Retirees, current employees, business associates and friends of Batson-Cook Company gathered on Thursday to celebrate the founding of the general contracting firm here in October 1915 by Mr. W. C. Batson and Mr. Edmund Cook.

More than 150 retirees, employees, business associates, and friends of the company gathered at the company’s headquarters on Fourth Avenue to enjoy food, beverages and fellowship, with music from past decades enhancing the ambiance.

Every living past president of the company was in attendance: Clifford Glover, the 102-year-old West Point resident who became president in 1967; Edmund Glover, who was elected president in 1982; and Raymond Moody, who accepted the presidency in 1995.  Each of these men served as chairman or CEO of the company as well. Randy Hall, formerly general manager of the West Point Construction Office, assumed the presidency in 2012 and is now president and CEO.

Before the party, current and former employees of Batson-Cook met at the West Point Train Depot Visitors’ Center for lunch.  Hall presented anniversary mementos to some two dozen Batson-Cook veterans and current employees with 25 years or more of service to Batson-Cook.  He also gave a brief summary of the company’s history, noting that the unwavering commitment of its founders, executives and employees to integrity, skill and responsibility has been the reason for its success in spite of natural disasters, a depression, and several economic downturns. 

Batson-Cook began business as a building materials supplier, but soon expanded into construction with the building of textile mills and mill villages.  The building supply division of the company has been in continuous operation since 1915, and the firm now operates full-service construction offices in West Point and Atlanta, Georgia, and Jacksonville and Tampa, Florida. The company employees about 550 people.

Earlier this year, each Batson-Cook office celebrated the anniversary with a “Day of Service” in the communities where they are located.  About 40 employees of the West Point corporate and construction offices met at the West Point Police Department to begin interior demolition and renovation of the building slated to become the police department’s new headquarters.