CHARLESTON, W.Va. — The 2016 Governor’s Mansion holiday ornament is now on sale.
First Lady Joanne Jaeger Tomblin introduced the ornament, along with an eight-piece box set, Wednesday afternoon at the state Culture Center.
“We’ve done this now for seven years and it’s such a wonderful way to exhibit our artist creativity in the state,” First Lady Tomblin said.
During Wednesday’s presentation, the Horace Mann Middle School choir sang to the crowd, dressed in Santa hats and reindeer antlers, to get everyone in the holiday spirit.
“It’s kind of bittersweet,” Tomblin said of her final ornament reveal. “It’s been really fun doing the collection. Hopefully, it’ll continue as a tradition.”
Artist Shelley Goodman, of Alum Creek, designed this year’s ornament.
“It’s a Christmas tree with our state colors little balls, little ornaments and it’s got two little red cardinals on it. It’s got little snow and stuff around the bottom of the tree,” she said.
Goodman has been designing the Governor’s Mansion ornaments since 2010. This year, she painted more than 500 ornaments by herself.
“I do it all by myself and I did it in about two and half months, but I painted 18-20 hours a day to get them done,” she said.
The First Lady said she felt Goodman has gone “above and beyond” her job duties, so she awarded Goodman the West Virginia Award during Wednesday’s presentation.
“She has worked under pressure for a long time. She makes each ornament. Each one is hand-painted and we have deadlines to meet. She works day and night to get them done once we decide the ornament,” Tomblin said.
The 2016 ornament sells for $24. The eight-piece box set can be purchased for $150.
Both are available at the West Virginia State Museum Shop located inside the state Culture Center in Charleston, Tamarack in Beckley and online at tamarackwv.com, West Virginia Independence Hall in Wheeling and the Grave Creek Mound Archaeological Complex in Moundsville.
A portion of each sale will go toward the Governor’s Mansion Preservation Fund.