The Shadow
The Alleghany Highlands Chamber of Commerce & Tourism is pleased to announce the following new board members:
Amela Morgan
Amela Morgan moved from her native country of Bosnia and Herzegovina to the United States in 1993. She earned her B.S. in Chemical Engineering from the University of Virginia in 2000, and MBA from the University of Phoenix in 2004. She joined Westvaco in 2000 as a process engineer and has since progressed through several roles of increased responsibility including production manager and engineering manager. Amela is currently the plant manager of the Ingevity plant in Covington, VA. Amela resides in Covington with her husband, Kevin, and daughters. She enjoys attending her children’s sporting events year-round. In her spare time, she enjoys reading, art and spending time on Lake Moomaw.
Melissa Hylton
Melissa is a native of Ronceverte, WV, where she resided most of her life until moving to Monroe County, WV in 1993 where she lived and raised her children. In the same year, Melissa began working as an Administrative Associate with Hanson Insurance and Associates and later purchased the business in 1998. Through this agency, services primarily focused on employee benefits, life disability and retirement planning. Around the same time, Melissa began providing contract work for a property & casualty agency in the area, as well. After many years and countless changes within healthcare, Melissa was led to join a captive company – State Farm, in December of 2019, a leap she had long thought about making. Melissa’s State Farm office is currently located on Main St. in Covington. Outside of her professional life, Melissa’s life has revolved around her three children and their activities. As her children have become independent and of adult age, Melissa began to focus on her own interests such as traveling, hiking, horseback riding, camping and developing strong ties to her church family. Melissa finds that the best time spent is with her family and friends.
Tara Simmons-Brewster
Tara was born and raised in the Alleghany Highlands. She is a Covington High School and Radford University graduate with a B.S. in Business Management and Minor in Economics. She started working as a realtor with Greenway’s Real Estate and Auction Company in 2006. In June of 2022, she opened Formals & Florals on Main in downtown Covington. Tara is active with many community organizations and giving back locally in the Alleghany Highlands is her passion. In her spare time, you can find her at pageants with her daughter, Larrah or at the gym watching her son, Jaxon playing basketball.
