Barry Kramer joined the Rock House Kids Board of Directors back in August of 2020 and now serves as Vice-President. Barry may have been born in Chicago, but he is a proud Rockfordian through and through! He is a graduate of Boylan Catholic High School, where he excelled at football and baseball. He went on to graduate from Rock Valley College where he continued his football career. He then received a full athletic scholarship from the University of Arizona where he majored in Broadcast Journalism and is also a graduate of Concordia University where he majored in Business Management and Communications. In 2018, Barry was inducted into the Rock Valley College Athletic Hall of Fame for his amazing football accomplishments. He was very humble about this, so we had to do extra research...and it was VERY impressive.
Barry currently serves as a Wealth Advisor and Vice President for Illinois Bank & Trust. He is no stranger to volunteerism. He serves on the RVC Foundation Board, and formerly served on the Boylan Alumni Board. He volunteers at Stroll on State, and for Sharefest through Forest City Church, where he is also a member.
Barry joined the RHK Board because he feels “what Rock House Kids does, fills a big need in our community” and he wants to help be a part of making connections for more people to help. Along with serving on the board, he and his wife, Diana, serve hot meals to the children during programming nights. He says. ‘I love the people who have a heart for what we are doing and for those who are trying to help. When we sit with kids and hear their stories, it is often difficult to relate, be we can feel it and share our compassion for them and make them smile. They don’t get that every day. The more time we spend with them, the better we get to know them.” He hopes to see Rock House Kids grow and be able to serve even more kids so they can be “a part of the opportunities available to them and realize their true potential.”
Barry has been married to his wife Diana for 36 years and together they share a daughter, Stephanie. Barry enjoys golfing, vacationing in Eagle River, his Men’s Group at Heartland on Wednesdays and enjoys good food! He is pretty lucky to have a culinary expert and personal chef as a wife!