Growing up in a farming family in rural Washington County, Tom Glover learned the value of hard work and giving back to your community through the examples set by his parents and grandparents.  Their desire to help members in the community during times of need taught Tom valuable lessons in putting the needs of others first.  These role models laid the foundation that would shape his life in years to come.

After graduating high school in 1988, Tom left Washington County and moved to Atlanta to attend Georgia Institute of Technology where he studied electrical engineering and began what would be a nearly 20 year stay in the “big city.”  Tom worked full time to pay his way through college, attending classes at night to complete a degree in Computer Science from Southern Polytechnic State University in 1996.

While living in Atlanta, Tom met his wife, Amy, a native of Milledgeville.  During their visits to see Amy’s family over the next decade, Tom fell in love with the community in Milledgeville.  In 2006 he and Amy, along with their young daughter Stella and soon to be born son, Sam decided to move to Milledgeville so they could raise their children in a smaller, for family oriented community.

Tom started his company Cogentes in 2007 to provide technology and business services to small businesses throughout the state.  Getting back to his small town roots, Tom immediately started looking for ways that he and his company could be more involved in the community.  With the devastating job losses that had occurred with the closing of Central State Hospital, state prisons and manufacturing facilities such as Rheem, there was an urgent need to help create jobs. Through his involvement with the Milledgeville-Baldwin County Chamber, Tom soon began working on committees of the Partners for Progress to address issues such as small business development and transportation.  He also served on the steering committee for the Community Strategic Planning initiative, to help define a plan for the future of our community.

As Tom’s involvement in the community increased, so did his desire to do more.  In 2013, he was asked to join the board of directors for the Milledgeville-Baldwin County Chamber of Commerce.  There, he chaired the technology committee, the facilities committee responsible for the major renovation of the Chamber facility and, in 2016, became the Board Chair.  During this time, Tom also attended the 2014 Leadership Baldwin program and the 2015 Georgia Academy for Economic Development.  Tom currently serves on the board of directors for the Oconee River Greenway Foundation, the Bicycling Club of Milledgeville (currently also serves as President) and the GCSU IT Advisory Board. He Is also an active partner with Live Healthy Baldwin, the Milledgeville Film Festival, Keep Milledgeville Baldwin Beautiful and Georgia Cancer Support.

Through his work with the Bicycling Club of Milledgeville, Tom led the charge in the effort to have Milledgeville designated as one of the first Bicycle Friendly communities in the state.  This designation has helped our local economic development authorities in attracting prospective businesses who are interested in healthy lifestyles for their employees.  Tom’s company Cogentes, also holds the distinguished designation of being Georgia’s first and only Gold Level Bicycle Friendly Business.  Through his leadership of the Bicycling Club of Milledgeville, the club raises thousands of dollars each year for local charities such as Live Healthy Baldwin, Habitat for Humanity, the Community Garden Association, Georgia Cancer Support, Café Central and the Oconee River Greenway Foundation.

In 2015, Tom founded the Old Capital Racing Youth Cycling Team, a local high school and middle school mountain bike team that mentors youth through the sport of cycling.  There were 15 kids on the team in the first year, most of whom were from Baldwin and Putnam counties.  Through partnering with Cogentes, other local companies and organizations, Tom was able to provide a 100% scholarship for every kid in the program, paying for race entry fees, equipment and uniforms.  By providing these scholarships, many kids were able to participate who could not have otherwise, due to the high costs for the sport.

During his time in Milledgeville, Tom’s leadership and vision have had a tremendous impact on the people and groups he has served. As representative for Georgia House District 145, Tom will continue to be a champion for Baldwin and Putnam counties by working with other state and community leaders to create new jobs for our citizens, improve the state of our healthcare systems and work with our local schools and higher education institutions to ensure that we develop the workforce of the future.