Sharyn Tallman said a seat on the 2009 board of directors of the National League of Cities is an opportunity to to give input on a national scale on the needs of cities of similar size to Parkersburg.

            “West Virginia deserves to have input in crafting recommendations for the federal actions by Congress and the President,” she said. “Eighty percent of our country is made up of  small cities, compared to our larger counterparts. We truly are the backbone of America.”

            Tallman was elected earlier this year to the National League of Cities 2009 board of directors. She was first elected to Parkersburg City Council in 2002 and is past president and vice president of council. She has served the past seven years as chairman of the city's Urban Renewal Authority and has chaired council's finance and public works committees.

            She assists Parkersburg Mayor Bob Newell on the city's Building Enforcement Agency and she serves as liaison for the Mayor's Youth Advisory Board.