Governor-elect Jim Justice recently announced several positions to his administration, including press secretary, secretary of commerce, communications director and Department of Military Affairs and Public Safety (DMAPS) secretary.
Grant Herring has been announced as press secretary in the new administration, Woody Thrasher will serve as secretary of commerce, Carl “Butch” Antolini will serve as director of communications, and Jeff Sandy will serve as WV DMAPS.
During the 2016 campaign, Herring was Justice’s communications director and spokesman. He is currently managing the communications for the Justice Transition Team. Herring has previously worked for U.S. Senator Mark Pryor of Arkansas, VA Lt. Governor Ralph Northam, and other top-tier campaigns across the country. Herring is a 2010 graduate of George Mason University.
In his new role, Herring will continue his duties as the spokesman for Justice and will work closely with members of the media.
Thrasher is a native of Harrison County and is currently the president of The Thrasher Group, an engineering and architecture firm he started with his father in 1983. The company employs nearly 400 people and has offices in West Virginia, Virginia, Ohio, and Maryland. Thrasher’s company is now the largest engineering firm in the state, and one of the biggest in the Mid-Atlantic region.
In 2013, the Exponent Telegram named Thrasher Entrepreneur of the Year. He is the managing partner of White Oaks business park in Bridgeport, which has brought over 2,000 jobs to North Central West Virginia. He served as president of the West Virginia American Council of Engineering Companies and president of the West Virginia Society of Professional Engineers. He is currently the chairman of the WVU alumni Association.
Antolini has been the communications director for the West Virginia Department of Agriculture since 2013. Prior to that he was executive editor and general manager for Beckley Newspapers for eight years. He has also worked at other various newspapers and media outlets in West Virginia and Maryland during the past 35 years including positions in Morgantown, Parkersburg, Clarksburg, Elkins and Cumberland, MD.
Raised in Elkins, Antolini is a former member of the West Virginia Press Association and served on the organization’s board of directors. He is a 1982 graduate of the Perley Isaac Reed School of Journalism at West Virginia University.
Sandy is a Wood County native and currently a partner in Perry Forensic Investigations LLC, after working 25 years as a Special Agent with U.S. Treasury’s Criminal Investigation Division. He is a Certified Fraud Examiner (CFE) and a Certified Anti-Money Laundering Specialist.
In 2008, Sandy was elected Sheriff of Wood County. As sheriff, Sandy modernized his office with new equipment and new investigative strategies. He was appointed to serve on the board of the Regional Jail Authority. In 2012, he was elected chairman of the Regional Jail Board. Sandy also served on the board of the West Virginia Sheriff’s Association. He worked in Iraq on counter terrorism missions and to trace Saddam Hussein’s hidden assets to keep them from being used by terrorists. His achievements were featured on ABC’s World News Tonight. Since 9/11, Sandy has been part of the elite Department of Justice funded SLATT Team (State and Local Anti-Terrorism Training) that has trained over 140,000 United States law enforcement officers in all 50 states and Puerto Rico.
During his time at U.S. Department of Treasury he earned over 100 awards, including: West Virginia Mid-Ohio Valley “Law Enforcement Officer of the Year,” U.S. Department of Treasury “Employee of the Year,” and the second highest medal awarded by the Department of Defense, and the highest award issued by the Department of the Treasury for his investigative work in Iraq concerning the United Nations Oil for Food Fraud, Terrorism Funding, and the tracing of Hussein’s hidden assets.
