Gary Ray - 2011
MHS 1960 Graduate
Gary L. Ray, class of 1960, was nominated by Robert Gallina. After graduation from Minerva High School, Ray enrolled in Tri-State University in Angola, Indiana He graduated, with honors, with a Bachelor of Science degree in Mechanical Engineering in 1965. He was selected as Mr. Tri-State of his graduating class. In May 1970 he received a Master’s of Business Administration in Industrial Management from the Wharton Graduate Division of the University of Pennsylvania.
From 1965 to 1968, he was employed by Caterpillar Tractor in the quality and production departments. He worked as an auditor and consultant for Price Waterhouse in Atlanta. He then went to Reliance Electric of Cleveland where from 1972 to 1986 he served in several capacities including Plant Controller, Manager of Casting Purchasing in the motor division, Operation Controller, Product Marketing Manager, and Manager of Standard Drives Division in Electrical Drives Group. His responsibilities included marketing, engineering and manufacturing. Ray then became president and minority owner of Elmec, Inc. in Cleveland. Elmec was a primary supplier to the military. The business then moved to a subsidiary, Argo-Tech in Arizona. Ray then became the president and owner of Transformer Engineering Corp. in Cleveland until he sold it in 2008. Prior to that, TEC was established in 2006 as a wholly owned foreign enterprise in Suzhou, China. He now works as a consultant with TEC. Ray's honors from Tri-State University include a Distinguished Service Award in 1980, and an Honorary Doctor of Engineering in 1996. He served on the Board of Trustees from 1991 to 2002, chairing several committees. From 1981 to 1993 he was on the Alumni Board of Governors, serving as president, vice president, and chairing the Distinguished Service Award Committee. His involvement with Wharton School includes Wharton Graduate Executive Board, co-chairperson of four reunions of the Class of 1970, and the Wharton Club of Northeast Ohio.
His community involvement includes service with Sigma Phi Delta Fraternity's Council of Small Enterprises, as a division of the Greater Cleveland Growth Association. He is affiliated with the Medina Presbyterian Church where he chaired the preliminary planning committee for the educational wing. In Burnsville, North Carolina, he chaired the major capital campaign for the First Presbyterian Church. He is president of the Greens at Weymouth Homeowners Association.
He and his wife Rose live in Medina. They are the parents of one son Michael, an electrical engineer, and the grandparents of three grandsons, Stephan, Sydney and Samuel.