D. Gregory "Greg" Wilson is president of Needham Electric Supply Corporation headquartered in Canton, Massachusetts. Needham Electric, where Greg has been employed for over ten years, is a full-service electrical supply distributor with 28 locations in Massachusetts, New Hampshire and Vermont - and is rapidly expanding. Needham customers are: commercial, residential and industrial contractors; institutional, industrial, original equipment manufacturers, and property maintenance clients; and national retail accounts in all 50 states.

With total warehouse and office space exceeding 200,000 square feet, including a 60,000 square foot central distribution center in Norwood, Needham Electric has one of the largest distribution networks in all of New England. Amongst more than 4,000 electrical distributors in the United States, Needham has been ranked in the top echelon since 1995 and is currently ranked No. 64 in revenue across the country. One of the fastest growing electrical supply distributors in the industry, Needham Electric has acquired 19 new store locations and opened four ground-up stores in the past decade. In addition, Needham has won best-in-class industry awards for its website, marketing collateral, and its exponential growth.

As Needham Electric's president, Wilson has contributed to numerous manufacturers' distributor councils. Greg currently sits on the board of directors and has been on other past committees for IMARK, one of the largest cooperative marketing groups in the world, which represents approximately $17 billion in revenue. Wilson is also a cooperator for the Braintree Cooperative Bank.

Greg Wilson is a 1980 graduate of Thayer Academy, a college preparatory school located in Braintree, Massachusetts. While attending Thayer, Greg earned varsity letters in wrestling, soccer and track. As a wrestler, Wilson placed in five consecutive Independent School (ISL) Tournaments, including a second-place finish and two league titles. He also placed at the Prep New England Tournament four times, winning two Prep New England championships. Greg punctuated his high school career by placing fifth (freshman year) and finishing as runner-up (senior year) at the National Prep Tournament. A two-time wrestling captain, Wilson was recently inducted into the Thayer Academy Athletic Hall of Fame.

After high school, Wilson attended Bridgewater State College, earning a Bachelor of Science Degree in Physical Education in 1985. A four-year wrestler at Bridgewater State, Greg was a three-time New England place winner. While at Bridgewater, Wilson was elected team captain three times, a testament to the respect that Greg garnered from his teammates and coaches. Throughout high school and college, Wilson enjoyed the camaraderie and competition that wrestling offered.

Wilson's wrestling career became the foundation upon which he would build his life. Wilson would frequently apply lessons learned about preparation, perseverance and hard work - especially hard work - to his professional life. Transferring those wrestling values to his work life would serve Greg well; he approached his business career with boundless enthusiasm, tireless effort, and a steadfast commitment to excellence. Eventually, this commitment would pay dividends for Wilson. However, before Greg achieved success in the business world, he would need guidance and inspiration from his wrestling associates.

Those influences came in the form of two outstanding individuals: Jim Peckham and Colin Kilrain. Wilson had the good fortune of growing up in Braintree, right next door to two giants of the Massachusetts wrestling community. Indeed, while others have been honored as inductees of the state chapter, these two are the only individuals from Massachusetts to be inducted as nationwide members of the National Wrestling Hall of Fame.

Their recognition is well deserved: Peckham competed and coached in the Olympics, and founded the Massachusetts Chapter; Kilrain was a three-time All-American at Lehigh who became a highly respected Navy Seal. Back when Jim and Colin were both living in Massachusetts, Peckham was training wrestlers at the Boston Union and in his garage, and Colin was one of his best students. Another one of Coach Peckham's students was Greg Wilson, a local wrestler whose future was molded by Peckham's tutelage and Kilrain's example.

"I am extremely fortunate to be a student, friend and supporter of the late James Peckham," states Wilson. Coach was the person who initially organized the Massachusetts Chapter of the National Wrestling Hall of Fame and was its first president. When Greg was in high school, he would run from his home, four miles away, to Peckham's 'Earn the Right to Win' wrestling camp. Greg, who had lost his dad at an early age, couldn't afford to attend the full camp. That detail didn't concern Jim Peckham. As Wilson says, "Coach Peckham never told me to leave; he always had time for me." At the end of many training sessions in Coach's garage or at the BYMCU, Peckham would discuss life's challenges with Greg, espousing the merits of perseverance, unselfishness and respect for others. Those talks had a profound effect on Greg.

Decades later Wilson would have the opportunity to return the favor by initiating the James Peckham Scholarship Fund, a fund that provides financial assistance to Massachusetts wrestlers who aspire to wrestle in college. In Greg's words, "along with Rod Buttry and Mathew Peckham, I am honored to sit on the Board of Directors of the James C. Peckham Scholarship Fund. The work of this fund is extremely important to me and my family because it embodies the great work of Coach Peckham - the wrestler, the scholar and the educator." Coach Jim Peckham was so influential in Wilson's life that he and his wife, Carole, chose "James" as the middle name for their son, Ethan.

Wilson was also fortunate to grow up in the same hometown as Colin Kilrain, who was a few years older than Greg. Naturally, Greg looked up to Kilrain, but he wasn't the only one who admired the pride of Braintree: "Although I didn't know Colin that well, I can tell you that he influenced many local people, myself included, through his wrestling, his tenacity and his commitment to our country." Kilrain was a role model to the Massachusetts wrestling community, not only for his wrestling prowess but also for his integrity. Wilson recalls Colin and his dad offering him a ride home from a wrestling tournament without knowing where Greg lived, only to learn that they were from the same town. For Wilson, this unselfish act of kindness sums up Colin Kilrain's personal character.

Another important influence in Wilson's life was his wrestling coaches at Thayer Academy. Coaches Smith, Tobin, Hertrick, and Earl ran the gamut of introduction to the sport of wrestling, encouragement of Wilson's work ethic, and zeal to improve. Greg took that encouragement to heart - excelling on the wrestling mat and turning himself into an honor student. Wilson never forgot what his coaches' faith and support meant to his athletic and personal development. While in college, Wilson was able to assist the Thayer Academy wrestling and soccer teams as a coach. Greg still has strong ties to the school through his family's philanthropic support of Thayer Academy.

Greg is blessed with a wonderful family. His wife Carole is the definition of the perfect partner, and she is an even better mother. Greg and Carole, together for thirty-three years, have two wonderful children. Sarah, who is also a Thayer Academy graduate, is a very successful business marketing professional in Boston. Her dad often described Sarah as "able to do as many push ups as most guys in the room." If Greg could have convinced her to wrestle in high school, "she surely would have been undefeated." Ethan, a sixth grader who took up wrestling last spring, is now recruiting his classmates to join the middle school program. Greg's parents, Dan, who passed away when he was two years old, and his mother Mary Ann have always been tremendous role models.

Wilson is grateful for the foundation that wrestling and its stalwarts provided him. He shudders to think of his life without their influences, saying that, "I often tell people that I would be dead or most certainly in jail if not for the inspiration and guidance that I've received from people like Coach Peckham, Bill Earl, Bill Smith, Bill Tobin, Chuck Hertrick, Colin Kilrain, and many more. These men, through their actions on and off the wrestling mat, have been so inspirational to so many, myself included, that I can't imagine being where I am today without their examples of how to lead my life."

In recognition of his many accomplishments as a respected businessman, a wrestling enthusiast, and an inspired philanthropist, the Massachusetts Chapter of the National Wrestling Hall of Fame is honoring D. Gregory "Greg" Wilson with its Outstanding American Award.