Rick Ryan

1. Rick Ryan Central Dewitt Hall of Fame Induction Class 2009

2. Inducted for Outstanding Contributions as a Friend of Central High School

3. Biography Rick Ryan is a 1970 graduate of Central High School. Rick Ryan is a true volunteer.  Not only for Central Sabers Athletics, but as a 32 year veteran of the Welton Fire Department, including 13 years as a First Responder.  Rick served for 17 years on the Central Sabers Athletic Booster Board, many years as the President.  In addition to his leadership on the Booster Club, Rick kept scorebook for Central High School Girls Basketball games for 10 years and has 20+ years working the football sidelines as a member of the Chain gang.

4. Article from the Observer Rick Ryan is no stranger to Central athletics, having played on the first varsity basketball team led by long-time coach Neil Padgett, but it is the tremendous support he has given the Saber programs since graduating in 1970 that has earned him a spot in the Central High School Hall of Fame. Ryan earned a reputation as a tireless supporter of Central athletics during a 17- year stint with the Central Saber Athletic Booster Club, where he spearheaded fundraising initiatives that provided Central’s sports teams with new equipment and facilities and earned the booster club the Iowa Governor’s Award for community service. “Rick was instrumental in giving the booster club a big kick-start,” said former Central athletic director Dwight Spangler. “He was supportive of all athletics, not just one sport. That’s what made him such a great asset. He was very unselfish,” Spangler said. As president of the booster club, Ryan was the driving force behind the creation of the Saber Shoot-out in 1992, a basketball tournament that includes 96 teams playing a bracket schedule in five separate gyms. Colleagues describe the effort as a “huge undertaking.”

5. The Observer (cont.) During his tenure with the booster club, Ryan participated in Central’s first ever cake auction in the mid 1990s and helped raise funds for projects big and small, from team uniforms to new lights on athletic fields. “In my opinion, Rick’s dedication to Central athletics is second to none,” said booster club colleague Denny Schnoor. Major projects during Ryan’s time with the booster club included outdoor lighting for the baseball, softball and football fields, a new football press box and new outdoor concession stands, all the while setting aside funds to go toward a future weight room, which opened in 2007 and was filled with equipment purchased with a $60,000 donation from the athletic boosters. In addition to leading Saber fund-raising efforts, Ryan has spent decades on the sidelines of Central basketball and football games. He kept the scorebook for girls basketball for 10 years and has run the chain gang at football games for the past 20 years. Verna Turnis, who grew up with Ryan and later served with him on the Saber booster club, described him as a hardworker who is always mindful about the needs of the school district. “He always had great ideas, but he also got in there and got it done. He is a handson person. I think he genuinely cares abut the kids,” Turnis said.

6. The Observer (cont.) While donating much of his time and energy to Central programs, Ryan has maintained involvement in athletics and community service outside the school district. Ryan helped establish the Crossroads Classic softball tournament and coached youth teams in softball, baseball and basketball. He has volunteered with the Welton fire department for 32 years and served as a first responder for 13 of those years. Ryan and his wife, Linda, have been married for 32 years, and have two children, Troy and Gina, and four grandchildren. After graduating from Central, Ryan earned a degree in business administration and economics from St. Ambrose University. He farmed for nine years, sold fire trucks for Alexis Fire Equipment Co. for five years, and worked as vice president of sales for Trackers Inc. in Bettendorf for 12 years. He currently works as a territory sales manager for Guardian Industries in DeWitt