The Barbour County Commission and the City of Philippi are the Barbour County Chamber of Commerce Members of the Month in April. Jeremy Drennen, left, is the Philippi City Manager.  Shana Frey is the Barbour County Administrator.

The City of Philippi was founded in 1824, says Drennen, and currently has about 3,000 residents.  Philippi is one of only two municipalities in West Virginia to provide electricity to its residents, and sits on the Board of Trustees of American Municipal Power, the joint action agency which represents over 130 public power members.

The City of Philippi provides water to much of Barbour County, Drennen says, through the Central Barbour, Chestnut Ridge and Century Volga Public Service Districts.  Philippi’s waste transfer system processes and delivers waste to a landfill.  Philippi’s Police Department is on duty 24 hours a day, seven days a week with on-duty officers, while the Philippi Volunteer Fire Department services over 80% of the county’s residents, he says.  Philippi is the only municipality in the entire state to have a complete fiber optic network with the ability to provide some of the fastest internet speed in the country, he says.

Drennen is a graduate of West Virginia University with a Bachelor’s Degree in Business Administration and is also a Certified Public Accountant.  Philippi City headquarters is located at 344 South Main Street, telephone (304) 457-3700.  Their web address is  www.philippi.org.

County Administrator Shana Frey started as a payroll clerk in 2013, was Assistant County Administrator in 2014, and was appointed the Administrator in 2018.  Her duties include overseeing the day-to-day operations of county government, determining agendas, preparing draft budgets, writing and reporting on grant applications,  and processing correspondence, telephone calls and public visits, while serving on a variety of boards and authorities.  The Barbour County Commission is located in the county courthouse at 26 North Main Street, Philippi, telephone (304) 457-0025.  Their website is www.barbourcountywv.org

Last year, Frey says, the county received grants for courthouse roof and skylight repair, security camera upgrades, records management,  spay and neuter vouchers, and county fairgrounds improvements.  Frey is a life-long resident of Barbour County and a 2005 graduate of Alderson-Broaddus College in Business Administration.  She and her husband Chad have two boys, Clay and Quade.