John Robert “Bert” Gritz was sick Monday night. That means he missed presiding as vice mayor at the Hennessey Board of Trustees meeting since former Mayor Mike Shaw wasn’t there because his term expired.

Gritz also missed the board electing him mayor that night in a 4-0 vote.

The 1975 HHS grad was first elected to the town board in 1979 when he worked in his family’s Gritz Insurance Agency on Main Street. He was elected mayor, 1981-83, and at the age of 24 became the youngest, and still is, to hold that title.

Gritz, owner of Cordry-Gritz Funeral Home, has served on the town board since 2002, fire chief since 1985, and has been a volunteer firefighter since 1978. He was also a volunteer EMT in the 1980s then later an EMT instructor.  

He served as mayor 2013-16, vice mayor for many years, and was vice mayor up until Monday night.

Senior board member Wes Hardin took the presiding seat Monday at town hall  in the absence of Gritz and Shaw for the election of officers.

That’s when Clif Vogt was elected vice mayor, and was surprised to find that he’d have to preside over the rest of the meeting. The meeting lasted for about two hours, but had nothing to do

John R. ‘Bert’ Gritz

with him being a newcomer to the mayoral seat.

Vogt was appointed to the board in January 2018 after the resignation of Raymond Kerby. Vogt was then elected at-large in April, and sworn in for a four-year term immediately before the start of Monday night’s meeting.

Vogt was owner and manager of the Hennessey Sonic Drive-In for more than 30 years and recently sold that business.

Newly-elected board member Richard Simunek and returning clerk Tiffany Tillman were also sworn in for four-year terms Monday night by Deputy Clerk Kati Walters.

Gritz was sworn in Tuesday afternoon at Town Hall by Tillman.

Also present at the board table Monday night were Trustee Keith Meek, Treasurer Teresa Weber and Public Works Director Curtis Turner.