James Booth

Ventures into the retail industry were also a success for Jim and his associates, with 19 Fast Lane convenience stores and 10 fast food restaurants serving over 8 million customers in 2013.

Jim H. Booth’s effect on the entrepreneurial environment of Kentucky has been nothing but beneficial to the state, providing leadership in his local community of Pikeville as well as employing 1800 (and growing) Kentuckians in his operations.

By working his way up the ladder of the coal mining industry, James H. Booth has become one of the biggest entrepreneurial faces to come out of Kentucky. Beginning as an underground coal miner on weekends, Jim made his way into contract mining to build his base. Beech Fork was Jim’s first endeavor into coal marketing, and opened many doors for him in the world of coal distribution. By 2003, Jim owned multiple coal companies that were supplying over 3 million tons of coal to eastern United States companies.

Wolf Creek, Beech Fork Processing, Inc., 

Czar Coal Corporation, 

Marshall Resources, Inc., 

Southeast Mail Services, Inc.,