Laranda Peterson

“I feel like Ferguson truly looks as its employees as family members. It creates a welcoming and winning culture people want to be part of because they take care of their people. Ferguson is just one big family.”

Family brought Laranda into the industry nearly two decades ago, and family values have kept her at Ferguson for the past 9 years. Most of her own family, including her father and grandfather, worked at a chemical plant and local paper mill. Through their experiences and visits to the mill with them as a kid, she became interested in the industry at an early age. She got her start with an environmental company 18 years ago, where she was encouraged to consider the PVF side of the industry. The rest, as they say, is history.

Soon after Ferguson’s acquisition of Louisiana Chemical, Laranda joined Ferguson in outside sales. Her strategic success adding end-user contracts to the business resulted in a promotion to Business Development Manager for the state. Soon her successes in that role led to another promotion to the position she has today, managing sales for two areas of the business and leading 21 direct reports.

As a manager, Laranda places high value on team relationships, and intentionally keeps her team engaged and connected personally as well as professionally. They even have their own text chat. She takes pride in their close-knit group, and says each team member is always ready to make sure their fellow teammates and their customers are taken care of. For example, half of her team recently traveled to help another Ferguson branch, and they’re always willing to do things like pull orders or sub for a driver to make sure a delivery is on time — because it’s the right thing to do, and it’s what family does for each other. She says that willingness to step up and do whatever the business needs at a particular moment is what makes a great associate.

Companywide, Laranda respects and appreciates the strong family culture within Ferguson, not only in the everyday ways the company supports its associates but also in its willingness to go the extra mile. She still tells people about how Ferguson helped its associates and the local community after Louisiana was flooded, setting up a command center in the conference room, donating supplies, and even helping to rebuild associates’ homes. It’s a compelling example of the power of family at Ferguson.