CASSOPOLIS — Through his more than 20 years working as an IT consultant, Gerry Bundle, 56, of Cassopolis, has worked many places including New York City and San Francisco, California.

However, he said he has never felt a sense of duty to serve a community the way he does in rural Cassopolis.

“I just need to serve other people,” he said. “I have a passion and understanding for how people [can need help]. I want to help people who are in tough situations.”

Bundle is a current member of the Midwest Energy and Communications board, where he says he works to advocate for rural communities to receive amenities in line with larger cities. Additionally, he volunteers his time at Church of Christ on M-51 in Dowagiac.

Bundle said he feels called to serve rural communities because they saved his life. Before coming back to Cassopolis, where he spent many of his formative years, Bundle said he was “getting into trouble” in Flint, Michigan. At one point in the mid-1980s, he was homeless and sleeping in his car. It wasn’t until he came back to Cassopolis and received encouragement from local individuals that he was able to find opportunity and eventually graduate with an MBA from Georgia Tech University.

“There is much more opportunity in rural areas to discover who you are and to do it right in a way that you might not necessarily be able to do in a bigger environment,” he said. “There is a strong sense of community here, at least when I was coming along. I believe that to still be true.”

Though Bundle credits much of his current success to learning the value of hard work from his father and grandfather, he said that for success to be possible people need to have opportunity and role models to look up to.

Through his work as a board member at MEC, Bundle said he hopes to create both of those things.

“[MEC is] another form of serving the community. We are meeting fundamental needs — electricity and internet. Those things are important,” he said.  “[We are] advocating for the quality of rural infrastructure. These things help put our students on equal footing with students elsewhere. … It’s just an avenue for giving back.”

In addition to advocating for rural opportunities such as increased internet access, Bundle said his position at MEC allows him to provide opportunities for local students through the annual National Rural Electric Cooperative Association Youth Tour. For the tour, MEC sends two local students to Washington D.C. to visit the nation’s capital and meet with lawmakers.

Additionally, as he is able, Bundle said that he works to encourage young students the same way he was in the 1980s. He said that he wants to see local youth succeed.

Through his service, Bundle said he hopes that he can leave a legacy of opportunity in Cass County so that young students can continue to grow up and be able to serve the community the way he does.

“I hope we are able to continue to provide opportunities so that people don’t have to go away. They can live and work right here to support quality education so that students here can compete with people worldwide,” he said. “I want [Cassopolis] to be able to say that if you work hard, we can give you the tools to excel.”