50 YEARS STRONG

Greg Ansley, son of Hershel and Runette Ansley, started working for the family business, A&A Electric Inc., in Cornelia since he was 12 years old. This year, he and his staff are celebrating the business’ 50th anniversary.

Runette Ansley said when the business opened in 1969, she and her husband started it with just “one truck and a lot of hard work.”

“It was just a need the community had and an opportunity we saw,” she said. “Basically, he had been working part time for a number of years and it just grew into a full-time job.”

At first, they were just doing electrical work, but as the years went by, they started expanding to more services, more buildings and more employees. Ultimately, in 1974, they became Lennox dealers to provide heating and air conditioning.

“That part of the business has grown to be more than the electrical,” Greg Ansley, now co-owner and vice-president of the business, said. “… That has led to the growth of the business. It went from three or four employees when he first started and it grew to probably 10 employees after he started doing heating and air. Then with the big boom of the 2000s, we grew to as many as 40 employees. Now we’re probably pretty much at about 20 employees.”

But Greg Ansley said the business has always been in Cornelia. He thinks part of the reason the business has been so successful over the past 50 years is because they put their customers first. Additionally, Debbie Beck, office manager, said she has been with the business for 38 years. Many of the other employees have been with A&A Electric for 10 years and even up to 42 years.

“We’re here to serve the people,” Greg Ansley said. “And I think that’s what we hold dear to our hearts is that we want to please and we want to make our customers feel like it was a great experience, and we work at that really hard.”

Greg Ansley said although his father passed away last year, his mother still visits the office a couple times a week and is active in the business even at the age of 83.

“My dad … retired in 1991, but he always came by to check on us,” he said. “… They started it. They did a lot of blood, sweat and tears before I ever got here.”

Runette Ansley said she hopes the reason they’ve remained open for so long is also because of the good job that they do, and for the honesty and rapport they’ve been able to build with those residing in the community.

“We’re very blessed to have very good customers and builders and contractors and just thankful that it worked out that way,” Greg Ansley said. “We just want to continue to serve the community and surrounding areas and be the best that we can be in our field.”

A&A Electric, located at 3699 B C Grant Rd., will host an appreciation event for the community today, Friday, Oct. 18, from 11 a.m.-1 p.m. in celebration of its 50th anniversary. The community is welcome to attend.

For more information on the business, visit aandaelectricinc.com or find them on Facebook by searching A&A Electric Inc.