BY TRACY LEE TATE
Times Editor
When people in Union County hear the name George Green, most of the older people, at least, think of George Green Sr., the Executive Director of the Union County Housing Authority. But senior has a son and he is now working in the county to help people get training and employment to better their lives.
George Green Jr., 46, was born and raised in Union County. He is a Union County High School graduate, where he played football in the positions of receiver and cornerback. He attended Florida Gateway College where he met his wife, Natasha and the couple has been married for 23 years.
Green went to work at the RMC in 1996, progressing from correctional officer to Sargent, then became an inspector with the Department of Corrections Inspector General’s Office in 2010. He served a total of 22 years with the DOC, as well as three years as a detention deputy with the Alachua County Sheriff’s Office and as a part-time deputy with the Union County Sheriff’s Office from 2004-2008. He finally took retirement in 2021 after working in law enforcement/corrections for 25 years. Besides all of this, he also served on the Union County School Board from 2006-2010.
He said he retired in March of 2021, mainly because he was “burned out” and ready for something new. Almost immediately he took a job with WellCare selling Medicare supplemental insurance. He sold insurance for six months and then quit when he found his current job at Career Source Florida/Florida Crown.
“I wasn’t going to quit a job until I found another one,” Green said about the most recent change.
Green started with Florida Crown last September, saying he was looking for something more mobile and with variety. His title is a Rapid Response Coordinator for this region – made up of Union, Columbia, Dixie and Gilchrist counties.
In his work Green speaks to businesses that are having issues and helps them with layoff aversion and getting laid off employees returned quickly. He also assists employees who have been laid off from jobs with education or finding a new job.
Green said he loves his new job. He spoke to the Union County Board of County Commissioners and told them what services and assistance he was going to provide in the county and pledged to attend the board’s monthly meetings so as to answer any questions they might have. He said that although, at this time, Florida Crown did not have an office in Union County, he was committed to offering public events in locations such as the Union County Public Library to offer information and services.
Green plans to continue with Florida Crown in the future and said it satisfied his “people person” personality. When not helping the people in his region, Green said he enjoys spending time with his wife and their three grown kids – not to mention his granddaughter, who he is dedicated to spoiling. When not doing this he said he also enjoys fishing and golf and also being a deacon at the Victory Christian Center.
Anyone needing assistance in finding a job or pursuing their education can call him at his office at (386) 755-9026 or contact him by email at [email protected].
“I plan to stay around and do all I can to help the residents of the county,” Green said. “I have always loved Lake Butler and Union County because of the whole family atmosphere and I will always do my best to see them represented well.”
