The organization needs to be reinvented, so the board of directors created a new position and searched the Upper Ohio Valley and beyond for the perfect person who could accomplish such a task.
The board members, all of whom are connected with the local construction industry, did not have to look very far, though, and selected in October Erikka Storch as Project BEST’s very first executive director. Storch is the former chief financial officer of Ohio Valley Steel, a fabricating company in East Wheeling that her family sold seven years ago.
Storch also is a state lawmaker who is a Republican in her sixth term in the state House of Delegates representing the Third District. She resigned as president of the Wheeling Chamber of Commerce in order to accept the position.
“When I was offered the job, I was very excited because for a lot of years I was very involved with Project BEST,” Storch said. “I have always been supportive of organized labor in my professional career, so I feel this position will allow me to continue that while working with people from both sides of the industry. Project BEST always has been a collaboration between management and labor, but now those members will work directly with me.
“One of the first goals I have is to rebrand the organization because the board feels Project BEST has lost its identity with the public,” she explained. “So, it’s important that we improve that relationship and to increase the cooperation between the companies and the union members. We could be seeing a lot of development take place over the next 10 to 20 years, so it’s important that we’re all ready for it.”
Chamber Years
Storch started with the Wheeling Chamber of Commerce in 2014 and was forced to navigate the organization through the ongoing coronavirus pandemic that began in March 2020. Somehow, Storch managed to retain the organization’s membership without the annual schedule of events and interaction.
The new president of the Wheeling Chamber, Kurt Zende, was impressed when he examined the organization’s financial reports following the “shut-down” year.
“There’s really no way I could have accomplished the same thing Erikka did because I’m more of a spender,” he said. “But Erikka found ways to pinch every penny she could, so when things finally started opening up again, the Chamber was solid enough to have events. She picked up right where she left off when Covid shut everything down.
“Her new position with Project BEST is a great fit for her because of her experience in the construction business, and my new position with the Chamber is a great fit because of what I have done in my career,” Zende continued. “I truly believe we’re going to see a lot of positive changes in Wheeling and in the entire area, and I’m excited to work with Erikka in the future.”
Storch believes part of her success during the year Gov. Jim Justice placed mandates on businesses in West Virginia concerning operation and occupancy was, in part, her role as a Mountain State lawmaker.
“The Governor’s Office did do a decent job with updating us during a time of uncertainty for all of us, including our local business owners,” she said. “Since I was on the other end of those emails because I’m an elected official, I was able to inform the membership more quickly than someone else could have.
“And during my years with the Chamber, we were able to bring a lot of new programs and benefit packages to the members, and that was a big success,” Storch added. “The board members of the Wheeling Chamber made a great choice by hiring Kurt Zende. I have worked with him often, and I believe he will do great for the membership.”
