Chris Gilmer, the interim president of West Virginia University Potomac State College, plans to complete the tasks he began while serving as president of West Virginia University in Parkersburg.

He developed a friendship with Mary Anne Ketelsen, a WVUP alumna who currently serves as the president of the iconic West Virginia company Mister Bee Potato Chips. Gilmer set out to demonstrate that chip potatoes could be cultivated in the region, which the 20-acre Riverhawk Farm at WVU Parkersburg did.

On July 1, 2022, Gilmer began his new job with Potomac State College. He acknowledges that one of the things that most intrigued him about this chance was the Keyser campus’s 800 acres of functioning farms and its top-notch academic programs in sustainable agriculture.

In line with his objective, Gilmer co-hosted a state-wide Spud Summit on September 15 on the campus of Potomac State College with Dr. Torie Jackson, interim president of WVU in Parkersburg.

They brought together senior leaders from Mister Bee Potato Chips as well as representatives of U.S. Senators Joe Manchin and Shelley Moore Capito, and Congressman Alex Mooney. Also joining were Gary Howell, the speaker pro tempore of the West Virginia House of Delegates; the WVU Extension Service, led by Dean Jorge Atiles; West Virginia’s Deputy Commissioner of Agriculture; representatives of the U.S. Department of Agriculture; several institutions of higher learning; local economic development and extension leaders from West Virginia and Maryland; farmers; leaders of veteran-serving groups; and others.

The group held an open discussion on how to create a state-wide farm collaborative that would provide locally grown potatoes for Mister Bee and steady revenue for the farmers in the state.

“Homegrown potatoes make Mister Bee chips even more special in the state of West Virginia. I’ve tasted Mister Bee chips made from West Virginia potatoes, and I want to share that flavor with many more lovers of the only potato chips made in the Mountain State,” Chris Gilmer declared.

Ketelsen’s imaginative and enterprising leadership are quickly turning the business into a national powerhouse. According to Ketelsen, Mister Bee presently buys about nine million pounds of potatoes annually from suppliers outside the state.

“Buying, shipping, and processing potatoes from long distances is expensive and inconsistent. Pennies matter to a small business such as Mister Bee and we can create more jobs in West Virginia and cut costs by purchasing from our neighbors instead of strangers,” Mary Anne Ketelsen concluded.