As the Infrastructure Manager for the Information Technology (IT) Department, Tony Godwin has played a big role in GUC's technology advancement over the last 23 years. "What I've enjoyed most is seeing how technology has enabled employees to work more effectively and efficiently," he said.

Tony's knack for helping others improve work (and life) skills didn't come by accident. What many may not know about him is that he graduated from Wingate College with a degree in Human Services, and received a Master's in Clinical Psychology from Appalachian State University (ASU). It was at ASU where he also got his first computer and developed an interest in computers. Following graduation, Tony became a staff psychologist in family and children services with Lenoir County Mental Health Center.

"During my time with the health center, we received our first computers," said Tony. "I had already developed an interest and basic skill set in this area, so within a short time I became the go-to person at the clinic when staff needed help running and understanding these new computers." Over time, Tony's therapy hours with patients were cut so he could help more with the new computers and software. "I got to where I really liked that part of my job better."

S & R Computers in Greenville was the company supporting the health center's computers, and Tony ultimately made the tough decision to switch careers and work for S & R. He learned a lot in the three years with them doing tech support, and obtained the necessary IT certifications he needed for his new career, which brought him to GUC.

Fast forward to today, and Tony now oversees all the technical support operations of our IT Department, including the IT Help Desk, servers, networking, security,  and mobile devices (iPhones and iPads). He serves as the project manager for major infrastructure projects and actively manages the budget, acquisition, maintenance, and upgrades to the systems that employees use in their everyday work, such as Outlook email and our Mitel telephones. He is also responsible for keeping the network, storage, and servers that run most of our applications (like MyGUC, Oracle EBS, etc.) working properly.

Tony said he feels blessed with great people to work with over the years. "It's been a team effort, and together we keep it all running so that GUC employees can do their jobs for our customers and each other."

In addition to his main job responsibilities, Tony has also served on various committees at GUC, and currently is very active with the Wellness Committee and the leadership team of the new operations center. He's also "famous" here for his homemade ice cream, and started the Main Office Ice Cream Social in 2001. Since then, there have been 13 socials with 10 or more gallons of homemade ice cream prepared for employees to enjoy on a hot summer's day.  

Tony and his wife, Kay, have two sons. Adam recently graduated from the University of South Carolina with a double major in political science and Russian, and he currently lives in Russia, teaching English. Michael is a junior at ASU studying geography and playing club lacrosse. Kay and Tony are active members of The Memorial Baptist Church, where Kay works as the WeekDay Early Education Director. Tony provides audio visual technical support in the sound booth at church. He enjoys traveling with his family and following his sons in all of their adventures. They also enjoy visiting with their parents. Tony's mother is in Rockingham where he grew up, and Kay's mother lives in her hometown of Washington.

"We're both really glad that our sons grew up visiting both sets of grandparents who live in the homes that Kay and I grew up in," said Tony. "I'd venture to guess that not many of their peers had that opportunity."

And we're glad that Tony made the career change from helping people with their lives to helping people (and ultimately Greenville Utilities) with their technology needs. 

Favorite Movie: Star Wars & Star Trek
Favorite TV Show: This Is Us
Favorite Snack: Ice Cream