When told by his loving wife that he was simply getting too fat and had to find something to do, Charles (aka Skip) Dennis abruptly ended his retirement to start The Junkluggers. After 20+ years  working as a quasi-CIO for private equity, this was quite the departure from managing global tech infrastructure projects, but one where he was able to make an immediate impact on people’s lives -- and the environment. 

Charles grew up sandwiched between two family-owned businesses, Dance and Scuba diving. The dance business has been going strong since the early 1930s where his grandmother left South Boston at 16 to join the Zigfield Follies, a vaudeville dance company. By 18, she and her dance partner Ray Bolger (scarecrow in the Wizard of Oz) had danced in 48 states. His mother, now 83, is still teaching (and skiing) while his sister Nancy runs the business. His grandfather from New York, played baseball for the Brooklyn Robins, the team which later became the Brooklyn Dodgers. Charles has many fond memories of watching the Red Sox play the Yankees while sitting between a diehard Bostonian and a true New Yorker. It was always an interesting experience. 

The Scuba business was a part-time venture run by his father, who was a professor and coach at the Coast Guard Academy. Scuba diving was nearly never fun. It involved finding moorings, scraping barnacles, teaching, and repairing gear but it did provide an excellent foundation in customer service, merchandising, and communication. 

Charles was also a competitive skier and windsurfer. He started teaching / coaching skiing for the Hans Thorner ski school at Magic Mountain in Vermont when he was 14 and throughout high school and later captained his Babson ski team in college. In the summer, when not running the scuba business, he worked part-time teaching windsurfing in Mystic, Conn. and began entering regattas. His addiction to the water and sailing eventually lead him and his wife, Stacia, to live in Maui during the summers where he competed in several US Nationals. Later, he also volunteered his time on the board of US Windsurfing/US Sailing.

Charles' wife teaches kindergarten at Assawompset in Lakeville and together they have two sons who are avid soccer players. The older, Morgan, won the US Club Soccer Nationals before playing in college while their younger son, Carter, was named the 2022 Standard Times Southcoast High School Player of the Year. 

There were several reasons why Charles started The Junkluggers. Getting out of the house and staying active was a driving force, but in choosing a business, he wanted to find something that could grow quickly, that had an impact, and something that included a way of giving back to the community. The Junkluggers was the perfect fit. In addition to keeping hundreds of tons of “junk” from hitting our landfills each year (yes over 50,000 lbs in our first year) The Junkluggers is one of the largest donors to local charities and has formed strong partnerships with Habitat for Humanity, Gifts to Give, Big Brothers/Big Sisters and many smaller 501c3 charities. The best part is that the business passes the tax-deductible donation receipt right back to their customers. When The Junkluggers is successful, everybody wins! As the business grows, customers regain lost space and a potential tax deduction, and the charity gets items to donate or sell for a worthy cause. Most certainly, a win-win.