Dan Barrington 

Dan likes to be very specific when he tells people that he works for WPS--"We're not the meter-readers", he insists.  In this particular case, the "WPS" stands for Wisconsin Physicians Service, the organization for which he is a sales person for group benefits.

 

Dan grew up in New London and also lived in Wausau before coming to the Green Bay area in August of 1992 on a job-related move. Very soon, he and his family got settled at St. Bernard Parish and Dan transferred to Council 10243 of the Knights from his former Council at Wausau.  His knowledge of and interest in the Knights started long before his formal association began in 1986.  His dad had been a Knight and Dan recalls the Council to which his father belonged usually having their summer picnic on the same day as his family reunion.  He admits to actually joining the Knights because "I wanted to get on the bowling team".

 

He is impressed by the number of activities our Council is involved in, noting that the Council is quite diversified in the things that it takes on, truly living up to the reputation of being a Service organization.  For Dan, Council meetings are important but somewhat secondary, though he definitely appreciates the opportunity to get to know other people and expand a sense of community.  The activities help to promote this sense of fraternity, as Dan comments, "Even if it only brings in $200, the guys get together". The important thing in the Knights is a sense of identity--camaraderie and a sense of belonging in the organization as a whole.

 

The flip side of all that can pose a problem at times, he feels. Certainly, our Council is growing fast, and is helping the men involved with some of the problems of society by expanding friendships.  On the other hand, many new people bring in many new ideas and it is often a problem trying to maintain the interest of so many new members.  "Everybody has a pet project".  Dan finds himself involved in a number of those activities, serving the Council presently as Program Director.  Like any organization, the growing pains are to be expected, but ways to maintain the dynamism of the Council need to be explored. 

 

His former Council was big on ceremonials, he remembers, and was a Council that drew its members from a number of area parishes.  They also had a clubhouse, something Dan thought might not be such a bad idea to think about down the road.  He sees ceremonials as important to the fraternity, as they provide a certain "mystique" and invite us to look back on on where we came from and thereby get some idea of where we might be going.  Dan credits the development of the First Degree Team as an important step in the right direction.

 

Dan and his wife, Melanie, have one daughter, Elizabeth.  He also sees the extended family as including a guinea pig and a puppy they are trying to train.

 

January 1994