Woburn, MA It’s not every day that someone gets a piece of heavy equipment named after him, but what else do you give a man who has been happily operating backhoes, trucks, and other machines of all types for decades? Cummings Properties recognized the 40-year anniversary of its longest tenured employee and very first heavy equipment operator, George Holland, by purchasing a new backhoe and naming it “Corporal” in his honor. The lifelong Woburnite was given the nickname years ago in recognition of his service in the U.S. Marines Corps, prior to joining the commercial real estate firm.

Shown (from left) are: Emily Holland (and dog Shadow), George and Sue Ellen Holland, Pamela Holland, and Sarah and John O’Donnell pose with “Corporal,” the new backhoe named by Cummings Properties after George “Corporal” Holland.

Holland and 16 former and current colleagues, including Cummings Properties founder Bill Cummings and president and CEO Dennis Clarke, recently swapped stories over a celebratory lunch at Strega Prime. While waiting for their meal to be served, the group was asked to step outside, where Holland was surprised with the unveiling of the brand new backhoe.

“It was wonderful to see the look on George’s face when we revealed that backhoe,” said Woburn resident and Cummings Properties vice president–field operations Greg Ahearn, who shared that Holland’s daughters said they had never seen their father that excited before. The daughters, Emily, Pamela, and Sarah, all interned at Cummings while in school. They were waiting outside Strega as part of the surprise, along with Holland’s wife, Sue Ellen, and son-in-law, John O’Donnell.

“George is one of a kind,” said Ahearn. “He is an all-around great person and friend to all of his colleagues, and he’s truly eager and happy to come to work every day.”

Holland has had a hand in almost all major projects in Cummings’ Woburn portfolio over the decades, operating the backhoe to dig the foundations for many buildings.

Also a member of the Cummings Properties Snow Team for his entire career, Holland outfits the machines with chains each winter and has happily been on hand to battle seven of Boston’s 10 biggest snowstorms, including the Blizzard of ’78 and 2015’s “Snowmageddon.”

In the 1970s, he cleared snow as part of a 10-person crew in an old open-cab Ford, completely exposed to the elements. Now he has the comfort of a heated and air-conditioned cab and is part of a much bigger, more experienced team of more than 60 colleagues.

Sue Ellen Holland was the very first client at 600 West Cummings Park. Thirty-three years later, her Little Folks Day School is still there. Daughter Emily is also a Cummings client; she owns and operates High Function Fitness at TradeCenter 128.

Holland is a lifetime member of Woburn’s McKeown Boys & Girls Club, which was recently renamed in honor of Holland’s late friend and colleague Jamie McKeown, who was president of Cummings Properties when he died unexpectedly in 1996. Both men were named “Boy of the Year” at the club that was such an integral part of their childhood.

This year Cummings Properties also recognized its first 40-year client, L.H. Sisitzky Sales, by naming the park in the center of the West Cummings Park business campus in Woburn Sisitzky Park.