Introduction of "Words to live by..." and the author Joyce Harris-Thacker

Tell me and I forget. Teach me and I remember. Involve me and I Learn.--Benjamin Franklin

You could ask almost anybody in the small town of Buckhannon, West Virginia, who is Joyce Harris-Thacker, and you undoubtedly would get a myriad of answers:  Oh, she’s the widow of WV State Trooper David Harris.  She’s a former County Commissioner and the first woman commissioner in Upshur County.  She is an author and a poet.  She’s Natalie Harris’s (Hissam) mom.  She was my typing teacher when I was in high school.  She’s married to Steve Thacker; he’s the best car mechanic in town.  She’s the Director of the Upshur County FRN.  She has more pictures in the local newspaper than anyone else I know.  She is constantly advocating for services to improve the lives of our children and families here in Upshur County.  She speaks at the State Capitol and FBI Center on special occasions to bring attention and honor to our law enforcement officers and their families. 

You could talk to a hundred people, and they all might say that they serve on a board or committee with me, and they wouldn’t be lying.  But, that would exhaust both the writer and the reader to go through that list.

Yes, all the prior statements are true.  I served as a County Commissioner in Upshur County from 1993-2000.  While serving on the  national board for Concerns of Police Survivors, I spoke on many occasions at the state capitol to help bring about change in the lives of our law enforcement officers and their families, and leading the charge for developing national, state and local law enforcement memorials.  I hold a Bachelor of Science degree in Business Education from WV Wesleyan College and a Master’s Degree in Education from Wesleyan as well, taught in the Upshur County public school system, and as an adjunct at Fairmont State for a short period.  Most of the past decade has been spent in my beloved community supporting programs to meet the needs of children and families through the Upshur County Family Resource Network.  In my spare time, I am on a ballfield or in a gym in Marion County watching my grandsons, Trey and Gavin Hissam, wrestle or play baseball. 

This fall after obtaining my teaching recertification through classes at Fairmont State, I will return to teaching part-time in the Upshur County Schools and continue to advocate for children and family services in Upshur County through an abbreviated schedule with FRN.

https://online.fairmontstate.edu/webct/entryPage.dowebct

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lKlJOxwyMWU

https://sites.google.com/site/educ6806