Lassiter to be inducted into Building Construction Hall of Fame

September 27, 2007

GAINESVILLE, Fla. — The M.E. Rinker Sr. School of Building Construction at the University of Florida will induct noted Palm Beach developer William G. Lassiter into the school’s Construction Hall of Fame at 11 a.m. Friday.

The Construction Hall of Fame was established in the fall of 1980 by Brisbane Brown, who was director of the Rinker School at the time. The purpose of the award is to recognize the accomplishments of builders who have distinguished themselves throughout their careers in construction.

Lassiter graduated from UF in 1951 with a degree in building construction. He currently is director of W.G. Lassiter Properties Inc., a major real estate development company in Palm Beach. He also is president of Palm Beach Development Corp. and Legal Leasing Corporation, and director of Gardens Park Plaza Inc. and the Belrub Part Property Owners’ Association Inc.

Upon graduation from UF, Lassiter was employed by the construction division of the E.D. DuPont de Nemours Company in Savannah River H-bomb plant in Aiken, S.C., for four years. He then became general superintendent of construction for John A. Robbins Co. Inc. of Philadelphia, developing and building shopping centers from 1955-1958. In 1958, he became vice president of W.G. Lassiter Co., a general contracting firm founded by his father. He became president of the company in 1972 at the elder Lassiter’s retirement and director of W.G. Lassiter Properties Inc. in 1977. Lassiter and his wife, Aneice, have been generous supporters of UF and the Rinker School, where their $2 million gift in 2006 helped fund two endowed professorships in building construction and pediatrics.

As a recipient of this prestigious honor, Lassiter will receive a plaque declaring his induction, in addition to having his name displayed on the Construction Hall of Fame wall at the school. Lassiter is one of 40 inductees to the Hall of Fame since 1980.