Dustin Keith

Dustin Keith

Community Builder • Problem Solver • Southwest Virginia Champion • Small Business Supporter • Theatre Lover • Proud Lefty

Some people work in a community.

Dustin Keith has spent much of his life trying to make his a little better.

A Lebanon native raised in the Elk Garden area of Russell County, Dustin knows Southwest Virginia as more than a collection of towns and properties. These are the mountains, waterways, businesses, schools and people that shaped him.

And he believes there's an awful lot worth believing in here.

His real estate story actually began behind the scenes. In 2015, Dustin joined Stuart & Associates as Director of Marketing. Then came real estate school, state and national exams, and in 2016, his license.

Along the way, Bee Stuart became a mentor, and Dustin found himself learning parts of the business that don't always come with the typical real estate introduction—commercial leasing, property management, marketing and some wonderfully complicated transactions.

Turns out, complicated suits him.

Give Dustin a transaction with a few extra moving pieces, an unusual property or a client whose situation doesn't fit neatly inside the box, and he's probably going to enjoy figuring it out.

Because Southwest Virginia isn't exactly known for being one-size-fits-all.

Neither are the people who live here.

One part of real estate has become especially meaningful to Dustin: helping entrepreneurs and small-business owners find the place where an idea can become something real.

He's helped businesses open and expand storefronts in Lebanon and loves working with the people willing to take a chance on themselves—and on this community.

Dustin will be the first to tell you there are opportunities here.

Sometimes you just need someone willing to help you see them.

He also loves introducing newcomers to Southwest Virginia. Whether someone is leasing their first home here, purchasing a property or simply trying to figure out where they belong, Dustin gets to do one of his favorite things:

Show them why this place is special.

His work has taken him throughout Southwest Virginia, with especially deep knowledge of Russell, Washington, Tazewell and Buchanan counties. Over the years, he's worked in residential sales and leasing, commercial sales and leasing, property management, marketing and comparative market analysis. He's also a Notary Public and offers travel notary services.

But Dustin's connection to real estate goes beyond his own clients.

Giving back to the profession matters to him.

His fellow REALTORS® first elected him to the Southwest Virginia Association of REALTORS® Board of Directors in 2020. Since then, he's served as MLS Committee Chair, Vice President, President-Elect, President and now Secretary/Treasurer.

Along the way came some recognition he's pretty proud of: Virginia REALTORS® Honor Society in 2022 and 2023, SWVAR REALTOR® of the Year in 2023, and SWVAR Committee Chair of the Year in 2025, along with his NAR At Home With Diversity certification.

Impressive?

Absolutely.

But if you really want to understand Dustin, look at what happens after the real estate meetings are over.

Because apparently one committee was never going to be enough.

Over the years, Dustin has served on the Russell County Planning Commission and the Lebanon Downtown Revitalization Project Management Team. He's a Past President of Russell County Rotary and Past Area Governor for Russell and Tazewell Counties in Rotary District 7570.

Today, he serves as Secretary of the Russell County Prevention Coalition and President of the Russell County Health Coalition, where he coordinates the Kids Healthy Bucks program at the Lebanon Farmers Market.

And then there are the young people.

For 11 years, from 2015 through 2026, Dustin coached the Lebanon High School Academic Team. He serves on the People Incorporated Project Discovery Advisory Board and has worked with students across Russell County on community service, substance-abuse prevention and projects encouraging healthier choices.

Dustin believes the next generation is worth showing up for.

So he does.

He's just as passionate about protecting the place they'll inherit.

As Chair of the Upper Tennessee River Roundtable, where he holds the Real Estate Development seat on the Board, Dustin supports efforts to protect the environmental health and water quality of Southwest Virginia. That includes the StreamSweepers program, which has helped remove thousands of pounds of trash and tires from our region's rivers and streams.

For Dustin, community isn't really one cause.

It's the kid who needs someone in their corner.

The entrepreneur wondering if their idea could actually work here.

The downtown storefront waiting for another chapter.

The river that should still be beautiful generations from now.

The newcomer discovering these mountains for the first time.

It's all connected.

And somewhere in between all those meetings, closings and community projects, Dustin does occasionally take a night off.

You'll probably find him at the theater.

He's a longtime lover of the arts and happily spends a weekend catching a musical or live production.

Oh, and one more thing:

He's proudly left-handed.

With all the leadership positions and awards Dustin could point to, what he loves most about real estate is actually much simpler.

It's that look on someone's face when what's next suddenly becomes real.

“The best part of helping someone buy or sell a property is the excitement and anticipation in their eyes to begin their next chapter of life.”

Maybe that's why real estate has fit Dustin so well all these years.

He's spent much of his life believing in what comes next—for his clients, for young people, for local businesses and for Southwest Virginia itself.

And he's always ready to help build it.