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SPEAKERS

2023-2024 Department Commander, Department of West Virginia, Veterans of Foreign Wars
Kami Elliott
Speaker - West Virginia National Cemetery Program

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Born and Raised in Fairmont

Served in the Air Force From 1991 to 1997

Deployed to Dhahran Air Base, Saudi Arabia

Also served a year at Osan Air Base Korea 1996-1997

Director of West Virginia National Cemetery

Richard Colosky

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Richard Colosky was named Director of West Virginia National Cemetery effective February 13, 2022.  In this role, he is responsible for all burial, maintenance, and administrative operations at the facility.

Prior to this assignment, Mr. Colosky served as the Assistant Director of Dayton National Cemetery Complex, at Marion National Cemetery beginning in August 2021.  Also Mr. Colosky served as the Maintenance and Operations Supervisor at Dayton National Cemetery beginning in June 2019.  In 2019 Mr. Colosky also received his bachelor’s degree at Southern New Hampshire University in Business Studies and Accounting. 

Mr. Colosky joined the National Cemetery Administration (NCA) in January 2017 as a Caretaker for Fort Custer National Cemetery.  In August 2017 Mr. Colosky was selected as an Engineering Equipment Operator at Dayton National Cemetery.  Mr. Colosky also served as an Engineering Equipment Operator Work Leader in 2018 at Dayton National Cemetery.  

Mr. Colosky served for 10 years as a supervisor for two different private landscaping companies and has 15 years serving in the private sector as an Engineering Equipment Operator for various types of construction and operations projects.

Mr. Colosky is a veteran of the United States Army, where he completed four years of active service at the rank of Sergeant and served most of this time as squad leader for the caisson platoon that performed full honors at Arlington National Cemetery.

Mac Warner
WV Secretary of State

Speaker- Grafton National Cemetery

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WV Secretary of State Mac Warner is serving in his second term as the state's chief elections officers. Secretary Warner is a graduate of the United States Military Academy at West Point and a graduate of the West Virginia University College of Law. He earned Master of Law degrees from the University of Virginia Law School and the Army's Judge Advocate General's School. During his 23-year career in the United States Army, Secretary Warner served on four continents, deploying to military hot spots around the world. He retired at the rank of Lt. Colonel. Following military retirement, Secretary Warner worked with the U.S. State Department in Afghanistan for five years serving as the Chief of the Organizational Capacity Building Section of the world's largest Rule of Law program. Secretary Warner was first elected to his position in November 2016 and was re-elected in 2020. Secretary Warner’s passion for transparent, fair and fraud-free elections has generated a renewed confidence in West Virginia voters. Because of his military background and keen interest in election cyber security, Secretary Warner has earned West Virginia national attention as a leader in protecting voter databases and elections systems. As the state's chief business officer, Secretary Warner manages the licensing and registration of more than 143,000 business organizations operating in West Virginia. In 2018, he opened the first 4-agency, single-location, business and licensing center in the nation. Today, the WV One Stop Business Center is a model for other states. What used to take up to 10 days to register and open a new business in West Virginia can now take less than two hours. Secretary Warner and his wife, Debbie Law Warner, have been married for 41 years. They raised four children in Monongalia County – all of whom are serving, or have served, in the United States military. The Warner’s have seven grandchildren....with one more on the way.

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