Meet the Secretary. . .

Virgil T. Helton was appointed Cabinet Secretary on October 16, 2007, by Governor Joe Manchin.

As Secretary of the Department of Revenue, he oversees the following agencies: Alcohol Beverage Control Administration, Athletic Commission, Division of Banking, State Budget Office, Offices of the Insurance Commissioner, Municipal Bond Commission, Office of Tax Appeals, Racing Commission, and the State Tax Department.

In his capacity as Cabinet Secretary of Revenue, he is also the State Budget Director, the Governor's designee for the Investment Management Board and the Board of Treasury Investments, and chairs the Retail Liquor Licensing Board.

From July 1, 2006, Mr. Helton served as Tax Commissioner, a position he held in an acting role since the beginning of the Manchin Administration in January 2005. Prior to this date, he served the last two administrations as Deputy Director and Chief Financial Officer of the West Virginia Lottery.

Early in his professional career, Mr. Helton was employed by two different international accounting firms, both of which are now among the industry's "Big Four." He then entered the commercial banking industry where he had overall management responsibility for a wide variety of functions, serving in positions ranging from Branch Manager to Chief Operating Officer for twenty years.

Mr. Helton is a 1967 graduate of Concord University, Athens, West Virginia, and is licensed to practice as a Certified Public Accountant by the West Virginia Board of Accountancy.

He resides in St. Albans, West Virginia, and has two children and two grandchildren.