Earlier this year, long-time IEC Chesapeake contractor member Bausum & Duckett Electric LLC celebrated 65 years of delivering electrical solutions across Maryland, Delaware, Washington, D.C., and Northern Virginia.
And they’re not done yet.
While proud of its past, the company is planning for the next generation of leadership and expanding its facilities while continuing to serve its customers with quality commercial and residential electrical projects.
Building Leaders
From its roots as a small residential repair shop in Edgewater, MD, the company has grown into a regional leader with offices in Odenton, MD and Delmar, DE. Current owners are President Mark Llewellyn and Senior Vice Presidents John Dorsey and Thomas Luc (pictured left to right above). Mark, Tommy, and John purchased the company in 2011 and since then have guided the company’s strategic growth while maintaining its strong reputation for quality and professionalism. Staying true to its founding values, like helping employees to grow within the business, is important to the owners.
“When I came into the company in 1981, it was made clear to me that I could build a career here and not have to move on to advance,” Mark says. “Today, we continue to take care of our employees and promote from within the best that we can. People want to climb the ladder, and they want to climb it fast. They need to know they have a place to go within Bausum & Duckett.”
Mark and his partners understand that to best grow their employees, they need to focus on providing education and training, tools, and support.
“To some degree our success over the years is that we are a family-oriented business,” Mark adds. “We listen to what our employees are looking for in their work. We know most employees want to be learning every day, they want to be given additional responsibilities, and they want to have a goal to reach. We keep checking in on them to help them reach their goals — and to reach them here at Bausum & Duckett.”
Mark’s Entry into the Business
After high school, Mark started at community college thinking of pursuing something in architecture or electronics. He knew he needed something in the building arena as he always liked to fiddle with his hands and see the end result of what he’d created. His big break and entry into the field where he found his niche happened when working at a gas station during college.
“The owners asked me if I wanted to do electrical work, as they had a friend in the business looking to hire,” Mark recalls. “I said, ‘you bet.’”
The company was Bausum & Duckett. He went in for an interview, nailed it, and started at the company in February of 1981. He had to wait until the following August to get into apprenticeship school and graduated to journeyman in 1986.
“I was in the field for six years or so and somebody thought it a good idea for me to come into the office” Mark says. “I started there as an assistant to the residential manager doing apartment jobs. A few years later, my immediate superiors moved on, and the next thing you know I am managing the residential business at B&D.”
While Mark says some of his personal growth can be attributed to ‘being in the right place at the right time,’ it’s clear that his commitment to taking on new challenges, constantly learning and stretching himself, and focusing on quality work was key. He had stints in the service department, took business accounting classes, kept up with code, and took project management and other courses to make him even more valuable to the company.
“I always wanted to be an owner and from the beginning Bausum & Duckett made it clear to me that it was possible to work to that within the company,” he says. “That happened In June of 2011 when Tommy, John, and I became B&D owners.”
Going Strong at 65 Years
With his long history with B&D, Mark summarized some of the many reasons for the company’s success:
- Treat employees as family; take care of them and the good ones will stay with you
- Promote from within which motivates employees to do well in order to be part of the team
- Always, always stress quality work
- Pricing is significant when winning bids, but reputation is more important
- Pay attention to detail to get it right the first time
- Don’t just do what’s on paper — do the work according to code and plans, but accommodate customer preferences
- Keep to the schedule
- Word of mouth is powerful
In December 2024, the company marked another milestone by relocating to a larger warehouse and offices in Odenton, MD. The move affords not only additional space but also a step forward in supporting long-term growth, training, and innovation. This has allowed the company to have its own pre-fab department and do assembly in their space before bringing materials to the job site.
“Having the new space also has helped us tremendously with storage, which is a huge problem for everyone working in this region,” Mark offers. “It used to be that for almost any job in D.C. you could put storage containers or trailers on job sites and store your materials there. That’s almost never the case any longer. Now with our new space and prefab capabilities, we can take on the larger jobs.”
To stay competitive in a fast-changing industry, Bausum & Duckett has embraced a range of digital tools and technologies that improve operational efficiency. From mobile platforms for safety tracking and field reporting to cloud-based systems for file sharing and real-time updates, the company continues to invest in tools that keep teams connected and projects on track.
