As a third generation water well contractor, I’m proud of the honest hard, dangerous and rewarding work that our company and our well drilling industry provides to our communities, our state and our nation.
Along with his brother B.P. Ward, my dad, Raymond L. Ward, Jr., started our journey of a well contracting business in 1955. Around ’53-’54, he needed a well drilled at the homesite where they were preparing to build. The company he contacted said they’d be happy to get there and get it taken care of… in about 9 Months!
It just so happened, my mother’s uncle, Broadus McNeal, ran a well drilling company in Parrot, GA (near Plains). That’s when the ‘Lightbulb Went Off!’ Soon, Ray went to apprentice with Uncle Buddy and learn the ropes. Along with “How to Run a Rig”, he quickly learned how different – read harder! – the geology would be in North Metro Atlanta than it was in Southwest Georgia!
By the early 1970s, Dad and B.P. divided up the multiple businesses they owned, leaving the company solely in Ray’s capable hands.
Not only did he serve as President of Ward Well Drilling Co., Inc. for 35 years, his legacy also includes:
…being the 1st Water Well Contractor in Georgia to Field a Top Head Drive Air Rotary Drilling Rig;
…being the 1st Water Well Contractor in Georgia to Field a Hydro-fracturing Machine;
… designing and hand-fabricating (in the early 1960s) what was one of the first-ever “Flat Water Fleet-Style” Rig Tender/Service Trucks (see our Gallery Photos …amazing for its time!)
… being instrumental in the establishment and growth of the Georgia Driller’s Association, now the Georgia Association of Groundwater Professionals. He served on the Board of Directors for many years, served as Vice President several terms and served as GDA’s President 2 Terms.
… having spent countless hours over 3 decades lobbying at the State Capitol ‘Pro-Bono’ for Georgia Water Well Standardization;
… being instrumental in the formation of the Georgia Water Well Standards Advisory Council to which he was appointed to serve for 12 consecutive years until his retirement in 1990;
… being a great dad.
I have been on the Rigs and in the Pump Trucks my entire life. When I was young and through my school years, it was weekends, holidays and summers. After graduating from Jacksonville State University, Jacksonville, AL, with a B.A. in Music/Percussion and pursuing a career in music (I honestly thought my parents would kill me!), I came on board with Ward Well Drilling full time in 1986. I served as president of Ward Well from 1990 until 2004. At that time, I left the company to start my own enterprise… DW Water Systems.
I am currently serving in my 10th year on the Board of Directors of the Georgia Association of Groundwater Professionals and am a state licensed Pump Installer.
I’m just trying to carry on the tradition… since 1955…
– Dave Ward