President & CEO, Bricks Without Straw
By Samantha Cart
Jamie Summers-Brown can rarely be caught without headphones. A member of West Virginia’s creative class, he has been using music as a motivator since his first job at Waldenbooks when he was 16.
“I worked in the back of the store unboxing stock for inventory and shelves,” he says. “The best part was an old cassette player, so I started taking mixed tapes of bands I loved and just worked and listened to music. It’s something I do every single day. When you have headphones in, you can tap into a different dimension that most people forget about.”
From that first job, Summers-Brown learned the art of customer service, which has served him well as president and CEO of Bricks Without Straw, a web-based company he created in 2004. He is known across the Mountain State for expertly addressing the unique needs of each of his clients when building websites or creating marketing materials, and with offices in West Virginia and Japan, this reputation has driven clients from around the world toward his services. For Summers-Brown, a win for the client is a personal victory.
“When I see that the solutions I implement for clients make their jobs easier, it’s like we high five one another,” he says. “Seeing the relief on their faces is incredible. We should be able to focus on what we do best—that’s what I try to convey to everyone I work for.”
An entrepreneur, business owner and frequent traveler, Summers-Brown makes time in his busy schedule for a variety of community service roles. An active volunteer and board member for Special Olympics West Virginia and the Bob Burdette Center, he gives not only his time but his services, offering free computer and marketing work. He helped create the Charley West BBQ Fest in 2016, a large fundraiser that benefits the Bob Burdette Center’s after-school program, and he also volunteers with Manna Meal and the Walking Miracles Family Foundation.
“I’m excited about technology and applying that technology to these groups,” he says. “I want to drive them to do the best work they can do.”
Summers-Brown aims to strike the perfect balance of art and technology in his work and his personal life. Whether it is adding to his collection of traditional Japanese tattoos, creating the ideal logo for a startup company or serving the community he loves, all of his passions tell a story. The story he is most proud to tell is that of the Frank Brown Community Partnership. Established in 2013, the program is inspired partly by the generous spirit of West Virginia and partly by Summers-Brown’s relationship with his grandfather, for whom the initiative is named.
“The partnership has really opened the doors for me to serve the community in other ways,” he says. “I think that’s sort of the spirit my grandfather embodied. Be approachable, be helpful, and think things through.”
Charitable organizations across the state can apply to be chosen as Bricks Without Straw partners and, if chosen, receive free website, design and development services.
“I started offering free services to groups about 11 years ago, and it just grew from there,” says Summers-Brown. “I’d get asked by associates if I would be interested in guiding charitable organizations with their online presence and marketing. Since the inception of my community program, I’ve served the Bob Burdette Center, Children’s Therapy Clinic, Manna Meal and the Secret Santa Foundation of West Virginia. We have even managed to do some additional projects with the Walking Miracles Family Foundation along with some fundraising efforts for the Children’s Home Society.”
Summers-Brown believes it is his duty as a West Virginian to support the people of the state he loves. Since the partnership’s inception, he has given $250,000 in free services to Mountain State charities.
“I feel that I don’t choose the groups, they choose me,” he says. “I am proud to know I serve the children of West Virginia. I’m always going to be their cheerleader, I’m going to listen to them, I’m going to engage them academically, and I am going to support them in whatever they choose to do.”
