Full disclosure here.

Jerry Gillis and I both attended Bremen High School. We were inducted into the Bremen Hall of Fame together. We rode in the same car during a parade that afternoon, throwing candy to the local kids.

So it’s with personal as well as professional pleasure that I tell you about one of Midlothian’s most industrious and solid residents living out a dream.

Gillis, who has been an athlete, coach and teacher at Bremen and a caretaker of the parks and recreation facilities in Midlothian, has a new job.

A lifelong Cubs fan, he helps keep his beloved Wrigley Field beautiful.

Gillis, 61, was hired by the Cubs this spring to be a member of the grounds crew at the Friendly Confines.

“I applied three years ago,” Gillis said. “In May, I got an email from the Cubs asking if I was still interested in an interview. The next thing I knew, they sent me a text that they were interested in sitting down with me.

“I had an interview on a Thursday. Friday morning I got the job. I was just floored. It felt so fantastic. Obviously, it’s a dream job for anybody. I get goose bumps just thinking about it.”

Gillis works at virtually every home game, helping out the full-time crew both before and after a game. His duties vary: watering the field, grooming the mound, managing the ivy, rolling out the tarp during rain delays, cleaning dugouts and taking care of the equipment.

“Pretty much everything from A to Z,” Gillis said. “They have over 60 employees that work the grounds crew. They have 10 full-time guys and over 50 part-time guys. The full-time guys lead, and we are there to assist them.

“It’s a very repetitious job, but you have to do it top-notch every time. There are no cutting any corners. You don’t want to create any serious situations.”

If they ever had a contest to declare a “Mr. Midlothian,” Gillis certainly would be a finalist.

Born and raised there, he attended Bremen from 1975 to 1978. He was a quarterback/end in football, a pitcher/third baseman in baseball and a forward in basketball.

After graduating from Roosevelt University, Gillis coached youth football with the Midlothian Wildcats for nearly 20 years. He coached baseball with Tom Johnson at Bremen for four years and football with John D’Ambrosio for 10 years. He also spent a handful of seasons coaching girls basketball and softball.

In the classroom, he worked at Bremen as a substitute teacher.

Gillis also has served Midlothian as a trustee, a part-time police officer and a full-time firefighter. He worked for the Midlothian Park District for two decades and was the superintendent for parks and grounds.

D’Ambrosio, a legendary figure in Bremen football history, totally agreed with calling Gillis “Mr. Midlo.”

“Through the years, Jerry has been kind of a jack of all trades in the community,” D’Ambrosio said. “The kids loved him when he was coaching. My first priority when I hired guys was if they were well-suited to be in the kid business. Jerry respected kids. He listened to them. He was all the things I needed as an assistant.

“He was a great coach, and he’s a great guy. He’s a really good friend, and I can’t be happier for him in this situation with the Cubs. It’s really a good deal for him.”

Among Gillis’ duties with the village of Midlothian was taking care of the Park District’s fields. One of his favorite projects was maintaining Howie Minas Field, which was named after longtime Midlothian White Sox manager Howie Minas.

“Howie was a one-man band taking care of that field,” Gillis said. “They played more than 80 games there over the course of a season. Howie didn’t have anybody helping him. He cut the grass, managed the infield, replaced pitching mounds, regraded slopes for the mound.

“When he was going to retire, Howie walked me through how he took care of the field. Then I started going to these training dates at Wrigley Field. That inspired me to meet the grounds crew at Wrigley. I thought, ‘Hey, this might be a good gig to get into when I retire.’”

And now ...

“It’s cool knowing that you’re going to work where thousands of people watch the players play,” Gillis said. “It’s an unbelievable feeling to have, being a Cubs fan my whole life and now I’m a professional groundskeeper for my favorite team in the whole world.”