“Nathan Stillings has extensive accounting knowledge, great attention to detail, and he spots and corrects issues early,” said Dan Beal, McElroy’s chairman. “What I trust most is the consistency of Nathan’s work ethic. He is always moving forward – patiently and methodically. We know we can count on getting the best from Nathan.” Nathan Stillings, McElroy’s chief financial officer, celebrates his 15^th anniversary with McElroy’s on July 26, 2025. We’re proud to honor Nathan for his caring leadership of our accounting team and his long-term dedication to serving McElroy’s financial management needs.

HVAC Experience

Nathan grew up in Topeka and after graduating from Topeka West High School, attended Kaw Area Technical School. “I earned a certificate in electricity, heating and air – in the same class as Jason Long, a long-time member of the McElroy’s commercial HVAC service team,” Nathan said. “I started working for Greg Hunsicker on the McElroy’s residential HVAC team, helping with new heating and air system installations. Also on that team at the time was Brant Greenfield who is with McElroy’s today as a commercial HVAC technician. After about nine months of working in the field, it was clear that although I did very well in school, I was better suited for an office career.”

Search for Direction

At age 25, Nathan decided to go to Washburn University for better career opportunities. “I had a stronger appreciation for school at that point in my life. I worked hard and earned good grades. I didn’t know what I wanted to study though, so I started with a lot of elective courses while I figured out what I wanted to major in. When I took my first accounting class, the light came on. I discovered I liked accounting and I was good at it. I knew that was it.” Nathan went on to earn his B.A. in business administration with a focus on accounting.

Early Financial Work

Early in his Washburn days, Nathan worked for Wheatland Property Management as a leasing agent – showing rentals, writing leases, and doing property inspections. Then he worked as a teller at Capital City Bank for his last two college years. “Before I graduated, I was hired by a local CPA firm as an auditor,” Nathan said. “It was tedious, boring work and I wasn’t enjoying it. Shortly after tax season ended, I was no longer needed, so they let me go. This was definitely a blessing in disguise.” Maggie Warren, for whom Nathan had worked at Wheatland, had family connections in the HVAC world and she let Nathan know there might be an opportunity at McElroy’s. Already familiar with the company, that’s where Nathan turned next.

McElroy’s

“I was hired as an accountant at McElroy’s, and began learning the ins and outs of the company from the office side. First learning about payroll, union reporting, and cash receipts, then taking over management of service billing and getting involved in HR, safety, insurance, and many other aspects of the company.” Nathan worked closely with Dan Beal to improve and modernize procedures in these early years with the company. Over time, Nathan added new processes, built a team, and was named accounting manager. “Alyssa Gentry, Kristen Colvin, and Joanne Ortiz were all valuable members of that team, and are still with McElroy’s today. Alyssa and Kristen are now assistant commercial-construction project managers, and Joanne is our longest-tenured accounting team member.”

Encouraging Leader

“Nathan is a very positive role model. He has a good attitude and is passionate about quality,” said Joanne Ortiz, McElroy’s service pricing specialist. “He’s calm and quiet, and has an encouraging leadership style. Nathan is always open to questions and ready to help. I appreciate that he is a two-way communicator who wants to know what his team thinks about how to improve our department. Everyone has a voice, and Nathan will listen and try new things. I’ve always enjoyed working with him.”

CFO

In late 2020, the McElroy’s chief financial officer took another position out of state, and Nathan was asked to step up from accounting manager to CFO.  While the transition came with plenty of challenges, he quickly learned how to handle his new responsibilities and began to look for ways to improve the company in his new role. It is his hope that this will be the last job he ever has to learn how to do. McElroy’s continues to grow in size and capabilities, and Nathan has expanded his team to keep the company running smoothly, efficiently, and profitably.

McElroy’s at Heart

“Nathan has been with McElroy’s for so long and through so many changes, he’s like a company encyclopedia. He even worked as a field technician, so Nathan knows how the company operates from every angle,” said Gina Glass, McElroy’s controller. “As a leader, Nathan is both professional and kind. He builds great rapport with his team. When we have differences of opinion, he seeks to work things out with the best interests of McElroy’s at heart. Nathan cares deeply about the company and every single person here. Together, we make good things happen.”

Outside of the Office

Nathan’s wife, Elaine, teaches English at Topeka High School. As a youth, Nathan was very interested in nature and animals and he still enjoys the outdoors today, going fishing, boating and occasionally camping with Elaine. They enjoy travel, dining, and cooking, with Nathan’s cooking contribution mainly being on the grill. He especially likes preparing meals with hot peppers that he raises in his garden. Nathan grows enough of them that he shares them with his officemates.

Growth and Impact

“McElroy’s is a bigger company than a lot of people realize,” Nathan said. “While we’re experiencing exciting growth, it still feels like a small enough company that each person can enjoy having an individual impact.” We at McElroy’s definitely feel the positive impact that Nathan brings. He consistently offers solutions that improve the strength and financial soundness of our company, and he provides clear and understandable information that helps us manage our departments and overall business. During the past 15 years, Nathan Stillings’ growth has been exciting as well. We’re glad he learned to fill the invaluable role of CFO at McElroy’s, and continues to learn ways to do it even better. Like Nathan, we’ll be thrilled if this is the job he embraces through the end of his career. We thank Nathan for his loyal dedication to our company’s financial wellbeing!