Photos Cameron Flaisch
Lamar Wofford began his flooring business over 30 years ago.
In that time the business became known for their integrity and the great pride they take in the work that they do.
Today, the reputation remains the same even as the business has continued to grow. The company sells as well as installs hardwood flooring, for both residential and commercial consumers.
Wofford Wood Flooring, Inc. also finishes and re-finishes existing wood flooring. Many of their clients have been local, including the YMCA, area physicians’ offices, Berry College, and they have worked with the Northwest Georgia Housing Authority as well as many builders in the Rome area.
Their team deals in state-of-the-art flooring, including water proof luxury vinyl plank. Among the variety of products offered are pre-finished engineered hardwood flooring, a pre-finished solid hardwood flooring, and the most popular (based on sales), the unfinished solid hardwood flooring that they finish on site. Since they also specialize in sanding and finishing the hardwood floors, it is fitting that the unfinished variety is the number one seller. Other products sold and installed by Wofford Flooring include glue-down flooring and a product that may be more family friendly, SPC(Stone Plastic Composite) luxury vinyl flooring. SPC is waterproof, slip proof and scratch proof.
One style, click-lock flooring, which is also offered commercially and residentially, is becoming a favorite of their commercial clientele. At the present time, the company does not offer tile or carpet services.
There is a coined phrase for Wofford Wood Flooring, and that phrase is “There’s a Wofford on every job.”
The mantra stems from Lamar Wofford’s sons now running different divisions of the business. Lamar Wofford and Rob Wofford are in the refinishing division and Ethan Wofford heads the installation division.
Lamar’s wife, Connie Wofford, serves the business as treasurer, secretary, bookkeeper, and more. Just like mothers who often wear many hats, you name it and chances are she does it, other than the installs.
In the sales department is Lamar and Connie’s daughter, Aspen Wofford. Not only is she in sales, but she is a product specialist, and according to her father, can drive aforklift as good as any man he knows. Other members of the Wofford Wood Flooring team are Drew Campbell, who works on the finishing team, and Jerald, Jordan and Joseph Robinson who are on the installation team. Another team member, marketing and sales Director Lee Anne Culpepper, has nothing but great words for the family based on her 30 years of experience with Lamar Wofford and his family’s business.
“The Wofford Family is a fabulous family who runs their business with integrity and cares immensely about the job they do for their customers. They are all about client satisfaction and they have a very good reputation because of the attention they pay to these areas,” she says with a smile. “I am an interior designer from Atlanta; Lamar did flooring for my clients in Atlanta for 30 years.When he told me that he would no longer be coming to Atlanta unless he was completing a job for me and one other builder, that was an honor. And it is not that I was big business for him, he just respected me. The other guy, the builder, was big business,” she chuckles.
Lamar had decided to open a flooring shop in Rome because of his success in the area. There are a lot of builders who have shared projects with his company, and Rome has many opportunities for him to grow his business. He and his sons have also given the lofts and businesses on Broad Street their special touches, in addition to other work in the area.
According to Lamar, it is estimated that their business has doubled since opening the store in August of 2018. They invite the public to visit their store and take a look at options available on the showroom floor. The Chamber of Commerce held a ribbon cutting for their new storefront in January of this year, and the new space has officially opened to the public. The store is open weekly, Monday – Friday and half a day Saturday. They are closed on Sundays so that the family and their team can attend church services.
“I asked why he wouldn’t be coming to Atlanta unless it was for certain customers and that’s when he let me know he was opening the store. I was shocked because my husband and I had just moved here. I let him know that I was interested in working at the store on Mondays and Tuesdays when I’m in town and not working my other jobs. He immediately gave me a job at the store.
“It’s a no-brainer working for them,” Culpepper continues,”because I know when I’m going into someone’s house, measuring their space or telling someone that they’re going to get the best job, that I’m telling the truth. I could not say that with confidence if it was not the truth. The customer will get a great result, and if there are ever any problems, it will be dealt with promptly.The prices are competitive, and a big difference between us and other companies is the quality and the care put into each installation. Plus, we offer excellent product knowledge here in our showroom. When the job is done, I always hear, ‘you were right, everything was superb.’”
Culpepper really loves the Wofford Family and the results she is able to offer her clients. “I have to tell you that I choose to be here, and fortunately, they choose me. I had never met his wife or his daughter, but I knew the boys from work they had done for me. I just think they are all jewels. They are the finest family I have ever met. And working here is not like coming to work at all; it is a pleasure.
Aspen Wofford had a different take.
“Well really, I don’t like it,” she says before sharing a hearty chuckle with Culpepper. “I love it! Working with my brothers is great because we are very close and I love being with them. We have a good time, always. Even when we’re just picking on each other, it is great and a work environment that is so much fun. I think that translates into what we are able to offer our clients. If we are having a great time providing them a service, then it comes through in the work and craftsmanship.”
Wife and mother, Connie Wofford, spoke of how proud she is of her husband and sons. “I’m very proud of them, and the work that they do. They are hard workers. I’ve kind of been involved with the business all along, but more so since we opened the store. I’m always impressed with the guys’ integrity and the job they do. Their desire is to please the customers as best they can. And a lot of times, they bend over backwards to do so. They will go the extra mile to please our customers. And the boys have been into it since forever.
“Take Rob for example,” Connie recalls. “Going back to when he was nine or ten years old, he was involved in the work on weekends with his dad. Once he got to high school, he played sports but still worked every weekend. Now Ethan went to work with Lamar between football and sports activities all through high school.”
“I just don’t think there are that many family-run companies left in the nation, where everyone enjoys their job and one another. And you can tell,” says Culpepper.
