When Gerry Quirk wraps up his day as general manager of manufacturer Newtown/CPC's Fredericksburg, Va., facility, he doesn't rush home to relax. Instead, he gets re-energized by teaching accredited business courses at J. Sargeant Reynolds Community College in Richmond, Va.
This semester, Quirk teaches three evenings a week from 6:30-9:10 p.m. and on Saturday mornings. The schedule sounds grueling, but Quirk wouldn't have it any other way. "I thoroughly enjoy it," says Quirk, a former Army Airborne Ranger who did two tours in Vietnam. "It gives me a chance to keep my own skills fresh, and it's really allowed me to understand the importance of training."
One experience that occurred when Quirk was a newcomer to the Virginia plant reinforced his beliefs about how the right training can help people--and an organization. After serving as general manager for only two months, he closed the facility for two days in January 1997 so employees could participate in Legendary Service training. At year-end, the plant had set a profit record. "We had the same people and the same customers," Quirk says, "[but] we took on a whole new philosophy."
Despite such careful planning at work, Quirk never planned to become a teacher. He began teaching simply to repay a favor. An acquaintance called him one evening in 1981. The man needed someone to teach a business management class that would take place only an hour later. Quirk accepted the emergency assignment and has taught ever since. He has no plans to retire from his second job. "Teaching is therapy for me," he says. "I have a lot to share."
Gwynne Brown, a former student, says she was "unbelievably impressed" when she walked into Quirk's class for the first time. "He understands the business world and imparts innovative applications along with a winning attitude," says Brown, who now serves as marketing manager at Newtown/ CPC's Fredericksburg facility.
Although his title at the community college is adjunct instructor, Quirk says he often takes on the role of student, and his students become teachers. To give them practical experience, he lets his students solve problems he has in the workplace. Thanks to their suggestions, he has implemented changes at Newtown/CPC. Because of his long-time teaching position, Quirk says he has built a "network second to none" in the Richmond area of approximately 200 former students. If he needs a job description for a new position or wants to learn about personnel policies at other companies, he calls former students. In turn, former pupils know they can call him to be a guest speaker for their organizations. His classes also provide training opportunities for his own employees. Three salespeople at the Fredericksburg facility have taken Quirk's marketing class.
After spending 22 years in the Army, Quirk entered the printing industry in 1984 when a friend told him about a job opening at the Fairport, N.Y., facility of manufacturer Datagraphic Inc. (now Printegra). Quirk knows times are tougher now. Always the teacher, he has this advice for competitors: "If they want to grow in this tight, competitive environment, somebody better be in school."
—Katherine House
Gerry Quirk teaches accredited business courses at J. Sargeant Reynolds Community College in Richmond, Va. He's general manager of manufacturer Newtown/CPC's Fredericksburg, Va., location.
