Jim Umberger of Lewisburg is throwing his hat in the ring as a candidate in the U.S. Congressional race. A registered Democrat, Umberger is running to represent West Virginia’s First Congressional District which comprises the 28 counties in the southern half of the state.
Born and raised in Charleston, Umberger served in Vietnam in the 101st Airborne Division of the U.S. Army. After earning his undergraduate degree from West Virginia State University and a master’s degree in counseling from the West Virginia College of Graduate Studies, he built a rewarding career providing mental health services in WV.
“I believe the skills I have honed over a lifetime in service are desperately needed in Washington,” Umberger says. “I am running to return civility, rational problem solving and functional, collaborative governance to the state and country I love.”
Beginning in 1981, Umberger served patients at the Greenbrier Center, a state institution providing residential services to people with developmental disabilities and other psychiatric diagnoses. Eight years later, he was named hospital administrator and led his team in providing residents with vocational, educational, and social skills training until the facility’s closure in the mid-90s. Umberger continued practicing in the private sector, working with children, families, and adults. In 2009, he fulfilled a lifelong goal, working with his fellow veterans, offering both individual and group counseling.
Umberger has served on the boards of several organizations: Southeastern Regional Workshop (now Gateway Industries), Friends of the Greenbrier Center, Carnegie Hall Foundation, Carnegie Hall, Inc., and the American Red Cross (both county and state levels). He sat on the Greenbrier County Planning Commission for six years and currently serves as the treasurer of CASA (Court Appointed Special Advocates) of the 11th Judicial District of WV.
Umberger is running on a platform committed to protecting West Virginia workers; empowering educators to affect innovative change in their classrooms; equipping young people with the academic, vocational, and life skills they need to compete; combating the root causes of the opioid epidemic; and ensuring the U.S. military and service personnel are not treated as pawns of political gamesmanship.
Connect at Facebook.com/JimUmbergerForCongress. Visit JimUmbergerForCongress.com to learn more and donate to the campaign. Reach the campaign directly and ask about volunteer opportunities at JimForHouse2024@gmail.com. The WV primary election is Tuesday, May 14, 2024.
