Rodney Stoner

Contact Person:                                  Mr. Rodney Stoner

Phone Number:                                  

Email:                                                  

The Greenbrier came into existence 230 years ago when settlers moving to the West went through the area because it was an easy route allowing them to follow rivers and streams. People set up camp when the land proved to be prosperous and full of springs that were thought to hold medicinal powers. Eventually, a resort and club was started that catered to vacationers looking to relax and play golf.

Mr. Stoner came to be in his current position as Vice President of Food and Beverage of The Greenbrier by first helping out in his family-run business in Pennsylvania. Mr. Stoner went on to the Culinary Institute of America, graduated, and came to The Greenbrier in 1966. He originally went to The Greenbrier as a culinary apprentice, but left to go work in Williamsburg, VA for ten years. He then went back to The Greenbrier to work as the Executive Food Director of the hotel and then later became the Vice President of Food and Beverage. Mr. Stoner has been in his current position for ten years and has been at The Greenbrier for a total of 30 years.

Mr. Stoner says that the most important skills for his position are people skills; most importantly to be able to understand internal and external customers and how to manage both. He personally finds that his spectacular ears and eyes are his best assets. He is able to hear unpleasant things and tends to counsel and mentor those people about their comments. He is also able to envision the ability of people to work well together in their work environments. One can see how necessary these skills are when considering an "average" day for Mr. Stoner. His typical day starts out with reviewing the outcome of the previous day and reading the reports of success stories and problem areas of that day, and deals with the most pressing issues first. He then gets on his computer and reads his e-mails. He typically has various meetings and an agenda that relates to that specific day, for example a meeting with the director of catering. Most of the time, he has many scheduled meetings, but occasionally he has days that he calls "desk days" where the door is open and guests and staff members come in to speak to him. Mr. Stoner eats both lunch and dinner with the chefs to hear how the kitchen staff is working and see what is on the menu, leaving him time to rotate through the property during mealtimes. He thinks in order to be successful it is important to be "seen in this business." Therefore, much of his afternoon is spent up and around the facility.

In preparing to enter the Hospitality field, Mr. Stoner encourages those interested to work while attending school and network with as many members of the industry as possible. He encourages students to work, even if it is only minimum hours, to understand the reality of the business. With this experience, students will hopefully receive a mentorship that will help them perceive all aspects of the business and help them to decide what direction they want to take with their career.

JMU graduates gain many benefits by being associated with The Greenbrier and Mr. Stoner. By the time they graduate, they have significant knowledge of The Greenbrier and are presented with many opportunities to work events there. It is a great stepping stone to working with affiliated resorts and clubs. Mr. Stoner is an important and well-respected advisory board member and there was an award created in his honor that is given to a Hospitality student each year.

Back to Advisory Council Profiles