An Invaluable Force

While a company’s history is measured in years, there would be nothing if not for the people who make every day, week and year possible. Gregory Electric Company has had hundreds of employees since it was founded in 1949. Meet some of the men and women who have made Gregory their working home and what’s kept them coming back year after year.

Dual Dreams

Amber Whitmire’s Gregory origin story is equal measures of pure persistence and envisioning a better future for herself. One day in 2014, after visiting a friend who lived near Monticello Road, she spotted a little blue house overgrown with weeds from the road. “I pulled down the driveway, shut my truck off, and was startled to see a deer, looking me straight in the eye,” she says.

As the deer ambled off , Amber thought how much she’d love to live in the blue cottage. Putting the thought aside, she got back on the road to her friend’s house and drove by Gregory Electric on Monticello Road. “When I got back to my friend’s house, I looked up the company and saw pictures of their work,” she says. “Then I told my friend I was going to buy that little blue house and go to work for Gregory Electric.” Days later, she was hired.

“I really love working for Gregory Electric,” says Amber. “I have worked in telecommunications since 1991. Structured cabling and fiber optic communications are a passion of mine.” Amber says she’s learned a great deal about professionalism and ethics by watching how others work.

Loyalty and Opportunity

Matt Rudd came to Gregory in 2001 after being downsized by another company. He was initially drawn by the company’s long history and that people seemed to stay there a long time. “At some companies, you’re just a number. Gregory didn’t seem like the kind of place where they lay everyone off if the work slows down,” he says.

More than 20 years later, Matt’s worked in the company’s commercial, service and industrial divisions and is now the safety director. “Gregory likes to promote from within, so I’ve never felt stuck in one spot,” he says. Plus, he says, he’s learned more than electrical skills. “I’ve been taught good leadership skills,” he laughs. “I’ve got more patience than I ever thought I could have!”

Turning Weeks Into Decades

Jim Clements was hired for an eight-week job in 2004. As the job came to a close, he figured he was done. Not so fast, said Jerry Dempsey, who had other plans in mind for Jim.

“Jerry asked me to run a job for him and I agreed,” he says. “I made foreman pretty quickly.”

One of the most pivotal moments of his career happened at one of his first foreman meetings in Columbia. “Bob Livingston told everyone to look around the room and then told everyone to start looking for their replacements,” he says. “I looked around again and noticed there were a lot of older gentlemen in the room. That’s when I realized there may be a long-term opportunity at Gregory.”

As Jim has risen through the ranks from an electrician in the field to his current project management leadership role in Aiken, he’s always felt like he mattered to Gregory. “I’ve been treated with dignity and respect from the top down over the years,” he says. “Now, I try to treat the people that work with me the same.”

Coming Home

In 2010, Joe Bloome was out on the road working for another company. He had a simple goal — he wanted to come home and be closer to his family. After consulting with a brother and friend who’d both worked for Gregory, he decided to give the company a try.

While he’s certainly found the job closer to home, it’s come with much more than he imagined. “It’s not a big company so if you need anything, they help you,” he says. “They look out for their employees.” He’s also grateful for the opportunity to grow and advance as a professional. But the people he works with have made a difference, too.

“It’s a good group,” says the utility general foreman for the Aiken and Columbia areas. “I really enjoy working with them.”

The Blue House, Part Two

In 2018, Rebecca Benner was a single mother with two daughters. In-between jobs, she was working in landscaping when Amber Whitmire called. Amber had a beloved little Monticello Road farm with a blue house, and she needed Rebecca’s help.

“After a few visits, Amber told me I should apply at Gregory as a helper and so I did, she says. That was just the beginning for Rebecca. She went on to complete the four-year apprenticeship program is now an industrial estimator.

As a female with no experience, Rebecca says she’d never really considered construction as a career when she was younger. What would she tell other women who might have the same thought? “Professionally, I now have a four-year apprenticeship, an OSHA course, an aerial lift license, and skills I wouldn’t have gotten otherwise,” she says. What’s more, she says, her professional accomplishments are things she will always have.