Earl C. Hargrove Jr. is the former owner of Hargrove Inc., a Lanham, Maryland, event planning company. His daughter Carla Hargrove McGill now owns Hargrove Inc.WashingtonPost.com: Hargrove Keeps Job as Presidential Party Host (December 30, 2008) Hargrove's company has overseen the planning of every Presidential Inaugural since 1949, starting with the President Harry S. Truman's inauguration. Hargrove started the business, which was originally a window decorating business, in 1946 with his father after World War II.

In 2009, Hargrove Inc. was the general contractor for President Barack Obama's Inaugural Committee.NBC Washington: Lanham Contractor Building Another Inauguration (January 8, 2009)

"We were supposed to make a right on 16th Street ... and go up and make the left in front of the White House. We got ready to make that turn up there, and the mules decided they didn't want to go right, they wanted to go left, and what a damn mess we had on our hands getting that thing straightened out."—Earl Hargrove talking about Harry S. Truman's inaugurationNBC Washington: Lanham Contractor Building Another Inauguration (January 8, 2009)