The Appalachian Chronicle is owned by Michael Barrick. Much of our reporting provides you news on Appalachian Arts, Ecology, History and Music. We also focus on community disaster preparedness.

Additionally, we have a preferential concern for the poor, vulnerable and marginalized in our communities in Central and Southern Appalachia, so we profile individuals working alongside them.

Barrick has a diverse background that includes emergency services/public health, education, writing and community development. He holds a postgraduate Certificate in Community Preparedness and Disaster Management from the UNC Gillings School of Global Public Health and a B.A. in English and history from Glenville State College (Glenville, W.Va. ’84). He began his emergency services career as an EMT and EMT instructor in West Virginia in the early 1970s and then served as a paramedic at the Charlotte Ambulance Service and MEDIC (Mecklenburg County EMS) from the mid 1970s until 1980. Most recently, until his retirement in 2015, he served as hospital Safety Officer and Emergency Preparedness Coordinator for several years.

He began his career in journalism as editor of his high school newspaper (relevant because it led to his ‘invitation’ to find another school, which he did). He wrote for his college newspaper, and worked at WNCW/WHAW as a reporter in Weston, W.Va. in the early 1980s. Since then, he has been a reporter and editor for several newspapers from North Carolina to Arizona, and has had reports and op-eds published in dozens of newspapers. He is also the author of four books.

A native of Clarksburg, W.Va., Barrick lives in Lenoir, N.C. He has been active in every community in which he has lived, with community service ranging from coaching recreational league baseball and basketball for a decade, being elected to the Caldwell County School Board to serving as Chairman of the Caldwell County Human Relations Council. He also served on several Local Emergency Preparedness Committees (LEPCs) in North Carolina and West Virginia. He also has taught on the high school and community college level, and helped start the South Caldwell High School Human Relations Council, serving as its first chairman.

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