Partner, Dinsmore & Shohl LLP
Website: dinsmore.com/matt_kingery/
Facebook: /matt.kingery.71
LinkedIn: Matt Kingery
Written by Katie Allie
Matt Kingery was a shy child who spent most of his free time outdoors with the neighborhood kids, playing basketball and riding bikes. Back then, he dreamed of being a fireman, doctor, architect and radio deejay. One of his favorite memories of growing up in Poca, WV, is of going to work with his dad, a deejay at a local radio station. “I remember getting up extremely early with him on the weekends, getting doughnuts and heading to the station,” he says. “I got to read the weather a few times on the air, but I really just liked being at the station, erasing 8-track tapes and eating doughnuts.”
With an undergraduate degree from Marshall University and a law degree from West Virginia University, Kingery began his professional career at Campbell Woods, PLLC in Huntington. Hard work and flexibility brought him to Charleston, where he began both real estate and commercial finance practices from the ground up at Dinsmore & Shohl LLP, something he considers his greatest professional success to date. “I enjoy the challenge of continuing to grow my practice,” he says. “I’m blessed that we always have new and interesting projects on which to work in Charleston and across West Virginia, and it’s exciting to be part of an organization that has grown by leaps and bounds over the last 10 years.”
Today, Kingery is a partner at Dinsmore & Shohl and is married with four children, but he still finds time to volunteer, a commitment he formed in high school. As a sophomore, he was invited to attend the West Virginia Hugh O’Brian Youth (HOBY) State Leadership Seminar, which gave him his first taste of community service. “It was transformative in a lot of ways,” he says. “I felt I had been blessed to be selected to attend, and I wanted to do my small part in helping the organization that gave so much to me.” Kingery spent more than 10 years volunteering in several capacities within the organization, including roles as president of the alumni association and counselor and vice chair at the seminars.
Kingery’s work ethic and commitment to community have put him to work for a number of organizations in West Virginia. “I’ve always tried to be involved in the community,” he says. “I have a demanding job and try to spend as much time as possible with my family, so my time is more limited than it once was, but I still carve out time to volunteer.”
In addition to his many roles with the HOBY program, he served as the co-chair of the Charleston Area Alliance’s young professionals committee (YPC) and chair of the YPC’s housing sub-committee, and he was instrumental in helping transform the YPC into its current state as Generation Charleston. He served on the Charleston Area Medical Center Foundation board for six years and is a long-term member of the University of Charleston School of Business and Leadership’s Business Advisory Committee and the Greater Kanawha Valley Foundation’s Health Care Task Force and Distribution committees. Through Dinsmore & Shohl, he is involved with Manna Meal and began donating time as a volunteer for Legal Aid of West Virginia’s Private Property Debris Removal and Demolition Program following the catastrophic flooding throughout West Virginia in June.
Being a part of the fabric of life in West Virginia is also important to Kingery, especially since he made the pointed decision to live and work here when he could have gone elsewhere. “I had always lamented the brain drain, seeing friends move away for so many stock reasons,” he offers. “I thought I could be one of them, or I could stay and maybe, in some small way, be part of the solution.”
Kingery’s perspective and drive help him achieve a work-life balance while he maintains a firm grip on what’s most important to him: family and community. He is quick to give credit to the great mentors he’s learned from over the years, as well as the support he feels has made him successful. “Personal effort is important, but to take that next step in your career, to truly do something of note, you have to employ the resources around you,” he says. “The primary resource that can help lift you to higher career success is the people supporting and working with you.”
What is your favorite . . . ?
Color – Red
Food – Eggs Hussarde at Brennan’s in New Orleans
Cartoon Character – Goofy
Ice Cream – Phish Food
Animal – Bengal tiger
Book – “The Illiad”
App – TripAdvisor
Midnight Snack – Nutella
Super Hero – Batman
Video Game – I haven’t played a video game since the 80s
Comic Book – Same as video game, but it would have been Batman
TV Show – “American Horror Story”
Movie – “Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope”
Smell – The ocean
Sport Team – West Virginia University Mountaineers
Car – BMW 7 Series
Pet – Golden Retriever
Place – New Orleans
Small Local Restaurant – Rocco’s
Season – Fall
Era – Current
West Virginia Location – Long Point, New River Gorge
West Virginia Activity – Hike
