Michael R. Gallina, Class of 1978, was nominated to the Minerva High School Alumni Hall of Fame by his father, Robert Gallina. While in high school, Gallina received many athletic honors as well as being an excellent student. He was valedictorian, senior class president, captain of his football, basketball and baseball teams, and was honored as an All-League player in football and baseball and All Northeastern Ohio Honorable Mention in football.
After graduating from Minerva High School, he attended Mount Union College where he received a Bachelor of Arts degree in elementary education in 1982. While at Mount, he was a four-year baseball letterman and captain of the team his senior year. He earned the Ethel Mellenger Award as the outstanding senior in elementary education. Again he was an outstanding student academically. Gallina obtained his Master's degree in 1988 from Ashland University with a 4.00 GPA where he also was granted his Elementary Principal's Certificate, his Assistant Superintendent's Certificate, and in 1994 his Superintendent's Certificate. He is a member of the Ohio School Leadership Institute for Superintendents.
Professionally, Gallina has served as teacher, coach and administrator. He taught the learning disabled at Stanton Middle School in Alliance where he also coached ninth grade basketball. In Minerva from 1983 to 1988, he taught grade five and was an assistant coach in both football and basketball. From August 1988 until November 1993, he was the principal at West Elementary where he was honored with an Effective Schools Grant. He left West Elementary in November 1988 to become the Superintendent of Minerva Local Schools. While Gallina was superintendent, the Minerva Local School District went from a 1.6 million dollar debt to being debt free in eleven years, and he left the district with a great strategic plan in place for our future schools.
Although the people in the Minerva Local School District were sad at losing him, they wished Gallina well as he became the Superintendent of North Canton City Schools in 2004. At age 33, Gallina was the youngest person to become a school superintendent in the state of Ohio.
Even with his busy life, Gallina finds time for community service. He formerly was a member and past president of the Minerva Chamber of Commerce, member of the Minerva Area YMCA Board of Directors, the Minerva HOPE Foundation for Economic Development, and the St. Gabriel Catholic Church Parish Council. He currently serves on the Family First Foundation Board of Directors in Canton, the Buckeye Association of School Administrators, the North Canton YMCA Board of Directors, the Walsh University Advisory Board, the Lincoln Way SERRC Board, and the North Canton T.A.P. group for economic development.
Among Gallina's awards and honors are his nomination as a Jennings Foundation Superintendent of the Year by the Minerva Board of Education; Man of the Year for the community of Minerva in 2000; chosen as the graduation speaker by the graduating Minerva High School classes for the past fourteen years; chosen to present to the Ohio Conference on Teaching and Learning, and has been a guest lecturer at Ashland University, Mount Union College, Walsh University, Youngstown State, Kent State and Stark State College of Technology.
Gallina and his wife, the former Lynnette Walter, are the parents of a son Kiel who is a Minerva High School Alumnus and a student at Youngstown State University.
Robert Q. Gallina, Class of 1954, was nominated by his son Michael Gallina. Bob is a life resident of Minerva. He received his Bachelor of Science degree from Mount Union College and a Master’s degree in Secondary Education Administration from Youngstown State University. At Minerva High School he was a teacher for twenty-one years and a baseball coach for twenty of those years. He served the Minerva Local School District as assistant superintendent for 12 years and as interim superintendent for a half year before his retirement.
As Director of Curriculum and Special Education, Gallina was responsible for many educational innovations at Minerva, including adult education and volunteer programs, gifted education, computer education, Math Olympics, new teacher orientation, The Minerva Education Foundation, cable TV to each building in the Minerva District, and many others.
At present, Gallina is an instructor in the Department of Education at Mount Union College, serves as coordinator of field placements, and supervises student teachers. His community service includes serving on the Parish Council of St. Gabriel's Church. He is the newly elected president of the Carnation Northeast Chapter of Phi Delta Kappa International Education Fraternity. He has been the park/recreation coordinator and has participated in many charitable fundraising efforts.
In his nomination letter Mike Gallina wrote, "He has been a strong father and teacher image, endured the test of time, and committed his entire life to Minerva in one way or another."
Martha Jean Hawkins Gartner, class of 1949, was nominated by Carolyn Nape. In her nomination, Nape said, "Martha is a gracious, generous, humble woman who is dedicated to her God, husband, children, friends and community of Minerva. She is constantly bringing joy, love, friendship and food to her many friends in the surrounding communities where she and Carl live and serve. Just like the Martha in the Bible, she is always busy working and preparing wonderful food to help brighten up someone's day. She is a person who has never forgotten where she was born and grew up. Yet Martha is very capable of communicating with the First Lady of the United States, congressmen, people of many various prestigious positions and her hometown friends in rural Ohio."
In high school she served as editor of the Diary and the Crescent. She was active in many organizations including Y Teens, Girls Athletic Association, and National Honor Society and was an attendant to the May Queen. After graduation she attended Dyke College in Cleveland where she received an associate degree in Business. In 1953 she married Carl Gartner and moved from New Franklin to Minerva.
Gartner's community service includes St. Paul's Lutheran Church, the American Red Cross (Minerva Chapter), the Minerva Historical Society, Blossom Music Women's Committee, Malone College, St. Luke Lutheran Community, Salvation Army and a Rotary Exchange Host family.
