying or She says she "did telemarketing before it was called telemarketing." s6 PROFILES IN PROMINE N CE PROFILES IN PROMINE N CE 57

Her job was to call people at random and encourage them to vote for a extensively, visiting 45 states. They love to camp. And, Joe has taught library levy. Next, she was hired as a waitress at the Huntington Pizza each of the children to play the guitar. Hut. It was clear that waitressing was not her cup of tea. Or Coke. Or In any family, of course, problems arise along the way. When water. they've surfaced in the Given household, the parents have always been "I dumped drinks on people ... I was terrible," Gale says. "I was around for the children and reacted appropriately. the worst waitress in the world." Jobs at Brumfield's Florist and with "One of the things that's interesting to me," Gale says, "is that the Marshall athletic department tutoring athletes followed before she even though Joe took on the traditional mom things, it never changed was hired by C&P, where she started on April 1, 1979. what the kids expected. If it was the kind of thing you'd usually go to The years following Gale's graduation from Marshall were mom for, they'd go to mom. We both have different kinds of talent. interesting, to say the least. She was well on her way to establishing We tend to do with them whatever seems to make the most sense." herself with C&P, but Joe's luck was not as good. Three companies he Co-worker Kathy Buckley, a close friend of Gale's dating back worked for during that time either closed or left West Virginia. "We to their early days with C&P, says Gale has a good sense of humor, is got caught up in the industrial fallout," Gale says. "He was in an industry very down to earth and has always been a "quick study." that was declining, I was in an industry that was growing." "She's sort of expanded the qualities she had then," Kathy said, The couple had hoped for, and expected, a traditional lifestyle, thinking back 20 years. "She could always quickly assess a situation. but it wasn't to be. They were thrust into a nontraditional mold, which Even at that time, she could have handled more than she was doing. can create havoc at home. And, an occasional bad meal. As the Given She's always been good at taking a complicated issue and boiling it children were born, Gale continued to advance with C&P. Joe stayed down to the points that were relevant." home with the children full time for several years. He had to learn to Although Gale rarely changes her temperament, she can shift cook. into a more controlling persona at work, if need be, Kathy says. Mostly, It took some work. though, the work atmosphere is relaxed under Gale's leadership, and ''The worst meal he ever made, when he was doing the 'Mr. Mom' hardly intimidating. "She's good at keeping people at ease," Kathy thing, was when he made fish sticks and ravioli," Gale says. "It was says. "She can have a good time getting something accomplished." awful. But, I was so hungry, having just had a baby, it tasted great. Gale replaced popular Dennis Bone as Verizon West Virginia Now, he's a great cook. He makes homemade manicotti, things like president, a tough act to follow to say the least. Dennis took a similar that." position in New Jersey and Gale was chosen to take his place. Today, And, although he obtained a nursing degree and now is a full­ friend Kathy has the job Gale had then-executive director of regulatory time nurse at Thomas Memorial Hospital, Joe still does about half the matters. "I've followed her quite enough," Kathy says, laughing. Kathy cooking at home, most of the laundry and all the yard work. As a says she was not surprised at all that Gale was promoted to state nurse, Joe works four days a week rather than the five he'd be working president because she knew she could handle the job. , in an administrative position, giving him more time at home with the "She was an excellent choice," Kathy says. "Gale was excellent kids-and more time to do the grocery shopping. in this (Regulatory) position. She's so good at so many things. She "We have more controllable hours," Gale says. can probably type faster than most secretaries. She can pick up on Despite Gale's nonstop, ever-changing schedule and heavy spreadsheets, manipulate data or speak in front of people impromptu." workload, she, Joe, Brad, Erica and Drew have managed to enjoy a Kathy and Gale are Putnam County neighbors, which means they close relationship and maintain a sense of normalcy. They've traveled depend on each other away from work, too. It's not uncommon for one s8 PROFILES IN PROMINENCE PROFILES IN PROMINENCE 59 to request a ride to work with the other when car repairs or maintenance Today, Gale's protected territory is Verizon West Virginia. She are required. moved out of West Virginia once after graduating from Marshall, but Sometimes, though, memories and busy schedules do not mix. remained in the telephone business all the while. Kathy recalls a time when Gale made an appointment to have In 1987, she headed for New Jersey where she stayed for three work done on her car. So, Gale called Kathy and asked, "Can you pick years. There, she worked with Bell Communications Research, the me up at the garage next Tuesday at 8:30?" Kathy said sure, but that research arm of the regional Bell operating companies, assisting the Tuesday rolled around and Kathy was a no-show at the garage. Gale telecommunications industry in resolving national issues related to called and asked Kathy, "Where are you?" carrier interconnection. She returned to C&P in Charleston in 1990. Oh, no, Kathy thought. While in New Jersey, Gale and her family frequently visited New "I'll be there in 15 minutes!" she said. York. She says they fell in love with the Bronx Zoo, but decided after "Wait, wait, wait!" Gale said before Kathy hung up. "I forgot, three years it was time to move back to West Virginia. Her home state, too!" Gale says, often is used as a first office or a site for something new in "She was calling from work," Kathy says. "Both of us forgot Verizon because it has a large, but manageable number of customers. about it." She describes her first two years as Verizon West Virginia Gale must have been born with her business sense, or perhaps president as "a major learning experience. Most of my previous career she simply acquired it early in life. There was a long period of time was internally focused," she says. "This job is externally focused, it's when her mom trusted the three children to do their chores since she very broadening. Verizon is one of the largest employers in the state, and Charles were working full time. And work did get done, but not our network covers the state." by Chuck and Doug. When