GREENVILLE, NC (May 25, 2021) — Gregg Green, owner of Great Harvest Bread Company in Greenville, was named the Greenville-Pitt County Chamber of Commerce’s 2020 Small Business Leader of the Year during the Chamber’s Small Business Leader of the Year Awards ceremony on Tuesday, May 25, 2021 at Opendoor Church in Winterville.

Great Harvest Bread Company, located at 2800 South Evans Street, Suite 100, in Greenville is a scratch-made bakery and café, specializing in baked breads, sweets and sandwiches.  Great Harvest Bread Company also provides catering services and holiday baking.

Green, an ordained minister from the Pacific Northwest, along with his wife, Kim (a Greenville native), opened Great Harvest Bread Company in April 2016 to pursue Gregg’s passion for community ministry.  They wanted to pursue a double bottom line – people and profit.  “We wanted to see if we could really push mission and community focus just as heavily as we could our product,” Green said after being named a finalist for the Chamber’s Small Business Leader of the Year Award.

Great Harvest Bread Company’s vision to be “community and mission oriented” is exemplified through Green’s community engagement.  He is a member of Opendoor Church in Winterville where he also serves as a bible study leader.  He serves on various local boards including CareNet Counseling and Hope of Glory Ministries.  Green also helped establish the Live Generously Fund, a charitable fund under the sponsorship of The Community Foundation of NC East, that oversees non-profit funds that exist to enable acts of service, foster generous living and be a resource for community needs.

“Our goal is to acknowledge your worth in everything we do,” said Green.  “We want to give you the best product we can and treat you as best as we can.  I think in our world today, it is so important to let people know [as business owners] that they’re not just a dollar sign or transaction.”

Every year, Great Harvest Bread Company facilitates and redirects about seven percent of its gross sales volume back into the community, although that number increased significantly in 2020 due to the immense local needs created by COVID.  Over the last six years, Great Harvest Bread Company has facilitated and redirected almost $400,000 back into community non-profits and public organizations – supporting more than 30 each year.

“Small businesses are the lifeblood of our local economy and it is an absolute honor to celebrate the impacts that small businesses and their employees have on our community," said Kate Teel, president of the Greenville-Pitt County Chamber of Commerce.  “This year’s finalists are worthy of being recognized for not only their business success, but for the investments they have made outside of their businesses in the effort to make Greenville and Pitt County a better place to live.”

Green is the 35th recipient of the Chamber’s Small Leader of the Year Award, given annually to honor leaders in the Pitt County business community who have demonstrated successful operations of their business, while also making a significant impact on the community.  Finalists are selected based off nominations from their peers. 

Additional finalists for the 2020 Small Business Leader of the Year included Christopher Ozimek, MD and Erin Wooten, MD, both of Children’s Health Services, P.A., and Tammy Wright, owner of It’s So Wright.

The Small Business Leader of the Year Awards was presented by the First Citizens Bank and Suddenlink Business.  Gold Sponsors for this year’s event included the City of Greenville, Eastern Carolina Vocational Center, Executive Personnel Group, Pitt Community College, and the Pitt County Development Commission.  United Bank was a silver sponsor for the event.

For a list of past recipients of the Chamber’s Small Business Leader of the Year award, visit greenvillenc.org/smallbusinessawards.

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Media Contact: Trent McGee
Director of Marketing & Communications
Greenville-Pitt County Chamber of Commerce
trent@remove-thisgreenvillenc.org
(252) 752-4101 ext. 2225