There was no crime in the small country town where Gary was raised. “We didn’t even have a local police department,” Gary recalls. “For traffic infractions and the like we employed the patrolling services of a department two towns away.”

As one can imagine in a town typified by this and the two-room schoolhouse he attended for eight years, everyone knew each other. Everyone said “Hello.” and if someone said, “How are you?” they expected a meaningful answer.”

Well, that was then. And Gary reminds us he’s only 61! But he also says those same country values are at the root of “Hello, From My Heart” Days.

As we fast forward to Gary’s moving to Florida eleven years ago, he noticed that the residents of his new community were ignoring each other. Gary jogs most mornings and he noticed that the other assortment of walkers, runners, and cyclists, for the most part, kept their heads down in silence as if in some sort of meditation state. This would not do for Gary. He began greeting everyone with a smile and some pleasant words. Today, it seems everyone greets everyone. “In fact,” he remarks; “One recent first-time visitor said three strangers waved at him.” His visitor then said; “boy, this is a friendly place.”

Maybe that was the beginning of “Hello, From My Heart” Days or maybe it really started in that small country town. Gary says, “I’ve always enjoyed everywhere I’ve lived.”

And like a lot of folks living in Florida, he lived with a lot of snow prior to moving here. He graduated from SUNY at Buffalo (UB) with a degree in Social Psychology. His career in broadcast television also began in Buffalo at WUTV and then WBEN before he moved to Chicago to join ABC-TV. He was promoted to Detroit and then to NYC where he was named the Eastern Sales Manager for the ABC-TV Owned and Operated Stations. Since then he has produced and directed a number of network television shows and consulted for various companies and networks. While he has received numerous awards, the one he says he is most proud of is being named the N.Y.S. Volunteer of the Year by the American Heart Association. He had sat on the WNY Board for The Heart Association & served as their Chrmn. of Fundraising.  More recently he has been asked to sit on the Board of Advisors for The Museum of Science & Industry (MOSI) in Tampa.

He is a guest speaker, self-realization counselor, Reiki Master, and author. His book, is entitled: