Meet Teddy Gabbart, He is our SVP of Strategic Growth!
What teacher impacted you the most? Why?
Glenda Graham was my high school English IV and English V teacher. English V was a college prep course. She expanded our minds and made us really think about our futures. One of her assignments, in the Spring of 1987 was to write a description of where our lives would be in 10 years and beyond. She prepped the assignment by giving specific guidelines to address: College? Married? Children? Occupation? Etc. The thought processes she instilled required soul searching about what I wanted in life. I did the assignment and turned it in. 10 Years Later… at our 10 year class reunion, Glenda Graham attended and handed back our reports. My report stated that I would be married with 3 children, running my own business in the computer field, with plans of making my first $1M by age 35 and to retire by age 55. At that time, I was 27 years old, married, had 2 children with the 3rd being due a month later, owned a computer business, and was well on my way to reach the other two goals. While I had forgotten about the assignment, I hadn’t forgotten the goals that I set for myself as a 17 year old. I’m happy to say, her being there to see us 10 years later to return our “homework”, renewed my goals and inspired me to continue to meet them.
If you had to teach a subject, what would it be?
American History. The history of our country and our impact in the world is fascinating.
What words of wisdom would you pass onto your childhood self?
Always work hard with a great attitude no matter how large or small the task. Never stop learning and never give up. Become the best at what you love doing, and you’ll always have work. With those 3 traits, you’ll always be unstoppable.
In what ways are you the same as your childhood self?
I’ve always been a hard worker and dedicated to get the job done. Telling me something can’t be done, only motivates me more to find a solution! (Which wasn’t always an appealing trait for my parents when I was a teenager.)
Do you have any pets? If so – what kind? What are their names?
Paris, is our sassy 10 year old miniature poodle, “Big Nose” (Our grandson’s name for him.) is our 11 year old 90lb rescue mix breed, and too many outside cats to mention.
Favorite restaurant?
1832 Steakhouse on special occasions. Main Street BBQ & Jalapeños on a weekly basis.
Where did you grow up?
I grew up on our family farm in rural Oklahoma. My Grandpa moved there as a 13 year old in 1913. My parents purchased the homeplace and built a new home there in 1969 when I was born. It was on 85 acres at the base of a mountain and overlooked McGee Valley. It also adjoined a huge 25,000 acres ranch next to us that has been owned by the NB Hunt family, Clark McEntire (Reba’s Dad), and now Choctaw Nation. (Yes, Reba is a country girl who grew up riding horses, rodeos, & loved honey from my Dad’s bees to help with her allergies.) We also had 200 acres in the middle of their ranch, and as a kid, I had access to ride motorcycles, hunt, and fish anywhere on our property and the entire ranch.
If your life was a movie, what would the title be?
The Ups and Downs of Success
What’s your favorite holiday & why?
Christmas, for the gift of Jesus and the time celebrating with family.
If you could dedicate your life to solving one problem, what would it be?
I’ve been working on increasing parental involvement in schools since 1991, with my first pre-internet product “The Parent – Teacher Connection.”. Since then, my entire career has been focused on improving school to home communications.
What do you like most about working for ParentSquare?
ParentSquare is an amazing team of people who are all focused on providing schools with a complete communications solution to improve family engagement and positively impact the lives of students across this great country.
Teddy has been with ParentSquare since November 8, 2022.
