Robinson Keeps Business in the Family — First Auto Sales, Then Insurance

After earning a degree in business from West Virginia University, Jim Robinson first made a name for himself in automobile sales, just like he now garners accolades in the insurance industry.

“I’m not an extrovert, but I’ve always had a great ability to talk people into things,” he said. “That’s what selling is all about. And I’m very competitive; I don’t like to lose.”

Hard work has always been key to his success.

Robinson worked at his brother’s dealership, Bob Robinson Chevrolet in New Martinsville, while he had six hours of credit classes left before he could graduate WVU. And that was about the same time he married Sarah — Jan. 27, 1978.

“I drove back and forth two days a week to finish my degree and worked six days a week selling cars,” he said.

He continued selling cars for two years before an opportunity came up that would allow him to become a Chevrolet dealer himself in St. Mary’s. That was 1980. He was 26 years old — the youngest General Motors dealer in the United States.

“My dad started in the car business in Harrisville, West Virginia, with a Dodge dealership in the 1950s,” he said. “We moved to Wheeling when I was 11. The car business has been in our blood a long, long time.”

The younger Robinson ran the St. Mary’s dealership, which was Frank Deem Chevrolet when he bought it, for four years. When his father, Bill Robinson, announced his plans to retire, Jim sold his dealership and went to Wheeling with his two brothers to take over their father’s operation: Robinson Cadillac Olds Toyota.

“I was there for three years, and it was too many chiefs, so I sold out to my brother and I went south in 1987,” he said.

There was a little more to it, though.

“When I really made up my mind to move was April 7, 1987,” Robinson said. “We were having an offsite sale at the convention center in Wheeling with all the dealers in the area. It snowed 14 inches and collapsed the tents and damaged cars. I said ‘I’m done living in this stuff. I’m going south.’”

Robinson, and his wife, who was pregnant with their daughter, Caroline, moved with their oldest daughter Jennifer to Blountstown, Florida. He bought a Chevy dealership there and worked it for three years.

“Chevy came in and said, ‘We want you in a bigger town; you’re doing really well,’” Robinson said.

So in 1990, the Robinsons moved to Pascagoula, Mississippi.

“It was a growing community with a lot of defense contractors, Chevron, lots of things happening,” he said.

Living and working there for the next 18 years, Robinson expanded his operation on the Gulf Coast as the opportunities arose. He acquired the other GM store, Jim Robinson Cadillac Pontiac Buick GMC and a Chrysler Dodge Plymouth Jeep dealership in Moss Point, Mississippi.

Hurricane Katrina hit the Gulf Coast in 2005, setting in motion the Robinsons’ return to West Virginia in 2007.

“Sarah was tired of running from hurricanes and really wanted to come home,” he said. “My family’s here. My wife’s family’s here.

“She had a sister living outside Morgantown in Arthurdale — just a lot of family that we wanted to be closer to.”

They sold the dealerships and thought about moving back to Wheeling, where they both grew up.

“But we fell in love with Morgantown. It had changed tremendously since I graduated,” Robinson said. “We moved to Morgantown, and I was going to be retired.

“That lasted for about 6 months,” Robinson added, joking that his dog, a black Lab named Sadie, would run and hide from him because she didn’t want to go for another walk.

As an automobile dealer, Robinson was always licensed to sell insurance. He answered a newspaper ad placed by Geico, which was looking to move into West Virginia.

In November 2008, Robinson opened the first Geico office in the state.

“Geico was amazed by the amount of business we were doing,” he said. “In 2011, they asked us to open an office in Charleston.”

His son-in-law, Matt Bischof, opened that office as a Geico field representative and continued to do well, Robinson said. Bischof recently moved to Dallas to open a Geico office, relocating with his wife, Jennifer, Robinson’s oldest daughter, and their three children.

Robinson’s brother, Steve, now is the GFR in Charleston.

“It’s still very much a family affair,” Robinson said.

The Morgantown and Charleston stores together sell between 800 and 1,000 policies per month.

Jim and Sarah’s youngest daughter, Kathryn, works for a Geico local office in Nashville. Their daughter Caroline, who is married to Ben Sundholm, just moved from Washington, D.C., to New York City to work for Citibank.

Robinson’s performance stands out in insurance like it did in auto sales.

In 2009, Geico named Robinson GFR of the year at its annual conference. In early 2016, he was one of the Top 10 finishers in the country.

“Geico is very pleased with West Virginia,” he said.

So is Robinson, who is active in the Morgantown community. He serves on the boards of the Morgantown Chamber of Commerce and Morgantown Rotary, and is its incoming president. He is a member of the Mountaineer Athletic Club, a professional fundraising organization that supports every men’s and women’s varsity team at WVU. His office has sponsored Little League and softball teams, one of which won the city championship last year.

Robinson said when he has had to make decisions about changing careers and relocating his family, he has learned to lean on these verses from Proverbs 3:4-6: “Trust in the Lord with all your heart. Lean not on your own understanding, but in all thy ways acknowledge Him, and He will direct thy paths.”