The White Sulphur Springs, W. Va., resort closed to guests on June 24, taking in more than 700 residents affected by devastating state-wide flooding. “We had some major damage in different parts of the hotel, and it’s taken a lot of work to get The Greenbrier back to the standard that our guests expect,” said owner Jim Justice in a press release.
Jim Justice, owner of The Greenbrier, has announced that the resort will reopen July 12, with a goal of salvaging what’s left of the summer season and getting people back to work, the Roanoke, Va., WDBJ 7 reported.
The resort itself employs about as many people as there are in the town of White Sulphur Springs, W. Va. Justice said getting the resort back up and running is paramount. After a canceled news conference earlier in the week and two days of build up, this event on the front lawn of the resort is what many people had been waiting for, WDBJ reported.
See the news conference below:
“We’ve been to you-know-where and back,” is how Justice opened his first public wide scale remarks since the disastrous floods. “A lot of families have lost loved ones, their homes, their sacred possessions and we’ll never get over that.”
The Greenbrier Resort stands as the anchor of the small town of White Sulphur Springs. Its shutdown was an immediate blow, and employees who escaped the flood couldn’t escape a loss of income, WDBJ reported.
“You can imagine the number of employees that keep coming up to me over and over, saying when are we going to get back to work,” Justice said. “And you know we’re racing as fast as we possibly can to figure any and every way to get them back.”
Many on the Greenbrier Staff are employees for life, and getting the resort open again is a saving grace, WDBJ reported.
“This is the worst thing I have ever seen happen to our town and to the Greenbrier,” 31-year Greenbrier Employee Pam Callison said. “For the shutdown, for us not to have a job, not to have income coming in and for him to announce he’s opening the place back up is just amazing, for him to be able to open back up this quickly.”
The resort is now putting the call out to those who have asked ‘how can I help?'” Justice wants you to come and check in to the hotel, enjoy the pools and the spas, and stay for a while, WDBJ reported.
“We do have damage, our grounds are nowhere close to pristine, but I’ll promise you this you being here you will still have a Greenbrier experience beyond belief,” Justice said. “It’s hugely important and that’s why we want everyone on the outside if they can come and support these employees in any way they can we want them to come, I’ll promise you these employees will give them the greatest service and the greatest experience they can possibly have.”
The resort said it has offered food and a place to stay to more than 700 flooding victims. Those victims have been working with FEMA and the resort said in a news release it has been assured those victims will continue to have food and housing, WDBJ reported.
The June 23 floods left 15 people dead in Greenbrier County and 23 across the state. The hotel closed to guests on June 24, but took in more than 700 affected residents. The PGA Tour canceled the Greenbrier Classic golf tournament, which was scheduled to start Thursday at the resort, WDBJ reported.
“We had some major damage in different parts of the hotel, and it’s taken a lot of work to get The Greenbrier back to the standard that our guests expect,” said Justice in a press release. “But my dad once told me that if you can’t get it done in 24 hours a day, then you’re gonna have to work nights. We’ve worked a lot of nights, because we know just how important it is to have The Greenbrier up and running and guests coming here to visit.”
For information on other ways to help flood victims across West Virginia by donating to the Neighbors Loving Neighbors campaign, visit Greenbrier.com/neighbors.
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