By Hannah Curran, Sponsored Content
Since 1946, W.C. Wright & Son, Inc. has been a Central Alabama service business and originally Mr. Wheeler Compton Wright Sr. was a roofer by trade and he opened the business as roofing and sheet metal fabrication, but then his son, Wheeler Compton Wright Jr. went to college to be and Engineer and when he returned from college, they expanded the business to cover heating and air conditioning.
Dooney Wright
W.C. Wright & Son, Inc. has been a contractor specializing in heating and air conditioning, since the early 1960s. This year marks 76 years of service for W.C. Wright & Son, Inc.
Kenny and Joy Burke bought the company nearly 10 years ago from the Wright family. Understanding the positive impact that the Wright family had on the community, they continued to implement the original ideas of the Wrights and strive to keep it a family-oriented business. Kenny and Joy have also been in this industry since college, along with a few other industries, but they each have decades of experience, and share the same ideals.
‘W.C. Wright & Son has been helping families for generations. It all started with Mr. Wheeler Compton Wright Sr. and his wife, Mrs. Flora Wright opening the business in 1946. Their children, Ms. Brenda and Mr. Wheeler “Dooney” Wright Jr., became involved in the work after graduating from college, and both found a way to continue to make the business flourish. Burke explained that the Wright family’s love for their business was powerful and is something we all hold very dear to our hearts today. Everything they did, they did for the customers or for others,” Burke said.
Mr. & Mrs. Wright
Ms. Brenda is retired now and is the last Wright living. She is a very special lady to us, and we feel so blessed by her. The entire Wright family put their whole lives into this business and it was not an easy decision for Brenda to sell her family’s company, but she knew that the Burke family would treat the business and their company name with the same level of love and respect as they did their own.
W.C. Wright & Son, Inc. wants to continue to provide customers with the most reliable and cost-effective service possible. The original family is remembered and respected daily for the same reasons. Photos line the halls of the Wright family, and coworkers and customers all speak nothing but nice things about the Wrights and how they were vital in shaping this industry in Central Alabama, which reflects in their work today.
Brenda Wright
Long-time customer O.L. Vance remembers attending Auburn University with Dooney and said, “He was an absolute gentleman even back then. We were both engineering students and lived beside each other in Magnolia Hall. He was very well-liked and respected by his peers, an excellent student, a man of faith and his word”. After graduation, Vance went on to complete his Ph.D. and work outside of Alabama. Upon return, he found himself in need of an HVAC & plumbing service and remembered Dooney Wright’s family owned one. He called and has been using them for more than forty years. “I was pleased with the service of W.C Wright & Son from the beginning and remain pleased to this day. They were just here this month checking my unit and even though we have sadly lost Dooney and the family sold the company, I still receive nothing less than the same quality service I have always received.”
“-W.C. Wright is not a company that will sell you something you don’t need! Instead, we try to offer customers choices that will benefit them. There are so many four-generation families who are all customers. We want all of them to know that it means everything to us that they entrust us with the service needs of not just themselves, but also their children, grandchildren, and even great-grandchildren, because they know we will do our best to take great care of all of them. We always strive to take care of each and every customer to the best of our ability, and we are so proud to be a part of this amazing service industry in this community for so many years. This business is not for the weak though. It is 190 degrees in attics sometimes, and there are snakes and spiders and sewage, and to be honest, there are a lot of heights and just a lot of back-breaking jobs involved. But, there is a huge sense of satisfaction that comes with being involved in helping people with their household or business repair problems. And, we plan for this business to continue to be here for many years to come, if that is what the Lord has planned for our futures. So, thank you to all of our customers and community for trusting us and for sending your friends and family members to us. Those referrals and the trust that goes along with them mean the world to all of us!”
