Bill Lenherr, president and CEO of Greenbrier Technologies and Electric recently met Makayla Scott, a 15-year-old White Sulphur Springs resident. Immediately, he knew this was a young person with the sort of potential worth investing in.
Scott is an emerging talent in shooting sports. Having only begun competitive shooting in 2017, she has risen quickly, and against the odds, to hold numerous titles within West Virginia and across the country. She is the current WV 4-H State Champion in sporting clays, skeet, and high overall. But that’s just the beginning. She is also the East Coast Champion, sub-junior class, the Pennsylvania State Non-Resident Junior Olympic Champion and the Tennessee State Non-Resident Junior Olympic Champion.
In 2018, Scott became the first female from WV to qualify for the Junior Olympics and that June she traveled to Colorado Springs to compete in bunker trap. Her Junior Olympic performance garnered her a gun sponsorship from CZ-USA as well as an offer to train with world-renowned coach and former Team U.S.A. All American Dan Schindler of the Paragon School of Sporting. Those who have seen Scott compete agree the Olympics is within her reach-but not without considerable work.
Impressive as her resume is, that’s not what sold Lenherr. Scott, who is homeschooled in order to accommodate a grueling training schedule, is also a talented writer. Despite her age, she is already a columnist with Women’s Outdoor News (WON), an online magazine featuring news, reviews, and stories about women who are shooting, hunting, fishing and actively engaging in outdoor adventure.
“I met Makayla through her shooting,” Lenherr says, “but I was particularly inspired by her interest in writing, her versatility and drive.”
Lenherr, a longtime supporter and former board member of High Rocks, a nonprofit organization focused on youth empowerment and leadership, has a keen eye for detecting young people with the sort of determination essential for lifelong success. He saw that in Scott and wanted to come up with a way to foster her growth in a meaningful way.
Lenherr learned that Scott had been composing her WON articles on her iPad then emailing them to herself to later paste into a Word document from a library or other borrowed computer. Lenherr is a trusted technology advisor in the region and founded Greenbrier Communications in 2001, now known as Greenbrier Technologies and Electric. So, it made perfect sense he would offer to become Scott’s technology sponsor.
Greenbrier Technologies and Electric recently presented Scott with a Dell Latitude laptop enabling her to continue her writing aspirations while also pursuing her professional shooting aspirations. This summer Scott will serve as a student intern at West Virginia Writers’ Annual Conference where she will have the opportunity to meet and learn from professional writers from across the state and beyond-with her brand-new laptop in tow.
For more information about Greenbrier Technologies and Electric visit grcs.com or call 304-645-7548.