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On June 6, 2002 The Education Alliance honored two graduates of West Virginia public schools
who have distinguished themselves through exemplary achievements and for their loyalty to the state.
Mr. A. Michael Perry, a key leader in the state's business, education and health communities, and Dr. Ancella
R. Bickley, a nationally-recognized editor, author, historian and educator, were honored.
 Throughout his illustrious career, A. Michael Perry, a graduate of
Huntington High School, has been a person who gets things done. Whether
working to build a financial institution, striving to develop the economic
infrastructure of the Mountain State, improving the health care system in
West Virginia, or providing citizens with a realistic view of their
hard-working and resourceful ancestors, Mr. Perry has excelled in every
endeavor because of his work ethic, leadership abilities and passion for
West Virginia.
A key leader in the West Virginia business, education and health communities
throughout his distinguished career, Mr. Perry helped guide Key Centurion
Bancshares, West Virginia’s first billion dollar banking organization. He
led Key Centurion Bancshares through a number of transitions in its growth
toward becoming Banc One West Virginia Corporation, later becoming Banc One,
West Virginia, NA, for which he was Chairman and CEO.
This Graduate of Distinction has served as Chairman of the West Virginia
Chamber of Commerce, the West Virginia Bankers Association and the
University System of West Virginia Board of Trustees and as Co-Chairman of
West Virginia Celebration 2000 and Advantage Valley. He is a “Charter
Member” of Marshall University and West Virginia University Business Hall of
Fame. He and one of last year’s Graduates of Distinction, Buck Harless, are
the only charter members for both universities.
Mr. Perry’s leadership and unwavering commitment to the Mountain State have
earned him numerous other honors, including being named “Banker of the
Decade” by the West Virginia Bankers Association. He also was named “Citizen
of the Year” twice by the Huntington Herald Dispatch and “Outstanding
Volunteer Fundraiser of the Year” in 1996 by West Virginia NSFRE National
Philanthropy.
A graduate of Marshall University with a Bachelor of Arts Degree and also
the West Virginia University College of Law, Mr. Perry was a partner with
the law firm of Huddleston, Bolen, Beatty, Porter and Copen in Huntington
and served as State Chairman of the Young Lawyers Section of the West
Virginia State Bar. In 1999, he was one of the charter members recognized by
the West Virginia Bar Association Fellows Program.
He currently serves on the boards of directors for numerous area companies
and organizations, including: Advantage Valley; Arch Coal, Inc; Champion
Industries; CORBIN, Ltd.; DARCO International; Discover the Real West
Virginia Foundation; HADCO; Logan Corporation; Mission WV; Marshall
University Foundation, Inc.; Marshall University Board of Governors; WV
Roundtable; and numerous other business, civic and charitable organizations.
Mr. Perry is also very active in the health industry and was the first
Chairman of Genesis Affiliated Health Services, Inc., a non-profit
corporation which included Cabell Huntington Hospital, St. Mary’s Hospital
and Pleasant Valley Hospital. He served on the Board of Directors for St.
Mary’s Hospital for the past 12 years, and is an active Board member of
Ultimate Health Services, Inc., having served as its Chairman. He serves as
Co-Chairman with Senator Rockefeller for the West Virginia Children’s Health
Project Mobile Medical Unit and was the first Chairman of the Mary Babb
Randolph Cancer Center at West Virginia University.
Mike and his wife, Henriella Perry, are co-founders of the Heritage Farm
Museum and Village, which consists of more than 16 reconstructed log and
other buildings dedicated to West Virginia’s Appalachian ancestors and
educating others about their resourceful way of life.
A. Michael Perry is truly a Graduate of Distinction because of a work ethic
that is second to none, visionary leadership that has produced tangible
results and a steadfast commitment to the Mountain State.
 Whether teaching at the university level, working with community groups to
record and preserve Black History, serving on committees to improve
educational opportunities for students, or writing and editing so that
future generations can discover the challenges and triumphs of past
generations, Dr. Ancella R. Bickley exemplifies the pride and spirit of West
Virginia.
Dr. Bickley is a graduate of West Virginia State College with a bachelor’s
degree in English. She also holds a master’s degree in English from Marshall
University and a doctorate in education from West Virginia University.
Retired as Vice President for Academic Affairs from West Virginia State
College, this distinguished West Virginian has also served as visiting
professor at Marshall University and as an English professor at both West
Virginia State College and West Virginia University. While working at WVU,
Dr. Bickley introduced the first Black Literature class at that institution.
She is the recipient of the “Distinguished Citizen Award” from the Mountain
State Bar Association, the “Carter G. Woodson Award” from the National
Education Association, and the “Woman of the Year” award from the Clarksburg
Woman’s Study Club. She is also a “Distinguished West Virginian,” and also
received the “Award for Contributions for Humanities Education” from the
West Virginia Humanities Council, the “Scholarship Award” from the Martin
Luther King, Jr. State Holiday Commission and the “National Sojourner Truth
Meritorious Service Award” from the Huntington Club of the National
Association of Negro Business and Professional Women. In addition, Dr.
Bickley was appointed as a Danforth Associate, and was awarded an Honorary
Doctorate and the “Distinguished Alumnus Award” from Marshall University.
A graduate of Douglass High School in Huntington, Dr. Bickley’s impact on
written history is substantial, meritorious and ground breaking.
Publications and articles she has written or co-edited include: To Be Black
in Fayette, based on oral histories of some Fayette County residents;
Memphis Tennessee Garrison: The Remarkable Story of a Black Appalachian
Woman, published through Ohio University Press in 2001; “Martha,” published
in Appalachian Love Stories; Our Mount Vernons, an examination of West
Virginia Black sites on the National Register of Historic Places; Honoring
Our Past: Proceedings of the First Two Conferences on West Virginia’s Black
History; and “Remembering 3538 C,” oral history interviews with two black
men who were members of the Civilian Conservation Corps.
In addition, this West Virginia native helped to start the West Virginia
Black History Conference, which was held annually at Marshall University for
eight years; served with the West Virginia Humanities Council, two years as
President; and aided in getting three buildings nominated to the National
Register of Historic Places. Dr. Bickley also assisted in the development of
an oral history project which involved adults and students in the East End
of Charleston and culminated with a play drawn from the oral histories,
served on the Advisory Committee to the National Park Service Underground
Railroad Study Project and was a member of the West Virginia African
American Tourism Advisory Committee. She is also a member of the West
Virginia Archives and History Commission, the Carter G. Woodson Memorial
Foundation, the West Virginia Task Force to Improve End of Life Care for
African Americans and the Task Force on Maximizing Achievement of African
American Children in Kanawha County Schools. Presently, she is also working
in conjunction with Dr. Rita Wicks-Nelson conducting an oral history project
involving interviews with retired black teachers in West Virginia.
Dr. Bickley has devoted her life to recording and preserving the history of
African Americans in West Virginia and to sharing her quest for knowledge
with people of all ages and races. She clearly is one of West Virginia’s
Graduates of Distinction, not only for her accomplishments, but also for the
passion she has exhibited for her work and for West Virginia.
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