By Carter Taylor Seaton
HQ 101 | SPRING 2018
When Ashland, Kentucky, native Sarah Walling returned to the Tri-State in 2010 to practice law at Jenkins Fenstermaker, PLLC, she knew only her family members who were still living in the area. Walling had moved to Austin, Texas, with her parents when she was in elementary school, but she considered this area home and always intended to return. After graduating from University of Kentucky Law School, she didn’t look for a job outside of Ashland or Huntington.
“I had been gone long enough that my friends had moved on,” Walling said. “I decided that becoming active in nonprofit organizations in the community would be the best way to make new friends.”After attending a Huntington Regional Chamber of Commerce after-hours event, she joined Generation Huntington, a committee of the Chamber that provides networking opportunities for young professionals.“That is where I met Jennifer Wheeler who knows everybody in town,” Walling recalled with a smile. “She introduced me to a couple of people who are now my best friends.”
The list of organizations Walling subsequently became involved in is dizzying. She has worked with Dress for Success, was the president of the Junior League of Huntington, served on several committees of the Huntington Museum of Art and is currently on the boards of the Ronald McDonald House and TEAM for West Virginia Children. In 2013 The State Journal profiled her as one of “Generation Next: 40 Under 40,” its list of young professionals making a difference in West Virginia communities.
She’s busy professionally, as well. Her practice focuses on representing local and national companies in the areas of employment law and insurance coverage, including issues of wrongful termination claims, discrimination and sexual harassment. Because of the #MeToo movement, she and several of her firm’s other attorneys recently presented a seminar on sexual harassment claims and how employers can avoid or minimize such risk. She’s been both treasurer and president of the Cabell County Bar Association and is currently a member of the Defense Trial Counsel of West Virginia, a network of attorneys who defend individuals and corporations in civil litigation.
“That’s been a way to get to know more attorneys and more people across the state,” Walling said.Walling believes volunteer work is both a major part of her social life and a way to give something back to the community she calls home. Seven years ago, when she told her Austin friends she was returning to the Huntington area, they scoffed, asking what she’d do there. She answered, “I’ll do the same things I do here. I’ll go to any of the dozens of wonderful local restaurants. I’ll go see a show at the Keith Albee Performing Arts Center. Marshall University has a great artists series and the region has some wonderful small museums.”
Outdoor activities are also a big part of Walling’s life. She plays tennis, enjoys Ritter Park and fishes. She and her fiancé, Kevin Snook, camp and fish along the New and Gauley rivers as often as possible in the spring and summer.
As an actively involved member of the community, Walling feels it’s her job to be an ambassador for Huntington.
“As a community, we need to promote our many assets and not perpetuate the negative publicity that we receive,” she said.
Walling has certainly done that. And, if she’s an example of the upcoming generation of community leaders, we’re in good hands.
