JAMES BERBERET

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

James M. Berberet (aka Jim, Berb, Berbz) was born and raised in the City of Chicago. The city. Not some suburb. The north and northwest side. Galewood. Next to the Austin neighborhood. From fourth grade on. Met his wonderful wife and lifelong friend Kathy Eagan at St. Giles Catholic School (Oak Park) in fourth grade.

He’s obviously a Cub fan, Bears fan, Bulls fan and Blackhawks fan. And, having graduated from the University of Notre Dame, he is a loyal and contributing Irish alum and fan. Political Science/Government was the major at ND. He also worked four years for the Dome yearbook, and as editor-in-chief in senior year. Did some feature writing and photo work for the Scholastic magazine. And a short stint writing promo and ad copy for the student radio station. A McCormick Journalism scholarship propelled him to the Medill School of Journalism at Northwestern and a Masters with an emphasis on magazine and writing. Eve did not exist back then, even in his mind.

After a couple of years teaching English Comp and Journalism at St. Joseph’s High School in Westchester, IL, and writing a periodic column for some local shoppers, he and Kathy ventured west to Freeport. He started teaching freshman English composition and Journalism at Highland Community College. During that time, as a freelance writer—he knows what West went through—Berbz wrote regular columns and stories for trade journals and business-to-business pubs including Pizza Today, PMQ, Money World, and Homeland Defense, and for the (Freeport) Journal-Standard, his hometown paper.

After 11 years of teaching, and other HCC responsibilities executing public relations plans and community services activities and then directing a comprehensive Department of Labor training program (CETA), Berbz departed for the world of business, marketing, sales, business development and corporate C-suite management.

First it was working with Earl Kruse, an insightful, patient and older communicator who’d retired from his first advertising career and then stated his own agency. Then several years with a German-based medical equipment manufacturer, Erich Jaeger. Following that, almost 20 years as head of marketing and sales at Anchor Harvey Components, a supplier of forged metal components to many American industrial manufacturers. Then, a couple of years in business development for Fehr-Graham Engineers preceded his presidency and COO at Ultrasonic Power Corp, a manufacturer of sophisticated cleaning systems for industrial solutions, from which he retire in 2011.

Berbz’ final gig was Executive Director of the not-for-profit Foundation at Highland College. He’d been associated with the Foundation since his early Highland days in the late 60’s. He served on the Foundation board of directors as a volunteer from the late 70’s and was board president for many years. He retired from the HCC Foundation in 2017.

But Berbz was once again “unretired” by outside forces. He was initially appointed and then elected as Alderman-at-Large for the City of Freeport, IL. So, finally, he got to put his political science and government degree to use. Though he’s beginning to sense some disconnects between the real world of city government operations (reality) and the Notre Dame Poly Sci lectures and text books (theory) back then.

“Quest” has grown out of a realization that today’s media all have a strong bias—this way or that way. Left or right. Liberal or conservative.

This is a call to journalist to report the facts. Don’t get in the way of those facts. Let them stand on their own two legs. Leave the biased and slanted opinions to the Editorial Board of your publications or media channels.

Give US THE FACTS!