Jason McClure was one of the first people to ride Valravn, the world's tallest, fastest and longest dive roller coaster.
The coaster, which opened last month at Cedar Point amusement park on the shores of Lake Erie, is characterized by its 211 feet, 90-degree drop that plunges riders towards another dive and a 270-degree roll at speeds up to 75 mph.
McClure didn't wind up on the latest coaster at the "Roller Coaster Capital of the World" by accident. He is Cedar Point's vice president and general manager, and he and other park employees hopped on the coaster in April to give it a test drive before the park's opening day May 13.
A Kanawha County native, McClure has a career that, after an accounting degree from Marshall University and a slew of finance jobs throughout the 1990s, includes stints at four amusement parks.
While having exclusive access to the park's newest coaster may seem like a substantial perk, McClure said that managing a theme park has its ups and downs like any job - and any good roller coaster.
"Most of my time is spent at the park," he said. "If you have to have long work weeks, it doesn't get much better."
Valravn may be the newest coaster on the scene at the "Rollercoaster Capital of the World" - which includes award-winning classics like Millennium Force and Top Thrill Dragster - but McClure said that he has a preference for Maverick, the park's rodeo-themed metal coaster.
Maverick, which McClure labels as an "underdog" coaster, takes riders through two launches, two inversions and a 95 degree drop at speeds up to 70 mph, all overlooking the Sandusky Bay. It tops his list of coasters because of the speed and quick transitions, which he said can aid in stress relief.
One caveat of the amusement industry is that "there's not another amusement park across town." Moving throughout the east coast took a supportive family, and McClure said that he's lucky to have one. His wife, Kim, has been a instrumental figure throughout his career, along with his two adult children.
As for being a father that works at an amusement park, McClure said it was always pretty easy to be the "cool dad," even if he's not sure he earned the title.
"With me working at amusement parks," McClure said, "it always gave me more of a cool factor than I deserved."
His West Virginia roots are also something he sees as an asset to the environment he works in. In particular, he attributes his success to the hospitality and friendliness that he picked up in the Mountain State.
"That's something you learn living in West Virginia - how to be polite and respectful," he said, "and it translates really well to working in the service industry."
Originally from Malden, a community about six miles outside of Charleston, McClure attended Dupont High School where he graduated in 1988. He played on the basketball and baseball teams, both of which made it to their respective state tournaments during his senior year.
McClure graduated from Marshall in 1992, where he obtained a degree in accounting and also met his wife. During the 1990s, McClure worked a number of finance jobs throughout Charleston. He was working for Cambridge Educational Labs when they relocated to New Jersey in 2000 and left him with a decision to make about the future of his career.
In 2001, McClure sent a resume to Carowinds, an amusement park then owned by Paramount that sits on the border between North and South Carolina, and was surprised to be offered a job as a controller.
McClure worked at Carowinds as a controller before moving up to vice president of finance. He eventually moved on to Kings Island in the fall of 2004 near Cincinnati, Ohio to serve the same role.
In 2006, Cedar Fair, the parent company of Cedar Point, acquired Paramount Parks, bringing Kings Islands, Carowinds and four other amusement parks into their reserve.
Now an employee of Cedar Fair, McClure became the general manager of Dorney Park and Wildwater Kingdom in Allentown, Pennsylvania in 2008, where he stayed until 2013. That year, long-time Cedar Point general manager John Hildebrandt retired after 40 years on the job and McClure was readied as his successor.
While McClure has moved up through the ranks of Cedar Fair amusement parks, he said that, for the time being, he's settled down in his current position.
"I've been at four awesome parks. Every one of them is unique and have their own kind of special personality," he said, "but there's nothing like Cedar Point."
Reach Jared Casto at jared.casto@wvgazettemail.com, 304-348-4832 or follow @JaredCasto on Twitter.