Doyne Construction: Family, Community, and Purpose

Owning and running a construction company was never in Virgil Dexter Doyne’s plans. His San Francisco State University college degree is for Motion Picture Producing and Directing. Yet more than 40 years after he started doing small remodeling jobs for neighbors while fixing his own rental property, Dexter is the President and CEO of Doyne Construction Company.

Though the company may have started as a sideline business, Dexter is fully intentional about the business. He still resides in the College Station neighborhood of Little Rock, Arkansas where he was born, raised, and a commitment to that community is the source of his “enthusiasm and passion.”

“My philosophy is that it's all about family and creating opportunities for the family to grow and prosper and contribute to our community,” he says. “It's an underserved community in need of a lot of improvements, and my children have the same passion to help our community grow.” His son, Mason, and two daughters, Angelé, and Kayla have worked for the company alongside Dexter and his wife, Angela.

“I truly believe there's an overall sense of appreciation for what Doyne Construction has done,” he says. “It excites me when I can see the impact that I've had on my own community.” That impact has been wide-ranging. Among the company’s projects are infrastructure, housing subdivisions, a community health clinic, a senior citizens’ retirement center, the College Station Civic Center, the President Bill Clinton School of Public Service, and the transformation of the Arkansas Arts Center into the Arkansas Museum of Fine Arts.

Lily Cochrane, formerly the head of the Wake Forest Center for Private Business, notes that “family businesses can be some of the biggest change agents for a lot of positive good to happen in the world.” Concurs Dexter, “My family's involvement has made the company stronger because their passion is contagious.”

Continues Dexter, “Now that I have my children involved, I can see that the legacy will continue. It's just a tool and a vehicle to help them improve our community. Because of this I am truly blessed and hopefully everyone else will be blessed too!”