Frank Wood, former publisher of Beckley Newpapers, center, talks with Robert Martin, left, and Gil DeLaRosa, during his retirement reception held in the newspaper lobby Tuesday afternoon.
BECKLEY, W.Va. — The lobby of Beckley Newspapers was packed Tuesday as employees and the community celebrated retirement of Publisher Frank Wood after a 47-year career in the newspaper business.
While he may have retired from business, he will always remain a great guy, his friends said.
“I think the newspaper takes on the personality of its publisher,” former Beckley mayor Emmett Pugh said. “Frank has made Beckley Newspapers a true community newspaper. He gives great support to a lot of the non-profit agencies of Beckley like the Beckley Area Foundation or the United Way of Southern West Virginia.
“He means a lot to me. To me, Frank is a person who doesn’t take himself too seriously. I think that’s a really great attribute for a person to have.”
Wood enters a room and people smile…
