Sumner Sollitt (1927) With a last name that has been synonymous with Chicago construction since the 1800s, it’s no surprise that AGC chose to tap Sollitt’s extensive experience in its executive office. While other relatives carried on the company his father, Thomas Sollitt, built, he and his brother, Ralph, co-founded their own construction firm [read more...]
James H. Ellison (1926) A proud Minnesotan, Ellison, a civil engineer by trade, built his career along the framework of America’s burgeoning rail system, working for several years with Northern Pacific Railroad and then the Great Northern Railroad before signing on with the Winston Bros. as superintendent of construction. Eventually becoming a stockholder in [read more...]
George B. Walbridge (1925) His name has stood for a century as a prominent figure in Detroit’s construction industry, as the company he founded is still running strong. Walbridge co-founded Walbridge Aldinger Co. back in 1916, though his career took him through Chicago, New York and Winnipeg before putting down roots in what he [read more...]
Founded in March 1924 as Indiana Association of Highway and Municipal Contractors, the Indiana Contractors, Inc. (ICI) became an AGC of America chapter in March 1929. ICI is the voice of Indiana’s highway, heavy and utility construction industry. A strong advocate in the areas of legislation, policy, labor and leadership development, ICI offers the [read more...]
Frederick L. Cranford (1924) The Brooklyn Daily Eagle once called Cranford, a son of the famed New York City borough and founder of the Brooklyn construction company that bore his name, “the man of 1,000 ideas.” He may have had more. Cranford chaired an early committee for the development of both Brooklyn and Long [read more...]
John W. Cowper (1923) Cowper’s traveling-man’s story begins in his birthplace of Virginia. He began his career as a rodman in the engineering corps in Chattanooga, TN, eventually working his way up to assistant engineer as he traveled, working jobs around the United States until finding his way to James Stewart & Company, where [read more...]
Arthur S. Bent (1922) California’s AGC chapter owes this past-President a special debt of gratitude as Bent, President of the Los Angeles-based Bent Brothers firm, chartered the state’s first chapter. Bent was the first Californian to serve as the AGC president and, along with brother, Stanley, a bit of a visionary in the field. [read more...]
William O. Winston (1921) Native Minnesotan William O. Winston was President of the Minneapolis-based Winston Bros., a small, family-run company that became one of the largest railroad contracting firms in the nation. Its first large job entailed some 1,000 miles of track for the Northern Pacific Railroad. Winston was at the helm during a [read more...]
Walter A. Rogers (1920) Rogers, president of the Bates & Rogers Construction Company of Chicago, served as the AGC’s first vice president and was a natural fit to run the show in its sophomore year. A Wisconsin native, Rogers organized one of the nation’s first cement and concrete testing labs at the University of [read more...]
Daniel A. Garber (1918-1919) “No business is more exacting or requires greater effort and determination than construction,” said Daniel A. Garber, who from 1918-19 served as the very first president of the Associated General Contractors of America. It was Garber, an assertive, can-do New Yorker and president of New York City’s North Eastern Construction [read more...]
