Cornelius Griggs (MITO ’07), president of GMA Construction Group, recently won the Chicagoland Chamber of Commerce 2018 James Tyree Emerging Business Leadership Award. The Tyree Award has been presented annually for seven years to a small business that has demonstrated growth, job creation, and philanthropic values. It includes a cash prize to fuel further business growth and civic engagement.

In addition to running GMA Construction Group, Griggs has a strong commitment to helping underserved youth in Chicago pursue career-oriented education. For many years he has served as program chair of the Construction Management Program at City Colleges of Chicago, Kennedy King College, where he has developed course curricula for such courses as Construction Estimating, Scheduling, Blueprint Reading, Construction Cost Accounting, and Construction Contracts and Specifications. He has also helped analyze the objectives of these courses and integrate media material and job-related tours into lessons plans.

Photo credit: Chicagoland Chamber of Commerce Press Release, June 5, 2018