Building More Than a Business: How Eunice Lipsky Built a Team, a Family, and a Legacy”

“You build a friendship here. We sell quality.” — Eunice Lipsky

At GTS Builders Supply Inc., success isn’t just measured in lumber and masonry. It’s measured in loyalty, perseverance, and family roots.

When I interviewed Eunice Lipsky, I quickly realized I wasn’t just hearing the story of a building supply company. I was hearing the story of a woman who quietly helped build a lasting family business, brick by brick, relationship by relationship.

GTS Builders Supply began in 1968. Eunice’s father, Jose Covas, immigrated from Portugal in 1956 and later became a partner in the business. Though he worked primarily in concrete, he believed in opportunity and in his daughters.

As a little girl, Eunice swept the floors at GTS. After graduating early from Sachem High School East, she commuted to Manhattan, working at Chase Bank’s International Department and later at the prestigious law firm Sullivan & Cromwell. The 6:20 a.m. trains and 8:30 p.m. returns eventually led to a realization: success meant nothing without balance.

In 1985, she joined GTS full-time as an assistant bookkeeper. She left briefly to raise her children, returning in 2000. When her sister retired in 2017, Eunice stepped forward. In 2018, she discussed with her father if he would consider surrendering his shares so the company could become a Woman Business Enterprise. He agreed. She became President.

Becoming WBE certified in New York State was no small feat. For three years, her application sat untouched. “They said there were many in front of us,” Eunice recalls. But she refused to accept that answer. She made calls. She sought guidance. She pushed forward. With help from the Women’s Chamber of Commerce in Manhattan, her application was reviewed and approved.

Today, GTS is WBE certified in New York State, Suffolk County, Nassau County, and New York City, supplying materials to major projects including hospitals, universities, and contractors across Long Island.

Eunice and her sister Mary Covas

Yet ask Eunice what she is most proud of, and she won’t mention certifications. She’ll mention her team.

Located on Veterans Memorial Highway in Holbrook, GTS sits on a three-acre property and serves contractors, homeowners, and the public.

Two salesmen have been with the company for more than 40 years. Drivers and yard staff have decades of tenure. Assistants have stayed more than ten years.

“That says a lot,” Eunice tells me. “It means so much to me. I’m passionate.”

“You build a friendship here,” she says. “We sell quality.”

Eunice’s life outside the yard reflects the same commitment.

She served as a Cub Scout leader for years. Six boys from her troop went on to earn Eagle Scout status. She led a church mission in Islip for a decade, organizing food pantries and providing Christmas gifts for more than 70 families annually. She supports the Portuguese Club, the Holbrook Fire Department, veterans’ organizations, Tunnel to Towers, St. Jude, and the Wounded Warrior Project.

At 62, she is also what she proudly calls a “gym rat,” embracing everything from CrossFit to weightlifting to hiking. “As a woman, be well-rounded,” she says. “Take care of yourself, inside and out.”

She is a devoted wife and a proud mother. Her daughter is a veterinarian in Colorado. Her son helps with the business. She is a hands-on grandmother to her nine-month-old granddaughter, whom she babysits twice a week to build the same close bond her own children shared with their grandparents.

“Building isn’t just about materials. It’s about memories.”

Her father once called the business “his baby.” Today, it is hers.

And in her capable hands, GTS Builders Supply is more than a lumber yard.

It is proof that when you build with integrity, loyalty, and love, what you create will stand strong for generations.

Long Island is fortunate to have women like Eunice Lipsky, women who understand that the most important structures we build are the ones that last beyond us.