Chris Berry

When Chris Berry became President of Bury St Edmunds RFC in 2017, few could have predicted he would guide the club through seven seasons that the club describes as "some of its most challenging but also successful years." His decision to extend his presidency for one final season demonstrated what the club calls "the dedication Chris has for Bury to be successful on and off pitch, regardless of the impact it has on him personally."

Berry's formal roles at the club included youth coach, Youth Chairman, Executive Committee member and President, part of the Berry family's involvement spanning over twenty years. Yet his impact extended far beyond any title. As the club's tribute notes, "one could ask almost every member of our club about Chris – from the miniest mini to the oldest alickadoo – and be given a different vision, anecdote or tale."

Those visions paint a vivid portrait of a clubman who was everywhere: sitting on an elf's shoulders at the Boxing Day Bash, a familiar face among home supporters at away fixtures, entering exhausted changing rooms carrying three jugs of Greene King. He worked as a potwash, delivered pre-match jokes the club diplomatically describes as "risqué," and earned perhaps his most popular identity as "the man with the sausage rolls."

According to the club, Berry led "impeccably" throughout his presidency, doing so "with kindness, generosity, a smile & a devout love of Bury St Edmunds Rugby Club at the heart of all that he did." The tribute emphasizes that "Chris' involvement has been plentiful and impactful" and suggests "you would be hard pressed to find someone that disagrees with the sentiments above – no matter which version they have encountered."

The club's farewell, posted in June 2024 by Will Affleck, thanked Berry for "his monumental efforts over the past 7 years" as President, celebrating a leader whose presence touched every corner of the club, from its youngest members to its longest-serving supporters.