12/Mar/2009
Cable Company Owner Starts Central Development Projects
By Sean Griffin
When Gil Matherne realized his coaching job wasn’t paying the bills, he decided to make a change.He picked up a shovel and started digging ditches. Soon after Matherne realized he’d found his calling.
“I loved working outside and I knew this was what I wanted to do,” Matherne said.
From here was born a cable contracting business that has become one of the largest contracting companies in the state.
Matherne built his business 25 years ago from the remains of the Bell System group after they were broken up due to alleged illegal practices. He opened GM Cable to do the work South Central Bell was no longer allowed to do in Louisiana.
“Where South Central left off we took over,” Matherne said. “They could only bury cable to the mailbox, so we were taking it to the house and doing the outside connections.”
All-Inclusive System
GM Cable has developed an all-inclusive system of service for its clients by having a full staff that can cover all needs of a telecommunication connection for its clients.
“We’re the only contractor around that has people in-house to do the entire job,” Matherne said.
GM Cable holds many major contracts across the region, and Matherne does jobs across the nation.
GM Cable has also picked up contracts with the LSU campus as well as the new Alex Box Stadium. Baton Rouge Community College is another campus under contract with Matherne’s company.
Aside from schools, the company has contracts with the National Guard, electrical and water projects in Zachary and a system of power plants that covers Louisiana and Texas.
Faithful Support
Matherne said it is important to have a partner to share the vision of the business with you. For Matherne, his wife was that partner.
“Most businesses fail because you’re not paying attention to who’s writing your checks,” he said. “But I can trust Michelle because I know she supports me.”
In order to make his business successful, Matherne used to work seven days a week. This left little time for his wife and two kids. But the faithful support of his wife, Michelle, helped the business reach its current success.
“On Saturdays she would make tuna fish sandwiches and bring the kids to work and I’d stop and have a picnic with them and let the kids play on the equipment,” he said. “My wife never complained because she knew I was working for the family.”
Now Michelle does accounting for GM Cable. She also runs her own business MYCO COM.
Michelle said she and her husband wouldn’t be happy anywhere other than Central.
“I would never even think of going anywhere else,” Michelle said. “I would never want to move anywhere else.”
The two make a great business couple, Michelle said. According to her there is a lot of respect between her and her husband. She makes sure her husband is the main boss, and he doesn’t step on her toes.
“To make a business successful you have to keep it just the one boss,” Michelle said. “But there is a lot of respect between the two of us.”
Colby Matherne
Gil Matherne passed on his work ethic to his son Colby Matherne. Colby worked his way up from the bottom at GM Cable and is now taking on more company operations.
“I was proud to see that he wanted to work just like I did,” Matherne said of his son.
Now that his son is handling more of the business, Matherne has turned toward other ventures. The most important of these for Matherne is developing the city he calls home.
On the several acres Matherne owns for GM Cable, he built a bus station for First Student school buses in Central to use.
Matherne has also built a small chapel and an office which he rents.
Future plans for Matherne include a larger development near Joor road that would include a shopping center and a possible restaurant.
But what drives Matherne to develop the city of Central? The relationships he has built here are invaluable, as well as the city itself.
“The people here are wonderful,” Mathene said. “Central has been a big part of my life,”
