The Rotary Club of Shepherdstown has inducted Eric Burnell as a new member. The induction ceremony was held at the Club’s Feb. 4 regular breakfast meeting at the Bavarian Inn.

Burnell is a State Farm insurance agent in Shepherdstown.

Born and raised in Martinsburg, he is a 2005 graduate of Martinsburg high school. He graduated in 2009 from Fairmont University with a Bachelor’s of Science Degree in Business Administration.

While attending college, Burnell served as Vice President in the Tau Beta Iota fraternity. This provided him with an introduction to the Northwestern Mutual Financial Network and a subsequent internship with that company in 2008.

Though offered a full-time opportunity to join Northwestern Mutual after graduation, he opted not to assume a 100% commission-based career directly out of college in an unstable economy. Instead, he accepted a position as an Accounting Assistant in West Virginia University’ Department of Pathology.

After 16 months in that position, he settled back in Martinsburg and enrolled in the State Farm Insurance internship program. He recently completed the two-year process to earn his license, and he and his associates opened their office in Shepherdstown last November.

Burnell’s hobbies include; aviation, boating, hockey, piano, snowboarding, scuba diving, and traveling. He obtained his pilot’s license in 2007 and currently volunteers as a senior member of the local Civil Air Patrol Squadron.

He is shown on the right in the accompanying photo with longtime Club member Tom Maiden.

The Shepherdstown Rotary Club’s membership now totals 57.