Soul of 78: Greg Williams
Carl Cannon Chevrolet Cadillac Buick GMC
Words by Terrell Manasco | Image by Ryan McGill
Ask Greg Williams how he likes his job, and he will probably tell you he doesn’t have one.
Greg has been at Carl Cannon Chevrolet Cadillac Buick GMC in Jasper for around seven years—and he’s having a blast.
When Greg was a student at Townley Junior High School, he’d been impressed by basketball coach Kenneth Lakey, and still speaks of him in reverent tones. Greg considered coaching basketball as a career, but after graduating from Walker High School and Walker College, he decided to go to work immediately for his parents’ business, Williams Furniture. He remained there for 31 years.
After the business closed in 2014, Greg played a lot of golf and weighed his career options. For weeks, he mulled over a job offer with another furniture company. He had 31 years of experience in the business— a definite plus—but the traveling would keep him away from home during the week.
Greg was mowing his grass one day when his phone rang. When he answered, he heard the voice of Jim Cannon, President of Carl Cannon Chevrolet Cadillac Buick GMC.
“You want to come work for me?” Cannon said.
“Mr. Cannon, I don’t know anything about selling cars,” Greg told him.
A few days later, Mr. Cannon showed up at Greg’s house in his truck. As the two drove around, Cannon made his sales pitch. “He said, ‘Try it for three months. If you don't like it, we’ll still be friends,’” Greg recalls.
Greg agreed to give it a chance. He met with Mr. Cannon and Executive Manager Curt Ballard on a Monday morning and started work that day. Before the three-month trial period was up, Greg had found a new career and Mr. Cannon realized he’d landed a big fish in the sales department.
“I don't have a job; I have a business,” Greg says. “I love people. I like coming to my business and talking to people. It’s something I wished I'd done a long time ago.”
Greg usually works six days a week and sometimes he comes in after church on Sunday to catch up on paperwork. He confesses he doesn’t really take vacations, except for taking his daughter, Anna Michelle Williams, and granddaughter, Jusslyn, to Disney World. “I just like coming to work. I try to take care of my customers,” he says.
Seven years later, Greg has no regrets about choosing this business. “I am very fortunate to work for somebody like Jim Cannon and have bosses like Curt Ballard and Tommy Fowler that care about and help their employees,” he says. “I don't think there's anywhere I could work and be as happy as I am.
“It's sort of like Alabama football,” Greg laughs. “We're just a good team.” 78