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BOOK ONLINEOur History in Virginia
Simmons Heating & Cooling was founded by Ronald “Moose” Simmons in 1964 and was operated as a small one-man operation for many years. Jobs were simply done one at a time, one by one. In 1981, after several years of both part-time and full-time work, Bradley Allegood bought the two company vehicles and what little bit of stock there was and took over the business. “Moose” had worked hard his whole life and was ready to retire.
At the ripe age of 21, with a child on the way and nowhere to go but up, Brad moved the business from one backyard operation to another. Jean Allegood, Brad’s mom, was asked to answer the phones until Simmons Heating & Cooling could get on their feet, knowing it would be several years before she would retire again. Hard work and long hours were paying off and they were soon able to rent their own place. Little did they know the helpers at this time would develop to be the key mechanics of today.
What seemed to be yet another milestone was in 1986 when the first full-time salesman, Bruce Baines, came aboard. With his sales and marketing expertise, he doubled the company’s business in a very short time. Goals were set and plans were made for the new company facility. Hugh DeLury Jr., who started with Simmons Heating & Cooling in 1991, worked his way from Installation mechanic, to head Installation mechanic, and is now full-time sales. With the loss of Bruce Baines in July of 2003, Hugh assumed the responsibility of our sales and marketing, filling some very big shoes.
Simmons moved into its new facility in Chesapeake, VA in October of 1989 and has continued to grow. Brad’s wife, Kathy, has done it all since the beginning. She now oversees our accounts payable department. Tom Patrick started as a customer and then became our service agreement manager in 1993. He now wears many hats including generator sales and office manager. In 1998 Joseph Hennessey joined our team and now oversees our service department. Mark Miller came aboard in 2000, and now oversees our installation department. All of these men bring a lifetime of experience and knowledge to our company.
Our lead dispatcher, Lori Falconer, has been here since 2001 and now works in our accounts receivable department. Brad and Kathy’s three boys, Beau, Kyle and Jason grew up working summers during high school and have been working full time since graduating college. Beau worked as a full-time installation mechanic for 10 years and now oversees the daily operations of the business. Kyle and Jason continue to work as installation mechanics with a wide variety of skills and knowledge.
