Warner recognizes Beth Haven Christian School students as 'Honorary Secretaries of State' for their effort to register classmates to vote

Charleston, W.Va. – WV Secretary of State Kris Warner hosted a student leader from Beth Haven Christian School (BHCS) in Logan County as his honored guest at the State Capitol.

Joshua Goble and Heidi Densford—both members of the 2025 graduating class at BHCS—were recommended by their principal to represent their school as Honorary Secretaries of State for their efforts to register members of the senior class to vote. Nominations for Honorary Secretaries of State are only accepted by those high schools that qualify for the Jennings Randolph Award. To qualify for the Award, a West Virginia high school must host a student-led effort to register at least 85% of their eligible senior class to vote.

"Working together and learning the importance of civic engagement, these students registered 100% of their eligible classmates to vote," said WV Secretary of State Kris Warner. "I am inspired by their leadership and their interest in our election system."

Started by the WV Secretary of State's Office in 1994, the Jennings Randolph Award for Civic Engagement commemorates West Virginia's late U.S. Senator Jennings Randolph’s legacy as the Father of the 26th Amendment. One of the defining moments in voting rights history, the 26th Amendment was passed in 1971. The Amendment lowered the voting age from 21 to 18, an effort Senator Randolph had first championed 29 years earlier in the U.S. House of Representatives.

Densford was unavailable to travel to the State Capitol but will be recognized with Goble in a Jennings Randolph Award assembly at Beth Haven Christian School later this year.

In addition to a morning spent with Secretary Warner in his office and a tour of the State Capitol, Goble was recognized on the Senate floor by one of his representatives, Senator Rupie Phillips, for his service to the state and community.