Owners, Jacob S. Meck Construction, LLC
By Jennifer Jett
QUITE THE PARTNERSHIP, Jacob and Malinda Meck have founded four companies in their 13 years of marriage. The long hours required for such a heavy load of responsibility have required sacrifice, determination and much planning, but their success has proven that these three elements are vital to any business.
Jacob and Malinda met through the church and private school they grew up attending. Jacob was a carpenter’s apprentice under Malinda’s father in high school while Malinda worked in Jacob’s family’s bakery where she was introduced to a variety of roles vital to the operation of a business. At the age of 19, Jacob received his contractor’s license, and shortly thereafter he and Malinda opened their construction company.
The Mecks’ first business was Jacob S. Meck Construction, LLC. Out of necessity for their employees, the Mecks founded a port-o-john business that grew to supply other businesses’ needs, and in 2008, they added septic pumping to compliment the port-o-johns. Allegheny Disposal, LLC assumed the management of the county trash hauling service and the Meck’s added metal recycling to their list of entrepreneurial endeavors in early 2010. In recent weeks, they’ve also opened a mini-storage rental facility in their hometown of Green Bank.
Despite the early mornings and late nights required of running four businesses while raising their 8-year-old daughter Jennalee, they still find time to remain active in their church and in their community. Malinda serves as the treasurer of the Pocahontas County Chamber of Commerce after serving as president for two terms and she is an active member of the Boyer Hill Mennonite Church where she teaches Sunday School. Jacob is also a Sunday School teacher, trustee and treasurer for the church. The Mecks’ businesses are actively affiliated with the Pocahontas County Chamber of Commerce, as well as the chambers in Pendleton County, WV and Bath and Highland, VA. Jacob is also a member of the Durbin Lions Club. He serves as the first vice president of the State of West Virginia Home Builders Association and president of the Greater Greenbrier Home Builders Association, and he was appointed by Governor Joe Manchin to the West Virginia Contractor Licensing Board in 2008.
Of their commitment to their community, Malinda says, “The very basis of our faith is service to others, so that is a springboard for our lives. In a small community like ours, we work for our neighbors and friends. Without their business, we’d have to close our doors, so the best way to say thank you to them is to volunteer to benefit everyone.”
Malinda identifies the characteristics that have been the most important to her success as a continual drive for perfection, a love for helping others, a determination to succeed and the act of simply treating others fairly. “I love exciting, challenging projects,” she says of her motivation to succeed, “and there’s never a day at work that we don’t have something new, exciting or odd to work on.”
Jacob, who wanted to be an airplane pilot when he grew up, says that the characteristics that have been most important to his success are negotiation, attention to detail and respect for others. “I don’t take no for an answer,” he says. “There’s always a way to make it work.”
In the spring of 2010, the Mecks’ construction company received the Big 50 Class of 2010 Business Savvy Award by Remodeling magazine. The couple agrees that the recognition came as a total shock. “We’ve worked long and hard to build a business in our town and to be chosen out of all the national remodelers for this honor was amazing,” says Jacob.
In the spare time they find between running four businesses and exploring new ideas, the couple enjoys riding their Harley Davidson Sportster together. “The best part of riding the bike,” says Jacob, “is spending time together with no phone, no interruptions, no problems to fix—just time to put the brain in neutral and relax.”
Photography by Tracy Toler
