From left to right, top row, are Emily Harless, Jake Hoke, and Casey Brown. Bottom row, left to right, are Chris Hall, Anthony Woodson, Alex Kessinger and Callie Newcomber.

WestRock's Covington Mill Announces Position Changes   Covington, VA (Oct. 15, 2021) - WestRock’s Covington mill announces position changes that were internally announced in September. Emily Harless has accepted the position of reliability engineer in the Maintenance Reliability Group. She is responsible for creating a reliability plan and heading up projects to provide longer life for the machines and equipment in the paper mill department, and improve processes and maintenance plans to increase mill efficiency, reliability, and profitability. Harless received her B.S. in Mechanical Engineering from WVU Tech in May 2020. In 2017, she worked as an intern with Kureha PGA, LLC in Belle, WV, and then also as an intern in 2018 with Coronado Coal in Grundy, VA. Harless was a co-op at the Covington mill in 2019, and joined the mill full-time, in 2020, as a process engineer where she worked on No. 8 paper machine and then No. 1 paper machine. Jake Hoke has accepted the position of validator on No. 2 paper machine. In this position, he is responsible for creating work orders and scheduling maintenance activities to optimize machine runnability. Hoke began his career at Jenfab Inc. in 1999 and completed his apprenticeship as a metal-fabricator while there. In 2004, he joined MWV in the Power department , and in 2008, he returned to Jenfab as the shop foreman. Hoke joined WestRock’s Covington mill, in 2015, as a supervisor / planner in Area IV Maintenance. In September of 2018, he joined the Fiberline as a vaildator in the WTP. Casey Brown has accepted the position of foreman for No. 2 paper machine. In this role he is responsible for managing safety, quality, availability, troubleshooting, and directing the machine crew on shift. Brown graduated from Alleghany High School in 1996. In that same year he joined Waco as a welder. In 2001, Brown joined Westvaco on the extra board and spent time in the Carbon department and then No. 5 paper machine. He transferred to No. 1 paper machine in 2002, where he progressed from utility assistant to 4th assistant. In 2003, Brown transferred to No. 2 paper machine as a utility assistant and worked his way up to 1st assistant. In 2015, he accepted the position of hourly relief supervisor on No. 2 paper machine. Chris Hall has accepted the position of foreman for No. 2 paper machine. In this role he is responsible for managing safety, quality, availability, troubleshooting, and directing the machine crew on shift. Hall graduated from Temple Christian High School in 1982. In 1983, he accepted the position of mechanic with Hall Transfer and Storage in Clifton Forge, and progressed through the positions of truck driver, dispatcher, and operations supervisor. In 2006, Hall accepted the position of 2nd assistant in the Unbleached Pulp Mill with MWV. He moved to 3rd assistant on No. 2 paper machine in 2009. In 2012, Hall accepted the position of hourly step-up foreman on No. 2 paper machine. Anthony Woodson has accepted the position of foreman for No. 2 paper machine. In this role he is responsible for managing safety, quality, availability, troubleshooting, and directing the machine crew on shift. Woodson is a graduate of Covington High School and Jackson River Technical Center where he received a diploma in welding technology. In 2009, he accepted the position of welding instructor and substitute teacher at JRTC. In late 2009, Woodson joined Zachry Inc., in Covington, as a pipe welder. He accepted the position of pipe welder with Waco Inc., in 2011. In May 2011, Woodson joined the mill as 4th assistant on No. 2 paper machine. Alex Kessinger has accepted the position of maintenance planner for No. 1 paper machine. In this role he is responsible for mechanical maintenance planning for No.1 paper machine and loading. Kessinger earned his B.S. in Industrial Technology from East Tennessee State University in 1989, and received his MBA from Liberty University in 2008. He was a combat engineer officer in the U. S. Army from 1990 until 1995, when he began working as a project superintendent at Insituform Technologies in Atlanta, Georgia. He began his career with Westvaco in 1996, holding the positions of maintenance planner, reliability engineer, and assistant maintenance superintendent. Kessinger then served as the director of Administrative Services for Alleghany County Public Schools beginning in 2004. He rejoined MWV, in 2006, as a supervisor in Power, and in 2011, he was promoted to power superintendent. In 2014, Alex accepted the position of shift operations manager. In 2016, he joined Packaging Corporation of America in Deridder, LA, as maintenance manager. In 2017, Alex accepted the position of maintenance manager at Greif Inc, in Amherst, VA. In 2020, Alex returned to his hometown of Covington and joined West Virginia Great Barrel Company as maintenance manager. Callie Newcomer has accepted the position of HR generalist in the Human Resources department. In this position, she is responsible for talent acquisition, the co-op program, supporting payroll and scheduling, employee relations, and providing general assistance to the HR team. Newcomer earned her B.S. in Psychology from Radford University, in May of 2013. She has held a certification from the Society of Human Resource Management since February 2019. Newcomer accepted the position of service recruiter for Sentara Healthcare, Norfolk, VA, in 2013. In 2018, she joined WestRock in Tulare, CA, as an HR administrator. Newcomer returned to Sentara Healthcare as a talent acquisition specialist II, in 2019.

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