PORTLAND – William Bennett laughs when he thinks about one of his first jobs at the family company, Oakhurst Dairy.
It was in the 1970s, and Bennett was a substitute milk driver during the summer.
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Back then, the company used trucks built by Divco. They were unique in that the brake pedal doubled as the clutch — to switch gears, you’d just press the pedal halfway.
It was a tricky system, particularly for a new driver on a rough road, said Bennett, now 58 years old.
“If you hit a bump, you might hit the brake, and all those bottles would hit you,” he said Tuesday.
Bennett has come a long way from substitute driver. Today, he is president and chief operating officer of $110 million-revenue Oakhurst, a company with 240 employees and operations in four states.
Over the years, Bennett has done it all at the Portland dairy, including shipping, administration, distribution and human resources. He was named vice president in the mid-1980s.
Bennett runs the company with help from four of his siblings. John Bennett is vice president of operations, Althea Bennett McGirr is director of customer relations and Jean Bennett Driscoll is executive assistant.
Stanley T. Bennett II is chairman and CEO, but an illness has kept him from running the company day to day. Therefore, William is largely in charge.
Bennett admits that he and his siblings sometimes disagree over business decisions.
“We absolutely get at each other’s throats,” he said. But he said differences always get worked out, and he said the family is close, both in and out of work.
Bennett said his leadership style is much different than Stanley’s. While Stanley is an intense leader, Bennett said he is more easygoing.
“I like working with people, listening to their ideas. I might give people more time to make decisions, and get them more involved,” he said.
Outside of work, Bennett plays the drums in a five-man band. A fan of the Rolling Stones, The Beatles, Eric Clapton and Santana, he owns a 40-year-old drum set made by Slingerland and a newer set made by Fibes.
Bennett has two grown children. Aaron, 32, is a video and film producer in Los Angeles, and Leah, 30, is enrolled at the Atlanta campus of Savannah College of Art and Design.
Neither Aaron nor Leah has expressed interest in a career at the family business, Bennett said, and neither have the children of his siblings. But Bennett thinks the younger generation may eventually return to Oakhurst, and bring with them a valuable range of experience in different industries.
“In a lot of family businesses, the next generation goes out and does something else. They get experienced doing other things, and then come back with a different perspective,” he said.
Jonathan Hemmerdinger can be reached at 791-6316 or:
jhemmerdinger@mainetoday.com
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