Jim Justice

<b>The Greenbrier’s first West Virginian owner balances visionary dreams with a dose of realism</b>

In just a little over three months, The Register-Herald will begin its annual process of recapping the year’s biggest news stories.

No doubt Jim Justice and The Greenbrier will be in our top five. In fact, the only question at this point is which of those five articles about The Greenbrier will rank first.

Justice is the first West Virginian to own the famous White Sulphur Springs resort. In its 200-plus year history, The Greenbrier had never been owned by anyone who was actually a native of West Virginia.

His surprise purchase of the resort in May is certainly newsworthy, and not just because of the millions of dollars that changed hands. It was because everything Justice said and did in the wake of the transaction backed up one of his earliest statements: “I know what a cherished and iconic place The Greenbrier holds in my life and for all of Greenbrier County, West Virginia and our nation. My whole mission is to return it to its greatness.”

Then came news about plans for the casino, a spectacular and elegant underground facility set be open by Spring 2010.

It wasn’t long before Justice delivered two more bits of more good news: First, his group purchased the remaining ownership in The Greenbrier Sporting Club. Next came the news that basketball legend Jerry West — a longtime friend of Justice — had agreed to put his personal stamp on a steakhouse within the resort.

Then, just a few days ago, Justice and the PGA Tour announced a six-year deal that’s sure to draw attention to The Greenbrier and southern West Virginia. The inaugural Greenbrier Classic begins July 26, 2010, and will be broadcast on CBS.

All this in less than three months. Who knows what the next three might hold?

Justice is certainly a man of big dreams, a true visionary with an equal balance of realism. He knows nothing is certain, but that hasn’t stopped him from putting heart and soul — even personal finances — into The Greenbrier.

He’ll do what it takes to make these dreams reality. Perhaps his biggest dream is restoring the resort’s five-star ranking. We’ve no reason to doubt he’ll succeed.

“My dad used to tell me, if something’s hard, it’ll take two days,” Justice said, answering a question about how quickly he drew the PGA’s attention. “If it’s impossible, it might take another day. He also said if you can’t do it in a day, work nights.”

He was giving the credit to an entire team of people rather than himself. He may be humble, but there’s no denying he’s the one who assembled that team, and he’s the one who has put a near-bankrupt historic site back on the path to five-star success.

Text Only