Dr. Harry Berrier, emeritus professor, College of Veterinary Medicine, University of Missouri-Columbia, will be honored with a 2004 Alumni Recognition Award from the Kansas State University College of Veterinary Medicine and its Veterinary Medical Alumni Association. The award will be presented during the K-State Alumni Reception held in conjunction with the Central Veterinary Conference Saturday, August 28, at the Downtown Marriot in Kansas City, Mo.

Dr. Berrier began his pursuit of higher education at the University of Missouri, graduating in 1941 with a bachelor of science in Vocational Agriculture. Dr, Berrier then received his DVM from K-State in 1945. In the years 1945 and 1946 Dr. Berrier worked at a general practice of veterinary medicine and surgery in Odessa, Mo. He then became a station veterinarian, First Lieutenant, at Dugway Proving Ground, Utah in 1947 followed by assistant area veterinarian, Captain, at Fort Douglas, Utah from 1947 to 1948. In 1948, Dr. Berrier accepted a position as an assistant professor of veterinary pathology at the School of Veterinary Medicine, University of Missouri-Columbia. Dr. Berrier remained at MU until his retirement, and during that time served in many capacities, including: assistant professor of veterinary pathology; associate professor of veterinary pathology; and clinical toxicologist, veterinary medical diagnostic laboratory. He also received a master of science in veterinary pathology in 1960 from MU.

In 1963-1964, Dr. Berrier took a sabbatical leave from MU and spent this time as a Fellow of the National Science Foundation and pursued post-doctoral studies at the Armed Forces Institute of Pathology, Veterinary Pathology Department, Washington, D.C. From 1968 until retirement, he also served as a Medical Service Liaison Officer representing the U.S. Air Force to MU.

Dr. Berrier holds membership in 16 professional organizations some of which include the American and the Missouri Veterinary Medical Associations, United States Air Force Veterinary Corps, American Association of Veterinary Laboratory Diagnosticians, National Geographic Society and the Smithsonian Institution’s National Associates. Dr. Berrier was instrumental in the formation of the American Society for Veterinary Clinical Pathology which was established in 1965, and has grown into an international professional organization. Dr. Berrier has served in the capacities of president, vice-president, secretary, treasurer and chairman of the board for the society.

Dr. Berrier has published 30 professional and scientific papers in professional journals, has been guest speaker to many professional organizations and state veterinary medical conferences, and has published three book editions.

In addition to Dr. Berrier’s career in veterinary medicine, he is also an entrepreneur. Since his retirement from MU in 1982, Dr. Berrier has kept busy with his business, Show-Me Bar-B-Que. Dr. Berrier first began making his own barbeque sauce because he was dissatisfied with those available on the market. He began experimenting, making enough for a single meal, but after his friends sampled it they all wanted the recipe. Dr. Berrier then brought home a set of pharmacy scales and concocted his recipe. This same recipe was used for 20 years before Dr. Berrier was convinced to pursue a patent, which he received in 1975.

Dr. Berrier’s operation is still run out of his basement—the only basement approved by the Missouri Public Health Administration. He and his wife Lina, along with three part-time workers, are able to manage the entire operation. Lina oversees all the bookkeeping and paperwork, while the part-time employees bottle and distribute the sauce.

Perhaps what is most impressive about Show-Me Bar-B-Que is that it functions entirely on word-of-mouth advertising but is still shipped to all 50 states and occasionally to countries overseas. The Grateful Dead took Show-Me Sauce on tour with them, and country music artist Tanya Tucker as well as playwright Neil Simon are regular customers of Dr. Berrier’s. Show-Me Bar-B-Que has now grown into an operation that produces approximately 480 gallons of sauce a week in the summer months.

K-State College of Veterinary Medicine and its Veterinary Medical Alumni Association honor alumni who have been selected by their peers with this recognition at several major veterinary conferences annually. The K-State College of Veterinary Medicine and its alumni association host alumni receptions at seven veterinary conferences and meetings throughout the United States and Canada each year. This provides the opportunity to reach out and thank those who have made a difference.