By Brittney Mangum
Reporter
“Everything starts and ends with your faith and belief system. Hold fast to your faith and give back to God through tithes and offerings,” advised Greg Jackson. “Really make a difference by being involved. You don’t have a voice if you don’t get involved, so find where your niche is and where you can make a difference. Everybody is empowered to take action and do something. Everybody can learn from each other, no matter how old or young you are. As long as you’re willing to listen and receive and give what you can to learn, you never stop growing. As long as you’re growing, then you can also be giving and giving back.”
Greg Jackson has always been a hard worker and strong man in his faith. He loves learning new things and being able to be an inspiration for those around him.
His strong work ethic and love for others started when he was just a young boy. He lived a simple life growing up and just enjoyed being able to spend time outside and play sports with his friends and spend time with his family.
“My memories growing up are really just being active in youth sports here in Clarke County. I grew up playing little league baseball. At eight years old, that was a big thing for us: being able to travel to local areas like Waynesboro and Laurel and play baseball,” Greg reminisced. “As I got older, playing sports in school like baseball and football was a big thing. Around here, I played league ball at the complex and played in Meridian at the Sammy Davidson Complex. Other than that, I just had fun doing small thing like fishing and hunting with my grandfather and things of that nature. It was really just about family and community.”
His time in school and playing sports had a huge impact on him. His coaches and teachers became mentors who encouraged him and pushed him to be his best and achieve his dreams.
“Being part of the school system, I had some pretty good mentors with my coaches and teachers,” expressed Greg. “Mr. Robert Pepper was a big influence and was instrumental with my career with Chevron.”
Before he even graduated high school, Greg demonstrated a strong work ethic and sense of responsibility. Not only did he maintain his grades and participate in sports, but he also acquired and maintained part-time jobs along the way.
“Ms. Gilda Page gave me my first job at the knitting mill. We had it where I would go in at night and sweep up scraps on the sewing room floor,” recalled Greg. “Mr. Ricky Carpenter at Fred’s gave me my first retail job here at Fred’s restocking shelves. Naturally, we just did things during the summer like hauling hay and other things that boys just did here in the country. They were part time jobs between school and sports and working. I was around 14 years old when I started working at Fred’s and the knitting mill through high school.”
He started his main career as soon as he graduated from high school, but he didn’t originally anticipate that he would take on the career he had. Originally, he was starting it only for money to be able to purchase a vehicle and continue his education. Once he started, though, it became much more and a career that he would continue for years to come. His mentor at school, Robert Pepper, assisted him in attaining his position with the new company.
“I had been admitted to Mississippi State. My attempt was to be a walk-on and play baseball, but during the summer I wanted to get a car before going to school and my money wasn’t adding up,” explained Greg. “I contacted Mr. Pepper because I had been given the opportunity to go work with Chevron before I graduated, and I had told them thank you but no thank you. I called that summer to see if that opportunity was still available, and he made the contacts. In July of 1979, I went to Morgan City, Louisiana. My first day on the oil field, I rode a little boat for eight hours to get off in the Gulf of Mexico on a platform. I’d never been on a boat like that, never seen that much water, and never been on a boat away from land where I couldn’t see land. It was quite an experience, and I said I wouldn’t be there long. I ended up staying 41 years.”
He was still underage when he first took the position, but the company was willing to work alongside him and officially take him on when he turned 18. He demonstrated that he was a great employee and made the decision while he was there about where he wanted to be as far as a worker.
“On my very first day offshore, the guy over me, TC Scott, asked me two questions: he asked me if I would go out there and do a good job and if I could keep my mouth shut about not being 18 yet. I told him I would do a good job and not say anything. He told me that after my birthday in September that they would officially hire me with Chevron,” remembered Greg. “I decided to sit out a semester so I could get the money and get a car to go to school. Then, I looked around and learned that there were what I classified as three different types of people working with the company. From my perspective, there were people who just did what they were told to do on the totem pole and made less money, which is where most start out. Then, I saw that there were people who say what to do and make more money, but they aren’t quite as respected because they’re looked at as just sitting in offices and disconnected. Then, I noticed there were people who say what to do but also know things. I decided I wanted to be in that last group because they make more money and are respected. I started learning by asking questions, reading books, making calls, and doing anything I could to learn.”
His hard work and desire to learn more paid off as he was promoted through the various ranks in the company.
“I started out as a contract roust about and worked my way up into instrumentation, or what we call control systems specialist,” informed Greg. “Then, I got into what we call facility operations and then became a field coordinator. Then, I got into supervisory roles and moved my family to Louisiana back in ’95. I was a supervisor for services and then went back offshore as a supervisor for production operations. Then, I had the opportunity to go work overseas on the west coast of Africa in Nigeria and Angola. I did that on a rotating basis where I worked 28 on and 28 off for 15 years. At the end of the international assignment, I finished my career at a downtown office in Houston, Texas, where I was the senior operations rep and ended my career as the operations manager for the governmental business unit for deep water projects. I went from being a country boy in Quitman to being the manager with a multi-million dollar corporation. I officially retired in October of 2020. I’m very thankful and blessed for the opportunities I had because those opportunities don’t exist anymore.”
Once he retired, he and his wife sold their home in Louisiana and gave up their apartment in Houston, choosing instead to live the life they love in Clarke County again. With the free time he has been given since retirement, he has enjoyed taking on a new hobby: cars, trucks, and motorcycles.
“Cars, trucks, and motorcycles are my thing,” declared Greg. “I have a couple of Harleys. I really enjoy the freedom of just getting out on the bikes and riding. I like sports cars and always have. I have a Corvette. Recently, I’ve gotten into old, antique cars. I have a 1960 Chevy Belair, and I just started going to car shows since now I have the time. I had the car basically rebuilt from a frame off restoration, and it turned out really well. I’ve only been in three shows since I’ve retired: two locally here and one in Mont Rose. My car has actually won Best of Show.”
He is also active in community organizations and his church.
“I currently serve on the board for the Clarke County Chamber of Commerce. I’m the first vice-president for the chamber board,” proclaimed Greg. “I’m very engaged in my church, Shiloh Baptist Church. I serve on the trustee board at our church.”
With each day that goes by, Greg will continue to enjoy relaxing and spending as much time as he can with his family and friends. He considers himself blessed and does what he can to share as many blessings as possible with those around him.
If you would like to nominate someone for Person of the Week, contact Brittney Mangum at 601-776-3726.
