Matthew G. Ballard was named President of the Charleston Area Alliance on 
Before joining the Alliance, Ballard served as the Executive Director of the Hatfield-McCoy Trails, a 500-mile multi-use trail system, operating in nine counties throughout southern West Virginia. The Hatfield-McCoy Trail system is the only publicly managed trail system operated on private property in the world. While at Hatfield-McCoy, Ballard raised the profile of the trail system and led its expansion. Ballard personally appeared on the Discovery Channel, ESPN, the Speed Channel, and the Outdoor Network raising the national profile of this one of a kind tourism destination. The revenue of the organization increased by over 94% during his tenure and the trail system is now one of the highlights in West Virginia’s tourism industry. Recognized for his knowledge in tourism, Ballard served on the Tourism Transition Team as Governor Manchin organized the executive branch for his first term in office.
Prior to his work in tourism, Ballard served for two years as the Special Assistant for Project Management and Policy Analysis to Cabinet Secretary Brian Kastick in the WV Department Revenue. There, Ballard managed two important initiatives for then Governor Wise; economic recovery from devastating floods in southern West Virginia and on the statewide Amendment One ballot initiative, which was passed by voters, and gave our state the option of creating economic development with “tax increment financing.”
Ballard has an undergraduate degree in Nursing from Alderson-Broaddus College and a Masters Degree in Public Administration from West Virginia University. Ballard was also selected in 2000 as one of four Burke Scholars with the West Virginia Legislature and spent nine months working for the Senate Majority Leader.
Ballard currently serves on the Governor’s Disaster Recovery Board, the Chemical Alliance Zone, the Alderson Broaddus College Alumni Council, the West Virginia Center of Nursing, and the Board of Directors of the Hatfield-McCoy Trail as a Kanawha County Representative.
