April 1, 2026 - “I am deeply honored to receive this award this evening. It is most gratifying to know that some of the things we have achieved are considered to have contributed to both the coal industry of West Virginia, as well as to out great American coal mining industry”, said Bill Reid, founder, President & CEO, Coal News Inc., the publisher of CoalZoom, that has 8,000 visitors every day.

“Some of you”, continued Reid, “may be familiar with the saying, that the three most important things in life are: Honesty, Kindness and Hard Work, and all of you in this room have these qualities. I’m so proud that for a small part of our lives, our paths have come together; I promise you that for the rest of my life, I will continue, at every opportunity, to promote our great American coal industry and the very fine people in it.”

Bill Reid

Reid has had two careers serving coal and during the first one, he was President of American Longwall in Abingdon, VA, for sixteen years, driving the company from 5 to 250 employees. For a decade, American Longwall face conveyors carried more than half of America’s longwall coal production of 198 million tons annually, while transporting 75% of West Virginia’s longwall output of 55 million tons a year.

The West Virginia Coal Hall of Fame, a joint initiative between the West Virginia Coal Mining Institute and the West Virginia Coal Association (WVCA) and housed at the WVU Statler College of Engineering and Mineral Resources in Morgantown, inducted its newest class of honorees during a ceremony on March 31, 2026. The event was held at the Charleston Coliseum & Convention Center in Charleston, in conjunction with the WVCA Mining Symposium and WV Coal Show.

This year’s honorees included Charles Bearse, President/CEO, Blackhawk Mining; Michael Day, CEO, Eagle Summit Resources; Robert Moore, President/CEO, American Consolidated Natural Resources; Gary Hartsog, President, Alpha Engineering Services; Keith Hainer, President, Matrix Design Group; and, Bill Reid, founder, President & CEO, Coal News, Inc., publisher of CoalZoom.com. This is the 28th class of inductees for the West Virginia Coal Hall of Fame, which began in 1998. 

Chris Hamilton, President of WVCA, said, “These individuals are mining industry trailblazers who have led industry-wide innovations and advancements in coal mine extractive techniques, mine safety programs, land restoration and philanthropy over the course of their long careers.”

Chris Hamilton, Bill Reid, and Jim Dean

Jared Forman, President of the West Virginia Coal Mine Institute added "Additionally, these people have tirelessly served the State of West Virginia and their contributions to the modern coal mining industry have been recognized, not only on a national, but also an international level.”

Induction into the West Virginia Coal Hall of Fame is the highest honor bestowed on any mining professional who has dedicated a career towards the betterment of the state’s leading industry.