Barry Shapiro Act II By: Melanie Kowal

I like Barry Shapiro; he’s got guts. At the “mature” age of 40-something-ish (he’ll kill me for revealing this!), Barry moved into Act II of his already intriguing life. Born and bred in Long Island, New York, Barry relocated to Southern Florida when he was 14-years-old. The purebred Northerner completed high school, then embarked upon the first scene of “The Life and Times of Barry Shapiro.”

Act I
Barry entered the University of South Florida seeking a BA in Mass Communications. Along the way he developed a keen interest in photography. He served as photographer for his college’s award-wining daily newspaper, moonlighting for the Tampa Tribune and Tampa Times along the way to pick up some spare cash and gain experience. His extracurricular activities served him well, as upon graduation he landed a job as photographer for the Northside/Buckhead newspaper. Working with the “social elite”, this mainstream American boy was introduced to the affluent world of the socialite. Barry lived the high life, photographing the mansions and galas of the Buckhead upper crust. He eventually transferred to the Marietta Daily Journal, continuing to brave inclement weather, jostling crowds of reporters, and the occasional mechanical snafu all for that “one photo.” After 18 years he was experienced, confident . . . and ready for a change.

Act II
Barry had reached the pinnacle of his career at the newspaper and was ready for new challenges. Being exposed to new software and technology at the newspaper had piqued his interest, and he now had the desire to explore a technical profession. Barry’s plan, which his wife was amenable to, was to resign from his job as photographer and enroll in the Chubb Institute’s computer programming division. A photographer becoming a techie? Wait a minute.

“Barry, that, to me, was huge! You’re going from something very artistic to something that’s very analytical.”

“Absolutely. Very logical. And the interesting thing was, you had to pass a test to get into Chubb. They want you to succeed. They don’t want people to fail. They don’t gain anything by you starting and quitting. So, you have to take a logic and math test, and I fortunately did very well.”

Everyone thought that a creative guy doing something analytical was just plain crazy. Within eight months, Barry graduated with a computer programming certificate. Chubb’s excellent placement program quickly assisted him in finding a home for himself at Georgia-Pacific. Barry firmly believes that being a “mature” candidate filled in where direct experience may have been lacking. He was lucky enough to find employment with a group fully willing to assist in his development. He lauds the support, training and mentoring he discovered at Georgia-Pacific. As a Programmer/Analyst in the law department for over three years, Barry quickly learned the ropes through the patient assistance of his colleagues.

When the administrator of the department began searching for a techno savvy Support Analyst, Barry knew this was the perfect chance to fuse his creativity, interpersonal skills, and analytical abilities. He happily accepted the position, again using the great support system at Georgia-Pacific to assist him in creating the perfect niche. His current duties supporting the 110 person division include: records and library management, case control, hiring, training, overseeing the service center, and “facilities issues.” (Barry recently won the title of “least coveted” job when dealing with an unfortunate plumbing situation.)

Barry, an active member of the Atlanta Chapter of the ALA, was “asked to volunteer” to be chairperson of the Corporate/Government Section of the organization. He is looking forward to assembling his team in order to assess industry trends, swap war stories, exchange ideas and analyze the information disseminated at the latest National ALA Convention. (Which, by the way, saw Barry as the lucky winner of $1,000 in the raffle!) With Barry’s creative background and analytical skills, no doubt all of the members of his task force will greatly benefit from their informative meetings.

In addition to his great career strides, Barry continually gives back to the community. He and his six-year-old son, Michael, run a “Catch and Release” frog program which commences every Saturday morning at the local pond, carries on throughout the week with daily frog observations, and finishes with a celebratory release the following Saturday, where a new frog “guest” is selected and the process started over again. He is also actively involved in Health and Beauty, accompanying 12-year-old Samantha to her regular nail salon appointments.

Barry’s wife of 15 years, Karen, has looked closely at his stimulating life and followed suit. Formerly a part-time teacher, she is now pursuing her Masters Degree in Education. She and Barry share a passion for sports (they met on a co-ed softball team). I’m uncertain if Karen has continued her athletic pursuits, but Barry enjoys biking (he and ALA members Reinhard Breckner and Brian Gedeon recently biked across the Golden Gate Bridge), running, and basketball. Another great pastime for Barry is “complaining daily about [his] basketball injuries to [his] co-workers.” Barry is truly an inspiration to us all!

Sitting with Barry in his office, I considered how little we really know about the people with whom we are acquainted. Barry, a friendly, affable fellow, easily opened up and stunned me with his past life as a photographer. His boldness in making a career change at a “mature” time in life was quite motivational. It made me appreciate the flexibility of life and the uncertainty that lies around every corner. Barry is a pillar in the legal community, a hard worker and a devoted father. But more than that, he’s a risk-taker who boldly (and successfully) drops the curtain on one act, and vibrantly comes onstage to begin the next. At this point in his career, I can’t imagine a dénouement. I think Act II will continue on nicely for quite awhile.

Melanie Kowal is a freelance writer who would love to write for you! She can be reached at melaniekowal@hotmail.com

Editor: Brian Gedeon (BHGedeon@duanemorris.com) (This publication is the property of the Atlanta Association of Legal Administrators. Reproduction or reprint without prior permission is strictly prohibited. Click here to request reprint permission.)

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