Dale Greer Retirement

0:01 After more than three decades of service, Dale Greer is retiring from the Cullman Economic Development Agency,

0:06 closing a chapter defined by collaboration, consistency, and job creation. Greer served more than 25

0:11 years with the CEDA before becoming director in 2017 following the retirement of longtime leader Peggy

0:18 Smith. In this video, colleagues, community leaders, and friends reflect on Greer's impact, including his

0:24 successor Jamie Troutman, Cullman Parks, Recreation, and Sports Tourism Executive Director Nathan Anderson, former

0:31 director Peggy Smith, and longtime friend Gary McGriff before Greer shares his own reflections on the time spent

0:37 serving Cullman. [clears throat] Dell has been a part of pretty much almost every industry you see Utaka Toprey Ray

0:46 How he's had a hand in all of those. And one of the main things that Dale has

0:53 taught me is the importance of relationships and networking. He has always stressed that and he is pretty much an expert in

1:04 that field. So, I have learned a lot from Dell in that area. Dale, I wish you

1:10 the best in your retirement and I thank you so much for everything you've done

1:16 for me and everything I've learned from you throughout the years. You'll be missed around here.

1:22 >> When I think of Dale Greer, I think about the poster child for uh public

1:28 service. When you get into public service, it's not all about the money. It's about the legacy and leaving your

1:34 community a better place than you found it. And and really Dale Greer embodies

1:40 that to his core. U and Dale Greer, I hope you have a wonderful time in

1:46 retirement. I know the only way I'm going to find you is probably on the

1:49 lake. So uh keep me in mind on the weekends and uh we'll go out and fish.

1:55 >> It has been an honor and a pleasure to work with Dale Greer over many years.

2:00 His passion for our community and his talent for building relationships has helped us to attract many projects that

2:07 has shaped the future of our town. [clears throat] I'm proud of what we

2:11 accomplished together as a team and I wish him every happiness in retirement. He will be greatly missed, but his

2:18 legacy will be felt for years to come, not only in Cullman, but in the state of

2:23 Alabama. Congratulations, S. I would think in the past 35 years and all the things that accomplishments and

2:32 industrial growth that we've had, Dell has been a part of that team somewhere

2:36 in the background or in the past several years as as the leader. Dale is one of

2:42 those guys that's got a great attitude, but he's very intelligent in many many

2:47 ways and brings a lot to the table. But I've seen how he has connected dots with

2:53 our industry people h helped them feel welcome to our community but help them

3:00 solve their needs. Dale has got a knack for kind of making peace with people

3:06 make city county relationships working on that and he was always had that talent of being able to help solve those

3:15 problems in his retirement. Uh, I could go on and on, but I just hope Dale has

3:21 great health and stays connected with us and doesn't get go too far, but best of

3:26 luck in a fisherman. Thank you, Dale, for what you helped in my community make

3:32 it a better place. >> The primary god working recruiting new industry, working with existing

3:37 industry, and I think [clears throat] that what I'm most proud of is to

3:42 creating jobs, and that makes a difference for people that have been here more than 30. And I think it's a

3:48 continuation of all of those things. I I like to think that the seven years or so

3:52 that I was director, I continued the the tradition that we had here and being

3:56 very successful, being one of the the best economic development agencies in in the state, very successful in recruiting

4:06 [clears throat] new industry and and the existing industry. We started working on that. Unemployment here was 22%.

4:13 And your goal was to create jobs. Did you think about that? 22 out of 100

4:17 people didn't have a job. [clears throat] And we focused then on job creation,

4:21 targeting specific industries. So come and remarkable, remarkable community. I'm honored to have been in this

4:28 position and to have worked here. I've enjoyed it every day. I had a lot of

4:32 opportunities to do other things and never want to leave here. I just thought

4:36 we were making a difference in job creation. And I think everything follows jobs. If you create jobs and you have

4:44 that opportunity then people move here and the people that live here have better job opportunities and uh you

4:50 [clears throat] know then things start developing around that growth. As you get people then you start having

4:56 everything else associated with it. The companies need goods and services and then the employees demand more things

5:03 and that's where you're seeing all of the retail growth and the parking rack

5:06 and the healthcare and everything spins off of having job opportunities. This has been Annabelle House with Cullman