Gov. Justice announces Game Changer virtual summit to premiere live Monday morning

9/17/2020

​CHARLESTON, WV – Today, Gov. Jim Justice announced that the Game Changer initiative’s virtual summit on opioids and substance use disorder will premiere live next Monday, Sept. 21, 2020, from 9 a.m. to 11 a.m. The virtual summit will be accessible online at events.wvgamechanger.com.

The summit, which will feature live on-location performances from across the country by several nationally known trauma-informed speakers and one of the country’s most engaging youth and teen emcees, will be available to all of West Virginia’s 157,000 middle and high school students.

“As I’ve said many times, our kids in West Virginia are our greatest treasure,” Gov. Justice said. “Our goal should always be to empower children to make healthy choices and become leaders in their communities. That’s exactly what the Game Changer virtual summit is going to do.”

In the days following the live premiere, rebroadcasts of the summit will be viewable on Sept. 22-24 from 9 a.m. to 11 a.m. at the same event webpage listed above.

Beginning Monday, Sept. 28, the summit will be available on-demand at the main Game Changer website.

Game Changer – one of the largest public-private coalitions of its kind in the nation – is aimed at tackling opioid and substance use, along with other issues impacting West Virginia’s youth.

Gov. Justice first announced the Game Changer virtual summits during a media briefing in late July.

Visit WVGameChanger.com to read more about the upcoming virtual summit, including profiles of event speakers and more content.

Media contact:
Joe Boczek
Game Changer Coordinator
joe@Jbbizstrategies.com
304-288-5924

FROM GAME CHANGER:

Game Changer is coordinated by Morgantown businessman Joe Boczek, who has worked under the direction of WVSSAC Executive Director Bernie Dolan, and with additional input from DHHR Secretary Bill Crouch, Bureau for Behavioral Health Commissioner Christina Mullins, Office of Drug Control Policy Executive Director Bob Hansen, and State Superintendent of Schools Clayton Burch.

Game Changer is a cooperative effort between the Governor’s Office, the WVSSAC, WVDE, DHHR, West Virginia Office of Drug Control Policy, West Virginia Drug Intervention Institute, the state’s six prevention lead organizers, local, state, and federal law enforcement, and the education sector. 

While the public sector has provided much of the work, planning, support, and technical aspect for Game Changer, it is the support from private sector, both statewide and nationally – including Walmart, PepsiCo, ParMar, and Mountaineer Mart, as well as founding partner MVB Bank, along with education associates West Virginia University and Marshall University, the University of Charleston and Pierpont Community and Technical College – that has solidified the initiative. 

Members of the law enforcement sector that are involved include: Attorney General Patrick Morrisey, United States Attorneys Bill Powell and Mike Stuart, the West Virginia State Police, and the West Virginia Sheriff’s Association.
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Contact Information

Jordan Damron, jordan.l.damron@wv.gov

Contact

Office of the Governor
State Capitol, 1900 Kanawha Blvd. E
Charleston, WV 25305

Office Phone:
304.558.2000 or 1.888.438.2731

Governor's Mansion:
304.558.3588

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