Adam Balasis

Though Adam Balasis is a Florida native, his West Virginia roots run deep in McDowell County. Balasis’ paternal grandfather emigrated from Greece to make a fresh start in the town of Kimball, which was founded 100 years ago as a railroad maintenance center to serve the booming coal industry.

Adam remembers making many visits as a child to Kimball, WV to visit family and the family restaurant, Ya’Sou, a Greek-American restaurant meaning “To your health,” which has been a staple in Kimball since 1945.

While growing up in Florida, Adam began volunteering at a young age doing trash pickup with his local Boy Scout Troop and serving as a summer hospital volunteer by the age of 14. Growing up in Florida, he was involved in his church and a local organization, known as SPIFFS, which organized local events to promote cultural awareness where Adam assisted in representing the Greek population of his Florida home. While in Florida, Adam also volunteered with the Orlando Union Rescue Mission, a homeless shelter with 80 beds that often served up to 150 people, an experience that he says gave him a lot of perspective.

Adam relocated to West Virginia in November 2010 and almost immediately joined the Kimball Volunteer Fire Department, where he has a deep family history of service. His entire family in Kimball in Kimball has served on the fire department at some point. His volunteerism doesn’t stop at the fire department; Adam also volunteers with the local theater organization, McArts.

Volunteering is a passion that Adam holds dear, stating that he continues to volunteer because he “loves doing something without the expectation of something in return” and enjoys meeting other like-minded individuals.

Adam also serves as the computer mentor for the public computer center at the Kimball fire department. Adam says the computer center is already showing to be a benefit to the community. It is allowing residents to meet others in the community that they may not have otherwise met because of social and racial differences. “The lab creates commonality, it puts everyone on equal footing and allows them to have ‘safe’ socialization with a unifying influence.”