Red: The Giver

Today’s story is about one of the most generous people you may ever have the pleasure of meeting. Wilson Harris (a.k.a. Red) constantly goes above and beyond for his job, his family, his friends, and his customers. This attitude has made him an invaluable employee and a longstanding member of the Valley Energy family. While his official start date was in 2003, he previously worked with one of our owners for almost 15 years in the landscaping and gardening industry. When the opportunity came for him to join Valley Energy as a service technician, nothing could stand in the way. In both of these careers Red met new customers almost daily and quickly formed many solid friendships. Red says, “I can talk to somebody new and make a friend in five minutes tops. I hate to brag but I do, I like people.”

Red has always enjoyed being outside, whether it’s installing an oil tank, mowing a lawn, or fixing a pump. He’s excited by opportunities that present new challenges for him to solve. He and his brother in law work together in West Virginia with a local landscaping business. When Red gets home from a day of oil service he changes clothes and goes right back out to work. He commented, “it’s not dark yet so I go to work again” almost every evening and weekend when the weather permits.

When he’s not working, Red enjoys watching football with every spare minute. His favorite team is the Chicago Bears, but he’s never gotten to see them in person. One time he was given 8 tickets to go see a game, but gave them all away to his friends and coworkers and watched the game from home. What a guy! Although he hasn’t seen the Bears, he does enjoy the occasional Orioles game with his brother in law. (top left picture)

Red has worked for Valley Energy since January 2003 and loves the variety of working with new customers on different jobs each day. He’s tireless on the job, always moving on to the next thing with a smile. After he’s done working each day, Red goes home to his wonderful wife Debbie. Red and Debbie (lower right picture) met when they were neighbors many years ago, and they have been together for 29 years and married since September of 2006. He also has 1 sister and 4 brothers that live nearby in Martinsburg, Kearnesville, and Winchester.

His favorite part of working at Valley Energy is going to different places and making friends everywhere he goes. Red is an important and valued part of our staff. He can brighten any day with his bubbly laugh and big smile and we are lucky to have him around. A closing comment from Red: “I love Valley Energy – they put up with me for 16 years, you have to love them!”