It's a long way from the farms in the Mud Lake area of southeastern Idaho to Washington, D.C.
But it's a road that Jack Gerard has traveled — and thrived on.
- Gerard, who took over Nov. 1 as president and CEO of the American Petroleum Institute in Washington, has a lot going on his life besides work:President of the McLean Virginia Stake of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
- Chairman of the National Capital Area Council of the Boy Scouts of America, which has 86,000 Scouts.
- Co-chair of the George Washington University Graduate School of Political Management's Council on American Politics.
- Board member of the Congressional Coalition on Adoption Institute.
- Husband and father of eight children — Jack Jr., who attends Brigham Young University; David, who recently returned from an LDS mission in Hong Kong; Sarah, a freshman at BYU; Celeste, a high school sophomore; Elizabeth, an eighth-grader; Christian, a sixth-grader; and Benjamin and Samuel, 3-year-old Guatemalan twins that he and his wife, Claudette, adopted.
"I go to the office to relax," Gerard said in a recent telephone interview from his office at the American Petroleum Institute.
In tiny Terreton, Idaho, Gerard's father was a John Deere dealer, and his mother was a schoolteacher.They also owned a small farm, where Gerard and his three brothers milked 40 head of cows before and after school. They also custom-combined some of their neighbors' crops. "We had what we thought was a thriving business," Gerard said.
But it wasn"t long before Gerard would trade in his farm tools for books. He attended the University of Idaho in Moscow for a year before serving an LDS mission in Sydney, Australia.
After he returned to the University of Idaho, his interest in politics grew. He was a student intern in the office of Gov. John Evans, spending part of a summer in Boise doing a survey on recreation; he then went to Washington, where he spent days working for Rep. George Hansen and nights attending George Washington University classes. He earned a bachelor of arts degree in political science and a juris doctor degree there. In 1985, he went to work for Republican Sen. James A. McClure of Idaho.
McClure retired from the Senate in 1991, and Gerard joined him in establishing McClure, Gerard & Neuenschwander Inc. in Washington, a government relations consulting firm. Gerard worked to develop a client base that included mining interests such as Kennecott, telecommunications firms and the World Cup. After the company was sold, he was named president and CEO of the National Mining Association, then moved to a job with the same title at the American Chemistry Council and finally to the American Petroleum Institute.
"I never thought of or aspired to (head) a trade association," he says. It just worked out that way as one success led to another.
Now with the petroleum institute, Gerard says, "We have our work cut out for us."
He points to the issues the industry faces: adequate supplies, environmental issues and the volatility of gasoline prices.
"The oil and gas industry is one of the great pillars of our society," he said, and he sees integrity, hard work and leadership as the keys to the success of his mission.
As hard as Gerard works at his career, his family and church don't take a back seat. His wife, Claudette, says, "It's been interesting to watch his life and how he does his tasks.
"It's been a miracle. He never misses a (child's) lacrosse game, never misses a dance recital. Somehow there's always time …"
Claudette, a graduate of the University of Utah, met her husband in Washington while she was working for Sen. Orrin G. Hatch, R-Utah. She says that since she and Jack have been married, they have discovered that "If you put service first, everything else falls into place. We've been blessed over and over again."
Two of their recent blessings are Samuel and Benjamin, the fraternal twins from Guatemala they adopted when the Gerards' youngest child was 8.They were both named Carlos at birth, and that has been retained as the middle name of each.
"Our children asked us to adopt," Claudette says. "It wasn't a hard sell." It took eight months to get them home, and "it's been an amazing experience."
Their other six children feel they have ownership because of their initial participation, she says.
Her husband says, "My companion is probably the best CEO I've ever met … She's a great inspiration and carries more than her fair share to make sure everything works."
In his professional career, Gerard has found that every day is a learning experience. He has interacted with leaders of the largest companies in the world — "a diverse group of individuals," he calls them. He recalls some advice his father gave him about dealing with important people: "Just remember they all put their pants on one leg at a time."
Gerard counts his father among his mentors, as well as McClure, the retired Idaho senator. McClure never forgot who he was, Gerard says, and he was "humble and treated people they way they should be treated."
Gerard also tries to be a mentor to others. His advice: Work hard, be honest and have integrity. "People may disagree with your opinions, but people will respect your integrity and values."
Focus on what matters most, he says — "family, individual destiny and things of eternal worth."
He counts church service among those things. Before being called as McLean Stake president, he served as bishop of the Great Falls (Virginia) Ward, Scoutmaster, elders quorum president, ward mission leader and nursery leader. He also taught early-morning seminary for a year.
And then there are Gerards' eight children to teach. Gerard says he tells them to "study hard and do well so they get opportunities in life."
Claudette Gerard adds, "Family time is so precious."
Although the Gerards have been living in the East since the early 1980s, they still lean to the West, Jack Gerard says.
"We're in the East, but weve got the West in our hearts."
E-mail: rwalsh@desnews.com