Thompson Machinery and Thompson Power are proud to announce that this May Doug Teague of Starkville, MS will be one of the first nine students to graduate from the new ThinkBIG EPG program at South Georgia Technical College.
ThinkBIG EPG is the Power Generation version of the Caterpillar-sponsored ThinkBIG technician education initiative – a dealer-hosted, dealer-supported, nationally accredited college degree training program designed to develop dealer service technicians. The program provides paid internships to the student and allows the student to earn an Associate Degree in Applied Technology.
Through ThinkBIG EPG, students to learn how to service Caterpillar Power Generation products. Using cutting-edge diagnostic and maintenance systems, advanced technologies, and state of the art tool & training aides, The program prepares the graduates to hit the ground running to begin a career as a Caterpillar dealer Electric Power Generation technician.
For Doug Teague, the opportunity to be a part of ThinkBIG is the culmination of a lifelong fascination with heavy equipment. He is the son of Stewart and Karen Teague, and his father runs a prominent tow truck company in Starkville. As Doug explains, “At a young age, working for my father’s company, my curiosity and interest in heavy power equipment grew. After all those years of operating tow trucks and dragging chains, I wanted to learn more about large equipment and large engines. Growing up, I had a friend who was a little older than me; he had graduated from the ThinkBIG program a few years before I graduated high school. I talked to him about it one day and it really peaked my interest in diesel mechanics.” At left: Doug with his parents, Stewart and Karen
Teague says that after he graduated from high school, he was unsure where to start his career path. He enrolled at East Mississippi Community College and started taking core classes that he felt would be helpful in any career he ultimately chose. After graduating from EMCC with a two-year degree, he decided to apply for the ThinkBIG program through Thompson Machinery.
“A few weeks before I started the program at South Georgia Technical College, Chris Rowan and Tony Tice from Thompson took me and the other students, and our families, on a tour of the school,” Teague recalls. “After touring the school for a day, everyone went out to dinner – Tony and Chris talked about the ThinkBIG electrical power generation side of the program, and how they hoped it would soon be available at South Georgia. That’s what started my interest in electrical power generation equipment servicing.
“And just a week or two before I was set to leave for school, Tony called me and asked if I’d like to enroll in the ThinkBIG program. I gladly said yes!”
South Georgia Technical College, in Americus, GA, hosts one of Caterpillar’s top Think Big programs and is the first to offer a Power Generation version. Thompson Machinery and five other Cat dealers throughout the Southeast sponsor the college’s program.
Says Doug Teague, “Being in the first ever EPG class and one of the nine students who will be the first in the world to have an electric power generation degree through Caterpillar is pretty cool. I have thoroughly enjoyed this program.”
To learn more about the ThinkBIG and ThinkBIG EPG programs, we invite you to visit ThinkBig.TMcat.com, call Tony Tice at 662-840-4987, Philip Welch at 615-251-8631 or email Tony at tony.tice@TMCat.com or Philip at philip.welch@tmcat.com.