Post by rainman on Oct 18, 2007 6:03:45 GMT -5
WVU has a young new first family
Cara Folk
For the Charleston Daily Mail
MORGANTOWN— Heather Malone Garrison and her two daughters, Julia, 4, and Gabriella, 2, still do cartwheels and handstands together.
These days that might happen in the large entertaining hall at the Blaney House — the official home of the president of West Virginia University.
“We try to keep the house as close to a home as possible even though some larger events are held here,” said Heather, 34, wife of WVU’s 22nd president, Fairmont native Mike Garrison.
“At first the girls thought that we were staying in a hotel. They’d ask when they were going to go home, but now they’re starting to settle in.”
Mike, 38, was chosen to succeed David Hardesty last spring and stepped into the role on Sept. 1. He will be formally inaugurated Friday in a ceremony capping a week of related activities.
While Heather and her girls must adjust to a rather public new home, she is quite familiar with both the university and town.
She was born and raised in Morgantown as an only child by her parents, Beverly and Wesley “Chip” Malone.
Heather comes from a long line of businessmen and women. Heather’s grandparents on both sides owned dairy farms in the Morgantown area, and her father owns Crockett’s Lodge and Chic-N-Bone’s Rhythm Cafe.
Perhaps this is where Heather got her drive to receive three degrees from WVU. She received a bachelor’s degree in English in 1995, a master’s degree in safety from the College of Engineering in 1996, and a law degree in 2000.
She met Mike as an undergraduate. They immediately hit it off.
“Our first date was a Sting concert,” she said.
“Have you ever met that person that you just immediately have a connection with? It’s like you can just sit in the same room and not say a word but be comfortable with that. That’s sort of how it was on our first date.”
Heather says the differences between her and her husband are mirrored by their two children.
“He is a lot like Julie, who can go up to anyone and start a conversation. I’ve actually had to talk to her about that. Whereas I am more like Gabby, who is shy at first, but once you get to know her, she warms right up. She likes to step back, see the situation, and then go for it.”
Susan and David Hardesty’s children were grown. Some changes had to be made to Blaney House to accommodate the new residents.
Heather has brought some personal touches from their old house.
“It already had furniture in it, but we brought our leather sofa from the old house and moved a few of the rooms around,” she said.
The girls’ bedrooms, a former fitness room and office, are now spaces fit for two princesses. Adorning the walls in Julia’s room are paintings borrowed from the WVU art collection of her favorite animal and most desired pet — a cat.
Heather says this desire is likely to stay just that.
“We have two girls and two dogs, and just recently my mom thought it would be a good idea to get a saltwater aquarium. We bought a clown fish named Nemo, a Blue Tang named Dory, and a few shrimp.
“Well, one night we turned on the light to feed them before bed, and there was Dory, who was ... expired, and there were the shrimp eating Dory. So we probably don’t need another animal right now.”
With the hectic life the Garrisons now lead, they need some time to relax. Sunday mornings have become that.
While Heather’s parents entertain Julia and Gabriella at their farm, Heather and Mike get a chance to have a cup of coffee and read the paper together — something that rarely happens during the week.
Weekdays, Mike is usually up by 5:30 a.m. and out the door before the children are awake.
Heather makes breakfast for the girls. It’s usually bacon, ham and eggs for Gabriella and pancakes for Julia.
“It’s like I’m a short order cook, really,” she said.
While her new life as WVU’s first lady is busy, Heather makes time to head over to the student recreation center to run and lift weights. While some people go to the gym to work off stress, Heather says she really has not felt stressed since starting this adventure.
“I don’t really find it to be stressful. Everybody has been kind, welcoming and helpful so it didn’t take us that long to feel like this was home,” she said.
She said Mike always has had a busy schedule and she may see him more now than before. Before assuming the presidency, he practiced law and prior to that was chief of staff to former Gov. Bob Wise.
Heather has asked Mike for one thing, to try to make it home for dinner with the family.
Her plans during her husband’s presidency are to be just as involved in the university as Mike himself.
“Now is the time to start gathering information about what the community’s needs are and where my time is most needed. Of course, the first issue is the development of the child care facility,” she said.
“But between the girls and that, that’s going to be enough — and taking care of Mike in my spare time.”
The Garrisons may be the youngest university president and first lady in the country, but Heather isn’t focused on that.
