Independently Powered

The Columbia, South Carolina-based Gregory Electric Company of today wasn’t always a multi-state energy and infrastructure utility. Its roots are downright humble.

Gregory Electric was founded on June 1, 1949, by brothers Thomas “Tommy” Gregory (Employee #1) and James “Jimmy” (Employee #2) Gregory. While Jimmy decided to sell his interest in the business 18 years later, Tommy carried on with growing the business and services for decades.

Founding Beliefs

Gregory’s enduring emphasis on family and teamwork comes from the heart. Tommy, who was born in 1924 in Columbia SC, was the son of Lex Marsh and Sadie Younge Gregory. His parents both died in the same year very early in his life. He was raised by his grandmother in the College Place community near Columbia College.

Another aspect of community led him to engineering. He chose an engineering career in junior high after being inspired by his homeroom teacher who taught mechanical drawing and shop. He graduated from Columbia High School in 1943 and joined the Navy as an Aircraft Electronics Technician.

Returning home from World War II, he furthered his interest in engineering with support from the GI Bill at the University of South Carolina. He was awarded a bachelor’s degree in electrical engineering in 1949. In 1951, commissioned to the South Carolina Air National Guard, he was once again called to active duty in the Air Force. To do so, he left a fledgling business called Gregory Electric, which he’d launched with his brother in 1949.

Holding Fast

He and Jimmy, two years older and an electrician, had formed Gregory Electric after Tommy graduated from USC. The company did a variety of electrical work for a handful of customers: residential, small commercial, adding circuits, service changeouts and wiring. In a 1990 interview with Orangeburg’s The Times and Democrat, Tommy noted the services “didn’t require a great deal of knowledge and no capital investment except a used pickup truck and some tools.”

Tommy recalls working with his brother fondly. He explains that Jimmy worked hard, and they got along well. He laughs looking back at the earliest days of the business. They had to scratch things together and paid themselves as little as they could to make employee payroll. “Every day was a risk,” he recalls. While Tommy says they often wondered how they were going to make the next payment on something, they met their obligations. They worked together until 1967.

Growing and Growing

In 1968, under Tommy’s leadership, the company was able to build a new office and warehouse on College Street in Five Points. Then, in the 1980s, the company experienced remarkable growth becoming part of signature capital projects within the Midlands. From 1985-1987, Gregory completed wiring on the state’s tallest building, the Capitol Center (also known as the AT&T Building and Truist Building during its lifespan). On the heels of that massive effort, Gregory completed wiring on USC’s Swearingen Engineering Center in 1987.

Tommy’s stature as a civic leader rose with the company’s profile. In 1986, he was named to the National White House Conference on Small Business by former President Ronald Reagan. He served as President of the South Carolina Chamber of Commerce from 1989-90. When he retired on April 1, 1998, the company had grown to 200 employees and performed electrical services for industrial and commercial clients, with services to utilities in the early stages of development.

Ready to Relax

Once Tommy retired, he laughs, it took a few years to shed his habit of going to work. “I’d go to the Y, then go to work and make sure everything was running,” he says. After retiring, he enjoyed traveling to the beach, eating at Lizard’s Thicket and going to USC football games. Among his numerous professional and civic accomplishments is receiving the Order of the Palmetto, presented by Governor Mark Sanford, in 2008.

What hasn’t settled down is his immense pride in the company and all it has accomplished in 75 years. The apprentice program and training center, he notes, were long-term investments in people and the belief that they could accomplish levels of professionalism that would sustain both them and Gregory. “We treated people well, and they returned the favor,” he says. “People appreciated being helped.”

Historic Accomplishments

The company made a significant impact in Columbia during his tenure. Back then, he says, the leaders of many large companies were local so they would brainstorm projects they could do for the city. One that began with Gregory and Kline Iron and Steel was the annual lighting of the holiday lights on the WIS tower. “That was exciting and challenging,” he laughs. “Our guys who had to climb that tower every year were not afraid of heights.”

Today, Tommy looks back on his time at Gregory and offers a few reasons why their scrappy startup has endured and thrived. “If you want to be successful, you need to have confidence and not give up.”

He’s living proof of that. Tommy still goes by Gregory Electric’s Monticello Road headquarters about twice a month just to make sure everything is still clicking.