An Interview with Glenn Ferguson Director of Highways, Trees, and Grounds Town of Norwell, MA Can you provide us some insight into your background, education, and history that led you into the field of Engineering and Construction? I graduated from Purdue University in 1983 with dual degrees in Geotech and Civil Engineering. I spent a half dozen years after graduation working for several Civil Engineering companies before founding Green Environmental, Inc. (GREEN). GREEN is a multi-faceted turnkey environmental, engineering, and remediation company specializing in site assessments, soil and groundwater remediation, asbestos assessment and cleanup. We are in our 35th year. GREEN’s clientele includes UCANE members, as well as, state and city municipalities, insurance companies and real estate developers. I am still the owner of GREEN and am fortunate to have a strong management team in place to run the day-to-day operations. What motivated you to become so involved in the Norwell Community and when, why, and how did you attain your current position as Director of Highways, Trees and Grounds? I’ve always been a firm believer that a healthy town is a result of its individual constituents. When I moved my family to Norwell in the late 90s I started to get involved with the community by volunteering to be on a few committees. I wanted to offer some of my skills to the town and to learn more about how it operates. Since my four kids were enrolled in the public schools, I also took an interest in the school system. In 1998, I ran my first race for Norwell School Committee. I won it and I was re-elected to four more consecutive terms (15 years). For a period of time it seemed like I was spending more time at various volunteer committee meetings OCTOBER, 2021
than I was at my day job. The Norwell Chamber of Commerce apparently thought the same thing. I was flattered and honored when the Chamber named me Norwell Citizen of the Year in 2015. In 2016, Norwell’s highway director retired after 30 years. Norwell is only one of about four communities in Massachusetts where the highway director is an elected position. I thought that position might be an opportunity for me to combine my engineering and construction knowledge and maybe help make some important improvements to the Town’s infrastructure. I entered the election and won the race in a field of four candidates. After running a business in the private sector for 35 years, I’m now five years into learning how to get things done in the public sector. Although there might be a few more steps involved on the public side than I was used to, public works departments are able to get things done. I have great crews working in my department and a knowledgeable and caring Town Administrator and Select Board that I can talk to about funds and needed projects. We have made progress continued on page 29
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