Berkeley Springs resident Gat Caperton named to Shepherd Board of Governors

ISSUED: 31 January 2007
MEDIA CONTACT: Valerie Owens
(Berkeley Springs resident Gat Caperton named to Shepherd Board of Governors)

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Shepherdstown, WV--Berkeley Springs resident Gat Caperton has been named to the Shepherd University Board of Governors by Governor Joe Manchin. He will serve a four-year term on the 12-member governing board.

Caperton is the president and CEO of Caperton Furnitureworks, a manufacturer of handmade, solid-wood home furniture that he acquired in 1996. Located in Berkeley Springs, the award-winning company, originally named Tom Seely Furniture, employs more than 100 skilled workers and sells furniture throughout the U.S.

Caperton Furnitureworks won Home Magazine's American Furniture Awards in 2006 and 2003 for its original furniture designs. It is a two-time winner of the West Virginia Business Environmental Leadership Award and received the 2006 Businesses for the (Chesapeake) Bay's Environmental Excellence Award, the 2002 West Virginia Department of Environmental Protection Award for improvements in environmental management, and the 2002 Governor's Safe Workplace Award.

Prior to acquiring Tom Seely Furniture, Caperton worked six years in Chicago for a large, diversified manufacturing company. While working full time, Caperton earned an M.B.A. from the University of Chicago Graduate School of Business and membership on its Dean's List. In 1990 Caperton earned a B.A. in economics from Davidson College in North Carolina.

Caperton serves on the board of the Eastern West Virginia Community Foundation, the Natural Capital Investment Fund, and the West Virginia Nature Conservancy.

Other members of the Shepherd University Board of Governors include Manny Arvon, Martinsburg; Lauri Bridgeforth, Winchester, Virginia; Doris Griffin, Martinsburg; Robert A. McMillan, Martinsburg; Andrew D. Michael, Hedgesville; Lacy I. Rice III, Bethesda, Maryland; Brent Robinson, Morgantown; and John M. Sherwood, Ranson, who serves as board chair. Institutional members include faculty representative Dr. Anders Henriksson, classified employee representative Kenneth E. Harbaugh, and student representative Christopher Raines.

-30-OWENS

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