Bell Atlantic and GTE merged, the result in West Virginia "I found out long after they were grown that they were giving was Verizon West Virginia, a company with 3,300 employees and her a quarter and she was doing their chores," Patsy says. "They were 900,000 access lines. supposed to have the breakfast dishes done. They were done, all right­ "We are trying to leverage the network to do as much as we can by Gale." for economic development and educational opportunities," Gale says. Doug Adkins remembers his sister as being fairly conservative "It's a big undertaking and we still need to do some more work." at a time when conservatism was not cool. She participated in the state's World School Program, which had "She never was part of that party scene, not like my brother and a goal of wiring every school in the state with high speed computer I," Doug says. "She stayed away from those kind of things. She had a access. That's been done, Gale says, with more than a million feet of circle of friends, but they were responsible people. By no means was wire in the schools. she wearing dresses to her ankles, but she always was and still is very A million feet? responsible and conscientious." "Obviously, it's changed a lot," Gale says of the telephone The Adkins children knew the rules at home. Doug says their business. "We're so far from the way it was when I was first hired." dad was strict at times, though not overly so. Chuck, Doug and Gale But, the goals are the same. Quality service for all of its other knew what the bottom line was and that it was not to be crossed. Gale, customers is a priority. Verizon's rates have remained fairly stable over Doug says, was not the traditional daddy's girl, but she was close. He the past two decades, and the company has been working recently on describes her as "protected territory" as a child. more reductions in long distance fees that are paid to Verizon. Over 6o PROFILES IN PROMINENCE PROFILES IN PROMINENCE the past 20 years, Verizon saw $80 million in phone bill reductions, "I appreciate that," Gale says. "They've been so flexible with us Gale says. over the years. We were married, so when we went to the financial aid She says she's proud to be the first woman president of Verizon department, they sat down with us and told us about married housing West Virginia, but she takes little credit in being the first to break the and the various grants we could seek." glass ceiling. "Women who came a couple of years before me really Gale says Dr. Ramchandra Akkihal, a professor in Marshall's did the ceiling-breaking," Gale says. "By the time I came along there MBA program, understood her needs and worked with her as she was recocrnition that there were many talented women, and it was time 0 pursued the master's degree. In fact, Gale has nothing but praise for to give them more opportunities. I expect some avenues opened to me her professors. "They're looking out for the students," she says. "They because I was both female and qualified." always helped me find a way. If not for the MBA, I really don't think She says Verizon tries to represent its customer base with a diverse I'd be in this position." workforce. So, what's next for Gale? Don't be surprised to see her back on "They're always looking to find opportunities for minorities and Marshall's campus, or some campus, taking more classes. "I'm kind women," Gale says. "You neverreally know how much weight is given of a chronic student," she says. "I like to go to school. I would like to to that. I do know that I worked hard to get where I am." get my Ph.D." For that, she gives mom and dad their due. The work ethic runs Finding the time might seem a problem. After all, much of Gale's in the family, and has for generations. "My father's parents ran a country "spare" time is spent serving on numerous boards, such as the store until they were 81," she says. "My mom's parents worked until Governor's Technology Enterprise Investment Council, or the West they were in their 70's. So, my mom and dad expected something of Virginia Roundtable, or the West Virginia State Chamber of Commerce me. I came home from school one day and told them that one kid had or the Marshall Graduate School Advisory Board or the Marshall gotten five dollars for every A. My parents said, 'We expect you to get Foundation or as a vice chair for the Marshall University Campaign A's.' But, they did start giving me money for straight A's." for National Prominence! A costly agreement for the parents, no doubt. But, it was a debt For good measure, she also is on boards of the Children's Home gladly paid. Society, the Business and Industrial Development Corporation, "I knew she was capable," Patsy Adkins says today of Gale's Discover the Real West Virginia, West Virginia Independent Colleges extraordinary success. "We just didn't know (when she was a child) if & Universities, the West Virginia Council for Community and she would have the opportunity. Very few women got that chance. Economic Development, the CAMC Foundation and the Charleston We're extremely proud of her and we couldn't be more happy for her. Rotary. She deserves everything she's gotten. You don't get there by just sitting Too busy for more education? back and letting someone else do the work." Maybe, before that little visit with Don Hall 22 years ago, Gale Gale certainly did the work at Marshall, though not in the usual might have looked for an excuse not to give 120 percent in all aspects way with the 3-year stint as an undergraduate and the nearly 2 years in of her life. It would have been so easy. the Saturday Executive MBA program-both accomplished while Today? Not a chance. married. This past spring, she was one of four people recognized by Don Hall was only 53 years old when he died. His wife, Terri, the university at its I 65th commencement ceremonies at the Huntington still works for Verizon. Don knew the impact he'd had on her life, and Civic Arena with an honorary Doctor of Humane Letters degree. how grateful she was and still is. Terri knows, too. 62 PROFILES IN PROMINENCE

"The point is, if someone is important to you, or maybe helped you along the way, say thank you," Gale says. "You might not have the chance again." Nor do you expect to be a witness to the worst terrorist attack in history 34 years after your small home town suffered its own tragedy -the collapse of the Silver Bridge-when you were just a tot. Life, Gale Given knows, is meant to be lived to the fullest because the future is so uncertain. One hundred and twenty percent, full speed ahead. Advice from a supervisor. Words to live by. The result, in Gale Given's life, anyway, is unmistakable!

Dave Wellman is Director of Communications at Marshall University.