Every time a Jerry Kelly technician pulls up to a home in the St. Louis metro area, they arrive in a purple van — the same shade of violet used by the Alzheimer's Association. For the thousands of Missouri families who've been touched by this disease, that color registers immediately.
"We actually have the Walk to End Alzheimer's logo on our vans, too," says Andrea Wallace, Marketing Manager at Jerry Kelly. "It is a very natural conversation starter for our technicians."
General Manager Cindy Roesler has heard the proof firsthand. "Last year at the walk, we had a couple of people come up to us and say, 'I saw your van — that's the reason I called you. We can't thank you enough for what you guys have done.'"
A Family Story That Became a Company Mission
Jerry Kelly Heating, Air Conditioning, Plumbing & Electrical has served the St. Peters, Missouri area for decades. In 2014, the company's direction changed.
Janet Kelly, wife of co-founder Jerry Kelly, was diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease. The diagnosis moved through the Kelly family and through the company they'd built together.
"It really impacted the family," Wallace says. "We'd always done a bunch of work within the community, but as we started getting out there and seeing how many people were affected by Alzheimer's, we decided to make it our big cause."
The company repainted its fleet purple, launched a dollar-per-service-call donation program for the Alzheimer's Association, and began mobilizing staff — technicians, dispatchers, spouses, kids — for the Alzheimer's Association Walk to End Alzheimer's in St. Charles County each fall.
Since 2014, Jerry Kelly has helped raise over $100,000. In 2024, they became presenting sponsor of the St. Charles County walk.
"When you have 7 million families affected by something," Roesler says, "that's a huge impact — not just in our community, but across the entire United States."
Building a Culture of Giving From the Inside
Each fall, as September approaches, leadership rallies employees around the walk — asking who's bringing family, running giveaways to drive turnout. Last year, the company produced a new commercial built around their Alzheimer's work, running it through September and October.
The cause has become part of how the team thinks about itself, not just how it presents to the outside.
"I think anything that allows a company to get out into the community is a great opportunity," Wallace says. "It's a great way to build community within the company, too. When you can find something that everyone can bond over — go give their time, volunteer — it works for both the company and the community."
The Van That Starts the Conversation
For Jerry Kelly's technicians, the Alzheimer's commitment isn't something they think about once a year at the walk. It's on the van they drive to every call.
"We've had several technicians come back and share stories with us," Roesler says. "At the walk last year, a couple of people came up and said, 'I saw your van, this is the reason why I called you and we can't thank you enough.' It definitely makes a difference."
The Alzheimer's work sits alongside a broader pattern of community involvement at Jerry Kelly. The company regularly supports teachers with catered lunches and school supplies, delivers care packages to nurses during Nurse Appreciation Week, and reaches out to police stations and first responders throughout the year.
"Honestly, I don't know that I've ever denied a request," Wallace says. "As a business, there's always room for us to contribute in some way."
Growing Up in the Trades — and Paying It Forward
Both Roesler and Wallace came to the trades from unexpected directions. Roesler, a 36-year industry veteran, started as a CSR in Houston while attending school — planning to leave the trades eventually. She didn't. She spent decades rising through operations before joining Jerry Kelly as GM a year and a half ago, relocating from Texas to Missouri in the process.
Wallace graduated with a marketing degree in 2020 with different plans entirely, until a COVID-era internship fell through and an advisor connected her with Jerry Kelly. Five years later, she hasn't looked back.
Their paths shape how Jerry Kelly approaches recruiting. The company runs events at local high schools through "Build Your Future," bringing an interactive display booth and talking directly with 17- and 18-year-olds about careers in the trades. They also maintain a close partnership with Rankin Technical College, where students complete 6-to-9-month programs in plumbing, electrical, or HVAC — and Jerry Kelly often brings them in as runners and helpers early.
"Anybody that says they're not having issues recruiting in the trades is probably not being truthful," Roesler says. "People don't realize the potential — we've got young men in their late teens and early 20s making six figures. But if they don't know that's possible, they never walk through the door."
Advice for Companies Ready to Start
For smaller home services companies wanting to get more involved in their communities, Roesler keeps the advice practical.
"Once you figure out what your cause is, just go out and research it. Find places you can contribute. And if you can't do it monetarily right away, they're always taking volunteers — your time and your people are just as valuable."
Wallace adds that the internal benefit is just as real as the external one. Giving back builds something inside a company: shared purpose across teams, something for employees to rally around, work that feels meaningful beyond the job itself.
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Jerry Kelly is proof that a trades company can be defined as much by its values as by its technical expertise. In St. Peters, Missouri, a purple van isn't just a service truck — it's a symbol. It tells the neighborhood that the people inside care about more than just fixing your furnace or clearing your pipes.
It tells them that Jerry Kelly is part of something bigger.
And every service call they run? One more dollar closer to a world without Alzheimer's.
Want to learn more about ServiceTitan’s Power the Nation initiative and the contractors making a difference across the country? Visit ServiceTitan’s Power the Nation home page.
