BHS Alumni & Friends Foundation Introduces 2025 Hall of Fame Inductee Mickey Gerba
By Connect-Bridgeport Staff on September 28, 2025
Mickey Gerba is among 2025 inductees for the BHS Alumni & Friends Foundation Hall of Fame and will be honored Oct. 31 at the BHS football game, as well as Nov. 1 at the foundation's annual banquet at The O by Oliverio's. Tickets are available at $55 each HERE.
Mickey was born and raised in Brownsville, Pa., a town very similar to Bridgeport. She graduated from high school in 1966 and attended and graduated from Penn State University in 1971, with a Bachelor of Science degree. In 1979, she graduated with a Master of Arts +60 hours from West Virginia University.
Mickey is the daughter of the late Michael and Ethel “Toots” Gerba. She has one brother, “Buz,” and several nieces and nephews, along with great-nieces and nephews. She is married to Jay Springer and they have a daughter, Jenney Springer Keaty, who is a 2000 BHS graduate. Jenney is married to Burke Keaty. Mickey is the proud grandmother of four boys, “Trip, Jay, Car and Van, who fondly call her “Mims.”
Mickey’s public school teaching career began in a recently integrated middle school in Bassett, Va. in the ‘70s. She was the sixth teacher hired that year for the self-contained seventh grade class. The school counselor encouraged her to pursue a counseling degree. In the summer of 1977, Mickey was the assistant director at Camp Shenandoah in Winchester, Va., a camp for special needs individuals ages 7-40. The camp was where she met her husband Jay, a fellow employee. She took the counselor’s advice and followed Jay to Morgantown. They have been married for over 46 years.
Mickey’s first counseling job was at Philip Barbour High School. She then moved to Harrison County in 1979, sharing a counseling position at Roosevelt Wilson High School and Bridgeport High School. When enrollments increased, she was transferred full-time to BHS from where she retired in 2008.
Her duties at BHS were working with junior and senior students in many areas, such as guidance, counseling, including academic, career development, collaboration with parent and staff and maintaining records for graduation requirements. Helping to plan senior awards assemblies and graduation were among her duties. Disseminating information about college applications and scholarships were a larg part of her position, thus writing many recommendations.
While a counselor at BHS, she did homebound tutoring, was on the Honor Society selection committee, co-sponsored the Key Club, majorette and color guard front lines.
Mickey’s hobbies are reading, knitting, women’s groups and traveling. As an avid reader, she worked part-time at Bridgeport Public Library for almost 15 years. Spare time finds her knitting prayer shawls, hats, etc. for homeless blessing bags and Operation Christmas Child, a program for children in need around the world.
Jay and Mickey have traveled to over 25 countries together. All the trips have been wonderful experiences. However, the most unique and memorable experience was a driving tour they took with their daughter to pick up their new BMW in Munich, Germany, in 2004. Also, more of a “workation” was a self-operating canal boat tour in Wales.
Mickey has been a member of Simpson Creek Baptist Church in Bridgeport for over 40 years where she is a charter member of Adam’s Rib Sunday School Class and Lucie Byrd Eastham Circle. She has served on many committees in the church. Life-changing experiences for her through the church were trips to Israel, where she was baptized in the Jordan River, as well as mission trips to Guatemala and Puerto Rico.
Volunteering is Mickey’s current passion. She has served on the Burnside Foundation Scholarship selection committee for over 17 years. Mickey is a lifetime member of the United Hospital Center Auxiliary Board of Directors serving as the scholarship chairperson. She volunteers in the Cancer Center at UHC and cuddles babies when needed in the pediatric department. Other lifetime memberships are in her college alumni associations of the West Virginia Retired Teachers Association.
When not traveling or with her daughter’s family in Tennessee, she enjoys substitute teaching at BHS and proctoring the College Board Advanced Placement exams for Harrison County Schools each spring. She always enjoys her time with friends in the ladies’ groups such as Coterie, Bunco and Ladies of the Vine. Most special is keeping in touch with former students and their families.
Joining Mickey Gerba in this year's hall of fame are Richard Duez, Roger Allan Nichols, and Chuck Steele. Read about them in the coming weeks. Their bios will be posted at 12 p.m. Sundays.
