Posted by John Ester on Jan 09, 2018
Val and Bruce Gerhart amused the crowd (and each other) with their tag-team new member bios.
 
Val's entire career was in education; Bruce's was a little more varied.  With a degree in chemistry from Virginia Tech Bruce first worked as a chemist. In 1977 he decided to move to Benzie County, and he purchased a bike shop in Benzonia. In 1981 Val began teaching in Frankfort, and five months after meeting on a blind date, Val and Bruce got married. Their schedules did not mesh, and Bruce decided they could both attend CMU and become teachers.
 
It soon became apparent to Bruce that teaching was not for him, and in 1985 they moved to Midland, where Bruce became a research chemist for Dow.  Val always was interested in education, but after the first year she decided she didn't like grading students.  This led to 15 years of working as a counselor in middle school, followed by 13 years as a tech center counselor in high school.  She retired to the Midland Area Community Foundation and continues to work for the Career and College Access Network.
 
Sunrise Rotary is fortunate to have Val and Bruce as members!