Welcome Gerry Lawrence, our newest member!
From his induction:
Today, I have the pleasure of inducting our newest member, Gerry Lawrence. With Gerry today is his sponsor, Catherine Pederson.
Gerry, we are looking forward to you joining our Rotary Club. Rotary as an organization isn’t new to you. As a founding member and Past President of the Camrose Daybreak club, you know the immense contributions a vibrant Rotary Club can make to the community and the wider world as well as the positive effects it can have on its members’ spirits. We are happy to be officially welcoming you back to Rotary today.
Gerry is a retired educator with experience as an elementary and junior high school principal, as an Early Childhood Services program administrator for the County of Grande Prairie, and working for Alberta Education. At one point, in fact, Gerry was the youngest school principal in the province! He finished his career with eight years as a sessional instructor in the U of A’s faculty of education.
Gerry’s wife of 47 years, Patricia, is retired. Better known as Pat, Gerry says she is the most patient person in the world. Pat worked for the County of Grande Prairie, then Alberta Children’s Services, and at one time owned a children’s clothing store. They have two grown daughters, Morgan and Shannon. Morgan is a teacher who was nominated for the distinguished Edwin Parr award for outstanding first-year teacher at Graminia School. Shannon, who lives in Edmonton, is an incredibly gifted interior designer and has degrees in Scandinavian studies. (Brad says I should ask if that means she can figure out Ikea furniture assembly instructions, because he can’t.) Gerry’s has two fabulous grandsons who are still in school. Kaine is in Grade 11 here in Spruce Grove and Marshall is in Grade 8 at Greystone.
Gerry has a Bachelor of Arts from the University of Alberta and a Masters of Arts degree from the University of Victoria. He shares many interests in common with members of our club, so reach out to Gerry to let him know about your shared passions. Gerry loves carpentry, genealogy, wine-making, restoring his 1926 Ford Model T, and lapidary – cutting, polishing, and engraving gems and stones.
Generally, Gerry seems to be up for any new adventure, though some of them he’s had in the past haven’t led to well-developed interests. One time, Gerry broke his right femur into 13 pieces while skiing in Jasper. He has zip-lined in Mexico, completed a 248 km bike tour along the Rhine River, and climbed Macchu Pichu. While they were indelible experiences, Gerry is pretty certain he won’t be doing these things again! Thanks to Catherine, Gerry has also had the opportunity to walk on the Great Wall of China.
Gerry counts himself lucky to have been blessed by good health, a wonderful wife, and a fulfilling life, which he says sounds like an obituary, but he’s not done yet! Later this year, Gerry and Pat will be in South Africa and they plan to travel to Vietnam and Cambodia next
Gerry, we are looking forward to you joining our Rotary Club. Rotary as an organization isn’t new to you. As a founding member and Past President of the Camrose Daybreak club, you know the immense contributions a vibrant Rotary Club can make to the community and the wider world as well as the positive effects it can have on its members’ spirits. We are happy to be officially welcoming you back to Rotary today.
Gerry is a retired educator with experience as an elementary and junior high school principal, as an Early Childhood Services program administrator for the County of Grande Prairie, and working for Alberta Education. At one point, in fact, Gerry was the youngest school principal in the province! He finished his career with eight years as a sessional instructor in the U of A’s faculty of education.
Gerry’s wife of 47 years, Patricia, is retired. Better known as Pat, Gerry says she is the most patient person in the world. Pat worked for the County of Grande Prairie, then Alberta Children’s Services, and at one time owned a children’s clothing store. They have two grown daughters, Morgan and Shannon. Morgan is a teacher who was nominated for the distinguished Edwin Parr award for outstanding first-year teacher at Graminia School. Shannon, who lives in Edmonton, is an incredibly gifted interior designer and has degrees in Scandinavian studies. (Brad says I should ask if that means she can figure out Ikea furniture assembly instructions, because he can’t.) Gerry’s has two fabulous grandsons who are still in school. Kaine is in Grade 11 here in Spruce Grove and Marshall is in Grade 8 at Greystone.
Gerry has a Bachelor of Arts from the University of Alberta and a Masters of Arts degree from the University of Victoria. He shares many interests in common with members of our club, so reach out to Gerry to let him know about your shared passions. Gerry loves carpentry, genealogy, wine-making, restoring his 1926 Ford Model T, and lapidary – cutting, polishing, and engraving gems and stones.
Generally, Gerry seems to be up for any new adventure, though some of them he’s had in the past haven’t led to well-developed interests. One time, Gerry broke his right femur into 13 pieces while skiing in Jasper. He has zip-lined in Mexico, completed a 248 km bike tour along the Rhine River, and climbed Macchu Pichu. While they were indelible experiences, Gerry is pretty certain he won’t be doing these things again! Thanks to Catherine, Gerry has also had the opportunity to walk on the Great Wall of China.
Gerry counts himself lucky to have been blessed by good health, a wonderful wife, and a fulfilling life, which he says sounds like an obituary, but he’s not done yet! Later this year, Gerry and Pat will be in South Africa and they plan to travel to Vietnam and Cambodia next