ASC President David Gunderson called Gary after the meetings to tell him he had be selected to receive the 2020 ASC Lifetime Achievement Award. “Dr. Gehrig was surprised and honored.” Gary was a humble, soft-spoken man. A few weeks later David called Gary to provide information on the logistics of attending the ASC Conference Banquet. Gary explained that all five of his adult children would be attending the ASC Conference Banquet to support his receipt of the award. Receiving this award seemed to mean a lot to Gary.
Interim Department Head Dr. Mehmet Ozbek, in the Department of Construction Management at Colorado State University (CSU) stated, “Dr. Gehrig has earned his place in the history of our department among a few other leaders who made everlasting contributions and helped us become who we are now. His contributions to our department are summarized in our department’s history book: ‘Dr, Gehrig broadened exposure of the program nationally and internationally, strengthening the master’s program, and fostered greater industry involvement.’ “
Dr. Gehrig earned his PhD in Vocational Education in the middle of his 20 years at CSU because “the rules were changing” Gary explained. According to Dr. Jay Christofferson, ASC President from 2012 to 2014, and currently serving ASC as Treasurer, “Dr. Gehrig was the chair of my doctoral committee. He helped dozens of grad students to receive their PhD degrees in preparation for full-time careers as faculty members.”
According to Dr. Allan Hauck, Construction Management Department Head at Cal Poly San Luis Obispo for 16 years after teaching in the CM program at CSU for 10 years, “Gary’s leadership style was quiet and defined by service: service to the profession, service to his family, and service to his faith. Throughout his career, Gary donated his effort to supporting the missions of ASC, ACCE, AGC, AIC, AACE, and Sigma Lambda Chi.”
ASC President Dr. David Gunderson stated, “For more than two decades Dr. Gehrig had a huge impact on construction education as a discipline and construction management students like myself. I credit Gary Gehrig with much of my success in the construction industry after graduating from CSU. I worked in the construction industry a total of 30 years before deciding to bring my construction experience into the classroom. As a role model, Dr. Gehrig influenced my decision to make the career transition to construction management education. I wanted to have that kind of impact on young people as they prepared for successful careers in the construction industry.”
Dr. Gehrig served as the Treasurer for ASC when Dr. Bill Badger was serving as ASC President from 1992 to 1993. Dr. Badger said this about Gary: “I met him at my first ASC Conference and recognized he was one of those volunteers who gave his experience and talent to whoever needed it. He emphasized that I should become involved with ASC.”