A special anniversary at The Lester Group
The Lester Group is celebrating a special anniversary this year: the company’s 125th anniversary.
Via social media, the Virginia company announced that it will be holding special events and activities in 2021 and said “Join us at the party like its 1886.”
2020 was also a monumental year for The Lester Group.
Despite pandemic conditions, the company opened its latest yard under a new banner, New River Valley Building Supply, in Christianburg, Va.
Additionally, last April The Lester Group’s board of directors elected Jay Dickens as CEO of the company following the retirement of Jim O’Brien who remains co-chairman.
Dickens provided a salute to The Lester Group’s legacy in a video posted on the dealer’s Linkedin page.
“This is truly an outstanding achievement and a wonderful testament to the work ethic, ingenuity, and high customer service by everyone at The Lester Group group since 1896,” Dickens said. “Our company has a long history of innovation, leadership in the communities we serve, and fairness with our customers, vendors and especially our employees.”
The Martinsville, Va.-based company also oversees more than 18,000 acres of forest lands in Virginia and North Carolina. Lester’s real estate division has developed residential communities, shopping centers, office buildings and restaurants in Virginia, North Carolina and West Virginia.
The Lester Group was founded by George Tilden Lester in 1896. Co-chair and former CEO George Lester said, “We started from our family business to our business that is our family,” noting that the company now has more than 200 associates.
“If we don’t take care of our customers, someone else will,” Lester said. “There’s been a lot hard work and a lot of innovation and everyone has added to the total effort.”
The company’s five Virginia building supply locations and banners include Lester Building Supply in Martinsville, Jim Carpenter Company in Fredericksburg, Taylor, Brothers in Lynchburg, Building Supply of Manassas in Manassas, and New River Valley Building Supply in Christianburg.
According O’Brien, the evolution of the company has helped fuel success and longevity.
“I find it amazing the company was 114 years old before I joined it,” he said in the video address. “For any company to last that long in this day in age is incredible. It just shows you the fortitude the company has.”
While O’Brien was with the company, The Lester Group doubled its revenue in a 10-year span. New stores, bring new product lines onboard and added timberlands helped drive growth in addition to smart real estate moves and development.
O’Brien also points to The Lester Group’s addition of turn-key builder sales. “That opened the multifamily market for us,” O’Brien said.
More from The Lester Group’s video address, featuring Lester, Dickens and O’Brien can be viewed at the company’s Linkedin page.
“The best is yet to be,” Lester said. “We couldn’t be where we are without all the hard work everyone has done.”