In 1939, R.E. Lee Companies took on its first project – Thomas Jefferson’s presidential library

Eighty years ago, a construction company opened in the small town of Charlottesville, Virginia. The legacy of R.E. Lee Companies comes from a long line of entrepreneurial thinking.  The company grew and evolved from building distinctive estates to commercial construction and historic restorations. During the 1990’s the company began spinning off its divisions creating a parent company and six subsidiaries. Today, each sister company focuses on a different segment of the marketplace which requires different thought processes for each to succeed. The change in corporate structure was just one of the ways in which the company changed with the times.  While a lot has changed, the company’s founding values – “Pioneering, Honorable Professional” are still at the center of all they do. Today, R.E. Lee Companies has completed more than 2500 projects with over 6,000,000 man hours worked in just the last 20 of their 80 years.

Take a walk down memory lane during an interview with Arlene Lee, CEO of R.E. Lee Companies, as she talks about the about the history of R.E. Lee, the resiliency the company has shown over the years, and the four generations of workers that have come together and acted as a bridge for each other to prepare for the needs of tomorrow. Currently, workforce shortage is a major issue in the construction industry. R.E. Lee Companies is addressing this by creating a Young Leaders Program, which began last year, as well as an Apprenticeship Program which will begin later this summer. The Apprenticeship Program provides a pathway to bring new people into the Construction Industry. Learn more about R.E. Lee Companies in this radio interview from WNTW.