Rotarian Team Leader Gary Johnson is employed by Paul Bunyan Communications (www.paulbunyan.net), a telecommunications cooperative in Bemidji, Minnesota, USA that provides landline telephone, digital cable television, and broadband Internet services to customers across a 12,000 square kilometer area of rural north-central Minnesota. His role with Paul Bunyan Communications began as a computer programmer in 1988. As Chief Operating Officer, he manages the marketing, public relations, television, Internet, web design, billing, and customer service departments, focusing on Internet, video and other rural broadband technologies.
Gary's introduction to Rotary was through Group Study
Exchange! He was a team member on District
5580's team to Sweden in 2000 (www.paulbunyan.net/gse2000). His GSE
experience provided an amazing way to be introduced to Rotary, leading Gary to join the Bemidji Rotary Club (www.bemidjirotary.org) soon after the
completion of the exchange. He has been
passionate about Rotary and Group Study Exchange ever since. Now as team leader, he looks very forward to
see his team experience Rotary and the magic of GSE as well.
The Bemidji Rotary Club is one of two clubs in the
community. They have 115 members and are
a very active and engaged club. Gary
served as President for the 2007-2008 Rotary year, and was presented District
5580's Rotarian of the Year award for Community Service in 2007. He is currently the District Chair for
Foundation Alumni, and is District Conference Chair for the 2013 conference
which will be in Bemidji. Two of his
particular areas of focus are the club's Lake Bemidji Dragon Boat
Festival (www.bemidjidragonboat.com) and participating with his family in Latin America Rotary Aid, a group
of clubs which work together to repair schools in rural mountain villages of
Honduras. He is eager to learn about the
Rotary projects and humanitarian efforts of the Rotarians of District 9830!
Gary is married to Denise. The two met while they
were both at Minnesota State University Moorhead and were wed in 1990. She is an elementary school teacher and is
very supportive of Rotary, which is obvious with Gary leaving on two 5-week GSE
trips!!! Gary and Denise have three
children, Rachel (17), Daniel (15), and Matthew (11). Their kids keep them happily very busy with
school activities, baseball, volleyball, cheerleading, cub scouts, etc. As a family they enjoy outdoor activities such as kayaking,
canoeing, and boating on Lake Beltrami, which they live by, and other lakes and
streams in their area.
Gary and his team wish to thank the Rotarians of
District 9830 for your commitment to Group Study Exchange and for the expense,
time, and effort you will put in to hosting them. They appreciate it very much!
