Two giants in Savannah’s business community -- EnviroVac President and Founder Kevin Jackson and Seacrest Partners Inc. President David Paddison -- addressed more than 80 attendees of Georgia Tech-Savannah’s “Learners and Leaders” series on Thursday about the power of mentoring and how to effectively coach team members with different skills, experiences, motivations, and professional and organizational circumstances.

“While the words coaching and mentoring are often used together, they are really very different skillsets,” noted Paddison. “Coaching implies leading a team of people, whereas mentoring involves a one-on-one relationship.”

Both Paddison and Jackson recounted their early years in business, noting it took effective coaches and mentors for them to get where they are today. As a result, both feel convicted to “pay it forward” and nurture the next generation of business leaders.

“I’ve learned that if you surround yourself with great people and you are great to them, great things will happen,” Jackson said. “I can’t stress enough the power of positivity. Problems are just opportunities to get better.”

Jackson, a graduate of the University of Georgia and member of the 1980 National Championship football team, founded Envirovac in 1998 with one vacuum truck, one hydro blaster, three employees and two clients: Union Camp (now International Paper) and Kemira (now Tronox). Envirovac is the largest provider of industrial cleaning and environmental services in the Southeast.

Paddison, who earned an undergraduate degree in economics from Drew University in Madison, N.J., began his career in the insurance industry in 1984 when he joined the commercial insurance division of Palmer & Cay, Inc. in Savannah and has more than 29 years in the insurance brokerage business. In 2006, Paddison and six former Palmer & Cay executives established a new insurance brokerage and benefits consulting firm, Seacrest Partners, Inc., that now employs 55 insurance professionals in Savannah and Atlanta with industry specialists in healthcare, construction, financial institutions, education, retail, manufacturing and property management.

Georgia Tech-Savannah’s Learners and Leaders series is an effort launched in 2014 to help companies in the coastal region stay current. To date, members of the coastal community have heard speakers on topics of relevance to the business community, including mobile apps and malware. The October 13 event will focus on innovation in Savannah. To register or learn more about upcoming programs, go to pe.gatech.edu/Sav-Learners or email [email protected] for details.