by David Chapman
Staff Writer
As president and chief operating officer of the largest electrical contractor in the Southeast, one would think Ron Autrey didn’t have time for much else.
They’d be wrong.
Autrey has worked within the industry since 1972, but has served in leadership capacities over the years in local organizations such as the Jacksonville Regional Chamber of Commerce, United Way, Jacksonville Community Council Inc., Boy Scouts of America North Florida and has served four-year terms in governor-appointed positions such as the state’s Electrical Contracting Board and now board of governors for the National Electrical Contractor’s Association.
“Yes, I still have time to breathe,” said Miller with a laugh.
Behind it all, he still makes it to his Miller Electric office on Rosselle Street each day for business as usual, even though his hours aren’t always usual.
“Every day is different,” he said. “Sometimes I’m here as early as 6 a.m., sometimes as late as 10 a.m. I do a lot of different things but always have a full agenda.”
Amidst the down economy, Autrey and Miller Electric have been doing fairly well. Last year showed a $311 million company profit — the best ever — but the beginning of 2009 has been a slight downward trend, he said.
“We were expecting it,” said Autrey. “We had an uptick in backlog in February, which was good, but we aren’t expecting it for March ... like everyone else, we’ve had to trim the edges for business.”
Miller Electric employs around 1,000 employees total in its 11 offices across the Southeast — 150 at the Jacksonville headquarters — and Autrey is optimistic about a a fall turnaround for the economy.
In the meantime, some of the projects the company is working on include numerous electrical related transportation projects with the Florida Department of Transportation and a multimillion dollar job with a steel mill in Mobile, Ala.
Much like his hectic office schedule, Autrey’s time enjoying some of his leisurely passions — visiting a home in Key Largo, fishing and boating — has taken a hit, too.
But he’s trying to squeeze those in as much as he can.
“I’m going to try,” he said, smiling. “There’s just so much work to be done.”
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