Rodney L. Krebs ‘58 Named Distinguished Alumni for 2017

April 17, 2017

Rodney+L.+Krebs%2C+Class+of+58%2C+Distinguished+Alumni+for+2017

Rodney L. Krebs, Class of ’58, Distinguished Alumni for 2017

The Susquehannock High School Alumni Association Steering Committee named Rodney L. Krebs as its “Distinguished Alumni” for 2017.  Krebs will address the graduating class at commencement services and will be honored with a plaque in the High School’s auditorium lobby.

Passion for the outdoors and a love of hard work are recurring themes that have guided the life and career of Rod Krebs, a proud member of Susquehannock’s Class of 1958.  He is the classic “self-made” man: chief executive officer of a very successful heavy construction firm, former chairman of the board of directors for PeoplesBank (a billion-dollar, full service financial institution), and a widely respected community leader.  “But I’ve failed,” he said laughingly. “What I really wanted to be was a professional golfer!”

Indeed, it was golf that consumed Rod’s spare time in high school.  In 10th grade, he was the team’s number 2 player and by his junior year had taken over the top spot, winning several amateur championships along the way.  Among his titles were the Bon Air Junior Club Championship and a Chamber of Commerce tournament.  When he wasn’t golfing at Bon Air, he was working in the club’s pro-shop.

After graduation, he enlisted in the U.S. Army and was assigned to the Second Armored Division, the storied “Hell on Wheels,” in Fort Hood, Texas.  He later served with NATO forces in Germany on the front lines of the Cold War.  While in the Army, Rod learned the science and art of surveying, a vocation that would serve him well in later life.

At the end of his Army enlistment, he returned to York County and worked as a machinist with the Allis Chalmers Company.  His job was interrupted after a year, when he was called back to the Army.  This time, he served as a trainer in the R.O.T.C. Officers Training Program at Fort Sill, Oklahoma.

Following his service to his country, Rod returned home to York County and married Constant Carlson, more affectionately known as Connie, a member of Susquehannock’s Class of 1961.  “We didn’t date in high school, and we barely knew each other then,” he recalls.  “But now I can’t remember a time when Connie and I have not been together.”

He returned to Allis Chalmers, but soon realized that he did not want to spend the rest of his life working indoors and took a job as a surveyor at William E. Sacra and Associates in York.  He remained with this prominent local engineering firm until 1972 and rose to the position of department head, eventually designing large public works projects and serving as a project engineer.

He then accepted a position as a job superintendent with Gerl Construction, an Ohio-based company that was expanding into Pennsylvania, and became responsible for overseeing a major construction project in Lancaster County.  Later, Rod began managing other area projects and eventually worked his way to vice-president of the company.  By the mid-1980s, the firm was also doing work in Texas, Colorado, Wyoming and Montana.  It was about that time that the company’s owner decided to sell the business and Rod was an eager buyer, renaming his new venture Springfield Contractors and setting up shop in Springfield Township outside of Glen Rock.

In the beginning, Springfield Contractors focused primarily on municipal infrastructure, but later ventured into the private arena, including some rather large housing developments.  “But after a few years, I realized that I was doing all the work and the developers were making all the money,” Rod says. So he embarked on a new path:  real estate development.

His first venture was a new housing project north of Shrewsbury, but it wasn’t long before he became one of the foremost developers in York County and beyond.  Today, thousands of Pennsylvanians make their homes in areas designed and developed by Rod and Springfield Contractors.  He takes the greatest pride in the development of the prestigious Pinehurst Hills Community on Harrisburg’s West Shore.  More recently, Rod undertook perhaps his most ambitious project when he purchased the exclusive Regents Glen Country Club and residential development in York.

In recent years, Rod has expanded the scope of Springfield Contractors to include the highly unique and specialized rock trenching for the natural gas pipelines throughout the Marcellus Shale Region.

In 1988, Rod was elected to the board of directors of PeoplesBank of Glen Rock and its holding company, the Codorus Valley Bancorp.  He served on the Board for 27 years including 15 years as chairman of the board of directors for both PeoplesBank and the holding company.  Today, he serves as chairman emeritus of the Board.

One of Rod’s more distinguished philanthropic endeavors occurred just a few years ago when he commissioned the design and creation of a life-sized bronze monument to commemorate the famed Glen Rock Carolers, which stands today in the square of Glen Rock.

While his love of golf has continued from his high school days, his love of the outdoors moved strongly in the direction of wildlife conservation and habitat preservation.  He became involved with the Eastern Foundation for North American Wild Sheep, an organization committed to conserving and preserving wildlife habitats.  He served the organization in a variety of capacities, culminating as its president for three terms.  He is one of only a select few conservationists who achieved the Grand Slam and Ovis World Slam of hunting.

Rod and Connie still live in Southern York County, as do their daughters, Heather and Holly, who also graduated from Susquehannock in 1989 and 1993 respectively.  The couple has five granddaughters and one grandson, all of whom are students in or graduates of Southern York County School District.

Rod enjoys working around his farm, located between Glen Rock and Seven Valleys, and still maintains a regular workday at Springfield Contractors.

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  • H

    Herbert and Joy PoeApr 19, 2017 at 9:30 pm

    CONGRATULATIONS RODNEY !!! It is wonderful to see an accomplished and hard-working citizen like you receive such a distinguished award. We wish you the best that life has to offer. Thank you too for your military service to our country. 🙂

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  • V

    Vicki Frey MillerApr 17, 2017 at 8:29 pm

    Celebrating reunions this year is the first graduating class at SHS 65th reunion (1952) and the first class 1957 to complete grades 7 thru 12 at SHS. (60th). Class of 52 arrangements are not final yet but will be held September 30 th. Class of 57 will be a barbecue on June 17 th. Class of 57 had the student that named the school. Jere Miller.

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