HITT Contracting, Inc. is this year’s Distinction in Corporate Achievement recipient at the Historical Society’s annual Making D.C. History Awards gala.
HITT’s signature block-letter logo is easily recognized by the city’s residents. And for good reason. HITT has been responsible for numerous notable, large-scale projects, such as ABC National Headquarters, Sidwell Friends Middle School, and Pentagon IDIQ.
What began as a small-scale operation in Warren and Myrtle Hitt’s Arlington home in 1937, then named W.A. Hitt Decorating Co., has since grown to a nationally ranked general contracting company with projects in 46 states.
When the company was founded, it had only six employees and focused on apartment and residential remodeling. By 1942 the company expanded to 22 employees, 11 of whom served in World War II and returned home safely.
Hitt took on its first major commercial project for Quadrangle Development on M Street in Georgetown, and by 1975, the company had grown to 58 employees. Today, it boasts a team of 1,000 workers nationwide.
Since 1937 the business has remained in the family.
Warren and Myrtle’s son, Russell Hitt, who began doing small tasks for the company at age 10, is now chairman emeritus after succeeding his father as president of the company in 1978. Today his son and son-in-law, Brett Hitt and Jim Millar are co-chairmen and co-owners. “It’s been a great family journey,” Brett Hitt explained to the Washington Post, “and it’s really been a lot of fun along the way.”
And the company surely does emphasize fun and hard work (see for yourself). Since 2005 HITT has been consistently recognized as a great place to work by Washingtonian, Washington Business Journal, and the Washington Post.
“Growing up, working in a family business with longtime managers…” Hitt said, “made me listen and be very close to our team members.”
The year 2017 marked the first time the company’s day-by-day operations are controlled by non-family. Chief Executive Officer Kim Roy and co-presidents Drew Mucci and Jeremy Bardin now manage the growing organization with Brett Hitt and Jim Millar as co-chairmen
Russell Hitt, Jim Millar, Kim Roy, Brett Hitt, Jeremy Bardin, and Drew Mucci.
We invite you to celebrate HITT’s long history and commitment to the city at the 2018 Making D.C. History Awards, the Historical Society’s annual gala fundraiser, at the Newseum on Thursday, September 20, 2018.
Read about Akridge, the 2018 “Distinction in Historic Preservation” recipient, the Drew and Jarvis Families, this year’s “Legacy Families of Washington, D.C.” recipients, and Central Union Mission for “Distinction in Social Service.”