Why Gray? What Sustains Team Members

When team members are asked the question, “If you could describe Gray in one word or phrase, what would it be?” the majority of them come back with one simple answer—family. And with good reason: the company began as a family-based business back in 1960, and that theme has remained at the heart of the organization, even as it has grown to include more than 1,000 team members.

“There’s a lot of love in this company,” says Ricky King, site manager.

The family atmosphere that began with our founder, James Norris Gray, has been passed down through today’s leadership and extends to every team member in the company. Gray isn’t just a place where coworkers learn to coexist, but rather a place where they truly grow to become a part of each other’s lives.

“It’s just like any family,” explains Lynn Beals, site manager. “You have your spats, you have heartaches, you laugh together, you cry together, but you’re still family.”

Core Values Drive the Culture

“In my time here, the constant has been Gray’s values with the team members,” says Jack Duvall, senior site manager.

“Gray is honest about its core values. With Gray they actually do what they say they’re going to do and live it,” says Jevic Bosele, project engineer.

Since its inception, Gray has held tight to a set of core values that have helped guide decision making and have driven the culture within the organization. The three core values are:

• We put safety and quality of life first.
• We are customer and relationship driven.
• We treat others the way we want to be treated.

By establishing these core values as a priority with every team member, Gray makes it clear that each and every person is important and should be treated that way. This creates a sense of belonging and creates camaraderie within the organization and with the team members.

“The core values that the Gray family and the organization live by has kept me coming back,” says Beals, a 31-year Gray team member.

People Make the Difference

“Just the general feel of working at Gray is that you always feel like you work with your friends or you work with your people,” explains Richard Edwins, project director.

“At the core, it’s the people. There are days when your job can make you crazy, but the people here will bring you back,” says Kathleen Ratliff, administrative manager.

A culture is only as good as the people who build and maintain it. At Gray, we are fortunate to have a host of wonderful team members who make Gray what it is. The hard working yet fun, family atmosphere would not be possible without our incredible people who make up the organization. It is their drive, determination, and dedication that allows Gray to continue to thrive as a business, and as a family.

“I still feel that, in 10 years, we will have that culture of people… that’s the important part of Gray,” says Edwins.