Commitment to Quality Begins Here

Walter “Wally” Hall, Jr. started his solid waste career with Browning Ferris Industries (“BFI”) in 1990 and learned the business as a true garbage man: Supervisor, Operations Manager, Manager-Trainee, General Manager, Region Operations Manager and Area President. Within his first 6 years at BFI, he oversaw 400 employees with annual revenue of $50 Million. After transitioning to Republic Services in a General Manager position, he was asked to assume the role of RVP for the Southland Waste division of Republic Services. In 2001, Mr. Hall was one of three founders of Advanced Disposal Services, Inc., which is now the fourth largest solid waste company in the U.S. Starting with three trucks, Mr. Hall grew Advanced Disposal’s operations to over $1.4 Billion in annual revenue, 5300 employees, 91 collection/hauling facilities, 45 MSW and C&D Landfills, 71 Transfer Stations and 21 recycling facilities. After completing the 2012 integration of the Advanced Disposal – Interstate Waste – Veolia Environmental acquisitions by the company, Mr. Hall left Advanced Disposal in 2014 to pursue other interests. In 2018 he became the CEO of Meridian Waste Acquisitions, LLC with the goal of once again growing a solid waste company to fill the industry need for a well-funded, nimble and both customer and employee focused independent company for the Southeast marketplace. He is a graduate of Mississippi College and former College Baseball Coach at The University of Mississippi.

Dave Lavender has more than 26 years of solid waste industry experience and serves as COO for Meridian Waste and is responsible for all operating aspects of the company including collection, transfer, landfill and recycling services, budgeting, capital expenditures, safety, training, acquisitions and strategic planning. He has held many operations positions with several of the largest waste companies in the U.S. including Browning Ferris Industries and Waste Management. Prior to joining Meridian Waste, Mr. Lavender spent 13 years at Advanced Disposal where he was regional vice president and oversaw 27 Hauling Companies, 14 Landfills, 18 Transfer Station, 3 Recycling Facilities and over 1,400 employees. He is a graduate from Georgia Southern University with a bachelor’s in business administration.

Mary O’Brien serves as CMO for Meridian Waste and oversees marketing, government affairs and communications for the company. Her responsibilities include existing and new market area expansion via municipal contracts and acquisition integration; company communications, website, digital strategies; public relations and government and legislative affairs. Additional duties include the conversion to cloud-based technologies company-wide for multiple communication, web, development and information storage systems, upgraded online web and app services as well as implementing and auditing efficiency and automation standards and systems utilizing information technology. Ms. O’Brien’s career in the waste industry spans 21 years, and she spent the majority of her tenure with Advanced Disposal serving as CMO where she oversaw all marketing efforts with locations across seventeen states and the Bahamas with annual revenues of $1.4 Billion. Ms. O’Brien holds a bachelor’s in business administration and marketing with a minor in English from James Madison University in Harrisonburg, Virginia.

Melanie Connellee serves as CFO for Meridian Waste and is responsible for leading all the finance activities of the company, including strategic planning, budgeting, forecasting, reporting, financing, treasury and M&A activities. A Certified Public Accountant, Ms. Connellee has 20+ years of experience as an advisor and executive coach to businesses and executives across diverse industries. Ms. Connellee began her career in Washington DC as a CPA with EY, where she enjoyed audit roles for large clients such as Lockheed Martin. An entrepreneurial assignment at EY led her to develop projections and ROI calculations for a venture capital investment in a professional baseball team. There she found her passion for start up businesses and the operational side of accounting, finance and management. After founding her own retail venture for investment purposes, Ms. Connellee joined McKinsey & Company, where she built the finance division for their DC office. She went on to work for several national consulting firms as Chief Financial Officer, building their financial teams, managing their strategic plans as well as M&A activity.  In addition, she led the finance efforts of a 7-company roll-up and Initial Public Offering. As a Vice President with JP Morgan, she worked with corporate executives and businesses delivering financial solutions in their Asset Management Division. Before joining Meridian Waste, Ms. Connellee served as VP of Shared Services and PMO for Direct ChassisLink, Inc. a leading intermodal equipment solutions provider. She developed their PMO office to manage execution of the company’s strategic plan as well as managed integration of large-scale acquisitions and the company’s sale process to two private equity owners. Ms. Connellee attended Duke University and the McIntire School of Commerce, University of Virginia graduating with a B.S. in Accounting with Distinction. She has also served as an Executive Coach and Adjunct Faculty for the Venture Center - Fox Valley Technical College.

Bob Mathis is Area President in Missouri and is responsible for all aspects of the Missouri solid waste collection, transfer and disposal operations, which include over 100,000 residential customers and 3,000 commercial/industrial customers.

He oversees budgetary goals and accountability, capital needs and allocation, safety, risk and revenue growth for the Missouri assets including four hauling companies, one MSW landfill, one recycling facility and two transfer stations. Acquisition activities include the identification, relationship development, data acquisition and analytical review including the valuation of the candidate company. He has held district manager and general manager positions with several of the largest waste companies in the U.S. including Republic Services and Waste Corp of America. He holds a bachelor’s in business administration and management from Park University.

Rob Guidry has served as Area President in Virginia since February 2017 when his company, Container First Services, was purchased by Meridian Waste. He continues to lead the Virginia operations and is responsible for all aspects including collection, transfer and disposal operations, which include over 42,000 residential customers and 2,500 commercial/industrial customers. He oversees budgetary goals and accountability, capital needs and allocation, safety, risk and revenue growth for the Virginia assets including two hauling companies, two MSW landfills, one recycling facility and one transfer station. Mr. Guidry worked at Waste Management for 16 years prior to starting Container First Services. He is a life member of the Colonial Heights Fire Department.

Bobby Williams is Area President in Georgia and is responsible for all aspects of the Georgia solid waste collection, transfer and disposal operations, which includes an Augusta, Ga. hauling company. He also oversees new location startups including acquisitions and hiring and business development in these new markets. Prior to joining Meridian Waste, Mr. Williams spent 11 years at Advanced Disposal where he was regional manager over four states.