Colonial Group
Burch Bryant Annette Youmans Colonial Group
Burch Bryant Annette Youmans Colonial Group
Burch Bryant Annette Youmans Colonial Group
Burch Bryant Annette Youmans Colonial Group
Burch Bryant Annette Youmans Colonial Group

Colonial retirees reflect on 100 years of history

April 28, 2022
Recent launch event for ‘Mixing Oil and Water’ centennial book celebrates company’s industry, community involvement, and employees’ contributions

Savannah, Ga.-based Colonial Group recently presented a group of company retirees with copies of “Mixing Oil and Water,” an anniversary book 100 years in the making during a luncheon at its Enmarket subsidiary’s headquarters.

Colonial—whose subsidiaries also include Colonial Oil Industries and Colonial Terminals—said it wanted to place the 100th-anniversary book in the hands of people who helped develop it into one of the country’s largest privately held companies. While Colonial still is family owned and led by the fourth generation of the Demere family, at its heart is a group of more than 2,000 dedicated employees, also known as the “Colonial family.”

Many of those gathered for the luncheon had served Colonial since its earliest days and all were instrumental in developing the story revealed in the book’s pages. “Mixing Oil and Water” tells the story of the company’s founding in Savannah by Raymond Demere in 1921 and explains how the Demere family has served the company and Savannah community for multiple generations. It also pays tribute to what employees call “The Colonial Culture” and how their work for the company means more than a paycheck.

Colonial Group today provides a wide variety of services, including wholesale marketing and distribution of petroleum, natural gas and chemical products; retail convenience stores; bulk liquid and dry terminaling services; ship bunkering; mega yacht refit and repair services; and a proprietary product for the water treatment industry.

The corporation operates in numerous states, spans diverse business sectors, and continues to grow in the markets it serves.

Every current employee of the Colonial Group will receive a copy of “Mixing Oil and Water,” the company said. Copies of the book also will be presented to the Live Oak Public Libraries to be made available for public viewing.

Colonial celebrated its 100th anniversary in July 2021 by unveiling a historical marker in cooperation with the Georgia Historical Society on the site of Colonial’s first service station in Savannah. The Georgia Historical Society also created a case study and company profile about Colonial as an educational resource for Georgia middle school students that was made available to educators during the 2021 school year.

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