Beneficial Systems
District 2 Distributor
Melissa D. S. Rogers and Ron Sledd Jr.,
co-presidents, Bene;cial Systems
N A M E : Bene;cial Systems
U R L : www.benesyst.com
F O C U S : A nationwide distributor that
provides products and services for the
commercial fueling market, including
design, construction and maintenance of
commercial ;eet fueling facilities.
HEADQUARTERS: Jetersville,
Virginia
E M P L O Y E E S : 19 full-time and
two part-timers
FA C T : Out of more than 20 employees,
only one had previous fueling industry
experience. Hiring cultural ;ts works best
for the company. Skills can be learned,
but a driven work ethic and positive
attitude are musts.
Bene;cial
Systems
FOR THIS QUARTER’S “Member Pro;le,”
Editor in Chief
Kristen Wright interviewed Melissa
D.S. Rogers and
Ron Sledd Jr., the sibling co-presidents of Bene;cial Systems in
Jetersville, Virginia.
KW: You bought the company from
your parents. Did you always see
yourself taking over their company?
MR: I did not see myself continuing
the company. I had told Dad many
times through the years, “If you aren’t
here, I don’t want to be here.”
But then Ron, my brother, came
back to work with us. That changed
everything. It felt so good to work
together with him to reach goals. And
then we needed to make sure that
Mom and Dad were taken care of —
that’s a lot of motivation, too.
It seemed like a natural evolution
— the way it should be. So in 2013,
the four of us sat down and talked
it out. At the end of the year, they
would retire, and we would of;cially
take over. It was a win-win for us all.
RS: I did see it. For the most part, Melissa and I ran the company for about
nine to 10 years prior to purchasing it.
I don’t remember realizing until later
that she and I would buy it together.
It’s played out very well. It feels good to
continue in dad’s footsteps.
KW: How does your business func-
tion with two co-presidents?
MR: Ron and I have always been
close. He taught me how to play football, and I used to wash his Mustang
when we were kids. Our personalities
are very similar. I love working with
him. But being 50/50 can be a challenge. It works so well for us because
we each have our own strengths. I
handle admin and accounting, and he
takes care of our client ful;llment.
There is no way I could deal with
all the service and construction issues
that he manages every day. Usually
we have close to the same opinion
on things. If we do disagree, we go
with the decision of the person whose
area it is. Our partnership works well
because we are siblings, but anybody,
if they try hard enough, can have a
great partnership.
Editor in Chief
Kristen Wright in-
Ron Sledd Jr., the sibling co-
presidents of Bene;cial Systems in
MEMBER
PROFILE
By Kristen Wright