Gregory Modica
Gregory Modica started Government Supply Services, a business supply firm that also provides technology products including energy-efficient lighting, in 2009. He previously was a pilot at Central Flying Service in Little Rock and has served in the Army Reserve and Army, mustering out as a first lieutenant.
Modica earned Bachelor’s degrees in criminal justice from Grambling State University in 1990 and aviation science from Utah Valley University in Orem in 2014.
What are the most valuable experiences you took away from your military service?
Strong communications, dedication to duty, organizational skills and taking care of your people were the most valuable life lessons I took away from the military.
What directed your career path to becoming a small-business entrepreneur?
Growing up, I watched my father, a World War II Navy veteran, run a successful television repair business. My parents had sharecropping backgrounds and understood hard work. They raised 11 children. I am the youngest. Seven of my brothers followed in our father’s military example. One joined the Navy and six were Army men like me. Three served in Vietnam. Our parents convinced us that we could accomplish whatever we set our minds to accomplish, and we believed them.
You chose to start Government Supply Services in El Dorado. Was there significance in that decision beyond it being your hometown?
Yes, my mother was diagnosed with ovarian cancer, and I moved back home for six years to be her full-time caregiver. I saw others in El Dorado in positions like mine — children taking care of ailing parents or parents taking care of sick children. With full-time caregiver responsibilities in a small town, it is hard to earn income. When I started GSS, I knew I wanted to give people the flexibility of working from home.
You seem to have a civic bent; do you have political aspirations?
I aspire for economic development with a particular focus on improving opportunities for veterans. If there ever comes a time when politics is the only way to achieve that mission, I will bring that option front and center in my life. Now I believe the business arena is where I can best serve.
GSS was one of 14 companies selected for Arkansas’ inaugural class of the Emerging Leaders Initiative of the U.S. Small Business Administration. In November, I was voted onto the El Dorado Chamber of Commerce Advisory Council. In October, GSS received a Congressional Recognition of Achievement from Rep. Bruce Westerman. Over the summer, I went with the Arkansas State Chamber to Cuba as part of an educational tour to promote tourism here at home.
How would you describe your leadership style and philosophy?
Task-oriented, which requires deep analysis and mission focus.
Mistakes are said to deliver some of the most meaningful lessons. What was your most important business mistake?
In 1998, I was vice president of sales for Hub City Global, a start-up ISP in Jackson, Tennessee. We were pre-broadband. We grew the company too fast and did not have the bandwidth capacity to handle the customer volume, nor did we have the lines of credit to outsource for the talent needed to manage our overloaded systems, so we had to shut down. I learned that you cannot successfully run a company without strong planning for all possible eventualities, including growth.
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