Episode 45: A Company That Helped to Mechanize the Mid-South with the Morgan Family of John Bouchard & Sons, Co.
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For over a century, the John Bouchard & Sons Co. (JBS) tradition of innovation and excellence has helped create and maintain the systems that keep the Mid-South running. Beginning as a Nashville machine shop in 1900, the company was incorporated in 1913. Today it is a fifth-generation, family-owned, diversified company serving modern industry through four fully-integrated divisions: Industrial Sales, Machine Services, Construction and Foundry. Their home office/shop is in its original Nashville location.
After working in areas of journalism, architectural restoration, home education & serving numerous non-profit Boards, Lisa Bouchard Morgan joined the JBS Board in 2011. Now the Chairman & CEO, Lisa oversees and nurtures the fifth generation of her family’s business. Protecting the rooted history and rich values, while fanning new sparks of innovation and change, are the balances to her vision. In its 121st year, Lisa led the process for JBS to become a Certified Woman Business Enterprise (WBE), making them even more of an asset to their customers and partnering contractors. For JBS, the GOD-given value of each worker, and the value of that work to them, are foundational priorities as they keep the hardworking infrastructure of the Mid-South running.
After working for Exxon’s offshore district operations, William Morgan joined JBS in 1986. Mentored by his father-in-law, he tackled challenges in various departments of the Company and developed as the leader of operations, ultimately serving as President, from 2001 to the present. His keen engineering sense keeps the navigation of the entire Company on a solid, steady course. He is a graduate of the Vanderbilt University School of Engineering and holds an MBA from Vanderbilt’s Owen Business School.
The eldest child of Lisa & William, Carver Morgan joined JBS in 2014, after spending 3 years in the corporate world. He was mentored by JBS tradesmen and technicians during a 3.5 year apprenticeship throughout the diversified areas of the company. Since, he has served as Company Historian, as interim Safety Director and in various project management roles. He currently co-leads the JBS Machine Shop. He holds a BS from the Vanderbilt University School of Engineering and an MBA from Lipscomb University.
In this episode of Family Business Today, Lisa, William, and Carver will share:
The longstanding history of John Bouchard & Sons Co., taking the company into its fifth generation
How John E. Bouchard III led the company with his actions and his faith
How the common thread of infrastructure can be traced from the company’s very beginnings, in Nashville, TN and across the Mid-South
Lisa’s passion for the business she inherited from her father and the steps she has taken to provide for her associates in her role as CEO
How the pandemic strengthened the family business’s resolve to continue to “help companies do what they do”
And more…
To learn more about John Bouchard & Sons, Co., visit https://jbouchard.com/.
At the Tennessee Center for Family Business our passion is to help business owners create a positive environment in which their family THRIVES, their business performs and working together create a lasting family legacy. To learn more about the Tennessee Center for Family Business visit www.tncfb.com.
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