Managing Partner, Building & Remodeling Warehouse; Vice President, Skaff Development Company; Member, West Virginia House of Delegates
By Marta Tankersley
Bringing people together just might be what Doug Skaff does best. It all started when he became student body president at South Charleston High School and was taken under the wing of N. David Stern, the student government advisor.
Stern taught Skaff to gain respect with a firm handshake and eye contact and that it’s not a title that’s important but what’s accomplished as a result that will stand the test of time.
While serving as student body president and studying marketing at West Virginia University (WVU), Skaff found wisdom under the guidance of General Kenneth Gray, vice president of Student Affairs. “He taught me how to stay calm in trying times,” Skaff says, “and how to bring people together to tackle complex issues.”
It was Skaff’s father who set him on the career and service path he now enjoys, though. “He has always been my inspiration and drives me to succeed in all my endeavors,” Skaff says. “He taught me that my word is my bond and a handshake is just as binding as any contract.”
A fork in the road to Skaff’s career came when he was asked to choose between his professional ambitions and his political service. As a result, he left his job and started Building & Remodeling Warehouse in Nitro with his father and two other partners.
This business endeavor allows Skaff to continue his political career serving the people of West Virginia. “The bottom line is I won’t stop working to serve our great people here because I want West Virginia to be a success story for the rest of the world to talk about,” he says. “I want to know that I am doing everything in my power to make this a great place for people to do business, work, play and—most importantly—raise a family.”
As a delegate for the State of West Virginia, Skaff currently serves as chairman of the Economic Development & Small Business Committee, Finance Committee and Roads & Transportation Committee. He is chair of the Legislative Oversight Commission on Workforce Investment for Economic Development, and he co-chairs a Bi-Partisan Generation Legislature Caucus that he created for all state legislators between the ages of 25 and 45.
Skaff’s service as a delegate is only a small piece of a greater community service picture, though. He serves as a member of the WVU Alumni Association’s Board of Governors and WVU’s Student Affairs Visiting and Foundation Committees, and he participates with the Charleston Area Alliance, the Home Builders Association and Generation Charleston. He is the revenue chairman for the March of Dimes Walk for Babies and co–chairman for Guys’ Night Out, an event that supports the YWCA Women’s Shelter, and he sits on the Clay Center for the Arts & Sciences Board of Directors. He enjoys supporting organizations like the Ronald McDonald House, American Cancer Society, Big Brothers Big Sisters, Children’s Therapy Clinic and Make-A-Wish Foundation, and he is a proud member of Charleston Moose Lodge and St. George Orthodox Cathedral.
The founder of WVU’s Mountaineer Maniacs, which currently boasts more than 20,000 members, finds his motivation in others telling him he can’t do something. “They told me I couldn’t be successful at running a building material distribution store while doing politics. I started my own company. They told me it’s hard to work in a family business. We continue to work together and our family gets stronger as our business grows. They told me I can’t make compromises and bring both sides of the aisle together. I have continued to find ways to bring Republicans and Democrats together to pass a bill and move West Virginia forward.”
Photography by Tracy Toler on location at Adventures On the Gorge
