Woodfill & Wegman was founded in 1924 by Oliver B. Woodfill and John Wegman and was run by its founding partners until the late 1930's. It was at this time that Woodfill bought-out Wegman and changed the company name to Woodfill, Inc. After Oliver Woodfill's death in 1956, his nephew, John, and Clarence Deckman assumed command of the distributorship under the name of Genesee Valley Petroleum.

Deckman bought-out John Woodfill's estate in 1960 and ran Genesee Valley Petroleum until his death in December 1962. Throughout Clarence's tenure with the company, his sons, Buzz and Bernie, helped out around the shop. From mopping floors to driving delivery trucks, Buzz and Bernie learned the business from the ground up. After his father died, Buzz Deckman left St. John Fisher College, where he was a senior majoring in accounting, to run what had become the family business.

Then in 1970, the company moved toHoneoye Falls, NY, 20 miles south of Rochester. Bernie Deckman joined his brother at the distributorship in 1971 after earning his Bachelor of Business Administration degree from St. John Fisher. Three years later, the brothers decided to rename the company to reflect their family name, Deckman Oil Company, Inc.

Today, after four name changes, Deckman Oil remains a committed Kendall, Valvoline, Conoco, Gulf and Blue Ribbon distributor. The company's territory now includes the eight counties of the Greater Rochester and Buffalo areas. Buzz serves as President.

Continuing the family tradition are Buzz's sons, Peter, Mark and Scott who hold the positions of Vice President, Sales & Marketing, Vice President, Operations and Office Administrator, respectively. Just as Buzz and Bernie had shadowed Clarence, all three men followed in their father's footsteps when they were growing up, spending countless hours helping out around the distributorship.

The Deckmans and their employees manage and service over 2,300 accounts, 60 percent of which are fleet customers. Most of the day-to-day duties of running the company are shared by all the employees. According to Buzz, everyone has their own responsibilities but all of the employees' skills complement those of their co-workers. "No one's position is isolated. Each person supports and understands what everybody else is doing. No one is a specialist...we like to think of ourselves as generalists who work together to get the job done."