The Register-Herald, Beckley, West Virginia

The Greenbrier Classic

August 1, 2010

Santa visits Greenbrier

St. Nick, aka Jim Justice, makes a personal investment for W.Va.

By Carl 'Butch' Antolini General Manager and Executive Editor

WHITE SULPHUR SPRINGS — Jim Justice is a storyteller. He likes to laugh, he likes to greet people, he likes to see folks smile.

Earlier this week he was talking about Santa Claus.

“First you believe in Santa Claus and then after a while you don’t,” Justice said. “And then, before you know it, you are Santa Claus.”

Yes, West Virginia, there is a Santa Claus. For you see, a PGA TOUR record was set here. More than $3 million was raised for charity, dispersed to dozens of worthy organizations throughout the region. It’s the most money ever raised for charity in a first-year tour event, more than doubling the previous mark.

“We wanted to set the bar,” Justice proudly stated.

And then Jim started beaming about the turnout of people for this inaugural golf event on the Old White. He kept repeating his thanks and gratitude for their support.

“I can’t thank them enough for being here; it’s off the charts.”

More than once this week national media members have asked me, “Who is this guy? What’s he all about? Does he just have too much money and can’t find anything else to do with it?”

My response has been the same every time — “Jim Justice is a man who cares about West Virginia and its people and although on the surface he’s funny most of the time, I firmly believe he’s plenty serious.”

Sure, he’s a jolly aging man with rosy cheeks and a big waistline that he frequently jokes about.

But don’t be fooled by Justice’s persona. Don’t think for a fleeting moment that he’s giving away the family fortune to just have a good time.

Underneath it all, he’s very passionate about what he’s doing.

“It’s an investment for all West Virginians,” Justice said when asked about purchasing The Greenbrier and subsequently pouring a huge infusion of cash into his “plan” for the resort, including the $25 million plus to stage The Greenbrier Classic.

“I want to show West Virginia to the world; I want to show them who we are, a proud people,” Justice added.

Some have made fun of him for still putting such an emphasis on coaching the girls’ basketball team at Greenbrier East High School. But he quickly pointed out that much of what he practices as a business executive is directly related to what happens when he’s in the gym coaching.

“I tell those kids the same thing I tell our employees: It’s about buying in, working together, caring for other people,” Justice said. “When I came here, I had to change the mindset. People said, ‘Oh, the economy is bad.’ Well, I said we have to do what the market dictates; if that means working harder and later, then that’s what we’ve got to do. We’ve got to make it happen. We’ve got to get off our butts and go to work.”

And work he and hundreds of others have at The Greenbrier since May 2009. I wonder where he gets his energy.

West Virginia is fortunate to have a guy willing to make such a large investment of his life into making us shine and prosper.

Text Only
The Greenbrier Classic