Jim Justice isn't just West Virginia's biggest supporter; he's also the state's biggest fan.
He may have been thrust into a big spotlight in May 2009 when his company purchased The Greenbrier Resort and the Greenbrier Sporting Club, but Justice had been shining smaller spotlights on the Greenbrier Valley for years. And his efforts to improve both the region and the state landed him in the top spot on The State Journal's list of most influential business leaders for 2011.
The ranking were determined through a unscientific poll on the web and via surveys emailed to nearly 100 business and political leaders in West Virginia. And both groups — online readers and community leaders — ranked Justice as the most influential businessman during the past year.
"Jim Justice has and will have a tremendous impact on the prosperity of this area because he is a visionary," said Greater Greenbrier Chamber of Commerce Executive Director Katie Ickes. "Many leaders have resources, but he is a resourceful person who continues to be a source of ventures to increase the assets of The Greenbrier and the valley to bring tourists, residents and businesses."
Justice started Bluestone Farms in 1977, which now operates as Justice Family Farms, having grown to more than 50,000 acres in four different states, serving as the largest grain producer on the east coast, with corn, wheat and soybean.
He is president and CEO of 47 different companies.
"Jim will tell you he does three things really well: negotiate a deal, shoot a shotgun and coach a basketball team," said Jeff Kmiec, president and managing director for The Greenbrier. "But as we have all witnessed time and time again, he is an incredible leader, not just for The Greenbrier, but for more than 50 companies."
Kmiec said Justice uses his father's common sense approach to business — "don't expect what you can't inspect," "don't confuse effort with accomplishment," — and combines that with an unwavering optimism and hard work.
Justice became president and CEO of Bluestone Industries Inc. and Bluestone Coal Corp. when his father died in 1993, expanding several businesses to include cotton gins, turf grass operations and Christmas tree farms.
Greenbrier Valley Economic Development Corp. Executive Director Steve Weir said Justice has boosted the entire area.
"Maintaining the quality that has become expected of The Greenbrier is something we are appreciative of," Weir said. "It's meant a great deal to the community."
Justice has been president of Beckley Little League since 1992, is head of the girls' basketball coach at Greenbrier East High School as well as 17-year director of the Mountain State Coal Classic.
"Jim Justice's positive impact in this area goes beyond massive improvements and investments at The Greenbrier itself to include co-sponsoring of year-round, daily Delta flights from New York and Atlanta to Greenbrier Valley Airport and hosting one of the PGA Tour's crown jewels — The Greenbrier Classic," said Delegate Tom Campbell, D-Greenbrier. "The soon-to-be-built Greenbrier Medical Institute and The Greenbrier's connection to and support of the Boy Scouts Summit Bechtel Reserve and National Jamboree in Fayette County portend even bigger and brighter days ahead for this region and all of West Virginia.
"Jim is a big guy with a big impact that will be long lasting, and I am so grateful he is a West Virginian."
Justice and his wife, Cathy, gave $10 million to Cleveland Clinic Innovations, the commercialization and corporate venturing arm of Cleveland Clinic in December.
"It takes special people like the Justice family to create this kind of legacy," Dr. Thomas J. Graham, Cleveland Clinic's chief innovation officer, said in a news release.
Kara Dense, executive director of the Greenbrier County Convention and Visitors Bureau, said Justice has turned around the entire Greenbrier Valley with his improvements to The Greenbrier.
"It's because of The Greenbrier that we are the tourist destination that we are," Dense said. "From purchasing The Greenbrier to the addition of the new casino and bringing in the Greenbrier Classic, … that increase in tourism has had a huge impact on all of us."
John Klemish, broker in charge for The Greenbrier Sporting Club and adviser to the chairman, said Justice has exceeded everyone's expectations when he arrived at The Greenbrier, calling him a "one-man stimulus package."
"The Greenbrier has never been stronger, and the state of West Virginia should be proud that one of their own is at the helm of our nation's finest resort."
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