Looking ahead, Bausum & Duckett is positioning itself to meet the increasing demand for smart buildings, energy efficiency, and sustainable solutions. Clients are seeking intelligent lighting systems, advanced energy management, and infrastructure for renewable technologies. The company is responding by integrating these solutions into its service offerings and ensuring its workforce remains trained in the latest innovations.
“Technology and sustainability are changing the way we work — and we’re evolving right alongside them,” says John. “We’re committed to delivering the highest quality electrical systems while staying ahead of industry trends.”
The Next Generation of Leadership
As the company reflects on 65 years of service, it is also looking ahead by investing in its future leadership. Bausum & Duckett has launched a formal internal program to prepare its current Vice Presidents Jacob Foy, Ed Kennell, and Tom Necessary for future ownership roles. All three leaders have risen through the company ranks, and the program provides them with hands-on mentorship, business strategy exposure, and leadership development to prepare them to guide the company forward.
“Succession is something we’ve taken seriously from day one,” says Mark. “We’re proud that our future leadership team has been developed from within, and we are committed to supporting their continued growth through a clear and intentional plan. Our goal is to ensure that the values and culture of Bausum & Duckett continue for generations to come.”
This focus on internal advancement reflects a broader commitment to workforce development that has long been central to the company’s success. Through partnerships with IEC and the Associated Builders and Contractors, Bausum & Duckett has supported hundreds of apprentices in four-year programs that combine classroom learning with hands-on experience. As of this writing, B&D has nine apprentices in the IEC Chesapeake program. The company also actively participates in local and regional career fairs and offers continuing education in emerging technologies such as EV charging stations, voice-controlled systems, and smart building solutions.
“We’re always thinking about the future — not just in terms of projects and technology, but people,” says Tommy. “Many of our most talented electricians started as apprentices, and some of them are now helping lead the company. That’s something we’re incredibly proud of.”
Mark believes in his people.
“We want our people to stay with us,” Mark says. “We choose to pay attention to what they want to do, to give them the proper guidance, to work with them to be sure they understand the job and not get lost. Our people are not just a number, and no one likes to be ignored. We appreciate what each one of them does to help Bausum & Duckett succeed.”
As part of the new hire’s orientation, each new employee is offered the opportunity to go into the IEC Chesapeake Apprenticeship Program. It is explained to them how this training advances their career at a much greater pace — both in knowledge and pay.
“We pay their tuition for IEC, so not many of them turn us down on this,” Mark says.
Bausum & Duckett contributes to overall workforce development this way, in addition to providing materials for teaching, sending representatives to do mock interviews at the local schools, hosting meetings for a new electrical program at Cecil College, participating in local chamber of commerce events, and donating to programs like Faces of Valor and Wounded Warriors.
A Great Way to Make a Living
“I always used to hear from my father that if you know a trade, you’re always going to have a job,” Mark summarizes. “If you’re good at what you are doing, you’re going to be able to make a living and support your family. I believe this still rings true today, as you don’t normally hear about too many unemployed electricians, plumbers, or other trades!”
B&D Foreman CJ Billings is 2025 IEC Emerging Leader
Demonstrating again the company’s commitment to investing in its future leaders, Bausum & Duckett enrolled CJ into this annual IEC program where a small group of high-producing individuals participate in a six-month program of skills development workshops, networking opportunities, leadership exercises, and project development experiences.
Their work culminates with an Industry Impact Project of their own design that can help to advance the industry. CJ and this year’s cohort focused their project on empowering chapters and contractors to cultivate greater interest in the electrical profession by engaging with middle and high school students. Their project leverages gamification as an interactive and engaging tool that sparks curiosity and interest in the electrical trade. The leaders are presenting their work at SPARK 2025 in September in Phoenix.
Reflecting positive experiences with Bausum & Duckett, CJ set personal goals for his Emerging Leaders experience including gaining leadership insights, building decision-making skills, expanding his professional network, and acquiring new perspectives on workforce development, industry advancements, and business strategy.
“Ultimately, I want to lead by example — showing that investing in leadership development not only benefits individuals but also strengthens entire organizations and industries,” he says.