Rotarian of the Week 04-27-11

Our Rotarian of the Week grew up in New Richland, a small farming community in southern Minnesota.  His high school mascot was the Cardinals.  His first job was working on the family farm and feedlot as a kid. In high school he was paid $100 a month.  After high school, he attended Mankato State College for two years before going into the service.  After serving as a paratrooper in the 101st Airborne, Jerry Jessen finished his civil engineering degree at Kansas State.  After college, he moved to Casper, Wyoming where he worked for the BLM and the Department of Interior and met his wife.  Four years later, Jerry moved to Cheyenne.  Jerry and Kay have been married 48 years and have 3 kids.  After 36 years of service, Jerry retired as the Deputy State Director for Support Services having received the Citation for Meritorious Service, the highest recognition award for federal employees from the Department of Interior for his outstanding service in the federal government. Jerry enjoys golfing, reading, and gardening.  His favorite meal is his wife's delicious spaghetti dinner.  Other than family, Jerry's proudest accomplishment is his history of volunteering.  Jerry served as Chairman of the Security Committee and General Chairman for Cheyenne Frontier Days.  Jerry also served 14 years on the Board of Public Utilities, eight as President.  He served on many other boards and civic groups in town and was awarded the Wyoming Tribune Eagle Community Spirit Award in 2005.  While he is proud of the many things Rotary does, Jerry especially enjoys Rotary for the fellowship and opportunity to meet other people in the community.  Jerry's most memorable Rotary experiences was serving as Club President in 1995-96 and chairing Polio Plus when it was kicked off during Frank Trelease's year as Club President.  Jerry has been a member of our Club since 1971 when he was sponsored by Frank Trelease.  For the last six years, Jerry has run our annual National Honor Society luncheon coordinating with each of our Laramie County high schools to put on this wonderful event.  In recognition of his service to our community and our Club, the Sergeant at Arms presented Jerry with a gift certificate and a special lapel pin.