By GENE KEMMETER
of The Gazette
Most volunteers are there to do the job. They don't aspire to leadership positions or publicity. They're the ones who come out and provide a great deal of the labor that helps organizations succeed.
Bruce Berry, 48, was one of those volunteers, a reliable helper to youth baseball and hockey associations. Berry died Friday, July 6, after announcing at a Stevens Point American Legion game Thursday night and before he was scheduled for similar duties at a youth baseball tournament.
This spring, Berry received an award from the Stevens Point Youth Baseball Association (SPYBA) for his years of service. Mark Gotta, a member of the SPYBA board, said he's glad the group recognized Berry before his untimely death.
Berry started out in youth baseball as an umpire in 1980. His cousin, Dick Wenzel, was on the SPYBA board and approached him about helping out with umpiring. "He approached it as an honor and that's how he did his job," Wenzel said.
One of Berry's proudest accomplishments was serving as umpire in chief in 1992 when Stevens Point hosted the Babe Ruth 12 and Under State Tournament.
For a number of years, he also conducted annual clinics for SPYBA umpires. One thing he emphasized for those umpiring beginning leagues was expanding the strike zone to encourage the batters to swing rather than taking walks from inexperienced pitchers who couldn't control their pitches.
A large man, getting into the umpiring position behind the plate became more and more difficult for him, so he turned to announcing games to help out.
He also helped out periodically with coaching, particularly the traveling teams, and he would follow the teams to out-of-town games. "He just wanted to be there," said Bob "Ma" Pesch, a traveling-team coach.
At hockey games for more than the last 10 years, Berry worked the visitors' penalty box and played music during breaks in action of the Stevens Point Area Senior High School games.
And he traveled to the SPASH and University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point hockey games that were out of town. "He liked going, even to the Pointer baseball games that were out of town," said Sam Molski, who worked with him at the hockey game.
Although he never was a member of the SPYBA board, "he was always a friend of the board," Gotta said.