2022 Punxsutawney Man and Woman of the Year Gloria Kerr Selected as Punxsutawney’s Woman of the Year

By Jim Lauffer of Hometown magazine

Native daughter Gloria Kerr is the 2022 Punxsutawney Woman of the Year. The Inner Circle of the Punxsutawney Groundhog Club made the announcement at the Annual Groundhog Banquet held at the Punxsutawney Area High School on Wednesday, February 1. Inner Circle mem-

On the cover: Both deeply committed to serving their hometown community, Jeff Grube and Gloria Kerr were named the 2022 Punxsutawney Man and Woman of the Year. The Inner Circle of the Punxsutawney Groundhog Club made the announcement at the Annual Groundhog Banquet, held on February 1 at the Punxsutawney Area High School.

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Yearly Subscriptions: $37 — First Class Mail www.punxsutawneymagazine.com ber Jeff “Fair Weatherman” Lundy presented Gloria with the award. In addition, State Rep. Brian Smith presented her with a House Citation from his office and a Senate Citation from the office of Sen. Joe Pittman. Gloria, who humbly deflects accolades, is the wife of Dale Kerr, whom she regards as her rock and the most important person in her life. “I could not do what I do without him,” she says.

Born and raised in the Punxsutawney area and having lived most of her life in Henderson Township, Gloria is a self-described “ordinary small-town girl” whose commitment to her community is anything but small. She was an educator for 40-plus years in the Punxsutawney Area School District and at

Saint Vincent College. An avid reader and lifelong learner, Gloria earned her doctorate, with an emphasis in multicultural literature, from Indiana University of Pennsylvania in 1996.

She was encouraged by her son Michael, an electrical engineer who lives in New York with his wife, Cindy, to pursue her PhD almost twenty years after she began her teaching career. Gloria and husband, Dale, have one grandson, also named Michael, who lives and works in finance in Buffalo.

Providing an example for others to follow, Gloria has been a member of the following organizations: the Boles Foundation, the Friends of the Library, the American Association of University Women, the Irving Club, the VFW Auxiliary, and the Punxsutawney Area Historical & Genealogical Society. She is also a writer for Punxsutawney Hometown magazine.

Perhaps, however, the most visible evidence of Gloria’s commitment to community involvement has been as president of the Punxsutawney Garden Club and in the beautification projects that the club has completed in downtown Punxsutawney. The roots of Gloria’s concern for the beauty and health of the environment – both local and global – run deep. “I’ve always had great respect for my outdoor environment,” she says. “When the first Earth Day on April 22, 1970, was celebrated nationally, I was already a supporter, often taking a bag to pick up trash along our road when I walked and decrying the litter that careless people throw out car windows along our roads.”

This concern for the environment – including her community’s environment – provides the motivation for Gloria, and others, to become involved in serving the common good. “My personal efforts to ‘keep America beautiful’ and help out in the community where I could just evolved from my early appreciation of the benefits everyone reaps when we each do what we can to serve the greater good,” she says.

For Gloria, the reason for volunteering as a caretaker of one’s community is, or should be, obvious. “No one wants to live in a dirty, run-down, or unattractive environment,” she says. “We all want to live in safe, storybook neighborhoods. We want the look of fresh paint, colorful flowers, and neat lawns and gardens.” Creating such a community doesn’t just happen. An investment of time and energy must be made.

“But we can only have that kind of environment community-wide if we each do our part,” Gloria continues. “Every single person’s effort matters. Sure, we all have busy lives, but every little bit helps. Do your little bit of good to improve the environment around you.”

As a result of her involvement in Garden Club projects, Gloria has suggestions for improving the local environment. “At the top of my wishlist for improving Punxsutawney’s downtown area is the sidewalks,

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