White Star : A guiding light for community

In July 2021 Brad and Kimsey Shanks, of St. Simons Island, purchased the assets of Coley Electric & Plumbing Supply, in Brunswick and Waycross. In November, they introduced the new name White Star Supply Company.

Are either of you from the area?

Kimsey: Brad is from Augusta and I’m from Durham, NC. I grew up vacationing on SSI and we were married here in 2008. In 2015, we decided to make it home knowing it would be the perfect place to raise our children.

Have you always been in the plumbing and electrical business?

Brad: Actually, my career was in marketing and sales and kept me traveling. When the opportunity was presented to purchase a local family business, it seemed like the answer to a prayer.

Why is the name White Star Supply Company?

Brad: Kimsey’s dad owned a family business for 50 years in NC called White Star Laundry & Cleaners. The name White Star allowed us to build on that legacy and also the legacy of Coley Electric & Plumbing, built and owned by Pete Coley. Our hope is that the white star on the building will always represent who we are and what we believe in. Christ will always be our guiding light, both personally and in our business. Our daughter said it best, “like the star at Christmas that the shepherds followed to baby Jesus”.

Are the people the same?

Coley Electric had a great team in place, and you will see the same smiling, hardworking faces today! Our people are the most knowledgable in the business and we are truly honored to have them on our team. They can help with anything lighting or plumbing related- whether the finished design or building the blueprints. They are great people, working hard to provide for their families. We are so thankful for them!

Any changes planned?

The exterior of the buildings received a facelift. Shout out to the h2o Creative Group for helping us with the branding! We are working on updating the showrooms with tweaks here and there. We also continue to add the right people to build our team. We want the best support for our customers!

We are excited about growing White Star Supply, raising our children here, and look forward to giving back to the community.