Roach Retiring From NGTC Currahee Campus

North Georgia Technical College Currahee Campus Director Greg Roach is retiring.

The school held a retirement party for Roach on Monday at the Currahee Campus.

Roach is stepping down as of the end of the month after serving in that role since September 2009.

He said it has been a fun seven years.

“I have been blessed to work with a lot of great people, most proud of the product we turn out and that is our student graduates,” said Roach. “The impact that they have on our community and the fact they provide a workforce, that is what we take the most pride in. I will miss some aspects of it a great deal. I have got a lot of good friendships built here, but it is time to let somebody else have a shot at it and I will have the opportunity to explore some other avenues.”

Roach said he is grateful to those he has worked with over the years, crediting them for the campus’s success.

The Currahee Campus has grown a lot since Roach took over leadership in 2009, adding many new programs and facilities.

Roach said that has been nervewracking and challenging at times, but gratifying to see the school evolve to meet the needs of Stephens County and nearby communities like Franklin and Hart counties.

“We work closely to monitor the industry needs in our community, thus the Health Science wing that was added as healthcare is certainly a growing field in all of northeast Georgia and then we have expanded the Industrial Systems Technology program in response to some very successful recruitment efforts by Stephens County and the Stephens County Development Authority, as we have had some nice plant locations in the community in the past few months, and in the region,” said Roach.

As for the future of the Currahee Campus, Roach said he expects it to continue growing.

He said he is confident that the leadership at North Georgia Technical College will continue looking to the community’s needs to determine where the school will head next.

“One of the things that I have loved the most about technical education and the Technical College system is when you look at the bureaucracy of education, it is a behemoth that is very slow to move often,” said Roach. “But the Technical College system is not like that. We are the quick, sharp, rapid response, pointy end of the sword. We can change on a dime and move in a different direction and get things done as your communities need it done.”

As for what is next for Roach, he said he is going to work in the landscape industry.

Before moving into leadership with North Georgia Tech, he taught horticulture at North Georgia Technical College for 12 years and prior to that, spent nearly 10 years teaching agriculture at Stephens County High School.

North Georgia Technical College officials praised Roach at Monday’s gathering for his work for the college and his leadership skills.

No announcement has been made yet on a replacement.