Moundsville Leaders Take Part in Declaration of Independence Video
MOUNDSVILLE -- City of Moundsville leaders spoke this week about participating in a project centered on the Declaration of Independence.
City Manager Rick Healy said during this week’s council meeting that he, Mayor Randy Chamberlain and Police Chief Tom Mitchell took part in reading the historic document as part of a John Marshall High School WJMH Media project.
The idea for the video came about after city employee Danielle Harmon was inspired by a reading conducted by actor Morgan Freeman and others.
Harmon is a retired master sergeant in the U.S. Air Force.
"It's an 18-minute video and it starts with a 5-minute introduction by Danielle and some of the students from John Marshall and then goes into different people from the community that read different sections of the Declaration of Independence," Healy said. "It went extremely well."
Healy said the video debuted before the America 250 concert held at the Strand Theatre on July 3.
"When it started everyone was chitchatting and then it got real quiet," he noted. "Everybody just sat and listened to the Declaration of Independence being recited by local people. ... I think it was very well done."
A link to the video can be found on the city’s Facebook page, “City of Moundsville WV,” and on the “WJMH Media” YouTube channel.
Chamberlain praised the video and Harmon's work organizing the participants and enlisting the help of students Lilly Bergen, Rylie Kordack, Chevy Large, Chloe Pickett and Ash Roth.
"That was no easy job putting all of that together," he said.
The students started working on the project in September 2025.
In the video’s introduction, Harmon thanked everyone involved.
"Your willingness to lend your voices, your time and your energy to this project is truly what brought it to life," she said. "You are not just participants, you are the future stewards of the ideals we celebrate today."
She noted that while the document sounds dry on paper, it comes alive when read aloud. The Declaration of Independence, she said, is "the beating heart of our nation."