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 Vecellio & Grogan: 70
Years of Integrity, Quality & Service (Continued)
(3rd Quarter 2008)
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The launch of
White Rock Quarries in the 1980s to directly compete with more
established Miami mining companies made headlines throughout the
industry. |
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Early issues of the VanGuard newsletter, originally
created in the 1970s. |
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Earlier this decade,
White Rock Quarries greatly expanded the capacity of its
production plant and inbound/outbound truck scales. It also
upgraded to a 105 cu. yd. dragline. |
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Leo Vecellio, Jr., with sons Christopher and Michael aboard a
dragline at White Rock Quarries in the 1980s. |
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Vecellio & Grogan built
a complex US-19 highway project on Powell Mountain in West
Virginia in the 1990s. |
The Next Generation
Leo Vecellio, Jr., joined the family business
full-time in 1973 after serving four years as an officer
managing construction projects in the U.S. Air Force. He had
earned civil engineering degrees and worked with V&G during
earlier years, so was able to help the company get through the
oil embargo and difficulties with a newly acquired paving
business. On the personal side, Leo married Kathryn Cottrill and
they soon started their own family, welcoming sons Christopher,
then Michael.
Recognizing the need to expand into new territories, in 1979 V&G
founded a holding company to acquire and build new businesses in
Florida. Leo Vecellio, Jr., was instrumental in the expansion
process, eventually moving with Kathryn and the boys to Florida,
establishing a southern headquarters to oversee the operations.
Integrity & Progress
Not many family-owned businesses last to a second
generation, let alone the third or fourth, and even fewer reach
the top tiers of their industries while maintaining the values
of their founders.
After Leo Vecellio, Sr.’s death in 1996, Leo Vecellio, Jr.,
became CEO of the Vecellio Group, leading the company with the
same high ethical standards that have been the cornerstone of
its success since 1938. And earlier this decade, both
Christopher and Michael joined the ranks after completing their
graduate studies, representing a new generation of Vecellio
leadership.
In addition, the Vecellio family continues to
give back to the industries and communities in which they’re
involved. Most recently, Leo Vecellio, Jr., has served as the
2007–2008 Chairman of the American Road & Transportation
Builders Association. And earlier this year, Kathryn Vecellio
served as gala chair person for the American Heart Association’s
very successful annual “Heart Ball” fundraising event in Palm
Beach, Fla. These activities continue a long tradition of giving
that includes the creation of the Vecellio Family Foundation in
1972.
.....Continued
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