Blair Williamson

Blair Williamson, 36
Vice President, S.L. Williamson

How does a woman end up running a paving company?  “It’s a family business.  I think that’s the only way someone gets into paving,” says Blair Williamson, the third generation to work in the business her grandfather started in 1949.
Williamson studied to be an architect but realized she wasn’t cut out to sit behind a desk all day. At age 26, she joined the family business because she wanted to be “exactly like” her father, Stirling Williamson.
If anything, in the world of heavy equipment being a woman has been an asset for Williamson. “Employees are more likely to confide in me,” she says. “Customers are surprised that Blair’s not a guy. They assume a woman is more likely to listen to them rather than tell them what to do.”
A typical day for Williamson starts at 6am. She’s following the dictate of her father who told her, “I don’t care what time you come to work as long as it’s dark when you come and dark when you leave.”
For Williamson, the best parts of her job are meeting people and seeing tangible results at the end of the day.
And her taste for architecture has not been left on the pavement. “Now I see more beautiful architecture out driving around all day than I did sitting behind a desk,” she says.