Anthony Gemma

How many plumbers can say they also hold a law degree? At least one in Rhode island. That would be Anthony Gemma, president of Gem Plumbing & Heating Service Inc. in Lincoln, a business his father, Larry, started in 1949.
Economic Development Corporation, consultants and Gem management – that has boosted sales of the family business from $9 million in 1999 to $40 million in 2007.
Today, Gem is one of the nation’s largest plumbing and heating companies, with more than 300 employees and 165 trucks.
Gemma earned a bachelor’s degree in legal argument/communications from Suffolk University in 1992, and a law degree from Roger Williams University School of Law in 1998. In 2000, he established a general practice law firm outside Gem, Justice For All.
In 2004, Gemma assisted in launching the Gem Institute for Performance Excellence, aimed at providing guidance to businesses and organizations. He also developed a program called Benefits By Design in 2005 that attempts to lower health care costs for businesses by encouraging healthier employee lifestyles.
In addition, Gemma created two other unorthodox business programs: the Gem Strategic Fun Plan, which he says allows employees to “have fun at work,” and the Random Acts of Kindness Program, which encourages workers to perform random acts of kindness for co-workers and strangers.
He co-founded the nonprofit Gloria Gemma Breast Cancer Resource Foundation in 2003, in memory of his mother. •