Barry LaBar

In the early 1970s, Barry LaBar went offshore lobstering with Ray Kane a few times, three-day trips. Labar was in his element. “I love the water,” he says. He started coming to Chatham in 1963 as a kid with his parents and although he was often surfing at Nauset or sailing in ponds, the fish pier always defined the town for him. “The fish pier was always what it was all about. Even now, fishing is still the heart of Chatham,” LaBar says. Graduating from the University of Connecticut in 1973 with a degree in English and philosophy, he found himself taking a different path that led to Pennsylvania and Ohio. He went into the printing business, owned his own company and ultimately served as president for OnPress, Inc. Although he was spending less time on the Cape, he kept in touch with Kane and when Ray retired from commercial fishing to be a fisheries advocate at the Cape Cod Commercial Fishermen’s Alliance, Barry began to hear a lot more about the non-profit’s work, “about what was being done to help the fishermen,” he says. When he retired here in 2012, he became more familiar with the Fishermen’s Alliance. As he heard more about the organization, and began attending fundraising and other events, he thought the work the Alliance was doing to protect fishing, the community, and the ecosystem was something he could get behind. “I think it’s important to protect the heritage, to keep the tradition going,” LaBar says. He has realized something else since he joined the board of directors: “The organization has a great vibe. It’s a great thing to be associated with,” LaBar says. In his spare time, you can find Barry on the golf course or watching the UConn Women’s basketball team; he is a serious fan.