Way back in 1964, a young high school graduate named Andy Oakley was looking for a job. Not quite sure of what he wanted to do with his life, his uncle Neil Moore, a superintendent at Clancy & Theys, suggested he try to get a job where he worked.
After meeting with Mr. Theys, Andy agreed to step in for two weeks to cover the duties of another employee who would be out in the interim. During that two weeks, Andy made quite an impression and subsequently took Mr. Theys offer to work at Clancy & Theys for as long as he liked. That turned out to be 55 years.
Early on, Andy made himself invaluable by doing a little bit of everything—he drove a dump truck in the field, worked night shifts tearing down and building partitions at IBM, and anything else that needed to be done. In the office, Andy made coffee, lit the propane heater, handled typing and answering the phone. In addition, he helped with estimating at night, moving on to working on payroll as well. If there was a job that needed to be done, Andy did it.
As time went on, Andy started doing more and more accounting tasks under Mr. Theys so that in the early 1970s, Mr. Theys asked him to manage the accounting department from which he retired recently as VP/CFO.
When asked about the reasons for his success at Clancy & Theys, Andy stressed the importance of surrounding himself with good people, and he found his success was, in part, due to those people.
That’s an example of how humble Andy was because it turns out he was an important part of the formula. “Andy has personally been a significant factor in the company’s progress and success during that time span,” said EVP Tick Clancy. “Andy has been a lifelong friend to me, my brother Tim, my Uncle Johnny Theys, and, in particular, my dad, E.I. Clancy.”
“Andy is simply a warm, funny, intelligent and good man,” added Becky Carter, who worked for Andy and then was promoted to CFO when he retired. “Andy himself makes the people who interact with him better for knowing him. He has always been a pleasure to work for and I appreciate him in so many ways.”
“No matter how much Clancy & Theys flourishes in the future, Andy Oakley will always be considered a treasured icon to the Clancy & Theys family,” added Tick.
Everyone at Clancy & Theys wishes Andy the best of luck in his retirement of which, we understand, he’ll be doing a little bit of everything.
