An Underground Commitment
B. Frank Joy Celebrates 100 Years in Washington, D.C.
When it comes to building underground utility networks, few would argue that B. Frank Joy’s contributions to the Washington, D.C. metro area over the last 100 years are second to none. The company has been an integral part of everything from presidential inauguration preparations to the construction of beloved sports venues.
Yet, behind these signature projects is a family on a clear mission that spans generations. B. Frank Joy is—and always has been—a family-owned company with its roots dug deep into military service and the community.
The Long Haul
This year, B. Frank Joy LLC celebrates 100 years of service to the Washington, D.C. metropolitan region. The family business began in the early 1900s as a coal, feed and ice-hauling business. In 1916, Emma Ward Swart hired her 17-year-old nephew, Bernard Frank Joy, to work as an office clerk. In 1917, Frank and his partner, Sam Agnew, purchased the business—and thus B. Frank Joy LLC was founded.
When the U.S. entered World War I in 1917, Frank and his partner were called to serve in the Navy while Frank’s new wife, Helen, kept the business going.
Shortly after returning from his naval service in 1921, Frank bought out Agnew’s portion of the company and incorporated. Under his leadership, the hauling business, by that point using trucks rather than horses, grew steadily as Frank supplied top soil from the Joy family farm—one of the last garden farms in the district—to monuments, street medians and park grounds.
“Forever mindful of our humble beginnings, we are proud to have reached a much sought-after, rarely-achieved century mark.” Melissa Koehler, President and CEO, B. Frank Joy
In 1925, Frank expanded his services, establishing a truck-renting partnership with Potomac Electric Power Co. (PEPCO) and the C&P Telephone Co. (now Verizon)—budding business relationships that soon launched a new era in the company’s services. By 1932, the business had eight or nine hauling trucks.
A New Conduit
As Frank’s business continued to grow, so did his family. His son Thomas Leigh Joy (Leigh), the youngest of three children, graduated from high school and joined the Marines to fight in World War II. While serving in the Pacific, Leigh was awarded both a Silver Star and a Purple Heart at the Battle of Peleliu.
While Leigh grew up working in his father’s company, he didn’t begin formal employment until he returned from the war in 1946—an exciting year of opportunity for the company.
In that year, B. Frank Joy became the first contractor in the District of Columbia to install underground conduit and manholes—a specialized service that remains at the core of its present operations.
Behind Leigh’s leadership, the company took advantage of new technologies such as the hydraulic backhoe, first introduced in 1948, and PVC pipe, first introduced for commercial application in 1952.
When Frank passed away in 1955, Leigh took over as President of the company.
Of particular note, B. Frank Joy was hired to inspect all manholes and tunnels under the streets surrounding the U.S. Capitol a few days prior to John F. Kennedy’s inauguration in 1961 and contributed to the construction of Robert F. Kennedy Memorial Stadium, which opened in 1961.
Fiber Optic Focus
Leigh retired in 1985 after turning over the reins to his son, T. Kenneth Joy (Ken)—also a military veteran.
Ken earned a B.S. in economics from Wheeling College (now Wheeling Jesuit University) before entering the U.S. Navy Aviation Officer Candidate School in 1968. He received his gold wings as a Naval Aviator, flying P-3s on anti-submarine patrols from 1970-1973, and was a multi-engine instrument instructor from 1973-1976. He resigned from the Navy and joined B. Frank Joy in 1976 after being “recruited” by his dad to help diversify the company. Ken became President in 1982.
Under Ken’s entrepreneurial leadership, B. Frank Joy diversified its specialized underground services to include the installation of fiber optic cable, gas line and mains as well as trenchless pipe repair. By 1990, the company had grown to more than 1,000 employees, and was best known for installing underground fiber optic rings in the heart of downtown Washington, D.C.
Ken’s entrepreneurism expanded into other arenas as well. He started Greensboro, N.C.-based ECOFLO, a full-service hazardous waste management company with a treatment/storage/disposal facility (sold in 1997 in a leveraged buyout), and Carapace (also owned by B. Frank Joy), a wholesale distributor of DuPont Corian®. In the 1990s, Carapace grew into the largest Corian distributor in the country, with warehouses in Savage, MD, Charlotte, NC and Norcross, GA.
Generational Shift
The company leadership and its people, with integrity always as a core value, pride themselves on their contributions to the underground infrastructure that distributes power in and around Georgetown. They’ve rebuilt a live manhole for Dominion Virginia Power in the heart of Rosslyn and built all new duct banks around large-diameter water mains in Georgetown. These are just two of the many projects that the company has completed in the last 50 years.
In 2006, Melissa Koehler was named President, while Ken still serves as Chairman of the holding company, Joy Holdings LLC. Melissa is the first President/CEO who is not a direct descendant of the company’s founder.
Ken says, “She possesses all of the key leadership attributes that have made B. Frank Joy so successful: integrity, long-term strategic thinking, and respect for the individual. Her last name might be Koehler, but in her heart and her actions, she’s a Joy. She IS family.”
Kevin Joy, Ken’s son, currently serves as an Advisory Board member and fourth-generation owner. Prior to joining the company in 2010, Kevin served in the U.S. Marine Corps as a military policeman, continuing his family’s long and storied contributions to military service.
Powered by its People
As proud as B. Frank Joy’s leadership is of its contributions to the infrastructure and modernization of the D.C. metro area, they are most proud of their people. The Joy family says it has always believed that treating each and every employee like family—and encouraging them to do the same—is essential to B. Frank Joy’s success. That message has been demonstrated since its early days through words and actions.
William “Hawk” Hawkins joined the company in 1932. In an interview nearly 50 years later with the editor of the company newsletter, Hawkins said, “It was during the Depression, people were starving back then. It was around Christmastime and ‘Mr. Frank’ really surprised me. He went across the street and got a big box of groceries and gave them to me. He told me, ‘Hawk, things are not like they could be but it is up to me to make them better—things will get better.’ ”
In the early 50s, Frank and Leigh began one of the company’s most beloved traditions, the annual Thanksgiving turkey giveaway. They initiated the tradition of personally distributing an 18-20 pound turkey to every employee, and to many retired employees, after overhearing an employee say he’d never had a Thanksgiving turkey for his family. The tradition continues to this day.
In the early 1980s, Leigh and Ken started another ongoing tradition, the annual crab feast, serving crabs, ribs and chicken at an afternoon outing for all employees. This event has been expanded to include special recognition for top production and safety performers.
Kevin says, “Powered by People is another core value of our company and exemplifies our commitment to our employees. Since the first turkey giveaway, our company has strived to treat every employee like family—and provide them with the incentive to treat each other in the same manner.”
B. Frank Joy also supports the local community in a variety of ways, examples of which include Prince George’s County Christmas in April, Literary Council, and Extreme Makeover: Home Edition. The staff supports national campaigns, such as United Way and those focused on cystic fibrosis, and belong to organizations that boost the professional community, including Associated Builders and Contractors and National Utility Contractors Association.
Koehler adds: “Forever mindful of our humble beginnings, we are proud to have reached a much sought-after, rarely achieved century mark. B. Frank Joy has become a regional leader in providing the services that all underground infrastructure projects—both big and small—require. It is with great pride and joy that we celebrate this milestone with our employees, partners and friends. Here’s to another 100!”