Puckett’s projects make him a WVVA Hometown Hero

BLUEFIELD, W.Va. (WVVA) - Lifelong Mercer Countian Greg Puckett, has been invested into making positive changes to the entire community.

He’s been the Director of Community Connections for years and he’s in his second term as a Mercer County Commissioner.

His hard work and dedication to get several community projects off the drawing board and make them a reality for people in Princeton and Mercer County is why he was chosen as a WVVA Hometown Hero.

Long before he became Commissioner, Puckett was instrumental in getting a clean indoor air ordinance passed, but he says he was just one of many voices working towards this change.

“It goes back to 2005 and, and even then, it wasn’t about me. It was about the partnership. It was about people coming together throughout the community. That one particular day about 100 people showed up in a sea of red t-shirts in front of the board of health saying this is what we want,” said Puckett

His effort to clear the air indoors isn’t his only mission. Puckett’s effort towards the revitalization of Mercer Street is a tall tale called “Puckett in a Bucket.”

“I actually did it twice, I did it once and uh, so the way the story goes is that I was in the bucket truck, which we had borrowed at the time from a local sign shop, and the rigor went out and so I was stuck about 25 or 30 feet above the ground. I heard somebody down on the street asking how much it would be to keep me up there. So, in my head I was thinking, how much would you pay to bring me down? So, in my head that’s kind of how it hatched, and then I went up and we did the stunt it was in December, and it was cold. I went up in the bucket, 35 feet in the air, and I stayed until we raised over $10,000,” said Puckett

Puckett also works towards drug and alcohol prevention through a basketball team that plays at area schools. He says virtually everyone has the potential to make a positive impact on their community.

“Everybody has a voice. Every single person and everybody has a part in the story that they want to towel. I think if it’s cleaning up your community you can start in your own front yard. You know you can start on the road in front of your house. You can do so many things, there are partnerships available. You can find them on Facebook. We’ve got a healthy community coalition that’s out there, you know, at times during the holidays when we are distributing Narcan so that people’s lives are saved, and so that we don’t have overdose numbers and we can get people stronger again. There are volunteer opportunities everywhere, you just have to take the time and find them. You know, through, you know, contact me. I will put you in a place, we will find you a place to connect to something that’s personal for yourself,” said Puckett.

Puckett’s willingness to help others and dedication to help his community is what makes him a WVVA Hometown Hero.

If you know someone who goes above and beyond or just has a huge heart and does great things for our community, send us an email describing what makes your nominee a Hometown Hero at hometownhero@wvva.com.

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