Suzanne Stewart
Staff Writer
The leaves have started to change and are slowly falling to the ground. That can mean only one thing. It’s time for fall’s biggest and most unusual festival right here in Pocahontas County – the RoadKill Cook-off and Autumn Harvest Festival.
The teams have scraped their fare off the roads and are perfecting their recipes for the big event coming this Saturday. Their costumes and themes are all picked out and ready to wow the crowd that will surely fill the gazebo park in Marlinton.
The luckiest attendees of the day are the three judges who will get to sample what all the cooks have to offer. The downside is they have to determine which one was the best of all – a very hard feat indeed.
This year’s judges are ready for the challenge and have prepared their palettes for the job at hand.
First up is Karlee Holley, the 2026 Cabell County Fair Queen and 2025 WV RoadKill Cook-off teen queen. Holley is 16 years old and hails from Milton where she lives with her parents, Rex and Lacy Holley.
Holley is a student at Hannan Junior/Senior High School and has a strong passion for agriculture. She is actively involved in the National FFA Organization and Town and Country 4-H Club, where she continues to grow as a leader and advocate for the agriculture industry.
Holley spent years showing cattle and recently began showing market lambs. She also enjoys poultry judging. Through these experiences, Holley has developed discipline, responsibility, leadership and a deep appreciation for hard work.
A dedicated athlete, Holley competes in softball and basketball. During the 2026 softball season, she was named West Virginia Single-A All-State honorable mention.
Holley plans to pursue a career as an agricultural economist. Her love for agriculture has inspired her to learn more about the business and economic side of the industry. She hopes to continue her education, stay involved in agriculture and one day, use her career to make a difference in the agricultural community.
Next is Nikki Bowman Mills, founder of New South Media, Inc., who lives in Morgantown with her husband, Michael Mills, principal of the architecture firm Mills Group. She is the proud mother of two children and two stepchildren.
Mills’ company publishes WV Living, WV Weddings, Morgantown and Wonderful West Virginia magazines. The company recently acquired Highland Outdoors and is busy expanding its reach as the authority on Appalachian adventures. The company also has a custom-content division called Narrative by New South Media that has produced additional publications, state and regional travel guides, books, websites, brand development, e-newsletters and more.
Mills is a vocal advocate for small business development, women and children. Her efforts have earned her numerous honors and awards. Most recently, she was chosen as an International Women’s Forum Fellow, named a 2025 West Virginia University Eberly College Distinguished Alumna and in 2024, she was recognized as the Milan Puskar Entrepreneur of the Year by the Morgantown Area Partnerships.
In 2019, she was honored with the West Virginia Hospitality and Tourism Association’s Excellence in Tourism Entrepreneurship Award.
Rounding out the trio of judges is Hunter Berry, a Grammy winning musicians who has been playing professionally since the age of 11. Bluegrass, country, old-time, blues and hillbilly jazz are at the heart of what he does.
Hailing from Elizabethton, Tennessee, Berry has played music internationally, touring the U.S. Europe, Mexico and Canada since the age of 15. He is a familiar face to the attendees of Allegheny Echoes, where he has taught advanced fiddle classes in the past.
Berry is an Appalachian soul fiddler that has traveled the world, playing music and interacting with people and learning their culture. Part of that is sampling the different entrees and comfort foods specific to those regions.
From live octopus in the middle of the Atlantic to a horse steak in Switzerland to rattlesnake over a fire in Arizona to original dishes of deer country sausage served at home – he’s a connoisseur of good food and ready to taste whatever this contest has to offer.
It all comes down to what the high school queen, media mogul and award-winning musician have to say. All will be revealed Saturday at the awards ceremony.
Cooking begins at 9 a.m., rain or shine and the winners will be announced later in the afternoon after all the Dutch ovens and stew pots are scraped clean of all the yummy roadkill goodness.
