|
Herald-Dispatch
photo/Lori Wolfe |
Jim
retired in 2004 from The Herald-Dispatch, where he was a reporter
and editor for more than 40 years. He is now senior public information
specialist at the Robert C. Byrd Institute for Advanced Flexible
Manufacturing.
A native of Huntington, he attended Bethany College at Bethany,
W.Va., and is a graduate of Marshall University, where he earned
a bachelor's degree in journalism and a master's degree in English.
Active in community affairs, he's a board member with the United
Way of the River Cities, Goodwill Industries, the Huntington Area
Food Bank, the Tri-State Area Boy Scout Council, the Friends of
the Cabell County Public Library, the Marshall University Library
Associates and the West Virginia Faculty Merit Foundation.
|
Photo
by Steve Christo |
Also,
recently the Cabell County Public Library's
genealogy research center was renamed "the James E. Casto Local
History Room" to honor Jim for his many years of service to
the library and his years of serving as president of the Friends
of the Library. In addition, it was also in recognition of his many
books and publications about the local area.
Jim
has
taught both journalism and English as a part-time instructor at
Marshall and has worked (on loan from The Herald-Dispatch) as a
member of the editorial page staff at USA TODAY.
Costumed
as Collis P. Huntington,
he appears at civic clubs, schools and other groups in a first-person
program that offers a glimpse of the famed rail tycoon's life and
times.
He's a member of the Society of Professional Journalists and the
National Society of Newspaper columnists. In addition to his newspaper
work, he's written more than a 150 freelance articles for magazines
and newspapers and is the author of five books.
On his retirement, Marshall presented him with the John Marshall
Medal of Civic Responsibility in recognition of his services to
the university and the community.
|