Companies Of A Century: E.R. Snell’s Five Generations And Counting
Editor’s Note: Chief Executive is kicking off a new annual tradition this year by celebrating every sizable (over $100 million in annual revenues) standalone company turning 100 in 2023. Check out the rest of this year’s class for tips, insights and, above all else, the inspiration you need to keep going….and going.
HQ: Snellville, Georgia
Revenues: $160 million
Employees: 720
“If you’re the best at what you do, you’ll always be in demand” is the guiding philosophy handed down generation after generation at E.R. Snell Contractor. Founders Gladstone Frederick Edwin Snell and his son E.R. Snell started small, building culverts and retaining walls, earning a reputation for quality work at a fair price.
Over time, the company expanded its services and geographic footprint, working on roads, bridges and industrial construction throughout Georgia. A true family business, co-founder E.R.’s three brothers and sister worked at the company as well, which flourished due, in part, to the passing of the Federal-Aid Highway Act in 1956. His son, Richard Snell, who took over after his father’s retirement in 1974, added grading to the company’s portfolio, enabling a more comprehensive range of road construction services.
The road to Snellville, founded by a family member and where highway construction firm E.R. Snell is headquartered, was reportedly paved by the company, which is credited with helping to lay down and grade nearly all of the major highways in the Atlanta areas. In the 1990s, the company began rolling up local asphalt and paving operations, solidifying its position as Georgia’s leading road builder. Still family-owned and run, it now has operations in metro Atlanta, Macon and Augusta.
While a new generation of the sprawling Snell family is welcomed into E.R. Snell every few decades, the company starts each one at the beginner level and strives to bring all of its employees into the familial fold. “Everybody here has a role and everybody’s important to our long-term success,” Robin Snell, who passed the CEO baton to CEO Scott Briscoe in 2017, told Tractor Times magazine. “We truly believe that, and we try to treat everybody in a way that makes them feel like they’re part of our extended family.”
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1:00 - 5:00 pm
Over 70% of Executives Surveyed Agree: Many Strategic Planning Efforts Lack Systematic Approach Tips for Enhancing Your Strategic Planning Process
Executives expressed frustration with their current strategic planning process. Issues include:
Steve Rutan and Denise Harrison have put together an afternoon workshop that will provide the tools you need to address these concerns. They have worked with hundreds of executives to develop a systematic approach that will enable your team to make better decisions during strategic planning. Steve and Denise will walk you through exercises for prioritizing your lists and steps that will reset and reinvigorate your process. This will be a hands-on workshop that will enable you to think about your business as you use the tools that are being presented. If you are ready for a Strategic Planning tune-up, select this workshop in your registration form. The additional fee of $695 will be added to your total.
2:00 - 5:00 pm
Female leaders face the same issues all leaders do, but they often face additional challenges too. In this peer session, we will facilitate a discussion of best practices and how to overcome common barriers to help women leaders be more effective within and outside their organizations.
Limited space available.
10:30 - 5:00 pm
General’s Retreat at Hermitage Golf Course
Sponsored by UBS
General’s Retreat, built in 1986 with architect Gary Roger Baird, has been voted the “Best Golf Course in Nashville” and is a “must play” when visiting the Nashville, Tennessee area. With the beautiful setting along the Cumberland River, golfers of all capabilities will thoroughly enjoy the golf, scenery and hospitality.
The golf outing fee includes transportation to and from the hotel, greens/cart fees, use of practice facilities, and boxed lunch. The bus will leave the hotel at 10:30 am for a noon shotgun start and return to the hotel after the cocktail reception following the completion of the round.
