Gerry Frank

Gerry Frank, president of Gerry's Frankly Speaking, Inc, is a fourth-generation Oregonian with deep roots in Oregon's civic, political and mercantile history. He was educated in Portland public schools, Stanford University, and has a B.A. and M.A. with honors from Cambridge University in England.

As Chief of Staff to former US Senator Mark O. Hatfield for twenty years and as a board member and trustee to literally dozens of Oregon community institutions, Gerry has lived global politics firsthand and contributed his energy and expertise to Oregon's evolution. He has often been referred to as "Oregon's third Senator."

He serves on a number of boards, including the American Automobile Association (AAA) of Oregon and Idaho; St. Vincent Medical Foundation; Portland Rose Festival Association; past chair of the Oregon Independent Colleges Foundation; and served as chair of the Oregon Tourism Commission. He is a former board member of US Bancorp and Standard Insurance Company, as well as the executive committee of the US Committee for UNICEF. The list of his community involvements and recognitions is lengthy, including his current chairmanship of the $100,000,000 Kroc Center for the Salem area.

Frank is well known for his Frankly Speaking column in The Oregonian and as a former commentator for KPTV-12's Good Day, Oregon, Northwest Reports and AM Northwest for KATU. His best-selling guidebook to New York City, Where to Find It, Buy It, Eat It in New York, has sold over one million copies with the 16th edition set to debut in the fall of 2009.

Gerry has remained extremely active in the business and civic community since he moved to Salem in 1955. He was named Salem's Jr. First Citizen in 1957 and its First Citizen in 1964. He has received numerous awards, including the Glenn Jackson Leadership Award from Willamette University in 1984, the Aubrey Watzek Award in 1986, the Gold Medallion Award for 50 years of Individual Community Service in 1999, and in 2000 he was named the first-ever 'Oregon Premier Citizen' by gubernatorial proclamation.