C. Gregory “Greg” Carney, president of CG Carney Associates and former technical director for the Glass Association of North America (GANA), passed away yesterday in Gulfport, Miss. Born on July 11, 1957, in Gulfport, Miss., Carney was the son of Charles and Margie Carney, and father to Gregory Delaney (21) and Caroline Elizabeth (17) Carney.
Greg was a graduate of the University of Southern Mississippi with a bachelor of science degree in architectural technology. Throughout his entire life, he was a supporter of the Golden Eagles and would frequently return to campus for games, activities, or to hear an impromptu Jimmy Buffett concert.
He began his career in the architectural glass industry in 1981 and was involved in glass design, specification, fabrication, installation and field inspection for construction projects around the world. His first job was for Libby-Owens Ford, and the first week on the job was inspecting glass from 10+ stories up, holding onto the side of a building in Dallas. His love for the industry began that week and continued to grow over the next 32 years through his work at LOF and eventually Interpane.
Throughout his years working for industry companies, Greg was an active member of GANA and the Sealed Insulated Glass Manufacturers Association (SIGMA). Working on a variety of Insulating and Tempering Division committees and task groups, his most proud volunteer moment was working on the update of the 1997 GANA Glazing Manual. With five years of meetings, conference calls and revisions, the Manual was updated under Greg’s watch as chair of the Manual Update Task Group.
Moving from Gulfport, Miss., to Madison, Wis., to Raleigh, N.C., and then finally back to Gulfport, Greg became the GANA technical director in 1999. At that time, GANA had five divisions and he was actively involved in working with all of the technical committees, subcommittees and task groups. He played a key role in the creation of the new GANA Project Manager’s Reference Manual, released in 2005, and created the concept of the Glass Informational Bulletin, which thrived under his leadership and continues to expand today with more than 40 GIBs in print.
He also served on the board of governors for the Glazing Industry Code Committee (GICC) and the board of directors for the Protective Glazing Council (PGC), along with being an active member in ASTM International, the National Fenestration Rating Council (NFRC), Insulating Glass Manufacturers Alliance and the International Code Council.
In 2009 Greg started his own consulting firm, CG Carney Associates Inc., which focused on field studies and investigation, new product development and evaluation, along with inspections, analysis and calculations. He continued to consult with GANA on the Building Envelope Contractors and Tempering Divisions until early 2013.
Many in the industry have expressed their sadness at Carney’s passing–and offered tribute to him as an industry leader.
“On behalf of GANA and its staff, our sincere condolences and prayers go out to Greg’s family,” says Bill Yanek, GANA executive vice president. “Greg was a giant in our industry and his impact on GANA will never be forgotten.”
“I’ve known and worked with Greg for nearly ten years and am overwhelmingly saddened to hear of his passing. Not only was Greg a great leader and tremendous resource for the glass and glazing industry but he was a good friend to many including myself and my family. He will be truly and deeply missed,” says Tracy Rogers, GANA president, Quanex Building Products.
“Greg Carney was a charter member of ‘The Fraternity,’ a collection of industry professionals always ready to provide technical assistance, networking resources, and solutions. Greg was unselfish in his willingness to get involved, and he represented our industry professionally and with class. Greg also had a terrific sense of humor, and his ‘secret handshake’ at industry socials was always welcome; seems the more you contributed to GANA, the more drink tickets he’d slip your way. I’ve lost a dear friend, and our industry has lost a wonderfully unique contributor and character. Rest well my friend,” says Ren Bartoe, Vesuvius.
“Greg Carney was a class act,” says Max Perilstein, Sole Source Consultants LLC. “I won’t forget him and the way he handled himself within the walls of GANA and the way he represented us as an industry at different events. He had his beliefs and he wore them on his sleeves. There’s a ton of technical talent in the industry, but Greg was always the ‘go to’ guy–he was the one more willing to stick his neck out for the good of the order and he always did everything he could to help a friend or a member. So much of the way our industry works technically right now has Greg’s fingerprints on it. His influence will be with us forever. The last few years were so hard on him, so much he wanted to do and his health just kept slowing him down. He will be missed by his friends and colleagues and also those who never had the extreme honor of working with him.”
Memorial services will be held on Saturday, November, 16, 2013, at Riemann Family Funeral Home, 3 Rivers Road, Gulfport, Miss. Visitation is from 1 – 2 p.m. with the service at 2 p.m. The burial will immediately follow the service at Foral Hills.
Cards for the family can be mailed to:
Charles & Margie Carney
208 Woodbine Drive
Gulfport, MS 39507-1926
I am saddened to hear of Greg’s passing. Our thoughts are with his family… Michael
I’ve spent quite a few hours with Greg in GANA forum meetings for all that mattered to glass fabricators and glazing contractors. As the technical director, Greg was always approachable and easy to talk to, extremely competent, and always provided answers that were easy for everyone to understand.
Greg, for your great sense of humor, for all that you contributed to our industry, for being an incredibly nice guy to everyone, including me, Thank You. I will miss you, my Friend. Bob Lawrence, ret., Craftsman Fabricated Glass.
Greg Carney was an inspiration to me. I had more years in the industry but he was the one I could always go to with questions…and he always had the answers. I have been out of the industry for several years but always hoped to see Greg again and tell him how much I appreciated him. Fare well, friend.
Greg,
Developed Humor and quality to everyone he came in contact with , the world misses you Greg.
My wife Alison and I have lost a very special friend in Greg’s passing. I go back
with him to his days in Dallas when he helped me show architects many LOF
projects for whom we agented.
Over all the years since we communicated very regularly and our families met
quite a lot and, of course, the annual get-together at the GlassWeek events was
always specially on the agenda.
He helped our company on technical issues without hesitation and I found we
had common views on most things – glass and glazing particularly. He was,
in my view, an extremely competent Technical Director of GANA and an
outstanding communicator on glass issues.
During a visit to London once, Alison and I took him to see the sights (glass jobs
especially) and we included ‘Fiddler on the roof” which he enjoyed immensely.
We will miss him greatly, he was indeed a very special friend and our sincere
thoughts go out to his daughter Caroline, his son Gregory and his Mum and Dad .
Roy and Alison Offland and family
My thoughts and prayers are with Greg’s family. He was one of the great guys in our industry and will be missed.