Dick Norman Grape City

Over the course of two years at the Smith-Hughes Trade School, where he specialized in cabinet making, Grape City cofounder Dick Norman established a reputation as a talented craftsman of furniture. This reputation resulted in his first position in the education industry, a job designing and constructing lecterns for the Duluth Board of Education. In 1953, Dick Norman volunteered to become a member of the U.S. Air Force and served for four years. He spent his final two years serving at the Misawa Air Base in northern Japan.

After leaving the Air Force and spending nearly a decade as an independent nonprofit contractor working throughout Japan, Mr. Norman served as a founder and board member of MeySen Academy, which specializes in teaching English as a foreign language, and he later served on the school’s advisory committee. In 1988, he expanded his relationship with MeySen by becoming a board member of the academy’s sister company the Bunka Orient Corporation, later renamed Grape City. He filled this role for nearly 25 years. Today, he continues his nonprofit work in Japan while managing his advisory position with MeySen Academy.