ABOUT GREGORY

My Story

When I was just six years old, a former cowboy and Spitfire pilot named Slim Berard moved in next door. He taught his son Lee and me how to shoot, how to start and cook over a fire, how to orienteer to wherever we wanted with nothing more than a compass and some clear thinking. He poured the spirit of adventure and survival right into my young skin.

A few years later, Henry Hanson – a strong, happy father of friend’s of mine – had a spiffy sled I wanted to ride. When propositioned with borrowing it, he cut me a deal, “Ride down this field at full throttle without slowing down and you can ride it as much as you want.” I held on tight through bumps and over jumps, and I made it! Henry called forward my ability to stare into tough situations and stand my ground.

At 13, a carpenter named Guido came to my family home for coffee and dessert, griping about how hard workers were tough to find. “I’d work hard,” I interjected, before I ever had. He wrote down an address and slid it my way. “See you Thursday” and that was it. He taught me how to build a house from ground to sky, had me ordering concrete and eventually running crews. Guido handed me the golden scepter of skill and management before I’d even graduated high school.