Gary Joseph “Joe” Hatfield

Gary Joseph "Joe" Hatfield began full time employment with Peabody in 1973 as an underground supervisor following graduation. He worked in Illinois mines until 1984 progressing from section foreman, chief belt foreman, shift mine manager, to chief mine manager. In February 1984 Peabody acquired the Armco Steel Coal Operations in West Virginia, and Hatfield was promoted to mine superintendent and relocated to Charleston, West Virginia, to lead the operations transition team. He was promoted to director of purchasing for Peabody Energy in the St. Louis, Missouri, corporate office in 1999. He worked there until 2005 when he accepted a position as director of purchasing for Mississippi Lime Company, operating the largest underground limestone mine and lime plant in North America. Hatfield retired from Mississippi Lime in March of 2018 and started a consulting company, Joe Hatfield and Associates LLC. Hatfield has been extremely active in professional organizations such as the Society for Mining, Metallurgy, and Exploration (SME). He is past chairman of the St. Louis Section of SME, and received the section Distinguished Member Award in 2011. He was recognized by the International SME with the Local Section Hero Award in 2012. He is past president of the Kanawha Valley Mining Institute in Charleston, West Virginia, serving in that capacity from 1986-1996. There he grew the Institute and expanded the Charles Bowling Scholarships for Mining Engineers and was elected a Charter Member of the KVMI Hall of Fame in 2009. He was president of the West Virginia Coal Mining Institute in 1993 and orchestrated updates to the articles of incorporation and bylaws for both the KVMI and WVCMI. Hatfield and Royce Watts, with the WVCMI officers' approval, along with Bill Raney and Chris Hamilton of the WVCA, initiated the West Virginia Coal Hall of Fame in 1998.