It is no surprise to me that Gary is choosing to use his retirement years to work in support of others’ needs. It’s who he is. My hope is that the residents of Rowan and Stanly counties will take the opportunity to get to know Gary Weart, the man behind the candidate. They can rest assured that Gary will work tirelessly in service to them as their elected representative in the North Carolina Senate.

I remember arriving to my 1st Block Project-Based Science class at A.L. Brown High School. My teacher, Mr. Scott Rodgers, didn’t miss many days, but that day was one of them. Normally I wouldn’t recall a day like that, but it was the day of my Senior Project presentation and I was desperate to get my final preparations in. The substitute teacher was a gentleman named Mr. Gary Weart, who I knew worked at Brown in some capacity. He was curious about my Senior Project, so I shared with him that my topic was spy intelligence during World War II. Mr. Weart proceeded to blow my mind, sharing with that he had served in the U.S. Army as a counterintelligence agent. I left my class that day far more prepared for my presentation than I ever anticipated because of him and the stories he shared. That was seventeen years ago.

Sometimes the most impressionable people come into your life in the most unexpected ways.

It would be another decade before Gary and I would cross paths again. He came by on a visit A.L. Brown around the year 2020 to visit our Athletic Director (and my dear friend and mentor), Empsy Thompson, with whom he had developed a close friendship years prior. I was early into my teaching career, and Mr. Weart made sure to offer the kindest words of encouragement while sharing stories of his four decades in public education. That was when I learned that Gary was the founder of the Students Against Violence Everywhere (“S.A.V.E”) Club, a program that started during his time at West Charlotte High School and has grown into a nationwide curriculum, encouraging students around the United States to resist gun violence and report suspicious or threatening behavior. God only knows how many lives have been saved thanks to Gary’s work.

Over the course of a few passing meetings over the next few years, Gary and I began to develop a deep mutual respect and friendship. He gave me a signed copy of his book, A Teacher Shoots Back: Targeting School Violence, which again blew my mind. It taught me that Gary was far more than a compassionate and dedicated school teacher – he was a man of action. When he identified a critical need to combat violence among adolescents, he activated and empowered a group of dedicated students to positively impact their school and community. He later took the S.A.V.E. program to school systems and government institutions around the nation, eventually earning himself the Presidential Service Award from U.S. President Bill Clinton in 1995 and Order of the Long Leaf Pine from North Carolina Governor Roy Cooper in 2024.

In more recent years, Gary and I have routinely sent words of encouragement to each other. He will contact me whenever he is in Kannapolis to catch a baseball game, introduce me to a new friend, or to just check in on how my life as a husband, father, teacher, and coach is going. He may shudder at the thought of this because of his humble nature, but he is a real-life hero.

Today, Gary is actively running as a candidate for the North Carolina Senate to represent the people of Rowan and Stanly counties in District 33. He has plans to address the needs of public education, the environment, healthcare recipients, and working-class families. Voters can read more about Gary’s views and goals at garyweart4nc.com. He would relish the opportunity to share his platform with voters in person as well.

It is no surprise to me that Gary is choosing to use his retirement years to work in support of others’ needs. It’s who he is. My hope is that the residents of Rowan and Stanly counties will take the opportunity to get to know Gary Weart, the man behind the candidate. They can rest assured that Gary will work tirelessly in service to them as their elected representative in the North Carolina Senate. 

Zach Erwin is a lifelong Kannapolis resident and high school Civics teacher at his alma mater, A.L. Brown High School, also in Kannapolis.