Dwayne Boggs built Boggs Inspection Services from the ground up starting in 2004 and it is now one of the fastest growing inspection companies in the area, performing inspections throughout all of Lewis County. Home buyers appreciate his in-depth, comprehensive inspection and easy to understand reports as well as his honest, straight-forward manner.
Dwayne is a transplant to the South Puget Sound, growing up in Brunswick, Ohio, just south of Cleveland. He has two older sisters and one younger brother and throughout his childhood, his family loved the outdoors. Dwayne grew up hunting, fishing and camping – hobbies he still loves today.
After a few years of odd-jobs and construction work, Dwayne began a career in the airline industry at the age of 23. It began as part-time work in the freight sector. His work ethic and honesty earned him a promotion to full-time lead foreman in 1991 where he managed a group of more than 40 people. “It was as a lead foreman that I really developed my multi-tasking skills,” he says. “Having to answer questions, knowing where people needed to be and making sure the work was completed required a lot of quick thinking.”
Dwayne enrolled in Strayer University in 1995, ready to take the next step in his career and eventually earned his BA in Business Administration in 2001, all while retaining his full-time job.
Dwayne made the move to the west coast in 2002 when United Airlines transferred him to SeaTac. He chose to locate in Olympia where his older sister Nancy LaPointe already resided.
Not long after, Dwayne took a trip to South Carolina to visit his brother and found himself leafing through a magazine, landing on an article about becoming a home inspector. It was just after 9-11 and the airline industry was unstable and Dwayne was thinking a lot about his next chapter in life. “I read the article and got really interested,” he remembers. “I thought, ‘I can do this!’ So I rolled up my sleeves and got to work and the rest is history.”
Starting a new business from scratch is difficult, but Dwayne’s signature hard work and tenacity came through for him. “It wasn’t easy the first few years, but I just kept plugging away and it began to grow,” he shares.
Dwayne’s work ethic, honesty and integrity aided him in achieving the success he has today with Boggs Inspection Services and he credits both his family’s upbringing and the influence of his grandfather, Ford Spinks, with imparting these traits in him during childhood.
“I used to visit my grandfather in the summers down in Alabama,” he recalls fondly. “We’d fish and go out on the lake together. It was a great time in my life and truly where I got my work ethic. My grandfather was from the Depression era and he didn’t really believe in being idle. There was always something to do.” One summer, Dwayne and Ford spent three months building a house together. “We’d work from 6:00 a.m. until noon, break for lunch, and then were back at it until 5:00 or 5:30 p.m., six days a week. Sunday was always for church,” Dwayne recalls.
Never idle, Ford would hand Dwayne a can of bent nails and a hammer, instructing him to straighten them into usable nails again. “My grandfather worked us hard, but taught us that hard work pays you back. He was big on integrity – doing what you say and taking care of people and was one of my biggest role models.”
Today, Boggs Inspection Services includes office staff and four additional inspectors performing home and commercial inspections throughout the South Puget Sound, including all of Lewis County. Dwayne now splits time between inspections in the field and the administrative side of the business.
Dwayne still enjoys the field, but has found a new passion as a local business owner. “I love the houses and building science, but I get a lot of satisfaction from providing good jobs for my employees and being in a position to give back to the community, too,” he says. “I’m not just a home inspector anymore, but a business owner.” Dwayne enjoys treating his employees to holiday parties, leading a group team building activity and treating Heather Rowell and his office staff to lunch or a special outing to show his appreciation.
Dwayne is known for his clear, thorough inspections and his straightforward, unbiased reports. “I always represent the client, the buyer,” he explains of his professional philosophy. “I know from years of experience that it’s not the home inspector that blows the deal, it’s the house.”
Not only has Dwayne’s honesty and integrity paid dividends in business, but has earned him a partner in life in Ana Ramirez. The two met 11 years ago in a chance meeting at Costco when Dwayne was on his way to a duck hunting seminar. “I was in camo shorts and a white tank top on a Friday night,” he laughs. “I saw this woman all dressed to the nines with some of her girlfriends and I just went up to her and asked her out to dinner. She said yes, and that was that.”
Despite their busy schedules, Dwayne and Ana find time for relaxation and fun. In 2015 the couple spent 16 days biking through Cuba and this year, they celebrated Dwayne’s 50th birthday by riding the STP together. Dwayne loves to hunt almost as much as he loves his hunting dogs. Ana joins him in a love of the outdoors and the two of them can often be found on the water or in the woods.
While he might not shout it from the rooftops, Dwayne is proud of what he’s built at Boggs Inspection Services.
“I never thought, as a low-to-middle income kid growing up in Ohio, that I’d be able to give back to my community – sponsor dance teams, go to fundraising breakfasts, donate to the Boys & Girls Clubs of Thurston County – but I can. It’s what means to most to me, at the end of the day.”
To learn more about home inspections with Boggs Inspection Services visit them online or call 360-480-9602.
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