[1] After his graduation Neely started his career in industry at the Westinghouse Electric Corporation in Pittsburgh.

[1] In 1915, Neely joined Fulton Bag and Cotton Mills where he was production manager in plants of the company in Atlanta, Dallas, New Orleans, St. Louis, New York, and Minneapolis.

Most notable among his achievements was his dictum that the customer is always right, making the store famous for its liberal exchange policy.

He was one of the founding members of the Atlanta Improvement Association, later Central Atlanta Progress, initiated the Special Relief Commission in 1931, and chaired Fulton the Community Chest at County Department of Public Welfare from 1931 to 1934.

Her he was "instrumental in bringing Bell Aircraft Corporation (now Lockheed Martin) to Atlanta".