Equipment World Digital Magazine
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Chris repays their loyalty by treating the employees with respect and giving regular perks, such as incentive pay. The crew leaders have company credit cards, which Chris occasionally tells them to use to take their wives out for a nice dinner. "He's great to work for," says foreman Dean Coolbeth. "He always gives us what we need to get the job done. He's also approachable. We can go to him if we have a problem. All of the guys respect him because he spent time with a shovel just like everyone else." Dale's Paving even has an 83-year-old truck driver, Charlie "Pop" Williams. At one point, Pop decided to retire, but only stayed retired for six months before he called Chris wanting to come back to work. "He runs circles around the young guys," Chris laughs. Retaining the reputation Seeing the value his father's sterling reputation brought to the company, Chris strives to maintain the same goodwill. He has transitioned that attitude to his personal life, as well, becoming active in the Shreveport community. He became a volunteer firefighter at the age of 16, and is still involved with the department. Before He serves on a range of boards, associations, committees and councils. As the parent of three young children – 12-year-old Caeden and 9-year-old twins Carley and Cameron – he's interested in youth activities. He's even coaching a youth football team, which went undefeated in 2012 and won the Bossier Bowl. Chris has also served as a mentor to those who want to follow in his footsteps, giving advice to those who ask. "Start small – don't shoot for the sky right out of the gate," he says. "I gave this guy advice and he's taken it and run with it. Although he was scared to death, he ended up with a maintenance and patching business, and told me he was glad he listened to me." Chris' wife Tracey handles back-office work such as payroll and HR. New challenges Although Chris has made a range of sound business decisions that have enabled the company to diversify and expand, one of his real goals is to take on projects that interest him, saying he'll take on anything from a $500 driveway to a million dollar paving project, as long as he likes the job. "I never wanted to do anything else," he says. "I knew my very first summer that this was all I wanted to do. If you made a cologne that smelled like asphalt, I'd wear it every day." EW After Dale's Paving handles a range of asphalt projects throughout the Shreveport area and across Louisiana, such as this Olive Garden parking lot. EquipmentWorld.com | January 2014 41