Her church work is never-ending and includes being director of vacation Bible school for many years, a Sunday School teacher, assisting with the monthly food distribution, and she has held any number of offices in the Woman's Club. She volunteered as a Gray Lady for the Red Cross at Minerva Grade School, spent many hours distributing funds and goods to local citizens in time of need, led the annual fund-raising door-to-door campaign, and encouraged volunteers to give to the community Blood Bank.
Gartner is a charter member of the Minerva Area Historical Society. What started on the top floor of the City Hall has progressed to the Haas Museum. Gartner has been an integral part of the growth of the museum serving in most offices, and presently is the secretary and a trustee. In 1995 she was selected for the Community Service Award, presented by the Minerva Service Clubs and Chamber of Commerce.
She is the chairperson for the St. Luke Lutheran Community Minerva Steering Committee. She is involved with a new building being constructed on Woodale Avenue in Minerva. This will be a thirty-unit assisted living facility that should open for residence later this year.
She values education. In the 1980s she was involved with the Malone annual fund drives. Also she and Carl have been active with Carl's Alma Mater, Mount Union University.
In 2009 they were honored by having the Gartner Welcome Center named in their honor for their many years of service to Mount Union.
The Gartners have four children who have all graduated from Minerva High School: Beth, Molly, Keith, and Seth.
Victor E. "Pat" Gray, Class of 1918, was proud to be a life-long resident of Minerva. He was nominated by his daughter, Beverly Gray Tarbet, Lillian Dietrich, George Kishman and Robert Davis. Pat served over twenty-five years as Minerva Village Treasurer, was a member of Minerva's Tubal Lodge and the Nazir Grotto of Canton, and a member of Minerva's Volunteer Fire Department. He was plant superintendent at Minerva Wax Paper, and kept books for Barber Trucking of Minerva and Temple Trucking of Malvern. Robert Davis said, "Through my observations of and work experiences with Pat Gray, there was no doubt in my mind that he was the 'heart beat' that made the 'wax works' work. Following my graduation from The Ohio State University in August of 1949, I was fortunate to be associated with Pat Gray when I was hired by Minerva Wax Paper company. It was there and then that I received a 'hands-on-education' into the real world of manufacturing under the coaching and guidance of Pat Gray."
George Kishman said, "I served on the Minerva Village Council in the late fifties when our budget was extremely meager. Mr. Gray guided us through these trying times, and with his wise advice, we were able to keep the village operating as well as making certain improvements--including initiating a fund for off-street parking. He spent many hours of volunteer time keeping the village financial books in a very professional manner.”
Lillian Dietrich said, "Pat Gray is an excellent choice to be nominated for the Minerva High School Hall of Fame. He deserves recognition as a revered alumnus of Minerva High School. Pat spent most of his life promoting the welfare of the Village of Minerva. In his almost 30 years as a supervisor at Minerva Wax Paper, he always had some wise saying such as, 'Take care of the pennies and the dollars will take care of you.’ "
Beverly Tarbet said of her father, "Education was very important to him, and he always had time to visit his grandchildren's classes at least once a year."
Robert Davis added, "If I were asked by the artist commissioned to paint Pat Gray's portrait for the Hall of Fame, I would suggest these characteristics would best portray him: absolute aggressiveness, complete control, dogged determination, dedicated devotion, exceptional energy, endless enthusiasm, intense integrity, keen knowledge, longtime loyalty, outstanding organizer, precise planner, and then touch up his face with his customer satisfaction smile.”
Dr. J. Richard Grunder, Class of 1955, was nominated by his sister S. Ann Grunder. His parents were John Grunder, Jr., a long-time Minerva businessman, and Ruth Grunder, a Minerva elementary school teacher. Dr. Grunder received a pharmacy degree, with highest distinction, from Ohio Northern University in 1959. In 1964 he earned his doctorate in medicinal chemistry from Purdue University. During the next year, he did post-doctoral work and research in the Department of Chemistry at The Ohio State University. At present he is retired from Oklahoma University as an Assistant Professor of Medicinal Chemistry and Director of Student Services.
Dr. Grunder's many honors include receiving The Oklahoma University Outstanding Instructor award in 1969; the Sooner Pharmaceutical Association's Outstanding Faculty Award in both 1977 and 1979. Twice he has received the Outstanding Faculty Award from Kappa Epsilon, a pharmacy sorority, and in 1978 was named Professor of the Year by Kappa Psi Pharmaceutical Fraternity. In 1983 he was awarded the Amoco Foundation Good-Teaching Award.
His community service includes: past director of Student Services at Oklahoma University which required him to travel across the state promoting pharmacy for career day in high schools and junior colleges. He coached pharmacy students in softball and is an active member of the Cleveland County Pharmacy Association in Norman, Oklahoma. He is national treasurer of the Rho Chi Honor Fraternity.
In her nominating letter, Ann Grunder wrote, "At my brother's retirement dinner, the most moving speeches were made by his former students. As a teacher who loved his work, he touched many lives and obviously made a difference. I guess that's just about the greatest tribute one could receive."