Hendersonville Standard
HENDERSONVILLE WEATHER

Ellis eager to improve county road quality




Toby Ellis started as the new Sumner County Road Superintendent after many years in private practice. BONNIE FUSSELL

Toby Ellis started as the new Sumner County Road Superintendent after many years in private practice. BONNIE FUSSELL

Recently elected Sumner County Road Superintendent Toby Ellis has spent many years in the road construction industry.

He was most recently employed by Southern Site Contractors, a division of Berkshire Hathaway; but he got his start in road construction, when he owned and operated Ellis Blacktop with his dad. At Southern Site Contractors he served as safety director and economic development manager, helped manage three divisions of the company, and dealt with residential and commercial projects, as well as TDOT projects.

He has also worked with Jones Brothers, Rogers Group and later started his own company, CRS. In these jobs, he served in various positions, such as project manager, regional sales manager, estimator, and consultant. He has experience working with quarries, asphalt plants and paving and concrete projects. He has consulted with various neighboring counties and cities on the conditions of their roadways.

For a brief time he worked for the City of Gallatin as the assistant director of public works, helping with roadways. In that capacity he served as a liaison between the engineering department and public works department.

Sept. 1 was his first day on the job, as county road superintendent. He began the day bringing everyone together and reassuring them that things were going to move along OK under his leadership and assuring them that he would not be outsourcing the work projects. According to Ellis, he wants to earn the respect of the employees by developing real trust and respect.

His goal is to help Sumner County have a better road system. He will begin by addressing the county’s most pressing needs. According to Ellis, time is of the essence with evaluating the roads and getting potholes fixed.

He said that the amount of roadways that need paving has gotten behind because the cost of asphalt, concrete and oil prices has gone up so much that less and less can be done because of budget constraints. He feels that part of the solution is better efficiency by building roads that will last longer.

“I am very servant hearted. It is absolutely my honor to serve the people of Sumner County in this capacity. I am excited and know I have my work set out for me,” Ellis said. “One term will get me headed in the right direction. I’m in it for the long term. I hope to do this for several years.”

Ellis describes himself as a family man, who enjoys being with his family. He played golf as a younger man, but when his family came along following his children’s sports activities took the place of golf. He does enjoy woodworking, as a hobby. In addition, he said that looking at roadways is another thing he enjoys doing. He added that he just likes to work.

Ellis is married to Anita Denning Ellis. They met while they were attending Volunteer State Community College. They have been married 34 years and have two sons, Vince (29) and Houston (21).

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