Community Champions
If you grew up in a small town or rural area, you probably sometimes thought,
“I wish there was a good place to eat nearby,”
or “If only we had more to do”
or “I need a place for family to stay when they visit.”
We all want to live in communities that have the amenities we want. But how do we create them? How do we become the heroes our hometowns need?
For Sam and Kelly Williams, who married and returned to Sam’s rural homestead in West Virginia after completing their Purdue degrees, the answer to this question lies in honoring the past and building on it with an eye to the future.
Finding family and friends at Purdue
Kelly (MS ’92) grew up in Texas. Sam (MS ’93) was raised on a farm in West Virginia’s South Branch Valley, along the Potomac River. They met while studying agricultural economics at Purdue — but not without a little help. “The secretary of the department played matchmaker,” Sam said, “and gave Kelly this incoming graduate student, who had a farming background from West Virginia, to show the campus…and the rest is history.”
While attending Tarleton State University in Texas, Kelly was actively involved in agriculture student organizations, but at Purdue, she was drawn to the entrepreneurial and business aspects of her master’s degree. Sam had other ideas. While he always knew he wanted to include agriculture in his future, he studied economics and biology as an undergraduate at Bucknell University.
While at Purdue, he said, “I basically made up for lost ground in undergraduate school. Graduate students were allowed to sit in on undergraduate classes, so I sat in on a wide variety across the board, from cropping to cattle. A lot of my long-time friends came from those relationships.”
He and Kelly also became close to their graduate student cohort in ag economics. “There was a core group of friends we made, and we hung out together,” Kelly said. “Purdue had a lot of educational and entertainment experiences that you could go to, including speakers and other things to see and do close to campus. The experience of being able to have friends from all over the world was wonderful.”
Sam and Kelly Williams (back row, third and fourth from left) played for the agricultural economics team in the graduate student/faculty intramural softball league while earning their master’s degrees at Purdue. “This group of graduate students pretty much adopted” Sean Akridge, then two years old, said Professor Jay Akridge, who provided the photo. Learning From Mentors
They also valued their time with Purdue faculty. Sam felt fortunate to interact with experts like Professor Emeritus Earl Butz, who earned Purdue’s first doctoral degree in agricultural economics, later heading the department and the College of Agriculture and serving as the secretary of agriculture under Presidents Nixon and Ford.
Kelly appreciated major professor Jay Akridge, former dean of the college and Provost and Executive Vice President for Academic Affairs for the university, now professor and Trustee Chair in Teaching and Learning Excellence. Akridge understood her interests and encouraged her to pursue them.
“I had the privilege of working with Kelly on her research,” said Akridge. “She had a keen interest in agribusiness and her thesis was a careful look at managerial compensation in retail agribusiness firms, with a particular focus on incentive pay.”Kelly’s thesis was really well done and we presented a paper based on work from it at the agricultural economics professional meetings. Kelly’s passion for business obviously continued after she graduated from Purdue!”
- Jay Akridge, professor and Trustee Chair in Teaching and Learning Excellence
Advancing West Virginia agriculture
After finishing at Purdue, they decided to settle where Sam grew up, near Moorefield, West Virginia (population 2,700), which sits in a large river valley with mountains on both sides. As the ninth generation of his family to farm there, Sam wanted to continue their legacy.
“For us to come back, my father knew that there needed to be more opportunity, because the farm didn’t generate enough income. That’s still a typical situation for independent farms around the country,” Sam said, noting that his dad considered, “What can my children do to make a living and still be involved in the farm?”
Working with his father, Renick, Sam took on primary responsibility for the farm operation: largely beef cattle and sweet corn, but also field corn, soybeans, wheat and barley on a small scale. In West Virginia, he said, agriculture is not as emphasized as in the Midwest, so producers aren’t always as well versed in the latest technology, like precision farming and artificial intelligence. “But with my relationships, especially with my Purdue connections, it’s kept us at the forefront,” he said.
Applying economics locally
As they returned to West Virginia, Sam’s family was finalizing a business plan to build a small hotel and conference center. The South Branch Inn Moorefield was the first non-farm venture for the Williams family. They found their newest family member, Kelly, was a perfect fit for their entrepreneurial spirit. Renick and his wife Betty, along with Sam and his three siblings, hired her not only to be the construction manager on the project, but also the general manager of the facility.
From there, Kelly and Sam worked with Renick to establish other small family businesses the community needed in the areas of lodging, dining and entertainment. From 1995 to 2005, they were able to expand the hotel, add a second hotel in the neighboring community of Romney, build a Ponderosa Steakhouse, and establish South Branch Potomac Lanes and South Branch Cinema 6.
Kelly and Sam also began their family and worked on starting businesses of their own. They had four children and started South Branch Cattle & Meat Company, Williams Farms & Sweet Corn and Williams Land Management Company. They purchased the Old Fields Country Store & Boot Outfitters close to their farm, remodeling and expanding it.
After Renick retired, Sam and Kelly were able to purchase the original family businesses, making needed changes before and after the COVID-19 pandemic. They've been remodeling the hotels over time. The Ponderosa closed during the pandemic, but they remodeled and re-opened it in 2024 as South Branch Smokehouse and The Bearded Hen Pub, which celebrate Kelly’s Texas heritage and the Williams family’s love of hunting and the outdoors. To expand entertainment offerings, they created Highlands Family Entertainment Center, which features the original movie theater and bowling lanes but also includes Sweet Rose Ice Cream Shop and Highlands Bar & Grill. Their most recent company, created in 2025 with their children, will build and develop more housing, which is desperately needed in their rural area.
