From $4.90 an Hour to 46+ Years of Excellence
General Lee's Painters Company Timeline & History
- 19781978
The Humble Beginning - "A Change of Life"
May 1978: Alex Littlefield III., making just $4.90 an hour, accepts a 50/50 partnership offer from friend Chuck to join his established painting company. "I don't have any tools or nothing," Alex initially protested, but Chuck insisted: "Doesn't matter. I just want you to come and be my 50/50 partner." First Job: A realtor's house on Mahan Drive, just east of Magnolia - "everything was loose... it was just a change of life. Instead of having to answer to somebody, I'm answering to myself." - 19801980
The Pivotal Split - "Going Solo"
Summer 1980: Chuck leaves the partnership after Alex and his wife Andrea get married. This becomes the first major turning point: "When Chuck left, that definitely changed the direction of the company, because I kind of found I got a foundation of what I wanted to do." The company transitions to primarily residential work with just 2-3 employees. - 1982-19831982-1983
The Commercial Breakthrough
Early 1980s: Despite the tough recession ("Reagan was just coming into office. Very, very little work here in Tallahassee"), Alex refuses to give up, even cleaning algae off pool covers to survive. 1982-83: Major pivot to commercial work begins with Ajax Construction, followed by partnerships with Carlisle Construction, Pro Steel Buildings, and Winchester. Key Family Support: Brother Jeffrey provides crucial guidance, helping incorporate the business and diversify services. - Mid-1980sMid-1980s
Professional Growth
Gerald Rogers Era: Gerald Rogers joins as superintendent, revolutionizing operations. "He was able to take the company and make sure the work was done the way it was supposed to be done, in an organized manner, and freed me up to be more of a White Collar participant where I'm going and developing work." Pricing Evolution: Transition from time-and-material pricing to square footage and unit-based estimating for jail and institutional work. - 2009-20232009-2023
The Golden Years
14-Year Partnership: Alex credits Blain Luttenton with the company's most profitable period: "those 14 years, we made a lot of money, and I attribute a lot of it to him." Financial Stability: Company achieves ability to "fund any job we needed to and didn't have to worry about it, and didn't have to go to the bank." 2008 Recession Survival Despite the economic crash when "people like Paul Osterby and Ernie... went bankrupt," General Lee's Painters surivived. Alex's perseverance kept the company and employees going through this crisis. Present Day: Second Generation
Leadership Current Structure: Alex Littlefield III (Owner/President), Alex Littlefield IV (Vice President/COO), Audrey Littlefield (Office Manager)
Recent Projects Include: FSU Batting Cages (Mad Dog Construction) VR Systems Waterproofing (April 2025) State Senate Interior Painting (Allstate Construction) FAMU Foot Hilyer (CSI Contracting, 2023-2025) Historic Old Capitol restoration - 2024 - Present Alex IV President2024 - PresentAlex IV Becomes the New President of GLP. Audrey becomes the new COO and Office Manager.
Our Experts
The Legacy
General Lee's Painters is a 2nd generation painting company... We have been serving Tallahassee and the surrounding areas for 44 years! We pride ourselves in our commitment to our company, our employees and most importantly our customers. We care about detail, and we stand by our work and our reputation. In our business, family is everything and we will treat our customers as such.
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Testimonials
★★★★★ 5/5
GLP has been my go to painting contractor for the last 20 years. They have been extremely dependable, schedule conscious, reasonably priced and not change order prone while delivering a…