The Fall edition 2019 of WV Living Magazine unveiled the sixth annual Wonder Women of West Virginia featuring Appalachian women who bring the mountain spirit to everything they do.
WV Living describes them as “The movers and shakers, the makers, the can-doers and glass ceiling-breakers, from founding businesses and advancing the arts to upholding the law and lending a helping hand – and they do so without a golden lasso of truth or bulletproof bracelets.”
Among these notables from across the state are three from Greenbrier County. Adrienne Biesemeyer, Jennifer “Tootie” Jones and Andrea “Andy” Pendleton were honored for contributing to the betterment of their respective fields of endeavor. No matter who they are or what they do, together they are building a better state.
When Lewisburg-based pediatric counselor Adrienne Biesemeyer visited South Africa in 1994, the country’s AIDS epidemic had become worldwide news. Realizing her activities as an American traveling in the country had insulated her from that news, she determined to learn more about Africa and help others gain awareness. She and her daughter Rachel founded the Anir Foundation in 1997 to organize trips to give travelers greater cultural understanding of African nations while participating in Habitat for Humanity builds and other volunteer work programs that give direct, personal experience to the communities they visit.
