Family businesses like Don’s Johns are an often overlooked form of ownership, yet they are all around us and provide invaluable support to local economies like ours. That is why the Washington Business Journal is spotlighting the region’s best at the Family-Owned Business Awards this month. We are proud to announce we have been selected as an honoree for this award, which honors the top multi-generational, family-owned business in our region for overall excellence, innovation, ethics and philanthropy!

So what makes us one of the top family-owned businesses in the area? Here are just a few of the many reasons why:

• Our History: Don’s Johns, Inc. was established in 1964 by Thelma and Don Rainwater as a small septic company. Their business was one of the first portable toilet companies in the nation and in the Washington D.C. Metropolitan area. The first toilets were built of wood and constructed as quickly as the orders came in. Over the past 50 years, Don’s Johns has come a long way from the original wooden outhouse.

• Present Day: Don’s Johns is still 100% family owned and has been passed down for three generations. Kristie Harrell, Chief Executive Officer, joined Don’s Johns full time in 1992. She is the granddaughter of founders Don and Thelma Rainwater and started helping at Don’s Johns from the age of 10 stuffing envelopes for billing.

• Who We Serve: We are a proud supplier of sanitation services to the biggest names in sports, government and private industry in the Virginia, Maryland and Washington DC area.  Each year, we service hundreds of construction sites including the MGM site at National Harbor to emergency services throughout the region.

• Philanthropic Involvement: Don’s Johns is a proud supporter and supplier of the Marine Corps Marathon, local volunteer fire departments, Willing Warriors and dozens of charity runs and events.

We are proud to have been one of the first temporary restroom companies on the East Coast. For more than 50 years, being family-owned has helped us live by our motto “Our People Make a Difference” because it means treating employees the same way we would treat family. We strive to be a leader in our industry with how employees are compensated, and look forward to many more years of regional success as the “go to” company for sanitation services!

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