Canton Ohio was the destination for 4 retired VP's as we traveled from around the Midwest to Surprise our Friend and former Boss

Gary Gerstenslager On His 70th Birthday!

Gary, retired President and CEO of Hendrickson, lives with his wife and family in his hometown of Canton.  To those that worked for him during his tenure, he was a tremendous CEO and a fantastic boss & friend.  

As his milestone birthday approached, Perry Bahr - Retired VP of Hendrickson's Trailer Division, Richard Mudd - Retired VP of all of Hendrickson's Divisions at one time or another, Dave Templeton - Retired VP of Human Resources, and yours truly - Retired VP of Information Technology, decided to surprise him with a dinner on the eve of his 70th Birthday at his favourite Hometown Restaurant, Benders Tavern.

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• Click here for Video of the Surprise And Presents
• Click here for Video of "The Lathe"
• Click here for video of Gary on "Management" and "Teams"

We had conspired with Gary's wife Susan and their daughter Lauren to setup the surprise -  a dinner on the 24th - the eve of his actual birthday.  The 24th was actually Susan's Birthday, but she was kind enough to give up her day with Gary to make his birthday even better.  Thank you Susan. 

Picture left is Susan delivering Gary to the party, while picture right is Gary watching Susan drive away with his beloved Mercedes turning the wrong way on a One Way street.  Ahh relax, she drove home just fine, thankyou.

During dinner we caught up on each others lives and talked until 11pm even though the restaurant closed at 9.  It truly was like the old days.    

We had some presents for him including Calumet Farm Bourbon, a lovely photo of Alan Shepard's golf shot on the Moon, and  some other liquor that came in a case complete with 2 pistols!  But the best present came from Perry who gifted Gary a working model of a Lathe that Gary helped to design!  It was awesome!

The Lathe was so heavy that Gary's Son-in Law Tim had to ferry it to and back from the restaurant.  Thanks Tim! 

In no time, the evening was over and it was time to go back to our hotel.  But we wanted Gary to know that not only did we want to celebrate this milestone birthday with him, we really....

Wanted to Thank Him For The Impact He Made In Each Of Our Lives.

It Was A Priviledge To Work Under Him.

 

God Bless You Gary

Thanks For Everything

A Very Happy, Happy Birthday!