New Cobb Chamber chair to confront workforce challenges head-on

Jan. 30—The Greg Teague file Age: 49 Hometown: Ellijay Occupation: CEO of Croy Engineering Family: wife Sabrina; daughters Madison, Sydney and Georgia Education: Bachelor's in civil engineering technology, Southern Polytechnic College of Engineering Church: Liberty Baptist Church, Ellijay Hobbies: Fishing, video games

CUMBERLAND — Greg Teague waited an extra year for his turn, but it has finally come.

The CEO of Marietta-based Croy Engineering, Teague, 49, is the Cobb Chamber of Commerce's 2023 chairman, a role he was set to fill in 2022 before COVID threw things a bit off course.

The chamber's 2022 chairwoman, Britt Fleck, passed the baton to Teague at the chamber's 81st annual dinner on January 28.

Speaking before the more than 1,000 people in attendance, Teague explained how his first time at the black-tie event was in 1999, when he worked for the city of Marietta. Sabrina, his wife of almost 27 years, and former Marietta Councilman Philip Goldstein had to teach him about the correct forks to use.

While Teague, "a farm boy from Ellijay," was still navigating the ins and outs of such events, he said it was an experience that remains resonant in his life.

"I made connections that night that I still have today," he said.

'Building Cobb's future'

Teague told the MDJ that one of his priorities as chair will be charting the chamber's course for "building Cobb's future," the theme of the group's strategic plan for the next five years.

"We want to continue to be in that support role, advocate role, to where we're building Cobb up to be the best place to do business, and (Georgia) the best state to do business in all of the nation," he said.

In his dinner address, Teague said the plan's first year coincides with his chairmanship and has the three goals of developing new leaders, building a Cobb community for everyone and focusing on workforce initiatives, including worker training, recruitment and retention efforts.

"Our chamber's leadership and the board of directors know that while we have celebrated the great progress that has been made, we know that our work is not yet complete," he said.

Building Cobb's future is easier said than done, Teague made clear, and requires workers. Lots of them.

Sharon Mason, the chamber's president and CEO, said the next five years will be an opportunity to focus on areas in need of greater attention, like a shortage of skilled workers.

Mason wants the chamber to continue advancing programs like the Cobb Workforce Partnership, which brings together the county's school districts and universities, businesses and local workforce providers to address the need for skilled workers the county faces.

Teague said John Loud, the chamber chair in 2020 and 2021, and Jay Cunningham, owner of Superior Plumbing, are leading the chamber's efforts to tackle the county's workforce challenges, in addition to spearheading the chamber's efforts to expand work opportunities for Cobb's veterans.

He also said the chamber is hosting a human resources roundtable that will focus on strategies for companies to better retain workers.

"We want to be helpful to them getting that word out to the citizens of Cobb," Teague said.

Infrastructure and development

Teague will also be keeping a close eye on two items on the Cobb Board of Commissioners' agenda for 2023.

The first is a potential sales tax for the development of transit in the county that could be put on next year's ballot.

Teague noted how the county's special-purpose local-option sales tax is particularly helpful for his business: Croy is a frequent partner of the county and Cobb cities on its various SPLOST projects.

The Mobility SPLOST, or M-SPLOST, as the proposed transit tax is called, would be a referendum voted on by Cobb residents in 2024.

Teague said the chamber has always been helpful in spreading the word about the SPLOST projects, and he said the M-SPLOST would be no different.

"What we've offered to (Cobb County) is, when they get to a point of having a project list developed and know what it is that's gonna go to the Board of Commissioners for them to decide to put on the ballot, we want to be helpful to them getting that word out to the citizens of Cobb," he said.

Teague said the chamber is supportive of transportation infrastructure projects in Cobb, which is also one of its top concerns. However, he added, the chamber does not have a position on whether specific projects, like expanding rail transit to parts of the county, are worth pursuing.

"That's not something we've taken to the (chamber's Board of Directors) yet to ask them to give a position on," Teague said. "You've got some folks that love it and some folks that are not as thrilled with it, but I think it's really, what the county's got to do and what they're working on now is looking at the financial model to say, 'What's feasible?'"

Teague will also be watching the county's effort to combine its development standards and zoning ordinances into what would be known as the unified development code, a one-stop-shop for the county code dealing with building and rezoning.

Teague said he hopes the UDC will be accessible for citizens and make it easy for businesses to pursue development.

He added that separate development standards and zoning ordinances can still be confusing for many going through the county's process, though the UDC will also be complex.

"We're going to partner with the Council for Quality Growth to make sure we've got that seat at the table with the county to make sure that that document comes out as something that's pro-business and pro-development," Teague said.

Related to a focus on development is housing, especially affordable housing, which Teague said is always a challenge the chamber needs to address in its work.

"That's where we've gotta continue working with our development community to say, how do we make sure that that availability continues to grow for everyone," Teague said.

Longtime leader

Teague said that, going into a career in engineering, he could not have begun to imagine the opportunities he would have.

He is a graduate of the chamber's leadership programs Leadership Cobb (2008) and Honorary Commanders (2010). Teague went on to co-chair all three of the chamber's leadership programs, beginning with Cobb Youth Leadership 2011-12, followed by the 2013-14 class of Leadership Cobb and the 2018-19 class of Honorary Commanders. Mason said Teague is the only chair she knows of in the Cobb Chamber's 81-year history who has chaired all of its leadership programs.

"We are so excited to have him, and his great expertise in many areas help us to continue elevating the chamber," Mason said.

A graduate of Southern Polytechnic College of Engineering, now a part of Kennesaw State University, with a degree in civil engineering technology, Teague has experience in both the public and private sectors.

He was the city engineer and public works director for the city of Marietta before moving onto Marietta-based construction firm Traton Homes. After a stint there, he moved to Croy in 2007.

With his business partners Eddie Wade and Adam Langley, Teague purchased the company, which employs about 150 people and has offices in Marietta, Chattanooga, Tennessee and Huntsville, Alabama, from founder Jim Croy, Sr., last year.

Teague lives in Ellijay with Sabrina. They have three daughters: Madison, Sydney and Georgia.