Dating to the Civil War ”” a century and a half in business ”” Westport-based Gault Energy & Stone continues to grow through adaptation, most recently toward the region”™s flotilla of emergencies. Its Standby Generator Division, spawned by Superstorm Sandy last October, is designed “to protect families and businesses from the frequent power outages that have plagued the communities it serves over the past two years.”
Forward-looking as that may be, the company is also interested in an H.G. Welles”™ “Time Machine” prediction of what is to come. The company is offering a $1,500 college scholarship for the best high school vision of the energy picture 150 years in the future.
The scholarship winner also receives a tour of New York City”™s Bank of America Tower, billed as one of the world”™s most environmentally responsible high-rise office buildings.
Frequently cited as first responders to many types of emergencies, the company said “it was only natural” to become involved with generator installation and service.
“As an energy solutions company, naturally our customers turned to us for help,” said Sam Gault, president and the fifth generation to lead the family business. “My team launched a turn-key generator program within a few short months of Superstorm Sandy. Hundreds of families and business owners now have peace of mind knowing that they are protected from future damaging and dangerous power outages.”
Gault looked in-house for praise, citing, “our dedicated employees, who for more than 150 years have defined the quality of the Gault customer experience and allowed us to evolve to meet the ever-changing needs of the communities we serve.”
The month-long online essay competition is ongoing and titled, “What”™s Next? Energy Solutions for the Next 150 Years.” The final entry date is Oct. 29, with the winner slated to be announced in early November.
The entry form is available on the company”™s 150th anniversary website (www.gault150.com). Essays will be reviewed and the winner will be chosen by a judging panel that includes Gault Energy ”” Polar Bears International current Arctic Ambassador Sarah Cooperman, a Williams College freshman and graduate of Westport”™s Staples High School; The Westport Library exhibits/programs associate Chris Timmons, who curated the library”™s current “Canary in the Coal Mine: The Plight of the Polar Bear and Planet Earth” exhibit; and Gault Energy”™s renewable energy expert Rob Capri.
Gault said he believes today”™s teens will be responsible for “a sea change in energy consumption behaviors,” and will be among the early adopters of renewable energy. “I fully expect that today”™s teens will be turning to solar, wind and other renewable energy sources by the time they are raising their own kids,” he said. “As the state”™s oldest family-owned-and-operated energy provider, we”™re excited to hear their visions of the future when it comes to powering our homes, businesses and cars. Their future will be our company”™s future.”
For decades, the Gault family also has owned and operated a real estate development business under the name Hamilton Development. The company recently completed phase 2 of Saugatuck Center, a transit-oriented development on Westport”™s Riverside Avenue, where L.H. Gault & Son was originally located at the turn of the last century and the former site of Gault”™s coal, oil and sand businesses.
Today, Gault Energy & Stone is headquartered at 11 Ferry Lane West in Westport.
