DAN ROBUCK, JR. 

Greatest lesson learned: You can’t change the past. You can learn from it, but you can’t change it. You just have to figure out where you want to go and how to get there.

How RoMac began: RoMac Lumber got started in 1945 after World War II. My father and his two brothers purchased Woods Lumber Company with the McDonald family. Later they bought out the McDonalds, but they kept the RoMac name.

Up in flames: In 1958, Woody Wagner became General Manager, a position he would hold for 35 years, guiding the company through decades of growth and resurrecting the company from the ashes of a devastating fire in 1972 that completely destroyed the Leesburg facility. My father was determined to not let his loyal employees lose their jobs. With help from the community, my father and Woody built the Leesburg store back from scratch.

First job: When I was about 8 years old, my first job was taking things off the showroom shelves, wiping them down with a bucket of water, drying them off and putting them back.

Becoming an attorney: I always thought I’d come back and run the lumber yard, but my parents wanted me to go to law school. I ended up practicing law and really enjoyed it. After my father was diagnosed with cancer in 1988, I took over the family business.

Hardest times: RoMac has a long history of bouncing back from adversity. RoMac faced another economic challenge due to The Great Recession in 2008, which was one of the longest economic downturns in the United States, having been triggered by the collapse of the housing market. Under the leadership of RoMac’s CEO, Don Magruder, RoMac weathered the storm.

Defining success: We’re only as good as the employees and we have some great employees. Today we have 13 businesses at seven locations, with my son, Dan Robuck, III at the helm. 

Photo: Nicole Hamel