by Renee Hunter

Gus Lorenz was headed down the wrong road until he moved from Little Rock in the ninth grade – an event which changed his life.
Greenbrier’s 2009 Citizen of the Year insists the community has given him much more than he has given it.

“I appreciate the award very much, but just don’t feel worthy,” he said. “It makes you feel like you need to do more.”

After graduating from Greenbrier High School 35 years ago, Gus left town to attend the University of Arkansas. It took him 20 years to return. He earned his bachelor’s and master’s degrees in entomology at UofA and took a job in Starkville, Miss. Two years later, he and his wife, Barbara, returned to Arkansas and lived for eight years in Pine Bluff, where Gus worked as a Jefferson County extension agent. There, he began work on his doctorate.

“There were 12 years between my master’s and my PhD,” Gus said.

Today, he is a professor of entomology with the UA Department of Agriculture, working on insects in cotton, rice and soybeans.

“I’m an applied researcher,” he said. “I work in the fields.”

The frequent 12-hour days and travel required by his profession make it difficult for Gus to find time for community involvement, but he believes it important to make the effort.

He annually hires several young people to help with his research, and talks to them about the importance of giving back to their communities. He and Barbara have talked to their son, Bradley, about the topic as well. “We hope that when his time comes, he’ll have a sense of community and a desire to pay back,” Gus said.

Eight years ago, Gus was elected to the Greenbrier School District’s Board of Education.

“I was always interested in education,” he said. “When you spend a good part of you life in school, that just comes naturally.”

Since his election, Gus has never been just a board member; he has served as secretary for five years, as president twice and as vice president once. “The quality of education was what got me interested in being on the school board,” he said, adding that the Greenbrier’s educational quality has improved steadily over the years – something he is most proud of.

As a board member, Gus has focused on providing a quality education for every student, not just the college-bound. Many Greenbrier students enter vocational jobs after high school, so Gus believes the schools must offer quality vocational training.

“We’ve got to get them prepared for life,” he said “We have to do everything we can for every kid in our district.”
He also has focused on bringing the best personnel to the district. “We put a lot of pride in getting the best teachers that we can,” he said. “I’m just glad to be a part of it.”

Because of that emphasis, Gus believes, the quality of education at Greenbrier has improved markedly even as student numbers have grown. His graduating class numbered 65; his son’s numbered 261, the largest ever.

To keep up with class size, facilities have also grown. Both the junior high and high school have been enlarged and Wooster once more has an elementary school after many years without one.

Before the school board, Gus spent several years as a Greenbrier Soccer Association commissioner. Bradley was playing soccer and Barbara was coaching. He particularly likes the association’s concept that everybody plays.

“It’s an important concept,” he said, and one that isn’t common in other sports. He has seen basketball and football games in which youngsters always sat on the bench because they didn’t have the looked-for ability. Then, a growth spurt would improve their ability but they lacked skill because they hadn’t played enough to learn the game.

Gus spent a lot of time maintaining the soccer fields and refereeing games. “He would be at the field from early in the morning until the last game,” said Barbara.

“One day I refereed eight games,” Gus said. “I thought I was going to fall apart.”

He also served as association president and as referee coordinator, and soccer slowly gained acceptance and then popularity in Greenbrier.

Even while engaged in a demanding profession and his two volunteer passions, Gus found time to do a few “little things.”

When the Wooster Parks and Recreation Commission, of which Barbara was a member, began planning a new park, Gus jumped right in. He remembers grilling hamburgers and hot dogs for several years for the July 4th fundraisers. The money raised bought playground equipment, built a walking track and paid for a veterans monument.

And both Barbara and Gus worked in the concession stand at the Greenbrier basketball and football games.

“It’s always about giving something back to the community,” he said.