Island local Paul Jeris will journey to space with Blue Origin’s New Shepard-32 crew.
PUT-IN-BAY, Ohio — One Northwest Ohio man will soon be trading in the shores of Lake Erie for a rocket in space.
Paul Jeris, a Put-In-Bay local, will be blasting off with Blue Origin as a crew member of the New Shepard-32.
Blue Origin recently announced that Jeris, famous for his live videos on Facebook showcasing the island, will be part of a six-member team on an upcoming space flight. The team also includes STEM teacher Aymette Medina Jorge, radiologist Dr. Gretchen Green, Panamanian businessman and former US ambassador Jaime Aleman, entrepreneur Jesse Williams, and aerospace CEO Mark Rocket.
Jeris, the mind behind the Island Club and Put-In-Bay Condos, is set to surpass the Kármán line, placing him among the elite group of fewer than a thousand individuals who have experienced space travel.
Jeris’ enthusiasm for space exploration stems from his father, a former NASA engineer, and his fond memories of spending summers on Florida’s Space Coast observing space shuttle launches. His insatiable curiosity has driven him to explore 149 countries worldwide, yet his ultimate dream remains to witness the Earth’s magnificence from the vantage point of space.
In addition to being a real estate developer, Jeris also serves as a member on the Put-In-Bay Chamber of Commerce and is one of the village’s most visible tourism promoters, running the Put-In-Bay Island Guide Facebook page, which receives millions of views monthly.
Details surrounding when the New Shepard-32 is set to take flight have yet to be released.
