Ross Kegan, former vice president of operations of Black Mountain Resources, announced the Richard and Leslie Gilliam Foundation is giving Harlan County Community Action Agency (CAA) a total of $492,000 for Blackjewel miners listed in the immediate-needs database. Kegan made the announcement during a special-called meeting at the Harlan County Courthouse on Monday.

Kegan said each miner listed in the database will receive $2,000, including miners impacted in Harlan, Bell, Leslie and Knox counties. Kegan added $276,000 will be given in Letcher County to assist miners registered in their database from Letcher, Perry and Knott counties, and then another donation in Virginia that will make the donation total worth over $1 million.

“I am overwhelmed by this amazing gesture of love and generosity toward our miners by the Gilliam Foundation,” said Harlan County Judge-Executive Dan Mosley. “This amount alone will provide a significant boost to our miners to help get their finances back on track.

“Mr. Gilliam was a successful coal operator who always had an impeccable reputation for taking care of his people and running a world-class operation. There are and have been great people in the coal business. Richard Gilliam is proof of that. Mr. Gilliam didn’t have to do this for our miners, but he wanted to. This gesture is greatly appreciated and I’m very humbled that our people mean this much to him.”

Mosley added as a token of his appreciation, “it was my honor and pleasure to name Ross Kegan and Richard Gilliam honorary Harlan County coal miners and present certificates to them.”

Harlan CAA will disburse the funds in the form of checks to miners listed in the immediate-needs database and will schedule appointments for miners to be able to pick them up. The miners will need to bring photo I.D. and their most recent check stub to prove previous employment with Blackjewel.