In 1971 my father William Mays Sr. decided that he wanted to start his own paving company. Soon after he and two of his brothers formed Quick Asphalt Paving Company. Many have asked why the name Quick. My father said that Knoxville needed a paving company that offered top notch paving and first class customer service at an affordable price, and that they needed it QUICK! And that is exactly what he did. In return, Knoxville quickly made us their go to paving contractor. As the years passed my Father became the sole owner of the company. I (William Mays Jr.) discovered America in 1980. As a young child, I begged my dad to take me to the jobs so I could sit in the big dump truck and ride on his big blue tractor (more on this tractor later). At around six years old dad started taking me to jobs from time to time. I had clear instructions to play with my toys in the yard while he paved the drive. However, I was in awe of the big machines. I wanted so bad to get my hands dirty with some hard work. Dad told me that I was too small and that one day my time would come. As I grew older I was allowed more and more responsibilities. I never grew tired of being around the asphalt. I loved the heat of the 300 plus degree asphalt. I loved how much I would sweat on those hot summer days as the sun burned from above while the asphalt burned from beneath. I loved how tired and drained my body felt after working hard for twelve hours in the hot sun. I even loved the way the asphalt smelled (strange I know). I just couldn’t get enough of it.

In 1998 at eighteen years old I started Perfection Paving Company. I soon figured out that running a business was a lot harder than I had thought. I realized my dad’s words of advice should have been heeded. After three years I decided that I was not ready to be a business owner. However, I didn’t want to run back to my pops in failure so I went to work for KUB. While there I quickly climbed the ranks on their paving crew. I enjoyed my time there, but something was missing. Something just did not feel right. It didn’t take long to realize that I wanted to work with ol’ dad again. After a few talks, we were together again. We realized the name Mays carried a lot of weight when it came to people needing an asphalt contractor. They knew them Mays boys were the ones to call. In 2002 changed our name Mays Paving Company.

Now in 2013, we are still up to the same things as always. We are still the best choice for all of your paving needs. My dad is still running the crew. He still has the same blue tractor. There is still a boy begging to go to jobs with dad. Only this time it is my six-year-old son (William Mays III) wanting to get his hands dirty. I tell him the same thing my dad told me “your time is coming” haha! I have a feeling I know how this story is going to go.

To be continued ….