CHAPMANVILLE - Jackson Kelly attorney and author Brad Crouser will be the guest speaker at the Southern West Virginia Community and Technical College "The Kennedys and the 1960s" class, to be held at Giovanni's Pizza, Chapmanville, on Tues., Nov. 3rd, at 4 p.m.

In addition to SWVCTC students, this event is open to the public. Crouser will speak on the JFK presidential primary in southern West Virginia, and will also discuss the various conspiracy theories concerning his assassination.

"This is a wonderful opportunity for the public to participate in this class that encourages effective leadership and community service," said Professor Dean Lucas. "We are extremely honored to have Mr. Crouser as our guest lecturer, and invite the public to join us for this occasion."

Crouser is a member of the firm's Workers Compensation Law Department. He has represented major national and international corporations in workers' compensation litigation since February 1989. He graduated magna cum laude from the West Virginia University School of Journalism in 1976. He obtained his Juris Doctorate Degree from the West Virginia University College of Law in 1979.

Prior to joining Jackson Kelly PLLC, he managed and edited a weekly news magazine, The Better Times Weekly, which was the state's largest-circulating publication. He had private interviews with Ronald Reagan and Tony Blair, among others. He had been a columnist for seven West Virginia newspapers, beginning in his high school years. After law school, he was briefly in-house counsel for Concorde Coal Company. He was elected Magistrate of Marion County and served a four year term before coming to Charleston, where he served as Deputy Finance Commissioner, Workers' Compensation Executive Secretary, and State Tax Commissioner for the State of West Virginia. He was named a Distinguished West Virginian in 1988.

Crouser serves on the Workers' Compensation Committee of the State Bar. He wrote a booklet, How To Use Your Magistrate Court, and has written many articles for the West Virginia Law Review. He was founder and editor of The Mountain Ear, a newsletter for state employees. He has lectured at West Virginia University, the University of Charleston and West Virginia University Institute of Technology, and at numerous seminars for workers' compensation practitioners. Crouser occasionally is a guest columnist for The Charleston Daily Mail.

Brad was appointed by Governor Underwood to the West Virginia Ethics Commission from 1997 to 2005, serving as its vice chairman and chairman of the State Open Governmental Meetings Committee. In 2005, he was appointed by Governor Manchin to the Probable Cause Review Board. He has served as a deacon of Bible Center Church in Charleston and is active in blindness and Alzheimer's organizations.

He is author of a book on Christian issues, "What's My Excuse?" and "Arch: The Life of Governor Arch A. Moore, Jr." a biography of the state's former governor, published by Woodland Press, LLC, of Chapmanville.

Professor Lucas explained that the "Kennedys and the 1960s" class meets at different locations each week and stresses the Kennedy family legacy as it pertains to southern West Virginia.