John Green Employer Support of the Guard and Reserve (ESGR) is a Department of Defense agency that seeks to develop and promote a culture in which all American employers support and value the military service of their employees. Established in 1972, ESGR operates via a network of hundreds of volunteers within 56 field committees throughout the U.S.

The S.C. field committee chairman is Columbia's John Green, as appointed by the U.S. Secretary of Defense. The oath of office was recently administered to Green by Assistant Secretary of Defense for Reserve Affairs Thomas G. Hall in Arlington, Va.

Green is also the CEO of Columbia- based John V. Green Realty Company Inc.

Green was born in Alexander, N.C., near Asheville. He has a younger brother, Jerry, who lives in Columbia. His father worked on the road for the textile industry, and he also ran a restaurant. During WWII, Green's father fought with the Navy in five invasions in the Pacific Theater.

After the war, Green's family moved to Ft. Mill, S.C., near where they opened the Four Seasons Fish Camp in Rock Hill. Green attended Ft. Mill Elementary School and stayed in the same school district until he graduated from Ft. Mill High School.

Green boxed in the Golden Gloves matches until he was decked in Greensboro, N.C., literally knocked out.

After high school, Green began college at Gardner Webb while he also applied to Clemson. He met his wife Nora Jane in Anderson during his time at Clemson when he was on the varsity track team.

Before he could graduate at Clemson, Green joined the Army for service in the Korean War. Following two years in the Army and his wedding with Nora Jane, Green returned to college, this time at USC, where he graduated in 1957.

While at USC, Green was a political science major. He drove a night cab for what is now Checker- Yellow, then owned by Columbia's Burg family. And he was a daytime sales clerk for J. C. Penney on Main Street.

Green and his wife have two daughters, two sons- in- law, and two grandsons.

Daughter Amanda Jane is married to Ray Fontaine. She is the deputy director of the S.C. State Retirement System. Their son Remington Grant Fontaine is in the 5th grade at Satchel Ford Elementary.

Daughter Janet Ray and her husband Sam Holland have one child, Townes Holland III. Townes is nine years old, and he also attends Satchel Ford Elementary.

After graduation from USC, Green worked for the Bargain House furniture store on Taylor Street. The store was owned by Charlestonian J.C. Long, who also owned what became the Isle of Palms resort community, just beyond Mt. Pleasant.

Green was elected to Richland County Council in 1968. He was council's vice chair, 1968- 69, and later chairman, 1970- 71, and again in 1981- 82.

In 1982, while chairman at Richland County Council, Green worked with General Akers, commanding general at Ft. Jackson, and Willis Cantey, local civilian aide to the Army, to get Interstate 77 around the east side of Columbia, connecting Charlotte and Interstate 26 to Charleston.

The Columbia contingent lobbied the Department of Defense at the Pentagon, explaining I- 77 running between Columbia and Ft. Jackson was vital to the possible emergency departure of troops from the post.

Another prominent project under Green's driving force was Richland Memorial Hospital.

A member for almost nine years, he was chairman of the S.C. Mental Health Board in 1996.

After a sales stint with J.B. Roerig Co., a subsidiary of Pfizer, Green opened John V. Green Realty in 1971 across from Taylor Street Pharmacy. His present realty business address is 1524 Washington Street.

Green's current real estate projects include a city within a city on 277 mixed- use acres at Ft. Mill. The project has 454 condominium units, all less than 20 minutes from downtown Charlotte. Next door is Knights Stadium, home field for Charlotte's baseball team.

Besides his recent appointment as chair of the S.C. Committee for ESGR, Green serves as chairman of the S.C. Soil and Water Conservation Commission.