By: Angel Steiner
Just a Small Town guy with a musical gift and humble spirit — these are just some of the traits of this year’s Antwerp Chamber Gem of the Year. Barry DeLong was overwhelmingly nominated by the residents of Antwerp for this Award. It both surprised and humbled him to accept the nomination when he was informed of the decision.
Barry is a lifelong resident of Antwerp graduating AHS in 1978. He then attended college at ITT in Fort Wayne, IN. His parents are the late Carl DeLong who was a WWII veteran, and all three of his brothers were from Antwerp as well. His mother, Jean (Potts) DeLong is 96 years old (she has a brother, Jack Potts and a sister, Carol Obenour from Antwerp.). His parents are quiet and gentle people who were always ready to lend a hand, and step up to help the community of Antwerp (they were instrumental in the campaign not to consolidate the school districts and building the tennis courts in downtown Antwerp). Barry learned much from his parents.
DeLong has been married to his wife, Donna, for 40 years and they have three children — Leslie of Auburn, IN, Mindy of Cecil, and Jared of the Philippines. They also have six grandchildren whom they adore. Barry is the VP of Quality & Safety at Paragon Tempered Glass in Antwerp. He travels much for his job between here and Niles, MI.
Outside of work, Barry enjoys music as well as woodworking crafts. He has been blessed with a tremendous gift from God with writing songs. Many are local tunes like Squad 41, Veterans Memorial song, and Christmas in Paulding County Ohio. He sings and MC’s for numerous functions and fundraisers around the county. Most recently, he MC’ed the fundraising event for the Caring & Sharing Food Pantry in Paulding.
Barry’s has been the voice announcing Antwerp basketball games for numerous years, and you should also recognize him as the parade announcer and MC of Antwerp Chamber’s Day in the Park these past years.
DeLong is also a member of the Antwerp United Methodist Church where he became involved with the youth there and the organization of the Antwerp Community Youth Center working with their founding board of directors. His hopes with the Youth Center was to unify the churches of Antwerp. He has also served on the Paulding County 4-H board for several years and is a member of the Antwerp Rotary Club.
“There’s just no place like home,” stated DeLong when asked what his thoughts were of Antwerp. Since he travels a lot for his job, he can really see the benefits of living in a small community.
Barry — you are a GEM to the people of Antwerp. Congratulations on being Antwerp Chamber’s 2022 Gem of the Year.
