The guest of honor for the upcoming Kingdom of Callaway Supper is Gerald R. McCray.
McCray is the son of Gary and Doris McCray of Mokane. He has two siblings, Loretta Taylor of Mexico and Chuck McCray of Fulton. He attended South Callaway R-II schools and graduated in 1987, where he was involved in various academic and extracurricular activities.
After graduating, McCray enrolled at the University of Missouri-Rolla, now known as the Missouri University of Science and Technology. He attended on a U.S. Air Force Reserve Officer Training Corps scholarship, and graduated in 1992 with a Bachelor's of Science in Mechanical Engineering.
McCray married Dottie Paschal of Auxvasse in October of 1992.
In July of 1993, McCray went to the Sheppard Air Force Base to begin his career with the Air Force as an aircraft maintenance officer. After completing technical school, he completed two operational tours.
After these tours, McCray went to the Oklahoma City Air Logistics Center for their Logistics Career broadening program. Through this program he learned more about logistics and repair for different types of aircraft.
In February of 2003, McCray went to the Headquarters Air Mobility Command in Illinois for a tour. He was deployed to Iraq in 2005 for 13 months.
After returning from Iraq, he and his wife had two children, Alaina and Cody. He was also chosen for a one year Master's degree through the Air Force Institute of Technology.
McCray commanded the 437th Aircraft Generation Squadron in South Carolina. He was also in charge of the largest C-17 airlift squadron in the Air Force.
In July of 2009, McCray was chosen for a staff assignment at the Pentagon. He was later selected for Joint Staff as the Country Desk Officer for Jordan, Egypt and the Palestinian Authority.
McCray was chosen for a fellowship with the RAND Corporation in California after the Pentagon. He also went on a tour to Kyrgyzstan as the Commander of the 376th Expeditionary Maintenance Group.
Once he returned to the United States, McCray went to Oklahoma as Commander of the 76th Aircraft Maintenance Group. After this assignment, he went to Georgia to be the Vice Commander of the Warner Robins Air Logistics Complex.
McCray returned to the Scott Air Force Base in Illinois in 2017 to finish his 27-year career as the Associate Director of Logistics, Engineering and For Protection for Headquarters Air Mobility Command.
He said his assignment to MacDill Air Force Base in Tampa, Florida, was the most impactful to him in his career. McCray said this was because of his bosses and the opportunities he had there. He said this location helped him decide he wanted to pursue the military as a career.
McCray and his family returned to Callaway County in July of 2020. They currently live in Mokane, where McCray is the project manager of Ameren Transmission.
McCray said he and his wife always planned on coming back to Callaway County after the military, but they did not expect to be gone for so long.
McCray was chosen to be the guest of honor by the current President, Mark Smart. He said it is a great honor to be chosen as the guest of honor, and he was surprised to be chosen because he feels unworthy.
"I was just somebody who went out and did the job and came back," McCray said. "But I do consider it an honor."
The supper will take place on Tuesday, Oct. 18, at William Woods University. The President's reception will begin at 5 p.m. at the Gladys Woods Kemper Art Center. Dinner will begin at 7 at the Tucker Dining Hall, and the program will begin at 8 at the Dulany Auditorium.
Tickets for the dinner are $20, and can be purchased at the Callaway Bank, Central Bank, United Security Bank, Callaway Chamber of Commerce, Crane's Store, the Fulton Moser's and Short Stop in Millersburg.
This year's Kingdom of Callaway Supper is the 117th annual event.