The goal is what we can add that works with the current businesses we own, but also helps our community survive and thrive, which allows our children and other children to come back here and live. And not just make minimum wage — but have a career and be able to support a family.”
- Kelly Williams, owner and general manager
Building on family and faith
Sam and Kelly’s children have been involved in the family businesses since they were little — sometimes from the moment of birth, said Kelly, who recalled processing payroll from her hospital bed when son Austin was unexpectedly born six weeks early. During sweet corn season, they helped pick and sell sweet corn. In the winter, they shoveled snow at the businesses or helped feed cattle. During the school year they would ride into work early with Kelly and work with the maintenance crew, learning how to do repairs, stock shelves or clean.
“As soon as they were old enough to go out on the farm, they went with Sam every single day,” said Kelly. “They would be fully dressed before he was because they were so excited to go. I can’t tell you how many hours they put in to make these businesses a success. They are still involved to this day, as they are and will continue to be owners.”
Sam and Kelly also encouraged their children to pursue education. Austin studied mechanical engineering, and he and his wife Emily Akers Williams both work at engineering firm Kimley-Horn. Sloan double-majored in agricultural business and energy land management, with a minor in agricultural law. He now serves as vice president of the Williams Family Businesses. Thomas studied exercise physiology and now attends dental school to become a dental surgeon. Amber Rose is a sophomore at West Virginia University, majoring in dental hygiene and minoring in business and marketing.
Teaching their children service to others and their community has always been important to Kelly and Sam, whether through volunteering at church or developing respect for the hard work of the staff members who take care of customers and their businesses. “For us, our faith and our children are the most important parts of our life. We are very active in our church and volunteer in many organizations,” said Kelly. “Our faith keeps us going and allows us to deal with the many highs and lows of owning businesses.”
The Williams family on their farm in West Virginia. Left to right, sons Thomas and Sloan, Kelly, Sam, daughter Amber Rose, daughter-in-law Emily Akers Williams and son Austin. Photo provided by the Williams family.
Williams Family Businesses
South Branch Cattle & Meat Company | Williams Farms & Sweet Corn: Feeder cattle from the cow/calf operation are processed into packaged meat sold in three locations and served at their restaurants along with their sweet corn. 
South Branch Inn - Moorefield | South Branch Inn - Romney: Stay at the inns and you'll receive a free pass for a movie, bowling and ice cream at one of two locations, as well as discounts to Williams restaurants. 
South Branch Smokehouse | The Bearded Hen Pub | Sweet Rose Ice Cream | Highlands Bar & Grill | Old Fields Country Store & Boot Outfitters 
Highlands Family Entertainment Center | South Branch Potomac Lanes | South Branch Cinema 6: Students from schools in five counties receive passes to all businesses through a rewards program. Contributing to their community
“The focus was to provide businesses that we felt the community needed,” Sam emphasized. “And we have maintained from day one a strong relationship with the community in terms of what we put back into it.”
With their businesses located in Appalachia and serving a five-county region, they receive daily requests for donations from youth and nonprofit organizations. They try to help everyone who asks in some way. Their Student Rewards Program has served all schools in the five-county region for 23 years. Students receive free passes to their businesses for treats like bowling, movies and ice cream as incentives. They are currently developing a new program to feed local residents in need through their restaurants by partnering with their home church, other local churches and organizations, and food pantries.
Depending on the season, they employ up to 100 people in the region. During the summer sweet corn season, Sam said, “We’ve given a lot of teenagers their first job. The whole experience has been really rewarding. Some of them have gone on to work for us year-round.”
Their advice for Purdue students
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“The most important thing is to get everything out of school you can,” Kelly said. “Go to every seminar and class you can.”
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“Be a sponge,” Sam interjected.
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“Meet every single person you can. Join as many organizations as you can,” Kelly added.
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“Network and develop relationships,” Sam agreed.
Focusing on the future
The Williamses continue to apply curiosity and creativity to their own future in West Virginia. They’ve considered expanding into “agritainment,” providing entertaining attractions in agricultural settings, if the next generation of their family wants to expand in that direction.
They’re also exploring energy sources that can help cut costs. A U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) grant helped them to convert all their business lighting to LEDs. They also worked with Partner Community Capital and combined government subsidies, matching grants and tax credits to complete a $1.7 million solar installation project at their South Branch Inn. The project should recoup their portion of the cost within a decade, with current energy savings available to reinvest in improving and upgrading the inn for guests.
On the farm, they’ve worked with the USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service to put conservation practices in place, creating a warbler habitat in their woodland, implementing rotational cattle grazing practices and developing multiple livestock water systems.
For Sam and Kelly Williams, considerations of their future involve the community as well. Any new venture, Kelly said, “has got to be an asset to the community that survives for the long term because it grows and changes with the community.”
That reflection on their legacy — for both family and community — is what makes the Williams family hometown heroes.Victories and Heroes
“Victories & Heroes” is inspired by “of your vict’ries and your heroes” from “Hail Purdue!” Who is your Purdue hero?
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