Remembering Jay Rockefeller, a true statesman

By Stephen Baldwin, RealWV

Twenty-four years ago, I had the opportunity of a lifetime. In the summer before my junior year of college, I worked as an Intern in the office of Sen. Jay Rockefeller. It was an unforgettable experience which I will always treasure, mostly because of the man who was our boss.

The first time I met Sen. Rockefeller, during my first day on the job, was outside his private office just off the Senate floor. I was so nervous that I shook his hand with a piece of paper in my own hand which I was supposed to deliver to him. It was background information on a vote he was taking that afternoon.

“They don’t think I know how to vote?” he asked, with a wry smile on his face. “Good thing I know how I’m voting, since you crumpled up the paper telling me what to do.”

We shared a laugh, and he patted me on the back in a way that made me feel at ease, despite the embarrassment I’d caused. That was the personality trait I remember most about him–he always made you feel at ease, as if everything was going to be OK, because he would make sure of it.

He was the kind of leader that could inspire you to do whatever was needed for the greater good. Like the time they had us interns checking the mail in the streets outside the Russell Office Building to make sure anthrax didn’t get into the building (this was the summer after 9/11). We never questioned it, because we wanted to make the team…and the boss…proud.

In that summer which went by far too fast, Sen. Rockefeller was incredibly generous with his time. He took the interns to lunch, let us accompany him on the subway and to meetings, allowed us to work in every part of the office to learn what areas of public service most interested us, and even paid us. All the other interns in DC were jealous, as they were working for free. We would have if he asked, but that he made sure to pay his interns was another testament to his kindness and thoughtfulness.

In public, he was rather serious. A tall and elegant man who commanded authority. In private, he was silly and good-humored. He enjoyed banter, and never shied away from a good debate.

After his death this week, people will rightly point to all the ways in which he made this state and nation better via public policy. He was instrumental in establishing the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP), the Affordable Care Act, and black lung benefits for coal miners. He chaired the Committee on Veteran’s Affairs and devoted his full attention to ensuring that veteran’s received whatever care they needed when they returned home to their families.

But all those West Virginians who knew him will point beyond his public policy to the way he made them feel. He made everyone feel loved, respected, and heard. It didn’t matter if you were a Republican senator or a 3rd grader visiting the capitol or an intern from Greenbrier County; he treated everyone with dignity.

West Virginia and the United States of America lost a statesman this week. Jay Rockefeller left a legacy that will be remembered for centuries by the people he devoted his life to serving.

Thank you, boss.