The 23rd annual Junior Achievement (JA) Savannah Business Hall of Fame will celebrate the induction of Kevin “Catfish” Jackson, President and CEO of EnviroVac, and Sam McCachern, President and CEO of Thomas & Hutton. They join a long list of prestigious business leaders who have impacted Coastal Georgia’s community through their civic and professional achievements.

After finding out a few months ago he would be recognized,  Jackson felt humbled, flattered and excited. “The fact that you look at the list of inductees and [it’s] a lot of great Savannahians, a lot of great business people, I’m just very humbled to be a part of it.”

“I was surprised and humbled and honored,” said McCachern in response to the news. “Junior Achievement is a good organization and that is a very esteemed group of Savannahians.”

The two inductees have shown exemplary leadership both civically and professionally.

A graduate of the University of Georgia, Jackson has called Savannah home since 1985. He formed his business, EnviroVac, in 1999 and today has locations throughout seven states from Savannah to Texas. “I built a company that started out with four employees and we built it up to around 800 employees from scratch.” Jackson has served as the chairman of the Savannah Economic Development Authority (SEDA) as well as on the board of directors for the Georgia Ports Authority. “When you look at an American success story, a kid that grew up in a small town in North Georgia and from very little means, and been able to accomplish what I have, it’s just a great experience.”

When asked about what the future looks like Jackson said, “More growth, more expansion, open more locations. I’m sixty two and I have more energy than I ever have. Giving back more to the community [and] be on more boards. I have a large family, seven grandchildren children, three kids and their spouses and [to] just keep being involved and giving back and keep yourself humble.”

Future growth also excites Sam McCachern, who leads Thomas & Hutton, an engineering consulting firm in Savannah. “This is a great time to be a civil engineer with all that’s going on. We are looking forward to continuing to grow and to serve the community. Thomas & Hutton plays a big part in the infrastructure and the growth of Savannah.”

McCachern servers as the fifth president of the company and recognizes the importance of growing leadership both inside Thomas & Hutton and in the greater community. “We have to grow leaders too, so that is part of what we work on, and that is creating opportunity,” he said. His involvement at Savannah Christian School and Savannah Technical College underscore his belief that education is a way to develop future leaders. “I am encouraged by some of the things that are happening,  there’s a focus now in a number of different areas on early learning.” McCachern sees developing young engineers and new generations of leaders as a way of giving back. “We are called to serve, and by creating opportunity, I feel that I am serving others.”

When it comes to advice for future business leaders, both Jackson and McCachern shared an important message.

Having a business plan and a philosophy is an important start, Jackson said, who advices others not to be afraid to start their own business. “Take risks, roll the dice, [and] live out the dream. Get a business plan and put it together and implement it, and build it with processes and procedures. But most importantly, build it with great people. Put great people around you, be great to them and then great things happen.”

For community leaders looking to get involved, McCacchern advises, “Find an area where you can serve and where you can give back. One of the things that is a strength of Savannah – and I saw this particularly during my United Way campaign- is it is a very generous community. We do have great needs, but we also have great opportunity and I think we can leverage those opportunities; those can be educational. We can make some changes toward some of the systemic issues that have faced our community such as poverty for so many years, so through education, we can we can change that.”

The Junior Achievement will celebrate the honorees on Tuesday, Nov. 7, at the Hyatt Regency. For more information, visit: www.georgia.ja.org/hall-of-fame-savannah.

This article appears in Connect Savannah | November, 2023.