May 2, 2025 - “Community, Opportunity, Impact … Steel!” is the theme for this year’s Metallurgical Coal Producers Association (MCPA) annual conference and Expo, May 17-20, 2025 at Stonewall Resort in Roanoke, WV. The speaker line-up for the annual conference is being finalized now.

Executives from MCPA’s six coal producer members, including Alpha Metallurgical Resources, Black Hawk, LLC, Coronado Global, United Coal Company LLC (a subsidiary of Metinvest Group), RAMACO Resources, Inc. and Robindale Energy will be part of a panel discussion talking about today’s innovative markets, as well as opportunities and challenges facing metallurgical coal relating to ongoing domestic and global developments.

Additional speakers will include Ernie Thrasher, founder, president and CEO of Xcoal Energy & Resources; Bill Bissett, president of the West Virginia Manufacturers Association; Brooks Smith, Troutman Pepper; Randy Moore, Virginia Energy; Bill Murray, Dominion Energy; John Deskins, director of the Bureau of Business & Economic Research at WVU; and Cathy St. Clair, Virginia Coalfield Economic Development Authority (VCEDA) communications coordinator. 

Ernie Thrasher is internationally known and respected for his knowledge of coal markets throughout the world. His coal experience began in 1974 working for a family-owned mining company with operations in Maryland.

Ernie Thrasher 

He held various positions in mine operations and mine management through 1981 and spent 22 years in various global marketing positions at Primary Coal and AMCI. In 2003, he formed Xcoal Energy & Resources, which today is the largest exporter of U.S. coal. Xcoal is involved in coal mine development, financing and related infrastructure projects and actively pursues investment opportunities in the global coal supply chain.

Bill Bissett, a native West Virginian, previously served as state director for United States Senator Shelley Moore Capito. Prior to his role with Senator Capito, Bissett led the Huntington Regional Chamber of Commerce, which is in his hometown of Huntington, WV. He has also served previously as the president of the Kentucky Coal Association and the chief of staff and senior vice president for communications at Marshall University. Before working for his Alma Mater, Bissett was vice president of public relations for Charles Ryan Associates, an integrated marketing firm in Charleston, WV.

Bill Bissett

Bissett earned his bachelor’s, master’s and doctoral degrees from Marshall University, in addition to receiving his commission in the United States Army. He was part of the West Virginia Chamber of Commerce’s Leadership WV program as a member of the Class of 2018. Bissett is member of both the W. Page Pitt School of Journalism & Mass Communications Hall of Fame at Marshall University and the West Virginia Public Relations Hall of Fame.

Brooks Smith is nationally recognized as a leader in the law and is involved in cutting-edge environmental and natural resources proceedings in Virginia and around the U.S., including litigation, enforcement defense, project development and compliance counseling. He is managing partner of Troutman Pepper’s Richmond office, which has more than 150 attorneys spread out over the full array of practice areas, along with the strategies group, which is the firm’s full-service government relations subsidiary. He helps lead the firm’s environmental and natural resources practice group, which spans offices from coast to coast. Smith has written and spoken extensively on developments arising under the Clean Water Act, Endangered Species Act, NEPA, and other environmental laws. In addition, he has chaired several national conferences and given more than 300 presentations to audiences across the U.S. and Canada.

Brooks Smith

Smith has written and spoken extensively on developments arising under the Clean Water Act, Endangered Species Act, NEPA and other environmental laws. In addition, he has chaired several national conferences and given more than 300 presentations to audiences across the U.S. and Canada.

Randy Moore, a native of Wise County, VA, serves as Virginia Energy’s director of coal programs where he oversees all safety and environmental operations associated with coal mining in Virginia. He was appointed as Virginia Mine Chief in June 2011 and served in that position until January 2021.

Randy Moore

Moore started his career in the coal industry in 1977. Before his career at the Virginia Department of Energy, in February 2004, he worked nearly every job possible underground and on the surface. He graduated from the University of Virginia’s College at Wise in 1980 with a Business Administration Degree.

Bill Murray is senior vice president, corporate affairs & communications for Dominion Energy. He is responsible for federal, state and local government relations; corporate communications; advertising; public relations; creative services; philanthropy; and community affairs.

Bill Murray

Murray joined Dominion in 2007 as managing director – corporate public policy. He assumed his current position in February 2019. He earmed his bachelor’s degree in history from the University of Virginia, his master’s degree in public administration from Virginia Tech and his doctorate in public administration and public policy from Virginia Tech in August 2024.

John Deskins is the assistant dean for outreach and engagement, director of the Bureau of Business & Economic Research and associate professor of economics in the College of Business & Economics at West Virginia University. He received his PhD in economics from the University of Tennessee. 

John Deskins

Deskins’ academic research has focused on economic development, small business economics and government tax and expenditure policy, primarily at the US state level. His work has appeared in outlets such as Contemporary Economic Policy, Public Finance Review, Economic Development Quarterly, Small Business Economics, Public Budgeting and Finance, Regional Studies, Annals of Regional Science, Tax Notes, and State Tax Notes, as well as in books published by Cambridge University Press and the Lincoln Institute of Land Policy. He has testified before the United States Senate, the United States House of Representatives and the West Virginia Legislature. He has delivered more than 100 speeches to business, government  and community groups and his quotes have appeared in numerous media outlets including The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, The Washington Post, Bloomberg, CNBC, National Public Radio and PBS. He has served as principal investigator or co-principal investigator on more than $1 million in funded research.

Cathy St. Clair has worked with VCEDA since 2016 and currently serves as its communications coordinator. She also operates her own public relations company, Focus Communications Consulting, LLC, working with clients in a variety of business sectors related to their public relations and social media management needs. Prior to opening her own consulting business, she was public affairs director for CONSOL Energy and CNX Gas, covering operations in the tri-state area of Virginia, southern West Virginia and East Tennessee. She also worked for 24 years as a reporter and as the news editor of the Virginia Mountaineer, a weekly newspaper in Grundy, VA and during that time was a recipient of the Virginia Small Business Administration Journalist of the Year award. She is a graduate of East Tennessee State University where she earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Mass Communications and Political Science.

Cathy St. Clair

“The conference offers an opportunity for participants to network with industry leaders, as well as hear and learn about the latest happenings and activities in the industry,” said MCPA Chairman J.P. Richardson. “The conference serves to emphasize the importance of coal and to reinforce the message that Met Coal Makes Steel!”

The conference will kick off on Saturday, May 17 with the annual fishing tournament at 6:30 a.m. Sunday, May 18 activities will include a welcome reception that evening. Exhibitors at this year’s conference will set up their booths on Sunday afternoon. The business session of the conference gets underway Monday, May 19 from 8 a.m. to 12 noon. Monday afternoon activities include a golf outing or clay shooting contest. On Monday night, conference participants will gather for dinner and an awards presentations recognizing fishing, shooting and golf winners. A second business session on Tuesday, May 20 will begin at 8 a.m. The conference concludes at 12:30 p.m. 

For additional information, or to register, interested persons may contact the MCPA at 423-549-6048.

ABOUT THE MCPA: The Metallurgical Coal Producers Association (MCPA) is a regional association of leading U.S. metallurgical (met) coal producers in Appalachia. MCPA producing members account for more than half of the met coal produced in the United States. Its members employ 10,000 miners and support staff at 95 different mines in four states – Virginia, Kentucky, West Virginia and Pennsylvania.  The MCPA strives to educate the policymakers and the public that Met Coal Makes Steel and advocates for the opportunities within the met coal industry.