Dan Berry

Taylorville High School graduates around 180 to 250 graduates every year and at graduation, the class speaker often challenges the graduates to make a difference as they go out into the world.  Most leave Taylorville with dreams and good intentions, and I’m proud to say, many become successful in their endeavors and share in their success.  Some remember where they came from and are proud of the education and opportunities they received at Taylorville High School.  Dan Barry is one of those.

Dan graduated from THS in 1980, and during his time in high school he was actively involved in athletics and other school activities.  During his three years on the gridiron, he learned the price one had to pay for success as a member of the Tornadoes football teams coached by Hall of Famer Don Anderson that won 21 games against only 10 losses.  During his two varsity seasons on the basketball team he learned how to address adversity during a challenging senior season from two great coaches, Carl Blice and Brian James.  Baseball, and coach Jim Banko consumed Dan’s time in the spring.

After graduation, Dan attended the University of Illinois where he received a degree in business.  Following his years as an Illini, Dan moved to Chicago and pursued success in the world of business.  And success he found; first as an accountant with Arthur Andersen and currently as Senior Managing Director in the Chicago Offices of Anteres Capital. But true to the foundation that had been established in a family that believed in giving back; and true to the grit demanded by those coaches that taught him on the athletic field, Dan remembered Taylorville, Taylorville High School and the importance that athletics played in making him a successful adult.

We honor Dan Barry this evening as a Friend of Sports.  In the thirty plus years Dan has been away from Taylorville, he has continually remembered Taylorville and Taylorville High School through donations to various fund raising events, including the Sports Booster’s Tornado Open Golf Outing and the Taylorville Quarterback Club. His offering of the very popular golf outing to world famous Medinah Country Club is always a highlight at each auction.  He continues support of other organizations throughout the community like The Taylorville Memorial Hospital Foundation.   When major projects are considered, like the High School Athletic Field Turf Project, Dan Barry took the opportunity to provide a large donation that helped ensure the projected could be completed.  

For more than Thirty years, Dan Barry has shared his success with Taylorville and Taylorville High School and is surely a real Hall of Fame Friend of Sports.

Dan Barry, welcome to the Taylorville Sports Hall of Fame.