The Times West Virginian

Opinion

June 2, 2009

Justice seems to have good game plan for Greenbrier

Leave it to a basketball coach to come up with a winning strategy for a business success.

That’s exactly what Jim Justice, the new owner of The Greenbrier, appears to have done.

The prestigious resort dates back to 1778, has hosted royalty and nearly 30 presidents, and is on the National Register of Historic Places. Yet it found itself in a five-year losing slump that culminated with a $90 million loss and a bankruptcy filing.

Enter Justice and the $20.1 million he paid CSX Corp. to purchase the 721-room luxury hotel and 80 percent of The Greenbrier Sporting Club. Why? It seems like a good investment, but anyone who knows Justice knows it goes much deeper than the almighty buck. He truly wants to win a major victory for his community.

Here is a local businessman who recently sold much of his coal business to a Russian company for $436 million. But until then, most people in southern West Virginia knew Justice not for his business ventures, but for his main priorities children, sports and community improvement.

His enthusiasm and success as coach of the Greenbrier East High School girls basketball team are well respected, and his presidency of Beckley Little League has helped grow the organization to more than 1,000 children on 80 teams. His philanthropic deeds throughout southern West Virginia are numerous and often go without publicity.

As any good coach should, Justice takes his goals seriously. His newest ones? Returning The Greenbrier to profitability and reclaiming the resort’s coveted fifth star from Mobil Travel Guide.

To reach those goals, it appears he’s treating this latest business venture like an important ball game.

Justice knows you can’t win a game with only half the team playing. One of his first moves after the May 6 purchase was to call back the 650 workers nearly half of the resort’s 1,350 employees who were furloughed back in January in the midst of a labor dispute.

Justice knows you can’t win a game when the players aren’t happy. The coach’s next move was a meeting with The Greenbrier’s union leaders to draft amendments to an agreement ratified April 30, before he bought the resort. Justice made it even better, so much so that employees voted 325-3 in favor of it. The new agreements increase health care benefits, offer to match 401(k) contributions and restore the practice of offering workers a daily meal at The Greenbrier.

The coach knows players work harder when they have incentive. The contract amendments also offer a 10 percent bonus to all employees if The Greenbrier regains the fifth star.

Justice also knows it’s harder to win the game with an ugly loss hanging over the team’s head. He and Greenbrier chief financial officer Michael McGovern told U.S. Bankruptcy court that dismissing the resort’s bankruptcy case would benefit creditors, workers and the local community. The court agreed after Justice convinced it that his company, Justice Family Group, has the financial means to make the new business plan work.

Finally, a good coach practices good sportsmanship. Instead of arguing with Marriott, the company which intended to purchase The Greenbrier from CSX as part of the bankruptcy proceedings, Justice is working with the company to come up with a plan for Marriott to help market the resort. Justice has said if it doesn’t work out in a month, he’ll pay Marriott a $7.5 million breakup fee.

All of this, and it’s still very early in the game.

It looks like a good coach is exactly what The Greenbrier needed. We’re certain this one will do our historic hotel Justice.

— The Register-Herald

This editorial does not necessarily reflect the opinion of the Times West Virginian editorial board.

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