“We can’t be carbon copies of anyone before us but we can do our best and put a lot of energy into what we do.”
Cara Folk
For the Charleston Daily Mail
MORGANTOWN— Heather Malone Garrison and her two daughters, Julia, 4, and Gabriella, 2, still do cartwheels and handstands together.
These days that might happen in the large entertaining hall at the Blaney House — the official home of the president of West Virginia University.
“We try to keep the house as close to a home as possible even though some larger events are held here,” said Heather, 34, wife of WVU’s 22nd president, Fairmont native Mike Garrison.
“At first the girls thought that we were staying in a hotel. They’d ask when they were going to go home, but now they’re starting to settle in.”
Mike, 38, was chosen to succeed David Hardesty last spring and stepped into the role on Sept. 1. He will be formally inaugurated Friday in a ceremony capping a week of related activities.
While Heather and her girls must adjust to a rather public new home, she is quite familiar with both the university and town.
She was born and raised in Morgantown as an only child by her parents, Beverly and Wesley “Chip” Malone.
Heather comes from a long line of businessmen and women. Heather’s grandparents on both sides owned dairy farms in the Morgantown area, and her father owns Crockett’s Lodge and Chic-N-Bone’s Rhythm Cafe.
Perhaps this is where Heather got her drive to receive three degrees from WVU. She received a bachelor’s degree in English in 1995, a master’s degree in safety from the College of Engineering in 1996, and a law degree in 2000.
She met Mike as an undergraduate. They immediately hit it off.
“Our first date was a Sting concert,” she said.
“Have you ever met that person that you just immediately have a connection with? It’s like you can just sit in the same room and not say a word but be comfortable with that. That’s sort of how it was on our first date.”
Heather says the differences between her and her husband are mirrored by their two children.
“He is a lot like Julie, who can go up to anyone and start a conversation. I’ve actually had to talk to her about that. Whereas I am more like Gabby, who is shy at first, but once you get to know her, she warms right up. She likes to step back, see the situation, and then go for it.”
Susan and David Hardesty’s children were grown. Some changes had to be made to Blaney House to accommodate the new residents.
Heather has brought some personal touches from their old house.
“It already had furniture in it, but we brought our leather sofa from the old house and moved a few of the rooms around,” she said.
The girls’ bedrooms, a former fitness room and office, are now spaces fit for two princesses. Adorning the walls in Julia’s room are paintings borrowed from the WVU art collection of her favorite animal and most desired pet — a cat.
Heather says this desire is likely to stay just that.
“We have two girls and two dogs, and just recently my mom thought it would be a good idea to get a saltwater aquarium. We bought a clown fish named Nemo, a Blue Tang named Dory, and a few shrimp.
“Well, one night we turned on the light to feed them before bed, and there was Dory, who was ... expired, and there were the shrimp eating Dory. So we probably don’t need another animal right now.”
With the hectic life the Garrisons now lead, they need some time to relax. Sunday mornings have become that.
While Heather’s parents entertain Julia and Gabriella at their farm, Heather and Mike get a chance to have a cup of coffee and read the paper together — something that rarely happens during the week.
Weekdays, Mike is usually up by 5:30 a.m. and out the door before the children are awake.
Heather makes breakfast for the girls. It’s usually bacon, ham and eggs for Gabriella and pancakes for Julia.
“It’s like I’m a short order cook, really,” she said.
While her new life as WVU’s first lady is busy, Heather makes time to head over to the student recreation center to run and lift weights. While some people go to the gym to work off stress, Heather says she really has not felt stressed since starting this adventure.
“I don’t really find it to be stressful. Everybody has been kind, welcoming and helpful so it didn’t take us that long to feel like this was home,” she said.
She said Mike always has had a busy schedule and she may see him more now than before. Before assuming the presidency, he practiced law and prior to that was chief of staff to former Gov. Bob Wise.
Heather has asked Mike for one thing, to try to make it home for dinner with the family.
Her plans during her husband’s presidency are to be just as involved in the university as Mike himself.
“Now is the time to start gathering information about what the community’s needs are and where my time is most needed. Of course, the first issue is the development of the child care facility,” she said.
“But between the girls and that, that’s going to be enough — and taking care of Mike in my spare time.”
The Garrisons may be the youngest university president and first lady in the country, but Heather isn’t focused on that.
“We can’t be carbon copies of anyone before us but we can do our best and put a lot of energy into what we do.”
