* Eligible patients in northwestern West Virginia will benefit from a Claude Worthington Benedum Foundation grant that will help Memorial Health System provide free breast cancer screening and mammography services. With the $80,000 received, Memorial will also be able raise awareness for early breast cancer detection and expand access to resources. It’s a grant that will truly save lives. “This grant allows us to reach patients who might otherwise delay or skip screening,” said Sistersville General Hospital Administrator Jason Suter. “By making mammograms free and available close to home, we can help find cancer earlier and improve outcomes for individuals in our communities.” The Free Mammogram Breast Screening Program will bring access to life-saving tests to rural residents who might otherwise never be able to have them done. Thank goodness for the kinds of community partnerships and resource-seeking efforts that made it possible.

* Small, family-owned businesses are the hearts of our communities, and one local business has been recognized by the U.S. Small Business Administration. Marchell’s Barbershop in Parkersburg, is West Virginia’s Family-Owned Small Business of the Year. “I think it is amazing,” said second-generation owner Marchell Jones Jr. “We have been serving the community for over 60 years. It is a great honor.” It is an honor that sounds as though it is richly deserved, given his and his family’s commitment to going above and beyond with their business. Congratulations!