Morris to serve as Mountain State Forest Festival Director General

Morris to serve as Mountain State Forest Festival Director General | News, Sports, Jobs – The Intermountain

Elkins – Robert “Robbie” Morris Jr. will serve as the Director General for the 84th Mountain State Forest Festival, which will take place Oct. 1 through Oct. 9.

This will be his sixth year with the festival. Morris is married to his wife, Whitney, and has two daughters, Elin and Tinley. Morris served as train bearer in the 57th edition of the Forest Festival, his father, Bob Morris, served as an assistant director in the early 1900’s, and his daughter Elin was a Flower Girl in 2018.

He is the executive director of the Randolph County Development Authority and West Virginia Wood Technology Center. Morris is a graduate of Elkins High School and West Virginia Wesleyan College. He is a 2009 graduate of Leadership WV and was named by West Virginia Executive Magazine as a “Young Gun” in 2017. Morris is active in many professional and civic organizations at both the local and state levels.

Morris was first appointed as an Assistant Director by Director General Lydia Jones. Over the years, Morris has overseen the Grand Feature Parade, Forestry Exhibit, Horseshoe Tournament, Pet Show, Official Vehicles and Cornhole Tournament.

“Through my years assisting with the Forest Festival, I am always astonished at the amount of people it takes to make the festival a success,” Morris said. “Each individual is a critical piece of the larger picture. That is why I chose my theme, ‘A Mountain Mosaic.’ A mountain mosaic is a piece of artwork made by several small individual pieces that when put together in a specific way makes a larger piece of artwork. That is exactly how the Forest Festival works.

“To have a successful festival you must have volunteers, sponsors, government support, and so much more,” Morris said. “If you take any of those pieces away, you don’t have a festival. My theme is meant to honor and show appreciation to all of the individuals, business, and government leaders who make the largest and oldest festival in West Virginia happen.”

Morris has assembled a great team of Assistant Directors that are in the planning stages for the 84th edition of the Mountain State Forest Festival. Any business interested in sponsoring an event or individuals interested in volunteering, please contact the festival office at 304-636-1824.