When Heaven Visits

Jerry's career with the Army Corps of Engineers (hereafter referred to as the Corps) began with writing Water Resource Planning documents, which eventually led to the U.S. Congress authorizing these projects for funding. His first project report resulted in the construction of a multi-million-dollar channel-currently used in the Norfolk Harbor area of Virginia. Within that same time, Jerry and his wife began writing Bible lessons and leading small groups. Their passion for kingdom work lasted over forty years with many of their lessons used in churches throughout the U.S. Today, they continue growing this passion and maintain the lessons on their website (FBL4U.com). For six of the years he worked with the Corps in Norfolk, Virginia, Jerry served jointly as the Public Affairs Officer (PAO) and Executive Assistant. As the PAO for the Norfolk District, he was responsible for regular interaction with members of the press, radio, and television media. He wrote many press releases for the Virginia Pilot, responded to several Congressional Inquiries, and was interviewed by local television stations on numerous occasions. While in this position, he wrote numerous documents, speeches, letters, job announcements, performance appraisals, and spoke before large and small organizations of legislators, Governors, their staffs, and key officials. During his thirty-seven-year career, he also served as Congressional and legislative liaison with Federal, State, and local legislators, resulting in significant writing and speaking experience. As his Corps career progressed, so did his writing responsibilities. As the senior civilian leader of a large district of about 1,000 people in St. Louis, MO, a good portion of Jerry's responsibilities included writing various types of documents as well as reviewing and approving key reports and all outgoing correspondence before releasing them to the public. Jerry received a degree in Civil Engineering from Virginia Tech. Having successfully completed four years in the university's Corps of Cadets, he was commissioned as an Army Combat Engineer Officer. After three years of active duty, Jerry began a civilian career with the Army Corps of Engineers which took him to locations in much of the world. He led planning, design, and construction for hundreds of projects including airfields, bunkers, ports, and harbors. Writing, speaking, testifying before a Senate Committee of Congress, and successfully leading various organizations and teams highlighted his distinguished career. After serving as a member of the prestigious Senior Executive Service, he retired from the Corps. Jerry has been published on two prior occasions. The first was for a short book of nearly 5,000 words dealing with the unique lifestyle of residents on a small island in the Chesapeake Bay known as Tangier Island. Tangier told a charming story of close knit relationships between these island residents, most of whom worked in the seafood industry and either walked or biked everywhere on the island. Jerry collaborated with a photographer from National Geographic Magazine in writing the book. The second work was a more technical, collaborative manuscript written with five other Corps volunteers. Together they wrote the Army Corps of Engineers' first technical manual on Program and Project Management. The Corps used the manual for over forty years. It has been updated many times and remains in print. Jerry was one of the first instructors for the project management course and has taught both nationally and internationally in Germany, Japan, Korea, and for the World Bank in Vietnam.